Photo by Ambius

A Royal Caribbean sponsored excursion in St Martin ended in an accident when thirty-six passengers were on a bus that crashed into a ditch last Thursday.  No major injuries although a few were taken to a local hospital.

The accident occurred when the bus was trying to avoid a taxi heading up a steep hill.  The bus hit the taxi, causing it to overturn.

The passengers were on an excursion from Freedom of the Seas to visit Loterie Farm for a treetop ropes courtse and zipline adventure.  The bus was taking them from Philipsburg, St Maarten to St. Martin.

Six passengers from the United States and the bus driver were injured according to Royal Caribbean. The injuries were minor, with the worst being a broken wrist.  

All the injured "were immediately transported to the local Louis Constant Fleming Hospital for treatment." Guest care team members and a ship doctor remained with the passengers during their stay at the hospital. All returned to the ship the same day. The guest care team and onboard medical team also continued to provide onboard treatment for passengers, including counseling, for those who asked for it. 

Royal Caribbean is looking to attract more cruisers from Spain and has developed an interactive online cruise guide to help those new to cruising become acclimated to the process.

The guide is a series of videos that are introduced by a friendly hostess, who takes novice cruisers through various sections that address typical concerns for people who are cruising for the first time. 

These short videos show statements by people that have cruised a lot and they also can learn about the destinations Royal Caribbean serves as well as the ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet.  There's also access to frequently asked questions.

For fans of steampunk, there's a new cruise theme for you.  The Steampunk Cruise and Duchess of Nola High Seas Ball will be held on Navigator of the Seas on March 16, 2013.

The cruise offers on-board workshops and performances from established steampunk writers, speakers, artists and musicians.

Steampunk is defined as Victorian science fiction, which is basically how industrialized 19th century people would have viewed science fiction.  Steampunk uses this existing technology and structure to imagine an even more advanced 19th century, often complete with Victorian-inspired wonders like steam-powered aircraft and mechanical computers.

Other events aboard the cruise include

• The Steampunk Duchess Of Nola High Seas Ball
• The Chrononauts Parade
• The Magnificent Captain’s Formal Night on the Navigator of the Seas
• Performances by Hellblinki Sextet in the exquisite Shipboard Ixtapa Lounge
• Performances by Unwoman under the stars
• Appearances by the infamous Mary Robinette Kowal, Writer and Puppeteer
• Appearances by the renowned Author GD Falksen
• Readings with award winning Author Jay Lake
• Mind-bending Steampunk Confabulations on everything from, Steampunk History, to the Future of our Past
• Steampunk Film Festival sharing some of the best Steampunk Movies and shorts
• Ballroom Dance class and Dance Attitudinal workshop
• Sunset Sail Aways of Romantic Splendor
• Dinners in the magnificent three tiered Formal Dining Room
• Late Night Rendezvous on the top deck all glass wrap around Viking Crown Lounge
• Tea Get Togethers as you step back in time in the Dungeon Dance Club
• The Steampunk Cruise Craftroom Extravaganza Gatherings
• The Great Mad Scientists Monologue Competition
• Vintage Bathing Suit Contest Deck-side as we sail out to sea…
• Pipe and Brandy after dinner in the Connoisseurs Club (cost not included)
• Formal Portraits in your Costumed Best with amazing backdrops and green screen.
• Cocktail Party with Prizes for the weeks best! Prizes, Swag and so much more!
• Optional High Tea excursions in Jamaica and Grand Cayman ( Add on cost)

More information on the cruise can be found at steampunkcruise.com

Voyager of the Seas became the fifth ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet to offer the Dreamworks Experience onboard.

Characters from “Madagascar”, “Shrek”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “Puss in Boots” will be available to guests to meet and see.  Voyager joins Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the ships that offer the Dreamworks package.

The ship, which offers itineraries of four to fourteen nights out of Shanghai and Beijing, will now offer special entertainment options to its passengers such as parades, character breakfasts in the main dining room or surprise encounters with the characters.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on the addition, "Extending the DreamWorks Experience to  Voyager of the Seas illustrates, even more, our commitment to the Chinese market and the regions of Asia and Australia."

Voyager of the Seas passengers will also be able to watch 3D movies like "Puss in Boots" or the latest film from the Dreamworks, Madagascar 3: Lost in Europe.

After China, where the ship will be until October, Voyager of the Seas will operate on the Australian mainland, in November, departing from Sydney, performing routes from eight to 18 nights in Australia and New Zealand.  

Adventure of the Seas rescued 19 people early this morning, who were trying to get to Spain from Morocco.

The small boat was sighted in the waters bordering Almeria and Murcia, Spain at about ten o'clock at night when many passengers were eating dinner.  The rescue took about 45 minutes around the area of Costa del Sol.

Of the 19 immigrants, mostly from Morocco, eight are children. All are in good health, except for the only woman traveling with them, 31 weeks pregnant, was taken to a hospital for further examination. Upon arrival at the port of Malaga, all immigrants were assisted by Red Cross and then turned over to the state security forces.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas became the largest cruise ship to visit Busan, South Korea on July 19th after she made her maiden call.

Voyager of the Seas stopped at the second largest city in South Korea as part of her first season in the far east.

Lee Jae-Myung, Royal Caribbean's representative in South Korea, commented on the occasion, “We are proud to have added yet another popular Korean destination to Voyager of the Seas’ North Asian itineraries.”

“Busan, a cosmopolitan city with breath-taking mix of hills, mountains and the ocean, has always been one of Royal Caribbean’s top destinations in the region. With our multiple calls lined up this season, thousands of international guests will be able to enjoy the city’s scenic beauty, tourist attractions and famous seafood delights.”

Voyager of the Seas will also be calling at Fukuoka and Okinawa on the seven night cruise from Shanghai. Other itineraries in the ship’s Asian season include three and five night cruises from Singapore, along with five and seven night cruises from Shanghai and Tianjin. She will be calling at Busan six more times this year.

A Green Tech Marine GTM R15 compact exhaust gas scrubber recently installed aboard Royal Caribbean's cruise ship Liberty of the Seas has received a MARPOL "Statement of Compliance" certificate from DNV.

This scrubber has shown that the measurements of exhaust gas emission and wash water criteria have been shown to be well below the required limits stated in the MEPC guideline 184(59). This will ensure Liberty of the Seas is compliant with the 0.1 percent sulfur limit that will be required in ECAs from 2015.

Beyond the efficient removal of SOx and other particles, the GTM R15 offers a number of advantages over other scrubbers, such as its minimal footprint requirement and low weight. It is also energy efficient, requiring virtually no external chemicals and allowing for installation during operation.

The GTM R15 that Green Tech Marine and Royal Caribbean are pilot testing was installed onboard Liberty of the Seas while the ship was in service. The compact design required no extra space as the scrubber replaced the ship's exhaust silencer.

Prior to the shipboard pilot, a preliminary scrubber test was performed shore side in Norway for 11 months. After several visits to analyze the scrubber's performance, Royal Caribbean committed to a pilot test.

Over the next 4-6 months Green Tech will continue to test the GTM R15 onboard Liberty of the Seas to demonstrate that the scrubber can be operated continuously over a sustained period of time and maintain the same positive results as the initial tests achieved.

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on July 26, 2012 at 10am to discuss its second quarter 2011 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.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said more than half of travel agents they polled are claiming to be selling more cruises this year, compared to last year.  Moreover, 25% said by midyear the numbers were similar to 2011.

This is good news for the cruise industry after the Costa Concordia shipwreck hurt bookings, but the industry sees that as an "isolated event".

Travel agents report that 15 percent expected growth of more than 25% this year compared to last year and another 25% predict a rise of 11-15 percent.

CLIA president, Christine Duffy, commented on the news, ""Particularly for the U.S. consumer market, people certainly saw the Costa Concordia as a terrible tragedy that was a very isolated event and not indicative of how the broader cruise industry operates. And I think that bears out in the fact that we are seeing cruise bookings up over the same time last year. There is still a lot of consumer confidence in the cruise product."