Royal Caribbean has once again won first prize in the 2012 Canadian Travel Press Agents’ Choice Awards, which is the ninth consecutive year that's occured.

Royal Caribbean Canada director of sales and marketing Lisa Connell commented on the honor, "We are thrilled to receive such a special award from our valued travel agent partners who help make Royal Caribbean International one of the world’s top global cruise brands. It’s been an exciting year with the introduction of a dedicated sales team catering to Canadian travel agents and vacationers in order to further Royal Caribbean International success in this market.”

“We are honored to be recognized as the top cruise line for the ninth consecutive year by our valued travel agent partners in Canada,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president of Sales, Trade Support and Services, Royal Caribbean International. “This recognition re-affirms our ongoing and unwavering support of the travel agent community - what we call Loyal to You Always. Our commitment to building meaningful relationships through personal interaction with travel agents is one of the ways that sets Royal Caribbean apart.”

Royal Caribbean representatives along with representatives from Norwegian Cruise Line met with port officials from Almuñécar, Spain as a possibility for shore excursions on future cruises.

The port cities of Motril and Malaga, Spain were also on hand as these cities were looking for ways to bring back Royal Caribbean after they announced the company would cease port calls to Malaga next year.  

This visit is part of the campaign to promote the Port of Motril as a destination for cruise ships where other cruise lines are already operating with some regularity.

The visit began with a welcome by the Municipal Tourism Coordinator, Rafael Caballero, at the headquarters of the Tourist Board of Almuñecar. In addition to delivering information about the town municipality, Caballero informed the group of the availability of a guided service to show some of the most prominent monuments and archaeological sites.

For municipal representative, Rafael Caballero, the visit of two large cruise line representatives "is very important to Almuñécar so can be assumed in the projection of our community be included in brochures and possible destination of tourists arriving to the port as we have had the opportunity to meet, "he said.

Photo by Aaron Lin from Singapore

If you're looking for a Royal Caribbean "fix" on television, there's a great show set to air soon.  The TV channel Destination America will air "Ultimate Cruise Ship: Building Freedom of the Seas" on Tuesday, June 26 at 8pm Eastern.

The show was produced in 2006 by the Discovery Channel and is still an interesting look at one of Royal Caribbean's biggest ships.

Here's a quick preview of the episode

Royal Caribbean has increased its focus on the Italy cruise market, with an emphasis in Genoa.  An interview was published recently with the new Royal Caribbean commercial manager for Italy, Mario Paquero.

The tragedy of Costa Concordia has strongly affected the entire national market for cruises. You ever expect to have a problem like that?
"We have always believed you could do great numbers, even if there were a couple of months rather difficult for everyone. But things quickly changed and bookings for the current season have gone beyond our expectations. If we also consider the difficult time of global economic crisis this represents for us an even greater success. "

How was it possible to reverse this trend?
"The company has decided to hold rates quite low given the high quality that will still offer the tourist. And then, for that matter, in the cruise price is really all inclusive, those who get on board our ships must not pull out a dollar for extras. "

And in Genoa, which are the next steps of Royal Caribbean?
"First, we plan to increase the number of our direct employees because the company believes very much in the Italian market and the future we hope to witness a fast and progressive growth of the group. Not only that, but from an operational standpoint, the port of Genoa will be reconfirmed as one of the major airports across the country. "

The relationship between the city and the cruise is not always positive: closed shops, a few attractions, little assistance to visitors. You who give judgment?
"I do not think this is true. For our part we have been from the beginning excellent relations with local government, the Port Authority and more generally with all the components of the economic fabric of the city that have supported our investments. By tourists, then there is a high rating to the city and the judgments that have emerged from our evaluation boards are more than good. Of course things can still improve and by the Royal's best efforts to make this happen through a constant dialogue with the institutions and associations. "

Not only Genoa: Your company also believes strongly in the port of La Spezia.
"The port of La Spezia is indisputably a major arrival point for our ships. And this for the extraordinary opportunity offered by the territory, rich in culture, natural beauty and geographically strategic with respect to the most important and famous Italian art cities. "

The cruise market, filed in 2012, will continue to grow?
"The feeling we have right now are positive although it is impossible to predict long-term. The index to the holidays of this type, however, increases from year to year. And this happens not only in the Mediterranean but also throughout the rest of the world. " 

Voyager of the Seas travels in the Far East continues to attract celebrity-like coverage.  This time, Royal Caribbean's largest ship in the region docked in the port of Jeju on Saturday, which is one of Northeast Asia's leading tourist destinations.

Voyager of the Seas pulled into port in the early morning to fanfare from local authorities that included traditional performances.

Jeju prepared special garlands and plaques for the passengers who arrived on the ship.

The provincial government hopes that the arrival of the cruise ship will be followed with other visits, which could help transform the island into a international resort. At present, the island off South Korea’s southeastern coast is a favorite attraction for Chinese and Japanese tourists, although there has been a steady increase of people from other countries.

Jeju Governor Woo Keun-min, who was present to welcome the ship, said the arrival of the cruise ship opened a new chapter for the province. He said that once the naval based in the southern part of the island is completed in two years, 150,000 ton ships will be able to berth easily to disembark tourists. 

Taiwan's cruise market future is looking bright with local and international cruise ship operators taking advantage of new routes, according to the Taiwan International Ports co.

Taiwan's Keelung Port official Jeffrey Tsao said some new cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean, are eyeing the Taiwan cruise market. Royal Caribbean is already planning on sending its Voyager of the Seas ship three times to Keelung this August and September .

"Taiwan's market for international cruise tourism is huge as our location is good for travel in Asia," he said.