After announcing a new class of cruise ships last month, Royal Caribbean signed an agreement with German shipyard Meyer Werft to build them.  Previously the two companies had  signed a letter of intent but Royal Caribbean has now signed an agreement that will solidify the deal.

The new class of ships, called "Project Sunshine", will be a 4,100 passenger ship that is scheduled to be delivered in the fall of 2014.  The agreement also allows for an option for a second ship for delivery in spring 2015.

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism Richard “Ricky” Skerritt announced that Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, will make a stop to St. Kitts in December 2011.

Allure will make a stop at the island's Port Zante cruise pier on December 30.

Royal Caribbean's vice president of Government Relations, Michael Ronan, is excited about the news of bringing Allure to St. Kitts for the first time, "Royal Caribbean International is delighted to bring the world-renowned Allure of the Seas to St. Kitts. While Allure of the Seas is the world’s largest and most revolutionary cruise ship, the ship’s ports of call are also very important to our guests. We look forward to bringing more of them to beautiful and vibrant St. Kitts."

Royal Caribbean now expects 45 ports of call to St. Kitts in the 2011-2012 season by its ships, doubling the 2010-2011 season when just 20 calls were made there.

Royal Caribbean announced it will partner with FUNA International to provide stereoscopic 3D digital cinema to Royal Caribbean's brand new Allure of the Seas.  Thanks to Royal Caribbean's partnership with Dreamworks Animation, the deal with FUNA will make it possible for guests on Allure of the Seas to enjoy all the current 3D DreamWorks titles as well as other 3D movies, in the ship's Amber Theater.

Christopher Vlassopulos, Entertainment Technology and Technical Direction for Royal Caribbean International had this to say about the new deal, "We called upon FUNA and their team to come up with creative technical design solutions in a number of areas including physical placement, additional cooling and power and integration with the existing audio system, and the result is a 3D movie experience as good as or better than any land-based theater.  On testing the finished product, people at the highest level at Barco [projection supplier], DreamWorks and Dolby [sound system supplier] were 'blown away' with the result. We wanted to do a good job but to impress them out of the gate was a real bonus and obviously something the guest will really enjoy. It looks and sounds great."

In addition to Allure of the Seas, other Royal Caribbean ships are set to receieve the 3D theater upgrade. Vlassopulos confirmed that Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas will reveive the 3D upgrade.

In addition to the new theater, FUNA has provided technical design, engineering, integration and consulting for entertainment, display and communications in most of the theaters, restaurants, clubs, and public spaces - as well as the crew recreation and support areas.

Heavy fog in Galveston, Texas harbor delayed the launch of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas after the port closed for the second straight weekend.

Because of the fog, Royal Caribbean had to delay the arrival of Voyager of the Seas and subsequently, the departure of the next cruise itinerary.

Photo by Francisco Junior

Jamaican authorities arrested two Royal Caribbean crew members after finding cocaine while Grandeur of the Seas was docked in Montego Bay.

Customs agents discovered 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of drugs in one of the crew members cain and 15 kilograms (33 pounds) in another cabin on the ship Grandeur of the Seas,

Royal Caribbean said in a statement. The ship had just arrived on Wednesday from the Colombian port of Cartagena. Cynthia Martinez, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman, said both crew members are Jamaicans and that the company is cooperating with authorities in the investigation

Photo by DJ Lee Rockstarr

Heavy fog on Sunday at the ports of Houston and Galveston, Texas delayed the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas.  Officials said the fog caused hours of delays before she could dock.

Due to the fog, Voyager of the Seas was not able to dock on Sunday on time.  This resulted in a day shortened cruise for the cruise that was supposed to depart on Sunday afternoon.  Passengers were able to board on Sunday evening but the ship wasn't ready to leave until Monday according to a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman.  While the ship will now be a day shorter in duration, it will still make all 3 stops that were originally scheduled in Roatan, Belize and Cozumel.