Royal Caribbean's German branch had a record year in 2011.  The number of passengers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland grew from the previous year by 34 percent to 80,500.

The turnover of all three Royal Caribbean brands (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises) has increased by 40 percent according to Royal Caribbean's division head Tom Fecke during an annual budget presentation.

Besides capacity growth, the "Seefari" Mediterranean campaign and the "highly developed" Fly & Cruise supply contributed to the positive result. And also a broader basis in counter sales: 526 travel agents were added in the last year, according to Fecke. 

Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas will return to Bayonne, New Jersey one day late due to an onboard medical emergency.  Royal Caribbean expects Explorer of the Seas to return on Saturday, January 28 now after a passenger required medical attention.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez issued this statement, "The guest was initially treated in our medical facility, but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital," read the statement. Explorer, which is equipped with a helipad, has re-charted a course for San Juan, Puerto Rico, the closest port of call. A helicopter will meet the ship when it gets within 70 miles of San Juan. Estimated time is 5:35 p.m. local time."

"We will be assisting both the guests currently onboard and those boarding on Saturday, but do not have details at this time," said Martinez. "We wanted to put the notice on our website and on social media as soon as possible, to let affected guests know in advance." Additional information on the revised itinerary will be provided to passengers on Saturday at embarkation.

Passengers that were expecting to depart on Explorer of the Seas' next cruise on Friday are now asked to not arrive at port until 2pm on Saturday.

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.