No doubt if you have had any connection with the world in recent days, you are aware of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.  The tragic assault on several hotels and a Jewish community center, have the attention of the international community.  I’m not one to side step the unpleasant, which can be rare for sites covering the cruise industry.  My feeling is that it is a better thing to engage topics head-on, understand them rationally, and not jump on popular bandwagons of panic or politics.

For a detailed idea of what occurred, you are best served by monitor a general news service.  I find Google News to be a good start.  Specific services like CNN tend to get caught-up in the hype surrounding the matter.

In terms of how these attacks impact Royal Caribbean, I can say that Lend of the Seas, which was to call on the port of Mumbai (formally Bombay,) but is holding in Dubai for the time being.  With the way the entire industry has been pushing into the Asia and Indian Ocean regions, it goes without saying they watch security very closely.  It remains entirely too soon to know exactly what has gone on in Mumbai.

The lines spend great sums of money keeping their own intelligence operations operating, and they do interact professionally to some extent, with their government contacts.  They do employ security personnel whom are far more  capable than you might think from the friendly faces and red epaulets.  And the likely extent of the unpublished measures they take are enough to leave me feeling the industry is as safe as it can be.  The attack will bring with it heightened security measures and awareness of possible threats.

Meanwhile, if the rest of the world is deeply shaken about what this means for the industry, I leave it to you to decide, here is Friday’s stock numbers.

Sign-onto www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com and strike up a conversation!  Message boards, chat rooms, all free!

In the States, Thursday is Thanksgiving, being a family holiday, I’ll be with mine.  So where ever tomorrow find you, my best of our holiday!

In case you can’t get enough Royal Caribbean news though, I leave you with Wednesday’s RCL stock result.

There is more than a Blog at www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com, drop by and use our message boards, chat room, and more!

Word is spreading among sites tracking casting for such things, that Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Travel Channel are looking for a Spanish speaking family.  The purpose as you can imagine, is for a program to the aired on the Travel Channel.  An obvious question is that if they are seeking a Spanish speaking family, might they also be seeking an English speaking one?  It would seem a fair bet that they are.  Royal Caribbean ships and itineraries are frequent features on the Travel Channel.  Indeed, if you ever wanted to stoke the urge to cruise, Travel Channel is a good bet to aid in the cause.

If you are collecting random numbers to play in your local lottery, I then give you today’s RCL stock quote.

In the event you can’t fill your day with enough Royal Caribbean news and fun, visit our growing community of cruise aficionados at www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com!

Let us be honest for a moment if we may.  After seven days at sea, there is nothing more jarring than the disembarkation chaos and discomfort. Following a week of tightly choreographed comfort and pampering, you find yourself perched atop baggage in a public space, or worse, dockside, waiting for customs to work its way through 3000 of your closest friends.  And since the Department of Homeland security found a way to add ten layers of useless bureaucratic non-sense, matters are only worse.

The almost traditional departure day morass is being tackled by Royal Caribbean.  As noted by SeaTrade, an industry newsletter, website, and convention sponsor, the new efforts will seek to end a low point in the cruise experience.  For the rare bird that has chance to cruise back-to-back, some previews of the next cruise are afforded.  However, of interest to most cruisers, will be extended use of one’s cabin, constant updates on ship-board TV, lounges in operation, and especially a kids lounge which should prove of immeasurable use to parents.

Meanwhile, today’s RCL stock quote:

New to www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com?  Visit our growing community and enjoy the first Royal Carribean  only community out there!

Completed to 65% of her final form, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas was floated out to much hype and media attention.  USA Today’s cruise guru reported online of the event.  The photos were nice, but many more have long since leaked out of Turku.  They long ago gave rise to rumors of Royal Caribbean painting part of Oasis’ hull light blue.  The ship is being moved to the finishing dock, where she will remain until sea trials, the next major event.  Meanwhile, the dry dock will be prepped for the keel laying of Allure of the Seas, which is due in slight more than a year beyond her sister.  The STX yard in Turku has been building Voyager, Freedom, and now Oasis class ships non-stop since 1998.

Meanwhile, Travel Weekly has awarded Royal Caribbean International an aware as the best luxury cruise operator in the Asian market.  The aware caps a successful first year of full-time operations in Asia.  The line had a presence there before, but the deployment of Rhapsody of the Seas, to be followed by Legend of the Seas, is first long-term deployment in well over a decade.

Royal Caribbean’s stock performance for today:

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. End-of-Day Stock Quote for November 21, 2008

Visit www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com and join our growing community of fans of the Nation of Why Not!  We feature a chat room, message boards, and an ever growing body of information on RCI ships, history, and news!