A six-year-old boy from the United Kingdom was found unconscious in the pool onboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas earlier Tuesday.

The boy was was air lifted in serious condition to a hospital in Brest, France after he was found in cardiac arrest at the bottom of the pool, according to officials in Brest.

"The child was found in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest at the bottom of the ship's pool," said Yann Bouvard, a spokesman for the maritime prefecture in the port of Brest.

Shortly before 2:00pm (12:00 GMT), sea rescue services were requested and a helicopter was sent to the ship that was in the Atlantic.

Two hours later, the child was transferred to the Morvan hospital in Brest where his condition was described as "grave".

Royal Caribbean announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build the next phase of the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, NJ.

The $55 million project will include construction of a new, state-of-the-art guest terminal, 900-car parking garage and pier improvements.

The new terminal will be the home for Royal Caribbean's next generation of cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, which both begin service in November 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Ground breaking has already occurred and the new terminal will be complete in November 2014.

Rhapsody of the Seas arrived in Seattle to begin her 2014 Alaska cruise season.  Our blog readers Tom & Diane Trudnowski sent us photos of Rhapsody's arrival.

Arriving at the cruise terminal area

Rhapsody of the Seas is there, but is blocked by Celebrity Solstice

There she is

Wide angle look at Rhapsody of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas heading to Alaska

Rhapsody of the Seas passing by

Rhapsody of the Seas passing by other boats

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  We're starting this weekend with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos.  Each week we invite our readers to share their photos with us!

Our first photo this week is from Ken Slusser and it's of the new cabanas recently added to Adrenaline Beach in Labadee.  I can tell you from first hand experience that napping on a beach couch is the way to experience Labadee!

Krystal Sullivan sent in this photo of Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, from her Explorer of the Seas cruise. Her husband took this panoramic photo of the ocean and the color looks gorgeous!

Here's another photo from an Explorer of the Seas cruise to Bermuda.  Kelly Tarman sent in this photo from Southampton Parish, which is the Queen's View.  Kelly says this view, "was made famous by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 when she visited Bermuda following her coronation. If you look in the distance you can see Explorer of the Seas in all her glory."

Next is a photo from Dirk of his view from Serenade of the Seas in St. Maarten when Allure of the Seas gave him a huge good-bye.  Note the crew members under the Allure name with the prop!

SK Goh sent us this photo of the view of Port Klang as seen from Mariner of the Seas' Windjammer back in January.  Hard to beat breakfast with a view like that.

Lastly, we have this photo from Steven Brinkman from his Navigator of the Seas cruise last month. Wish I was back on her right now.

We want your Royal Caribbean photos too! Use this form to send us your favorite photos and we will include it in an upcoming blog post.

Norwegian authorities temporarily seized Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas after the cruise ship did not pay its port fees.

Independence of the Seas was placed under arrest until the cruise line paid about $101,000 in unpaid piloting and security fees from 2013 to the government.

Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reports the fees should have been paid last year but had not done so.

Royal Caribbean made restitutions to the government and the ship was released.

In a statement on its website, the administration noted delayed payments from certain cruise lines has been a problem. “There’s a lot of work for us in following up these cases,” Dimmen said. “The ships are often based overseas, and it is dependent on the season when they visit our area. It’s an advantage for us that we can make use of the maritime liens regime. Then we can secure the payment.”

A Royal Caribbean passenger aboard Majesty of the Seas suffered a head injury onboard the cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean Director of Communications Cynthia Martinez said a 32-year-old Swedish passenger was treated onboard Majesty of the Seas late Wednesday before being transfered to a fire rescue boat.

The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. on the Majesty of the Seas in waters not far from Miami.

The Majesty of the Seas continued sailing to Key West, where it was expected to arrive several hours later than scheduled.

The passenger was safely taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was admitted to the emergency room, Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Robert Hevia said.

It's not yet clear how the passenger was hurt.

Royal Caribbean managing director for the UK & Ireland, Stuart Leven, spoke at Barclays Travel Forum in London and mentioned that cruise prices could rise as the economy recovers.

Leven said high levels of discounting in the sector had been necessary due to the economic climate of the last few years.  Leven believes that the discounting strategy could change in conjunction with a recovering economy and cruise brands looking to seperate themselves from the competition.

“My observation is it is very hard to differentiate between the brands,” Leven said.

“[During the recession], we fell back on the deals that you have to get to fill your ships and that led to price [wars].

“The market is coming out of recession and the more you differ your brand as a brand, then you can charge a premium, and the cruise companies are looking at that now.”

In Southampton, Royal Caribbean's move to bring the brand new Anthem of the Seas has sparked a renewed competition among cruise lines to the UK cruise market.  With new ships trying to dominate the market, perhaps premium pricing for these ships will be part of the equation.

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 42 is available for downloading where one of our podcast listeners is joining us to preview her upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise.

Matt is joined by Marie this week, and we're previewing her Freedom of the Seas cruise that is coming up in July.  Marie shares what her onboard and onshore plans are and what she's looking forward to doing.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 42. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean has released a new video today that is offering the public a fresh look at Quantum of the Seas as it has reached it's 60% completion mark.

Royal Caribbean announced today when it sends its newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, to China in 2015, it will do so as part of an epic 53-night journey.

Starting on May 2, 2015, Quantum of the Seas will depart the New York City area and head to Shanghai (Baoshan), China and stop at some of the most cosmopolitan cities along the way.

The Quantum Global Odyssey goes on sale to Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society members first on May 20, 2014 and to the general public on May 22.

Quantum of the Seas will sail its nearly two-month, epic journey around the world via the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean. 

If 53-nights is a bit too much, you can also choose from five other mini-sailings built into the 53-night affair, ranging from three to 16 nights.

• An 11-night Ocean Voyage – Cape Liberty to Spain cruise, departing May 2, 2015, from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, N.J., to Barcelona, Spain, with calls at Ponta Delgada, Azores; and Cartagena and Palma De Mallorca, Spain, 

• A 16-night Suez Canal – Barcelona to Dubai itinerary, departing May 13, with calls at Rome (Civitavecchia) and Naples/Capri, Italy; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; and Aqaba, Jordan, 

• A 14-night India & Southeast Asia itinerary, departing May 29, which features overnights in Dubai, UAE; Cochin, India; and Singapore, as well as calls at Muscat, Oman; and Penang, Malaysia, 

• A 3-night Short Malaysia itinerary, departing roundtrip from Singapore on June 12 , calling at Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia, 

• And a nine-night Exotic Asia itinerary that departs June 15 from Singapore to Shanghai (Baoshan), China, with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam; Xiamen, China; and an overnight in Hong Kong.