Dubai has only been a cruise destination since the opening of its cruise terminal in July 2010 but already it's popularity continues to grow.

Royal Caribbean's General Manager for the UK and Ireland, Jo Rzymowska, sees the growth potential for cruises in and out of Dubai, "Dubai is really starting to boom on the cruising map - more than 325,000 people passed through the Cruise Terminal in 2010 and this is set to increase in 2011.”

Royal Caribbean should know exactly how well Dubai has been performing considering it's one of two cruise lines to home-port a ship in the Middle Eastern city.  

Dubai has been popular with Europeans, especially those in the UK, “Brilliance of the Seas is returning to Dubai in November 2011, two months earlier than her season in 2010, due to a really successful response to the Middle East cruises from UK travellers.”

The Yorkshire Evening Post sent writer Rod McPhee on a seven night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas to take a look at how good an offering this cruise is. McPhee was looking to erase the notion that cruises are "the preserve of old couples and newlyweds, or perhaps husbands and wives who suddenly find they’ve some spare cash now the kids have grown up".

His seven night cruise departed from Mallorca and visited Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga and Gibraltar before returning to Palma.

McPhee found himself impressed by Grandeur of the Seas and all that it had to offer, "Even though it’s not Royal Caribbean’s biggest vessel it boasts a huge array of rooms, ranging from inside staterooms without windows to large suites with balconies.  Of an evening you can spend time wandering from one end of the boat to the other, either as an observer or a participant."

Of all the port stops McPhee made, he found Malaga to be the most surprising and his favorite, "Malaga is the biggest surprise. Though not as famous as other destinations in the corner of the Mediterranean, it is a city with an authentic atmosphere. Yes, there are many tourist attractions, such as the cathedral and coastline, but there is the sense that this place services the lifestyle of ordinary Spaniards, rather than holidaymakers."

Interestingly, McPhee (who is from the United Kingdom) was sure to point out some nuances of cruising that his readers should be aware of.

You will be expected to pay tips to crew, not just to your cabin cleaner but the head waiter, table waiter and deputy table waiter.

The management will send you letters in which they suggest how much each staff member should receive from each guest, per day and give you the chance to remunerate them by credit card.

There are no irons available for use. Instead you must pay the laundry team to press your clothing.

Also be aware of the fact that, if you’re coming from Britain, you’re likely to change your pounds into Euros only to discover that you’ll then lose more money by being forced to change your euros into the ship’s currency, which is US dollars.

If you're an aspiring actor and have a love for cruising, perhaps your dream job opportunity is finally here.  Royal Caribbean is holding auditions in Chicago, IL August 16-18 for its Hairspray show on Oasis of the Seas.  Auditions take place at Lou Conte Dance Studio.

The auditions, being held by Royal Caribbean Productions, are looking for Professional Singers, Dancers and Improvisational Comedic Actors to perform in its Hairspray show as well as another show on Oasis of the Seas, "Come Fly With Me".

Singers - Come prepared with your best 16 - 32 bars of 2 contrasting up-tempos: 1st style Musical Theater (a la Hairspray) and 2nd, a Contemporary Pop/R&B piece. Sheet music is required in the proper key. Singers will also be taught a movement combination.

Dancers - (not required to sing) - We are casting versatile dancers who are athletic with strong technique in ballet and jazz. Tap dancing and dancers who have aerial skills a plus, however not required.

Improvisational Comedic Actors - We are casting Improvisational Comedic Actors with at least 2 years performance experience. Play age range 30 - 40 yrs old (see below). Teaching experience a plus. Come prepared to improvise and read sides from the musical Hairspray.

They will also be casting for all 21 ships.

AUGUST 16TH
9:00AM - Singer Open Call Sign-in
9:30AM - Singer Open Call Auditions

AUGUST 17TH
9:00AM - Singer Callbacks
3:00PM - Improvisational Comedian/Actor Audition (please plan to stay for
the afternoon)

AUGUST 18TH
9:00AM - Dancer Sign-in
9:30AM - Dancer Audition

Casting Improvisational Comedian/Actors to fill the following roles:

VELMA VON TUSSLE
Female, Caucasian, plays 40s, may look younger. A former beauty
queen. Upscale, attractive, and prejudiced snob who always wants
her daughter in the spotlight.

PRUDY PINGLETON
Female, Caucasian, Actress plays various zany roles including Prudy
Pingleton, uptight and small-minded mother. Also plays a sadistic
high school gym teacher. Must be a sharp, funny, inventive character.

WILBUR TURNBLAD
Male, Caucasian, plays 40s - 50s. A working class inventor. Sweet, goofy,
childlike personality. Funny, good character singer (vocal ability
preferable and not necessary.) Also plays various zany roles including a
condescending high school principal; a flamboyant fashion boutique owner; a
cop. Must be an inventive character actor. We will be casting Singers to
fill the following roles:

EDNA TURNBLAD (STARRING ROLE/COMEDIAN/BASS-BARITONE)
Male to play female, Caucasian, large physique, plays 40s-50s. Sincere and
honest, not camp drag. Strong acting and comic ability a must. 60's
Baltimore housewife, "larger-than-life" character actor with singing
ability to convincingly play mother of Tracy.

TRACY TURNBLAD (STARRING ROLE/SINGER/ MEZZO)
Female, Caucasian, 5'3' or shorter, to play high school age. Must be
heavyset. Outgoing, unstoppable, goodhearted with vibrant, lovable,
spirited personality. Loves to dance. Strong pop belt singer and great
mover.

LINK LARKIN (SINGER/HIGH BARITONE)
Male, Caucasian, to play high school age. Handsome, sexy, clean-cut,
goodhearted, down-to-earth. The heartthrob of the local TV teen dance show.
Strong pop singer and great mover.

MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE (SINGER)
Female, African-American, plays 40s - 50s. Seaweed and Little Inez's
mother. Queen of Baltimore Soul, a radio DJ. Powerful and inspiring, with
infectious, brassy personality. Strong, soulful, gospel/pop singer.

CORNY COLLINS (SINGER/TENOR)
Male, Caucasian, plays 30s. Host of the local TV teen dance show.
Handsome, charming, engaging, smooth. Strong pop singer, movement a plus.

SEAWEED J. STUBBS (SINGER/TENOR)
Male, African-American, to play high school age; Penny's boyfriend. Cool,
sexy, street smart, goodhearted. Strong, soulful, tenor pop singer and
great mover.

PENNY PINGLETON (SINGER/HIGH BELT)
Female, Caucasian, to play high school age. Ditzy, neurotic, devoted best
friend of Tracy. Very funny with good physique. Pop singer with strong
belt, good mover.

LITTLE INEZ (SINGER/HIGH BELT)
Female, African-American, plays young, Seaweed's lovable little sister.
Spunky, tough, streetwise, outgoing, older than her years. Soulful voice,
strong belt, great mover.

AMBER VON TUSSLE
(This role will be cast out of the dancers. It is a speaking role with
non-singing requirements)

Tropical Storm Gert formed in the Atlantic last week and has caused a delay for Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

A Royal Caribbean representative indicated that Explorer of the Seas was scheduled to dock at King's Wharf, Bermuda at 9am today but its arrival was delayed due to the storm.  Royal Caribbean is still expecting Explorer of the Seas to arrive in Bermuda later on today.

ATM fees have become a nuisance we've all come to deal with but some ATM fees are worse than others but in Bankrate.com's 2010 Checking Study, it was revealed that Royal Caribbean is among the worst.

The study looked at ATM fees across the United States and said the average ATM fee is roughly $2.33.  Hotels, however, ranked consistantly higher than the median fee with cruise ships (floating hotels) were particularly high.  On cruise ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, for example, expect to pay $5.50 for the privilege of using the ATM, plus your own bank's "off-us" charge.

If you're looking to avoid ATM fees, experts recommend getting enough cash before your cruise from your local bank or credit union.  And if you need more money, using debit or credit cards are a good way to avoid ATM fees.

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas makes stops in Busan, South Korea and that has meant a lot of money for the city. How much money?  Well, of the 1,800 passengers onboard the ship, all but 250 were foreign tourists and each foreign tourist represents on average $140 to $180.  That comes out to an economic impact for each ship stop of about $267,000.

Lee Gap-jun, head of Busan’s culture and tourism department talks about the value of cruise passengers, "According to research from the Korea Maritime Institute, the added value of one cruise ship passenger is equivalent to that of exporting one container box.  If there’s a constant increase in cruise ships entering the port of Busan, it will translate into economic growth for the city of Busan.”

Thanks to Busan's success, other South Korean cities are competing now to attract ships like Legend of the Seas, including Incheon, Jeju and Yeosu.

Jamaica is back in the top-10 fastest-growing cruise destinations in the region after not making the list for the last five years.  Jamaica posted double-digit growth between January and May 2011, growth that has coincided with the opening of the Falmouth cruise port in February of this year.

Since February, Falmouth has seen nearly 181,650 passengers and 65,400 crew arrive which translates to generating $15.8 million in passenger expenditure.  

Falmouth was developed by the Port Authority of Jamaica in partnership with Royal Caribbean Cruise Limited (RCCL), whose investments were estimated at $167 million and $102 million, respectively.  Royal Caribbean has promised to send eight million cruise passengers over the next 8 years into Falmouth.

Ahead of Jamaica is St Maarten with 21.5% growth, followed by the Bahamas at 16% and Jamaica in third with 12.6%.

Cruise Compare published its list of the top five family cruise liners and Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas made their list.  The list was compiled from input from the websites' social networking fans.

1. Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas
2. Carnival Magic
3. P&O Cruises Ventura
4. Disney Fantasy
5. Norweigian Epic

Oasis of the Seas was picked for having a lot for the family to do, including an ice rink, tropical gardens, Zip Line’s carousel, youth zone, DreamWorks Experience and water park.

Two Royal Caribbean workers from the West Indies appeared in a Bermuda court on August 12, charged with drug importation.  One of the men plead guilty while the other defendant pleaded not guilty. Both men were remanded into custody.

The two workers were charged with importing an estimated 200 grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of just over $52,000.  Crown Counsel Tawana Tannock told the court the drugs were found in the soles of the shoes worn by one of the men as he disembarked from the Royal Caribbean ship earlier this month. A search revealed a small brown package in each shoe.

North America has been the perennial leader in cruising for so many years now but Royal Caribbean's Chairman Richard Fain thinks that will change.  During the launch of Celebrity Cruise's newest ship (Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity Cruises), Fain made this profound prediction, "Next year, the rest of the world will book more cruises than North America".

Given how Royal Caribbean has distributed its fleet in recent years, it's really no surprise.  Half of Royal Caribbean's fleet is based in Europe.  In addition, Royal Caribbean is adding capacity  in Asia and Australia and they're also opening sales offices in the countries from which its ships will cruise.

With high airfares, many North Americans chose not to cruise in Europe this year, and many believe the strength in the Alaska market is a result of that reluctance.