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Royal Caribbean International today announced that Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas will be among the cruise line’s ships in 2013 to deliver the culture, history, delectable cuisine and hard-to-resist retail opportunities that Europe has to offer. This latest deployment opening offers 121 sailings on 25 itineraries that call at 30 beautiful ports. When added to already announced Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas’ deployment from Southampton, U.K., Royal Caribbean’s 2013 Europe vacation offerings already feature five of the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ships, sailing to the must-see destinations that make a most exciting and enriching Europe vacation. Royal Caribbean’s 2013 Europe cruises and Cruisetours for these five ships are open for booking and additional deployments in the region will be announced in April. “Royal Caribbean is the perfect choice for couples and families to experience and share all the wonders, flavors and colors of Europe,” said Betsy O’Rourke, senior vice president of Marketing for Royal Caribbean International. “Coupled with our renowned friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service from every staff and crew, these ships already offer vacationers so many amenities that other operators do not, such as the DreamWorks Experience aboard Liberty of the Seas, or a real ice-skating rink featuring breathtaking shows aboard Navigator of the Seas, and even self-leveling pool tables aboard Serenade of the Seas. In fact, Royal Caribbean will be the only cruise line to feature Madagascar 3 in 3-D at sea in Europe this summer aboard Liberty of the Seas, making it a perfect option for families.” As the only ship in Europe to offer the DreamWorks Experience, as well as featuring the first-run Madagascar 3 in 3-D, Liberty of the Seas will delight guests with onboard entertainment featuring the lovable and irreverent characters from DreamWorks Animation’s popular films. Guests can catch DreamWorks Animation’s films in 3-D in the ship’s onboard 3-D theater. Shrek and Fiona, Alex the lion, Po the Dragon Warrior, and many more characters also join in daily to greet guests; offer photo opportunities; and lead themed-activities with kids and young-at-heart guests. Vacationers also can choose a Royal Caribbean Europe Cruisetour to experience the not-to-be-missed destinations that lie inland in Spain and Italy. Royal Caribbean Cruisetours combine a sailing aboard one of the cruise line’s innovative ships with a land tour itinerary, escorted by a regional Adventure Specialist that brings guests to the best attractions to see, at the right time to see them, and get the most of their Europe vacation. Guests stay in premium hotels; and enjoy a stress-free experience where Royal Caribbean makes all the arrangements including transportation, activities and select meals. Vacationers can choose a five-night Venice, Florence & Rome Cruisetour, which features tours of the must-see attractions in the three cities followed by a sailing aboard Navigator of the Seas, or a four-night Madrid & Barcelona Cruisetour, which is coupled with a sailing aboard Serenade of the Seas. Sailing roundtrip from its homeport of Barcelona from April through October 2013, Liberty of the Seas will begin with a series of five-night, Western Mediterranean cruises with calls in France and Italy. Liberty of the Seas will then sail every Sunday on seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries, which call at exciting ports on the French and Italian rivieras, including Provence (Toulon) and Nice (Villefranche), France; and Italy’s Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples. Furthermore, vacationers can choose to embark on a seven-night cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas at Provence (Toulon) or Naples. Called interporting, the option offers guests the flexibility to board a cruise at secondary embarkation ports. In turn, guests are required to sail the itinerary roundtrip back to their respective port of embarkation and enjoy the full cruise experience. Among the Voyager class of ships which first introduced onboard amenities that catered to an active cruise vacation, Navigator of the Seas will sail seven-night roundtrip itineraries from Rome (Civitavecchia) and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ports of call include Sicily (Messina), Italy; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; and Athens (Pireus) and Chania (Souda), Crete, in Greece. Vacationers also can choose to embark their seven-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Sicily. Serenade of the Seas offers vacationers a choice of 12-night Mediterranean Greek Isles and Mediterranean Venice itineraries, both sailing round trip from Barcelona. Vacationers can choose among several variations, but nearly all Mediterranean Greek Isles itineraries feature calls in Cannes, France; Italian cities of Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples (Salerno); and Greek ports of Athens (Piraeus) and Santorini; and Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey. The Mediterranean Venice itinerary also offers several variations, but all feature an overnight call in Venice, as well as calls in Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, and Ravenna, Italy, and a call at either Cannes, France, or Monte Carlo, Monaco. 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CARNIVAL VICTORY DECEMBER 2001, MY BIRTHDAY CRUISE

CRUISE CRAZIES PLEASE POST OFTEN & HAPPY TO HAVE U ABOARD JOHN & JACKIE

The terms “cruise ship” and “ocean liner” are often used interchangeably. However, while both are types of passenger ships, there is a difference. An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport passengers from point A to point B. The classic example of such a voyage would be a transatlantic crossing from Europe to America. Because a ship could encounter any type of weather on such a voyage, an ocean liner must be built strongly, using a great deal of steel in the hull. Their bows are long and tapered to allow them to cut through the waves. They have a deep draft in order to be more stable. In addition, in order to make the voyage within a reasonable time, they are built so as to be able to go fast. Classic examples of ocean liners are the SS United States, the Normandie and the Queen Elizabeth 2. The only ship built as an ocean liner in recent years is Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. Cruise ships are built for the purpose of taking passengers on a journey that begins and ends in the same port. A classic example of such a voyage is a Caribbean cruise that begins and ends in Miami, Florida. When the modern cruise industry first started to emerge, most cruise ships were ocean liners that had been retired from the transatlantic run because that market had been lost to the jet airliner. Indeed, Carnival Cruise Lines first ship the Mardi Gras was the former ocean liner Empress of Canada. NCL’s Norway was the former France. Holland America’s Rotterdam was built as an ocean liner. In the early1970s, ship designers began to realize that a ship did not have to be built like an ocean liner in order to do such a voyage. Because the weather was likely to be sunny and fine, the ship did not have to be built as strongly as an ocean liner. This would result in savings in building the ship and in running it. Since the waves would not be as high, the bow could be shorter and wider. As a result, the ship’s shape could be more box-like thereby enabling it to carry more passengers. Because the sea conditions would be less severe, the draft could be reduced. This would allow the ships to dock in more ports. Finally, since such cruises would be leisurely voyages, the ships did not need to be built to go fast. This would produce fuel cost savings. Such considerations led the cruise lines to depart from the classic ocean liner design and build ships that were different from what had gone before. The stereotypical cruise ship of the last part of the 20th Century was blunt-bowed, box-like and slow. It also used more glass and aluminum and less steel in its structure. In recent years, however, the distinction is starting to blur. Cruising is no longer limited to the calm waters of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Consequently, cruise ships have to be able to handle much more difficult conditions. Thus, cruise ships are taking on ocean liner characteristics, becoming stronger, faster and more hydrodynamic. Indeed, Royal Caribbean’s Radiance-class ships and NCL’s Jewel-class ships can achieve speeds that rival some the speeds of some classic ocean liners. Click here to view the article

CRUISE CRAZIES CREWWOLF; HAPPY TO HAVE U ABOARD PLEASE POST OFTEN JOHN & JACKIE

Universal Orlando and Royal Caribbean International are expanding a 2-year-old partnership to include cruises out of Tampa. The two companies said Monday they will begin selling vacation packages pairing three- or four-night stays at Universal Orlando with four- or five-night cruises aboard Royal Caribbean's 2,500-passenger Jewel of the Seas. Royal Caribbean plans to begin using Tampa as the ship's home port on a seasonal basis beginning in November. Universal and Royal Caribbean already sell land-and-sea packages featuring four-, five- or seven-night cruises out of Port Canaveral. The two companies are following a model created by the Walt Disney Co., which has for more than a decade sold packages combining visits to Walt Disney World with voyages aboard Disney Cruise Line. For Royal Caribbean, the expanded deal with Universal is another move into Disney's lucrative family-cruise niche. The Miami-based cruise operator last year struck a separate deal with DreamWorks Animation to outfit some of its ships with characters from animated movies such as "Shrek" and "Madagascar," much the way Celebration-based Disney Cruise Line features popular children's characters such as Buzz Lightyear and Donald Duck Click here to view the article

KEVIN, THANKS FOR A GOOD REVIEW AND OPENING THE DOOR ON RESORTS, GOOD IDEA!

Kid Rock cruises. So do the Backstreet Boys. Now, one of the genuinely iconic musical TV shows will be represented in a weeklong cruise to depart in 2013 from Fort Lauderdale. The inaugural Soul Train Cruise launches on Feb. 17, 2013, sailing to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay before returning on Feb. 24. On board, along with the music fans, will be an array of the biggest acts in R&B history: Patti LaBelle, The O'Jays, Kool and the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, War, the Spinners, Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, Russell Thompkins Jr. & The New Stylistics, Cuba Gooding Sr. & the Main Ingredient, Gerald Alston (The Manhattans), George Duke and others will perform aboard Holland America's MS Westerdam, a luxury cruise ship with more than two-thirds of the cabins featuring verandas. A selling point of these cruises is that there's always the possibility of rubbing elbows at least briefly with the talent. After all, everyone is somewhere on board, right? If you don't manage to hook up for a duet with Patti LaBelle, there are still plenty of options. The concerts are part of a busy event schedule that includes Soul By The Sea beach parties, a Solid Gold themed ball with the classic Soul Train Line and DJs spinning classic tunes at a bash accessorized by the fashions made famous on the TV series. There also will be opportunities for giveaways of Soul Train DVDs, T-shirts and CDs, as well as world-class meals, another drawing card at sea. My logic is that the best way to pick a music-related cruise is to imagine how much you would enjoy hanging with the fans attracted by the theme. By that yardstick, this sounds like a fun bunch. The Soul Train brand, of course, has been part of pop culture since the TV show's debut in 1970 and endures with the Soul Train Awards. Reservations for the cruise may be placed at SoulTrainCruise.com or by calling toll-free to 1-855-768-5872. Early reservation rates start at $1,800 per person and include all meals and entertainment. Entertainment Cruise Productions, one of the companies behind the cruise, is the force behind 35 other full-ship charter cruises including The Smooth Jazz Cruise: The Greatest Party At Sea (thesmoothjazzcruise.com) and The Jazz Cruise (thejazzcruise.com). Click here to view the article

It's all about eating, getting fat and being trapped at sea with lots of strangers, she says. Not necessarily so, though you can chow down if you wish. But beyond that, it can be a feast for the soul too. Theme cruises make it possible to sail with like-minded folks who share your passion for, well, nearly anything, immersing yourself in camaraderie, learning, workshops and fun, often accompanied by top-notch lecturers. The gamut of themes runs from ballroom dancing, baseball, jazz, gardening, quilting and culinary cruises to nude cruises and "cougar" adventures for older women in search of younger men. With so much available, the question isn't what to do but how to find the cruise that floats your boat. Many theme cruises are offered by outside organizers; others by the cruise lines themselves. One place to begin is themecruisefinder.com, where you readily can match your interests to a specific sailing. Garden buffs, for instance, may want to catch a ride on Azamara's Chelsea Flower Show Voyage on May 17 from Amsterdam to Southampton, England (azamaraclubcruises.com). The cruise visits horticultural showcases from port to port. Or there is Carnival Cruises' Seed and Garden cruise to the Caribbean on Feb. 11 (carnival.com). For total garden immersion, a 14-day trip aboard Swan Hellenic Cruises (swanhellenic.com) lets you explore the "gardens of the Celtic fringe." The cruise circumnavigates Ireland, then sails south to England and up the Seine River to Rouen, France, where you can visit some of the region's finest gardens and castles. How about a "Fangtasy" vampire-themed cruise (vampsatsea.com). Sail Holland America's Zuiderdam in Alaska on June 23, and your fanged vacation even will include a visit from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and a vampire movie fest. Concerned about cruising among bloodsuckers? Not to worry: The sun never quite sets in Alaska in summer. Shouting "bam!" doesn't belong just to Emeril. An annual Mah Jongg Madness cruise (mahjongg.org attracts hundreds of players, with the possibility for true addicts to play 24/7. The 27th such event sets sail on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas' on Dec. 1 for seven days in the Caribbean. Want to sharpen your cooking skills as well as your knives? Silversea Cruises (silversea.com rolls out 20 voyages this year featuring the famed Relais & Chateaux L'Ecole des Chefs cooking school. The curriculum includes workshops ranging from basic knife skills and kitchen terminology to baking and preparations of sauces. Sew many places, so little time. You can keep yourself in stitches on any number of quilting cruises organized by quiltcruises.com. These cruises blanket the globe: Quilt your way through the Panama Canal, along the coast of Spain — even Japan and China — accompanied by master quilters and renowned instructors who conduct quilting seminars at sea. For movie buffs, Crystal Cruises (crystalcruises.com may be just the ticket. On Serenity's April 21 Los Angeles-to-New York voyage, you can rub elbows with Tippi Hedren, Kate Burton, members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles and a faux Edith Head, as well as join hosted cinema screenings and trivia games. On the intimacy of a small ship, a river cruise on Avalon Waterways (avalonwaterways.com retraces the footsteps of the great Impressionist artists in scenic northern France. View masterpieces at Paris' Musee d'Orsay, and Chateau d'Auvers for paintings by Cezanne, Van Gogh and Monet. Visit Joan of Arc's historic Rouen and the city's famed cathedral, a favorite subject for Monet, as well as the Musee des Beaux-Arts Andre Malraux in Le Havre. If you want to combine a barge cruise with a bicycle tour in the Netherlands during tulip time, join a Yale-sponsored (yaleedtravel.org voyage in May that visits picturesque Dutch villages, a wooden shoemaker, a cheese farm and tulip fields, as well as other particularly Dutch treats. Also, a company called BikeToursDirect (biketoursdirect.com gets you pedaling on more than 60 individual boat-and-bike trips in 16 countries including France, Vietnam and the islands of the Seychelles. Each tour delivers a unique experience on small vessels, from those holding fewer than 25 passengers (barges, schooners, yachts or converted fishing boats) to those that carry 150 people. How about American history — without the exams? Consider the newly introduced 149-passenger sternwheeler, Queen of the Mississippi, from American Cruise Lines (americancruiselines.com that will retrace the steps of the Civil War by visiting the hallowed grounds of famous battlefields, including those of Vicksburg, Miss., and Nashville, Tenn. Perhaps your penchant is to explore a particular dot on the map rather than continent-hop. An exhilarating focus on wildlife and birding is offered by American Safari Cruises (innerseadiscoveries.com on a roster of weeklong sailings from November 2012 through April 2013, in the fabled Sea of Cortez. Bird enthusiasts will discover real-life tweets on the round-trip sailings from La Paz, Mexico, aboard an 86-passenger vessel. In this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, you can snorkel with playful, young sea lions at Los Islotes or bird-watch on Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Coyote, among other pristine places. Anglophiles can spend 10 nights in May exploring the heritage of the British Isles, a patchwork of palaces, castles, cathedrals, gardens and historic landscapes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, on a rare all-England-all-the-time cruise aboard a Voyages of Discovery vessel. (us.voyagesofdiscovery.com. For the ultimate in intimate adventures, you even can captain your own vessel with one of Le Boat's fleet of more than 1,000 watercraft along the rivers, lakes, lochs and canals of France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, England and Scotland. Drift along the Lot, wend your way on the Midi Canal, Europe's oldest waterway, or enjoy the sights and sounds of Venice from something bigger than a gondola (leboat.com. And if total abandon is your goal, you can leave your luggage at home. Forget formal nights and bring only the barest of necessities on a raft of nude cruises (cruisenude.com be aware, this website shows examples!). Bare yourself in June for 14 nights in the Med aboard the 227-passenger Royal Clipper, or for eight nights of clothing-free cruising aboard the aptly named Carnival Freedom on a Panama Canal voyage in February 2013, or — for the ultimate in hedonism — two weeks in March 2013 in Polynesia aboard the 330-passenger Paul Gauguin. Finally, for the older woman in search of studs with six-pack abs, there could be something special under Norwegian Cruise Line's Christmas tree. The next Cougar cruise is slated for gift-giving time in December, departing Miami for the sunny Bahamas. Click here to view the article

Bathing suit? Check. Suntan lotion? Check. Nose spray to keep diarrhea from ruining your cruise? It's not on the checklist yet, but scientists are closing in on a nasal vaccine that would protect against norovirus, the virulent bug that is the curse of cruise ships, cheerleading competitions and any other venue that brings large numbers of people into proximity. With an estimated 20 million infections a year nationwide, norovirus is the No. 1 cause of the intestinal crud people call stomach flu. "This virus is very democratic," said Jan Vinje, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It affects everyone." If the research goes well, the vaccine could be available within five years, said Charles Arntzen, a molecular biologist at Arizona State University. "We are going to have a vaccine," he said recently at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. But it's not clear how effective a vaccine would be against a virus that evolves rapidly and comes in more than 30 varieties. And how many people will be willing to get vaccinated for a disease that's generally just a nuisance? Cruise ships and community outbreaks get most of the publicity, but nearly 60 percent of norovirus cases occur in nursing homes, Vinje said. Cruise ships account for 4 percent, and another 4 percent are linked to schools and school events. Children and adults are equally vulnerable. Most victims recover after a day or two of misery, but more than 70,000 a year are hospitalized. The CDC estimates that the virus kills 800 people a year, most of them older than 65. The annual economic toll is about $2 billion in medical costs and lost productivity. Norovirus spreads quickly and can be harder to kill than the monster in "Alien." Symptoms hit suddenly. Outbreaks often start when an infected person vomits in the corridor of a cruise ship. Tiny particles fly through air and land on surfaces. Even flushing the toilet after a bout of diarrhea or vomiting can suspend more droplets in the air. The bug can also slip into the body via food, water or dirty hands. Once it does, as few as 18 virus particles are enough to do the trick, making norovirus the most infectious microbe known, Vinje said. While many viruses are too fragile to survive long in the environment, noroviruses are encased in a BB-like shell that allows them to live for days or even months in some settings. One contaminated airplane cabin spread the disease to successive flight crews over several days. Cruise ships have learned through experience that ordinary mopping isn't good enough. They now use bleach to disinfect every surface, including hand rails and poker chips. The first experimental vaccine worked well in a test on 100 people last year, Arntzen said.A nasal spray is better than a shot because it more directly targets the respiratory tract and gut where the virus concentrates. Click here to view the article

New and exclusive to the Disney Fantasy cruise ship is the stage show "Disney's Aladdin," an over-the-top retelling of the familiar story, animated movie and production from Disney's California Adventure theme park. It's an ambitious undertaking with several production numbers, grand entrances, pyrotechnics, many costume changes and creative special effects, punctuated by a flying carpet scene that soars. The 45-minute show is basically thieving boy meets princess, thieving boy loses princess, thieving boy gets princess back with lessons about freedom and keeping your promises thrown in. But there are current references (a Betty White joke, a Lady Gaga aside) added to make it contemporary. Aside from the title character, who makes one of his entrances upon a puppet-like steed, and his beloved (and official Disney Princess) Jasmine, the show includes the boisterous blue Genie, the smart-mouthed bird Iago, handled by an on-stage puppeteer a la "Avenue Q," the evil Jafar and a carpet, played enthusiastically, yet silently, by an acrobatic actor. That carpet actor isn't the secret to the flight scene, set to the film's "Whole New World" song. It's all floating platforms and smoke effects with video backdrops over the city and other tricks. The gentle swaying of the Fantasy makes this even more realistic. The climactic scene, in which Jafar becomes all-powerful and yet thwarted within a matter of seconds, may be a little difficult to follow. But no matter, it's a happy, well-known ending. Click here to view the article

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises To Bid Farewell To The MS Columbus In May 2012 Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will be taking its premium ship MS Colunbus out of the fleet one year earlier than planned, in May 2012, by mutual agreement with Conti, the Munich based group of companies and owner of the ship. All cruises offered up to May 2012 will be taking place on the Columbus as scheduled. The ship is to be replaced in Spring 2012 by her successor the Columbus 2, under a two-year charter with Oceania Cruises. The Columbus crew will transition over to the renamed vessel. The successor ship, Oceania Cruises’ Insignia, 2 will be welcomed to the fleet in spring 2012 and offers a passenger capacity of 698 people. “The Columbus 2 is a modern ship. She provides more diversity and comfort at a very good price/performance ratio, represents for us an economically attractive expansion of our capacity in the premium segment,“ said Sebastian Ahrens, Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The Columbus will be offering her world tour 2011/2012 as planned. At the end of that voyage on May 7, 2012 in Nice, France, the ship will depart the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet. Only two published cruises following the world tour will be cancelled. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will be offering special deals for re-booking onto the Columbus 2 for any customers who have already booked these two cruises. Click here to view the article

Oceania Cruises has appointed Wendy Moriarty, Deborah Hellman and Joseph Eastep as sales directors for the Greater Los Angeles, Southern California & Hawaii, and South Florida regions, respectively. Chief among their responsibilities is to partner with travel agents to strengthen and build the line’s client base in their territories. In making the announcement, Nikki F. Upshaw, CTC, who joined Oceania Cruises in the newly created position of vice president of field sales six months ago, stated: “The mandate since Day One was to build the best sales force in the cruise industry. Wendy, Debbie and Joe have a proven track record of delivering results and sourcing new business. They make great additions to our experienced team.” A respected sales leader with more than 25 years of proven expertise in the cruise industry, Moriarty most recently was director of business development for Viking River Cruises and previously held sales posts with Crystal Cruises and Royal Cruise Line. Deborah Hellman comes to Oceania Cruises from MSC Cruises where she was director of sales for California, Arizona and Nevada. Prior sales positions include serving as a business development director for Carnival Cruise Lines for 11 years covering Southern California. Joseph Eastep, a business development manager for Oceania Cruises since April 2011, is being promoted due to his stellar sales performance and outstanding support to the travel agency community. Previously, he worked for Vail Resorts. Click here to view the article

The 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph, which a judge had ordered held in Galveston, is sailing today as planned, according to the line. The legal snafu developed after the relatives of a German tourist who died in the Costa Concordia disaster filed a $10 million lawsuit in federal court in Galveston, according to Bloomberg news service. John Heald, Senior Cruise Director for Carnival, alluded to the ship's detainment by U.S. Marshalls on his Facebook page when alerting followers that the ship would soon be released. A statement provided by Carnival confirmed, "The matter involving the Carnival Triumph has been resolved and the ship has just departed on its scheduled five-day voyage. The ship will operate its normal itinerary with stops in Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico." Carnival Corporation is the parent of Costa Cruises, whose ship hit a rock off the coast of Italy and capsized on January 13. More than 30 people died in the tragedy, and the ship remains on its side near the island of Giglio. Bloomberg reported that the warrant ordering the ship held in port states that the “court finds that the conditions for an attachment of defendants' joint and collective property within this district, mainly the MS Carnival Triumph, appear to exist upon an admiralty and maritime claim.” Earlier in the day, Carnival told x in a statement, "We are aware of the situation and are working through the appropriate legal channels to resolve it. The litigation in question relates to a matter that involved a European-based cruise line that is a sister line to Carnival Cruise Lines. We are optimistic that the issues regarding the Carnival Triumph will be resolved and the ship will depart on its scheduled voyage later today." Click here to view the article

An Atlanta-based travel agency is teaming up with Royal Caribbean and the World Poker Tour to offer a cruise aimed at poker fans. Theme cruise organizer the Cruise Authority announced plans this week for the WPT Cruise, a week-long group sailing on Royal Caribbean's 3,634-passenger Freedom of the Seas that will feature World Poker Tour cast members Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten and the World Poker Tour's Royal Flush Girls. Kicking off in Port Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 30, the Western Caribbean outing is aimed at both beginner and experienced poker players, the agency says. An expansive poker room on the ship will feature cash games for any limit, sit-n-go tournaments, ladies-only events and free roll tournaments daily. Port calls during the cruise include Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Royal Caribbean's private beach destination in Labadee, Haiti. Click here to view the article