American health inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently inspected Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas as part of its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).  The good news is Oasis of the Seas scored a perfect 100 on the test.

The inspection took place on May 28, 2011 and the CDC says a score of 86 or higher is satisfactory, so Oasis' score of 100 is a great achievment.  The VSP is aimed at ensuring cruise ships are clean and healthy for guests to enjoy, "assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships".

Oasis did suffer a few minor violations, which are common to have on most ships, and were corrected.  None of the violations were enough to bring Oasis' total score down after inspectors finished looking over the ship.

Representatives from Royal Caribbean and four other cruise lines (Norwegian Cruise Lines,Residensea, Silversea and Oceania Regent Seven Seas) visited the port of Bilbao, Spain and other points of interest in the region. They were accompanied by a representative of the Tourist Office of Spain in Miami.

The cruise line representatives have also been accompanied by officials from the Port Authority of Bilbao and Bilbao Tourism Office. They visited, among others, the cruise terminal port, the Bridge, Getxo, Bilbao, Laguardia and the blind. They have also enjoyed the Basque cuisine and have been able to see first hand the commercial area. In 2011, it is planned at the port of Bilbao fifty cruise ships belonging to twenty different companies.

Royal Caribbean, a member of the European Cruise Council (ECC), has pledged to help develop the Greek cruise market in an announcement by Royal Caribbean's Vice President of Commercial & New Business Development John Tercek to the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism.  The ECC has offered to act as a hub to interact with the Ministry to inform member companies of Greek developments and issues of common interest.

On behalf their companies represented by the ECC. Giora Israel (Vice President of Carnival Cruise Line), and John Tercek confirmed the participation of their companies to the commission and the offer to provide expertise to Greece and expressed interest to develop and to extend the routes of cruise in the Greek seas and to add new ports of call. 

Last Wednesday, Greek Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism George Nikitiadis met with Tercek, in Thessalonicawhere  they discussed the possibilities of the port, and the government's efforts to capitalize on important cruise market, which, as the figures show it has an important role in the coming years the development of tourism in Greece. 

Less than a month until the debut in Genoa, Italy of Mariner of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean has decided to dedicate her to Italy, in 2011 in electing her the flagship "product Royal Caribbean for Italy. " From July 23 to September 3, 2011, for the first time ever in the history of the Company, Mariner of the Seas will sail from Genoa - as well as from Civitavecchia - and will offer guests seven nights cruises in the Western Mediterranean, which will touch Cannes Ajaccio, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.

On board, everything will speak Italian: from entertainment (activities and TV programs), food & beverage offerings, staff service (there will even be a team exclusively reserved for  Italian guests) excursions guaranteed for each leg of the cruise.

Here they are in detail: At Cannes, guests can choose whether to remain on board or continue by bus to Nice, the capital of the Cote d'Azur and Monaco to Antibes or the picturesque, historic Formula 1 circuit and the Principality of Monaco, with the Prince's Palace and ancient cathedral.

In Ajaccio the city tour is a tribute to Napoleon: Napoleon from course, we reach the central Place de Gaulle, which is dominated by the huge bronze statue of Napoleon and his brothers. We continue on towards the Place d'Austerlitz, where Napoleon as a child he used to spend his days, and where now stands an imposing monument in his honor. Walking through the ancient streets of the old town, you can also admire the Cathedral where Napoleon was baptized and the facade of the Maison Bonaparte, where he was born. Alternatively, there is mounting that the tour following the meandering path of the river Prunelli winds down to Lake Tolla, for a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean vegetation of this island, its beautiful landscapes and many picturesque villages.

In Barcelona the tour "Gaudí and Barcelona" is a tribute to Gaudi's Barcelona. From the Park Guell, designed by Gaudi and declared a monument of UNESCO Universal in 1984 continues to the Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Casa Batllo, whose facade is covered with multicolored tiles and the roof is accessible by stairs of glazed ceramic.
Even Palma Mallorca has a lot to offer in terms of historical and architectural: Choosing the tour reaches Valldemossa is one of the most beautiful and typical villages of the island where it is kept inside the piano with which Chopin composed some of his masterpieces. Worth a visit of course the city of Palma, with its imposing cathedral, the bullring and the recently restored Royal Palace.

Do not underestimate even the very Italian ports of Civitavecchia and Genoa, where it is possible to land (in addition to board), for a taste of Rome and the wonders of the oldest and largest center of Europe, Gulf Paradise (Portofino, Rapallo, Santa daisy) and Cinque Terre.

We've heard a report that speciality restaurant Rita's Cantina aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas has gone from a $7.95 service charge to a $3.00 service charge and all food is now priced a la carte.

The move is similar to how the Seafood Shack specialty restaurant aboard Oasis of the Seas is handled.  

The change is effective as of the cruise that left Port Everglades yesterday.

The change of pricing isn't unprecedented.  Royal Caribbean changed the price structure aboard Radiance of the Seas back on June 10.

Investments for the development of the Zakynthos, Greece harbor will be addressed at a special meeting, which will take place this afternoon at the office of Mayor of Zakynthos Stelios Boziki.

The initiative for the idea is from naval architect Dimitris Caper. Present at the meeting will be John Tercek, Senior Vice President of Royal Caribbean, Demi Karapatakis, Director of Royal Caribbean, Andrea Stylianopoulos, President of Navigator Tours, MP Dimitris Varvarigos, Antiperifereiarchi Dionysis Mylonas, Harbour Master John Stathis, President of the Port Fund Dionysis Kardiani, and the President of the Chamber of Costa Kapodistrias.

Mr. Tercek and Ms. Stylianopoulos are visiting the island of Zakynthos at the invitation of Mr. Capers to explore whether to invest capital to build the port infrastructure that is necessary to accommodate cruise ships in Zakynthos. The master plan by Mr. Capers for the development of Zakynthos por has received favorable comments from both the municipality and the Ministry of Tourism. 

Royal Caribbean also met with officials from Thessalonica, Greece yesterday about bringing Royal Caribbean ships to their port as well.

The challenge of visibility and awareness is required to win over Royal Caribbean if it was to return to Thessalonica, Greece.  Royal Caribbean Vice President John Tersek was visiting Thessalonica today and spoke to local officialls about the possibilities of the port as a cruise destination.

Royal Caribbean is considering giving Thessalonica a second chance and returning after the departure of Navigator of the Seas from the city a few years ago.  Back then, Navigator of the Seas had only made half of her stops to Thessalonica in order to avoid extensive paperwork due to local port authority regulations.

"I see that Thessalonica is very well placed, but the condition is becoming a recognizable tourist destination, so first priority should be to promote the tourism of the location," said Mr. Tersek during press conference.

Mr. Tersek declined to say when if Royal Caribbean intends to bring cruise ships back to Thessalonica, noting simply that Royal Caribbean has completed the itineraries until 2012. "Any change will take place after 2013" he stated.

The new mayor of Thessalonica knows that the city must do more to entice Royal Caribbean to retun, "Depends on us whether it's Royal Caribbean Cruises.  We are confident that any cruise ship come in Thessalonica will not want to leave," he said, while noting that the port has more than sufficient infrastructure for any size ship.

Italian Coast Guard responded to a report of a heart attack aboard Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, located 27 miles from the port of Ancona.  The passenger, a person from Cyprus, suffered the heart attack while the ship was headed to Venice, Italy.

The Coast Guard Operations Centre in Ancona asked the Captain of the ship to anchor, interrupting the journey, so they could transfer the passenger to a Coast Guard patrol boat. 

Following the transfer, an ambulance has took the patient to a hospital for treatment. Following the incident, Voyager of the Seas was able to start sailing towards the north once more.

Royal Caribbean believes its strong brand and appeal around the world will make certain that it remains an exciting cruise option despite increased competition from local cruise companies as well as protect it from from any potential over capacity in the Australian cruise market.

Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean announced that it will have five of its ships operating in the Australia/New Zealand region in 2012-2013.  The big news was when Royal Caribbean announced Voyager of the Seas was coming to the region, the largest cruise ship ever to regularly operate there.

In total, there will be 12 New Zealand, South Pacific and Australian itineraries from November 2012 and that could lead to a problem of there being too much capacity and not enough customers for the market.

Royal Caribbean Australia commercial manager, Adam Armstrong did admit there is the potential for that problem in the future, but was confident Royal Caribbean could overcome an obstacle like that.

“But the opportunity we’ve highlighted is for a different kind of product,” he said. “We have more international-style product, have an international cuisine and a guest mix that other operators don’t have.”

In addition to Royal Caribbean's brand, Armstrong believes as much as 30-40% of the cruise guests coming to Australia will be international cruisers.

“Of our three Royal Caribbean ships, Voyager has the biggest and broadest range of kids facilities so we will be pushing families on those cruises."

“We’ve had a very successful couple of years since we opened an office here and have lifted average yields on local cruises,” he continued. “There are price pressures but we wouldn’t be putting another ship in the market unless we thought we could sustain a similar level of pricing.”

Royal Caribbean aims to expand in the Italian cruise market and announced Genoa, Italy as the second port of call for Mediterranean cruises.

Starting on July 23, 2011 and running to September 3, 2011, Mariner of the Seas will sail from Genoa and offer Western Mediterannean seven-night cruises to the guests that will visit Cannes, Ajaccio, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.

Mariner of the Seas arrived in late March for the first time ever in the Mediterranean where she sails from Italy in the port of Civitavecchia.  In October 2011, two alternating 12-night itineraries in the Eastern Mediterranean (at the beginning and end of season) and itineraries of seven nights in the central western Mediterranean in the season.