Royal Caribbean has been working hard, along with the rest of the cruise industry, to prepare its cruise ships for new air pollution rules set to go into effect in 2015.  The fear is these new laws will make North American cruises more expensive and so Royal Caribbean has been slowly rolling out a solution to its cruise ships that will aim to be compliant without being too expensive.

The new rules are part of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), which surrounds the United States and Canada and extends up to 200 miles offshore.

Royal Caribbean's plan is to add "scrubbers" to their ships.  Scrubbers remove pollutants from engine exhaust as a kind of filter.  The downside to scrubbers is the technology is still a work in progress and requires a variance permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Royal Caribbean is planning on installing scrubbers on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas when they are built.  They've already been testing scrubbers on Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas and the EPA has granted trial exemptions for six Royal Caribbean ships.   In addition, it has authorized an “emissions averaging” solution in certain subregions of the ECA in which Royal can use fuels with differing sulfur levels, as long as the average equivalent sulfur emissions meet the ECA limits.

The 2013 AFTA National Travel Industry Awards winners were announced and Royal Caribbean took home the honor for "Best Cruise Operator – Australian Based Operation".

Australian Federation of Travel Agents CEO Jayson Westbury said Royal Caribbean was bringing "big, yummy, affordable" ships to Australia.

The NTIA is an annual event in Australia, where leaders in the travel field are recognized by members of the The Australian Federation of Travel Agents.

Royal Caribbean also won an award in last year's event for, "Best Cruise Operator - International Based Operation".

It was hot this week outside and the Royal Caribbean news was heating up as well with a little bit of news about some new yet-to-be-built Royal Caribbean cruise ships emerging.

So crank up the air conditioning and enjoy this week's Royal Caribbean news roundup!

Royal Caribbean News

• A company has been selected to provide all of the steel for the third Oasis-class cruise ship that will be built.
• Royal Caribbean is promising to keep a cruise ship in Baltimore despite other cruise lines leaving.
• Royal Caribbean is offering a sale on Christmas week cruises until the end of this month to spur some new holiday traditions.
• We now know handicapped accessible cabin information onboard Quantum of the Seas.
• Do you love labadoozies as much as we do? This week we took a look at this signature Royal Caribbean drink.
• If you're looking to book an excursion on your own, check out our guide to third party excursions.
• Royal Caribbean has scheduled its second quarter financial results call for later this month.

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 Agent Central has a comment by a Royal Caribbean official released following a scathing article on using travel agents to book a cruise.

eTravel Blackboard has an article about why the 2014/2015 summer cruise season in Australia will be the biggest yet.

Florida Today has the results of a new study that says the cruise industry is boosting the local economy in South Florida.

Cruize Cast has a new podcast episode out looking at Carnival Cruise Line.

As part of the 2013 Bacardi Cruise Competition, Royal Caribbean won first prize for the best martini cocktail.  The winning drink, called the Med-Mary, was crafted by bartender Enrico Basile.

Royal Caribbean will be including the winning drink as part of their fleet-wide menu.  The drink was created by Basile aboard Navigator of the Seas.

Want to make it at home?  Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• Salt and pepper rim crust 3 cherry tomatoes
• 2 drops balsamic vinegar 2 basil leaves
• 1/2 oz BACARDI® Superior Rum 5 ml simple syrup
• Top up MARTINI® Prosecco Sparkling Wine

PREPARATION

1. Mix the salt with a hint of pepper and make the crust on the rim of the Martini glass or a flute Champagne glass
2. Muddle the 3 cherry tomatoes in a Boston mixing glass
3. Add the drops of balsamic vinegar, the leaves of basil, the BACARDI® Superior Rum and the simple syrup
4. Shake well and double strain in the glass
5. Top up with MARTINI® Prosecco Sparkling Wine

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on July 25, 2013 at 10am to discuss its second quarter 2013 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class ship will be built at STX France shipyard and today ArcelorMittal has been selected to provide 100% of the steel for the hull and 20 bridges in the new ship.

The agreement will supply more than 40,000 tonnes of plates and coils from ArcelorMittal's European sites.

The coils will be produced at Fos-sur-Mer, France and will then be processed into sheets by ArcelorMittal's St Nazaire Distribution Solutions unit.  Afterwards, the coils will then be delivered to STX France.

The plates are being produced by ArcelorMittal Gijon, Spain and shipped to STX France.

Deliveries will commence in September 2013, when construction of the hull will begin.

Hervé Bourrier, CEO, ArcelorMittal France said: "This contract demonstrates our ability to deliver high quality steels and tailored services from our European industrial and sales units, and confirms our long-term presence as a steel supplier to the cruise ship market, one that has seen consistent growth over the last five years."

The ship, which will have around 2,700 cabins, will be delivered in 2016 to Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean is reiterating that it plans to continue to offer cruises out of the port of Baltimore one week after Grandeur of the Seas returned to service.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Royal Caribbean's executive vice president of operations, commented on the company's commitment, "We're sticking with Baltimore.  We're back, and we're ready."

Royal Caribbean added a flag to Grandeur of the Seas that reads "Don't give up the ship", which is a famous quote from the War of 1812, and the line says it will keep the flag flying on Grandeur of the Seas as long as she's based out of the city.  Royal Caribbean says the flag means Grandeur of the Seas is back and that vacationers shouldn't "give up the ship as a vacation option."

Recently competitor cruise line, Carnival Cruise Line, announced it was pulling its cruise ships out of Baltimore in 2014, so Royal Caribbean's statement is good news for a city worried about the future of the cruise ship business in their port.

Royal Caribbean and the port city of Cozumel, Mexico are enjoying good relations, according to Royal Caribbean vice president of government relations Michael Ronan.  Ronan met with Cozumel mayor Aurelio Joaquin Gonzalez prior to participating in the Diagnostic Cruise Tourism Workshop, organized by the Federal Ministry of Tourism.

Ronan said his attendance at this event as a speaker was because of a direct request from the Tourism Ministry to help spread a vision statement for the cruise line segment of tourism. 

During his speech, Ronan explained how relations between the cruise industry and the island of Cozumel have contributed to building Cozumel as a destination that is requested by a lot of vacationers.  Guests say the cruise they want to continue taking will offer destinations in Mexico such as Cozumel, but it will be important to diversify the offerings in Mexico because of different tastes and preferences among cruise passengers.

"It is important for Mexico to remain on par with what is bringing cruise tourists", Ronan said.