As part of its ongoing effort to revitalize its ships, Royal Caribbean has confirmed that Navantia at Cadiz, Spain will be the shipyard that will upgrade the facilities aboard Grandeur of the Seas.

This is the second Royal Caribbean ship to be upgraded at Navantia, following Splendour of the Seas which received similar upgrades.  All of these upgrades are part of Royal Caribbean's Royal Advantage program.

The work will consist mainly of jet and paint, pipe, steel scaffolding, improvements in propulsion systems, rudders, bow thrusters, anchors and chains, plus many odd jobs in the engine room. The duration of the work will be about four weeks, during which some 350 people will work at Navantia and its subsidiary companies.

The Costa Concordia disaster has prompted Royal Caribbean's CEO Adam Goldstein to post a blog entry about the incident and what Royal Caribbean is and has been doing to keep guests safe.

"Safety is a journey rather than a destination. We need to operate safely now yet constantly improve our safety. We need to hunt for lessons learned in every minor incident or accident. We need to apply those lessons learned across the fleet ASAP. This is a never ending cycle."

Goldstein said that half of the fleet's Captains and most of Royal Caribbean's Hotel Directors were meeting in South Florida over the weekend to discuss safety both today and in the future.  Goldstein promised to review all of Royal Caribbean's safety processes, technology and people to ensure no catastrophes befall Royal Caribbean.

Goldstein also promised more information to the public on what Royal Caribbean is doing to keep its ships and passengers safe, "In the upcoming weeks we will communicate by text and video about many of the key elements of safety. Many readers who know us well will not be surprised by our focus on and commitment to safety. Those who have less experience with us should learn some interesting and compelling facts about how we prepare our ships and crew for safe operation every day."

A few weeks ago Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas failed the Center for Disease Control's inspection after being cited for health-related issues such as fruit flies and food storage mistakes.

Last week, Royal Caribbean fixed the problems and Monarch of the Seas passed the test with flying colors, according to Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. During the January 6 inspection, Monarch of the Seas earned a score of 96 (out of 100).  The examination was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).

Royal Caribbean has announced its winter 2012-2013 sailings for Vision of the Seas, which will include itineraries that visit the Caribbean and Panama Canal.

Vision of the Seas will offer 10 to 15 night itineraries out of Port Everglades, Florida.  One special cruise will leave on December 24, 2012 and include stops in St Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, Martinique and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Labadee.

There are a number of options aboard Vision of the Seas including 10-night Eastern Caribbean sailings that will make calls at Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Croix and Martinique, with an 11-night itinerary calling into Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, Dominica and St. Vincent, a maiden port of call for the line.

Two 14-night and two 15-night Panama Canal-transit sailings will also be offered, sailing from Port Everglades and San Diego respectively, along with two trans-Atlantic crossings sailing between Port Everglades and Southampton.

The 14-night westbound voyage will depart on 21 September 2012 from Southampton, calling into Gijo, Vigo, Lisbon and Ponta Delgada with the 13-night eastbound trip sailing from Port Everglades on 17 April 2013 visiting Lisbon, Vigo and Normandy.

For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean is offering cruises to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean.  

Vision of the Seas will sail to the island as part of new 11-night itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Dec. 3, Dec. 24 and Feb. 4, 2013.

The St. Vincent cruise is just one of 19 new itineraries to the Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises that were announced for the 2012-2013 season.  Consumers can also choose from new 10-night Eastern Caribbean ships that include stops at Martinique.

Royal Caribbean's Vice President of Latin American Relations, Michael Ronan, met with Cozumel, Mexico's Mayor Aurelio Joaquin Gonzalez, where Royal Caribbean continues to be impressed by Cozumel's incomparable natural beauty, high safety standards and hospitality offered by the island as well as having one of the best worldwide port infrastructure, which facilitates the operation of mega ships.

Ronan went on to say that rather than looking to reduce cruise routes to Cozumel, Royal Caribbean will keep Cozumel as one of their favorite destinations around the world.

Michael Ronan added that it is not by chance that Cozumel holds a strong leadership at national and international level in cruise arrivals, under which has great natural beauty, is one of the safest destinations, offers high quality and hospitality of its people.

"But also, the island has one of the best port infrastructure in the world and under very special conditions that allow so-called mega-cruise ships, as the" Oasis of the Seas ", to operate smoothly, leading to the arrival of as many tourists to the island. For all that Cozumel is and will remain one of our destinations, "he said.  

Police in Port Everglades, Florida arrested 20-year-old Luiz Scavone for lewd and lascivious battery of a 15-year-old girl on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.

Police reported that Scavone and a teenage boy sexually assaulted the 15-year-old girl during their cruise.  Royal Caribbean reported the incident to police and the suspects were arrested once the ship returned to Port Everglades.

Royal Caribbean has decided to not offer its all-you-can-drink alcohol packages that are currently offered aboard Independence of the Seas when she arrives in Florida for a seasonal deployment.

In November 2012, Independence of the Seas will sail out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the fall and winter Caribbean sailings.  While home ported in the United States, the alcoholic  beverage packages will not be offered.  Royal Caribbean will continue to offer them while Independence is based in Southampton, England as well as on its transatlantic repositioning cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.

Royal Caribbean spokesman Harrison Liu discussed the decision, "As Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand, our ships' offerings are tailored to the markets from where they draw their guests.  Independence of the Seas [from] Southampton was primarily a British product. When the ship sails in the Caribbean, the onboard offering will be adjusted to cater to a more North American and international clientele, as well as reflect the cultural norms here.  The drinks package will not be expanded to additional ships yet."

The all-you-can-drink packages start at $29 per day and are available on Grandeur of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.  All three of these ships are based outside of the United States.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas made its first stop at St Kitts-Nevis on December 30, which St. Kitt's Tourism Minister described as "an historic event".

Rich Skerritt, the Tourism Minister for the island, spoke to The St. Kitts Nevis Observer about the occasion, "Almost the entire population of Nevis can be housed aboard this one vessel. This is a strong indicator of the growth of our relationship with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the cruise industry in general.  This is also a reminder of our responsibility and the expectations which have been raised of our port to deliver a quality destination experience for cruise passengers and all visitors."

Cruise passenger numbers have increased over the last four years at St. Kitts along with passenger satisfaction levels.  

Allure of the Seas' arrival also drew St. Kitts' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Minister Skerritt and other government officials, who attended a cocktail reception and plaque & key exchange ceremony aboard Allureof the Seas.

With it being the end of 2011, we thought it proper to look back on the biggest stories related to Royal Caribbean in 2011, as determined by our readers.  These ten stories were the ten most viewed posts here on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com and should be entertaining to see which story generated the most buzz!

1. Hurricane Irene
2. Two country music themed cruises in January 2012
3. Will Royal Caribbean's new Project Sunshine ship be more crowded than ever?
4. Rock Legends cruise ready to go
5. Royal Caribbean to roll out All-You-Can-Drink Packages
6. Frommer's names Allure of the Seas best ship of 2011
7. Royal Caribbean announces new 2012 cruises to Bermuda and North East USA
8. Extreme weather damages Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas
9. Taylor Swift to perform on Allure of the Seas on Friday
10. Royal Caribbean orders new ship for 2014 delivery

Those were the biggest stories based on page views, but here's our editors picks for the biggest stories of 2011

1. Royal Caribbean confirms new ship coming
2. Falmouth port officially opens with ceremony
3. Royal Caribbean planning major cruise fleet upgrade
4. Royal Caribbean will send Voyager of the Seas to China
5. Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas leaves San Juan early and strands passengers

What do you think was the biggest Royal Caribbean story of 2011?