Royal Caribbean's plans for New Zealand this summer will be in contrast to the rest of the cruise industry because it will bring more passengers to the country this year.

Royal Caribbean estimates it will carry somewhere between 80-85,000 passengers, up from around 60,000 passengers last season.

The increase for Royal Caribbean is opposite the trend for the rest of the cruise industry, which is projecting a dip in passengers to New Zealand from 211,000 last year to just 200,000 this year.

Royal Caribbean commercial director for Australia and New Zealand, Adam Armstrong, said the increase can be attributed to a longer season for megaship Voyager of the Seas as well as sister-brand Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Solstice.

Armonstrong also indicated that New Zealand is becoming a more popular cruise destination internationally and more ships were becoming available after cruising around Asia during the northern summer.

"More ships are being based in this part of the world, particularly in Asia. We benefit from that because of the seasonality - our ships migrate by following the sun," Armstrong said.

"It needs to keep doing what it's doing. What New Zealand has been good at is handling larger ships and that's what other ports elsewhere haven't been able to keep pace with, you're very fortunate to have deep-water ports for cargo that can be adapted for cruise ships."

The world's best naval and structural architects are turning a complicated concept into reality. Two70 on Royal Caribbean International's Quantum-class will give guests spectacular views and thrilling shows in the cruise industry's most transformational space.

There's something about a Royal Caribbean cruise that compels people to try new things. Some may tackle trying to stand up on the FlowRider, others may try to get into the Love and Marriage game show.

Personally, I like to try new foods and it's because of a Royal Caribbean cruise that I joined so many others in indulging (and liking) the escargot.

Escargot, better known as cooked snails, is a delicacy that sounds downright awful but escargot on Royal Caribbean has become a real staple appetizer in the Main Dining Room. I think a lot of people order it as a goof (it doesn't cost anything extra to try) and after the giggles subside, these same people come away actually enjoying it.  

The menu describes the escargots bourguignonne as, "tender snails drenched in melted garlic-herb butter." Drenched is the right word because they come in a serving plate soaked in the salty butter sauce. There's so much butter and it's so salty that it's hard to really taste the actual snail. And if you eat it with bread, well, you probably won't even feel the texture.

Escargot has become a staple appetizer that I order every time I can. If you happen to see escargot as an option on your next Royal Caribbean cruise, laugh all you want but you really should order it for a high-class tasty snack!

Below is the escargot recipe from Royal Caribbean.

Escargot Recipe

Garlic Butter

2 tbs chopped, fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tea Dijon mustard
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 
1/2 tea Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tea cognac

Escargot

24 canned snails, drained
1 medium shallot finely chopped 
1 tbs dry sherry 
Salt to taste
French baguette slices

Escargot instructions

1. For the garlic butter: In a food processor, combine the parsley, garlic, and mustard. Season with white pepper. Process for 1 minute. Add a stick butter, the Worcestershire sauce and cognac, and process for 2 minutes. Transfer the butter mixture to a small bowl and set aside. 
2. For the snails: Rinse the snails in a small colander under cold running water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. In a saute pan, heat the remaining 1/2 stick butter over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring until softened, and translucent. Add the snails and saute until completely heated through about one minute. Stir in the sherry and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400F. Transfer the snails to shells or to snail plates (if using the shells, divide them among 4 ovenproof dishes). Cover each snail completely with the reserved butter mixture. 
4. Bake for a few minutes, or just until the snails are hot and the butter is completely melted and brown on top (do not overbake or the flavor of the butter will be compromised). Serve immediately with the slices of the French baguette for dipping.

Royal Caribbean conducted a survey among residents of Australia and found two thirds of the respondents said they believed that getting away from it all would make Christmas better and 50% said that a getaway was the number one thing that would make school holidays better.

This, of course, plays right into what Royal Caribbean can offer these people looking for an escape by touting December cruises. Royal Caribbean says 40% of Australians said that they would most like to go on a cruise with their family and are happy for the family to come along.

Among the reasons Australians are looking to get away were concerns over money and household chores are the primary reasons they did not enjoy being at home for the holiday.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Australasia Commercial Director Adam Armstrong said, “A cruise is a great value option at Christmas time with prices including meals, accommodation and lots of entertainment, and of course there’s no arguing over who’s going to do the washing up!”

He added that it is hard not to get into the holiday spirit with all the special activities on board a Royal Caribbean cruise at Christmas time, with the season coming to life with carol singing, Christmas parties, visits from Santa, holiday-inspired menus and Christmas treats such as gingerbread houses built by talented onboard pastry chefs.

Three Royal Caribbean ships will offer cruises out of Australia during the Christmas holiday, which include Radiance of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean welcomed its 50 millionth guest onboard its cruise ships, which in turn will kick off a year-long celebration honoring the cruise line's guests, business partners, employees and crew.

To celebrate, Royal Caribbean will offer a New Year’s Eve-style party, on each of Royal Caribbean’s ships guests will find shipboard festivities. The onboard events will mark the start of a year-long campaign where consumers are encouraged to share their favorite WOW moments with Royal Caribbean over the years by posting photos, videos and memorable stories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #RoyalWOW.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on the milestone, "For more than 45 years, Royal Caribbean’s guiding principle has been to deliver the WOW to our guests, providing them with experiences, services and amenities that can only be found on Royal Caribbean.  The men and women on our ships who deliver these WOW moments are what inspire our loyal guests to return to sail with us again and again."

If you liked a little of everything when it comes to Royal Caribbean news then this was the week for you.  

Over the course of the week we learned more about Quantum of the Seas and what we can expect from it.  It's clear that people are excited to know everything they can about this ship and we started out with a list of everything we know about the virtual balcony.  

This was followed up by an interesting list of frequently asked questions about Quantum of the Seas that gave us a few more details about venues, dining, entertainment and more.

Royal Caribbean News

• If Royal Caribbean wants to build a fourth Oasis-class cruise ship, they have to decide by December.
• There's a new video of Quantum of the Seas' keel-laying and Anthem of the Seas' steel-cutting ceremonies.
• We shared a secret spot on Allure of the Seas to check out if you want to get away from the crowds.
• Have you considered buying the unlimited alcohol packages on your next Royal Caribbean cruise?  We broke down the cost per day to see how much you really need to drink to make it worth while.
• Royal Caribbean is launching an 11-day sale for residents of the United Kingdom.
• We had our very first edition of Friday Photos, where we shared your Royal Caribbean vacation photos.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is live!  We're covering eveyrthing Royal Caribbean and inviting you to explore every aspect of a great cruise vacation.  Check it out at RoyalCaribbeanPodcast.com!

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

We want to hear from you when it comes to this podcast because we want it to be an interactive show.  If you have questions, comments or thoughts, share them with us.  We might even include it on the show!

Take a listen to Episode 1 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast!

Join us for the first ever Royal Caribbean Blog Cruise!

We're so excited to announce the first ever group cruise for readers and staff of RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com aboard Quantum of the Seas!  This is an exclusive group where we are inviting you, our readers, to join us on one of the first Quantum of the Seas sailings on an 8-night cruise to the Caribbean.

This Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise is all about enjoying this brand new ship with other fans who are big fans of Royal Caribbean.  Don't miss this opportunity to check out the brand new cruise ship as well as be a part of exclusive events for those that book with our group!

For more details on booking the cruise, the itinerary and prices, check out the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise page and if you have any questions, email me!

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Travel Weekly has a detailed post about how Haiti wants to lure Royal Caribbean passengers beyond Labadee.

Inverclydenow mentions a visit by Vision of the Seas.

The CLIA is touting innovations in cruising that are coming soon, such as virtual balconies coming to Navigator of the Seas.

RoyalCaribbeanPR is reporting Explorer of the Seas will receive a new parade called "Royalapalooza", which first debuted on Mariner of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean announce it is cancelling its three cruises in Quebec, Canada for Brilliance of the Seas.

Port of Quebec spokesman, Anick Métivier, commented on the decision, "This is a repositioning of the ship that the cruise line has decided to do.  Cruise lines reposition their ships generally based on fluctuations of the international market, and it is beyond our control."

As a result of the cancellation, the Port of Quebec has downgraded its projections for cruise passengers for the year from 117,500 to 111,000.  Despite the cancellation, this will still be the second best cruise season ever for Quebec.

Two other Royal Caribbean ships are still planning cruises to Quebec.  Explorer of the Seas will be arriving in Quebec from September 18 to 20, 2013 and another visit planned in 2014.  Legend of the Seas will make her inaugural visit to Quebec in 2014 as well.

We're starting a new weekly feature on Royal Caribbean Blog called "Friday Photos", where each Friday we will feature photos from the Royal Caribbean vacations of our readers.  

We asked for submissions earlier this week and you can always send us your photos for future blog posts.  We'd love to feature photos of the ships, excursions, activities onboard and anything else that reminds you of a great time while sailing with Royal Caribbean.

Let's go to this week's photos and we've got some great ones to kickstart this feature.

Our first photo is from Jeff Robertson and he describes it as, "This is my girlfriend Sarah drinking a labadoozie and floating in front of The Freedom of the Seas".  Looks perfect!

Next up is Susan Cavalieri, who sent in this picture from the Concierge beach on CocoCay.  According to her, it's "possibly the most beautiful beach I've ever spent time on".  

This photo is from Dawn Lytten, who is taking a page from Royal Caribbean's last marketing campaign by saying, "I'm the one who answered to the sea calling."

Next up is from KateSMUA (a name only a mother could love) and says, "check out this pic of me & my friend on the amazing horse riding trip in Falmouth!".  I really don't think riding a horse on the beach ever gets old.

This photo is from Harry Yerikyan and I love seeing the scale of these massive cruise ships.  In this case, it's Oasis of the Seas on the left and a Celebrity Cruise ship next door.  

Patricia Hall sent us this photo of Freedom of the Seas in the Caribbean.  Hard to tell which is more beautiful: the ship or the water color!

Last but not least, Daniel Stober sent in this photo taken from an aft balcony looking out.  Sometimes there's no beating enjoying the view from your balcony and taking it all in.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their photos this week.  Be sure to send your photos in as well by using this form.

Last December, Royal Caribbean made headlines when it ordered a third Oasis-class cruise ship and then went on to order 3 Quantum-class cruise ships.  It turns out Royal Caribbean might not be done ordering new cruise ships.

UBS Investment Research cruise industry financial analyst Robin Farley says Royal Caribbean currently has an option for a fourth Oasis-class order.  If ordered, that fourth Oasis-class ship would be delivered in mid-2018.

Royal Caribbean must decide relatively soon, as the option for the fourth Oasis-class ship expires in December.

Farley feels lower prices to build new ships, thanks to lack of new ship builds recently, are what may compel Royal Caribbean to consider yet another new cruise ship order.