Royal Caribbean International has redefined its onboard culinary program with an extensive multi-million dollar investment to its main dining room across the fleet. The culinary enhancements continue Royal Caribbean's tradition of culinary excellence emphasizing the freshest, highest quality ingredients available - on land or at sea.

The investment to Royal Caribbean's complimentary dining program focuses on an increased variety of menu options in the main dining room, including dishes infused with regional flavors reflective of the destinations of the world the line's ships sail to; improved choices for guests with dietary restrictions; and superior presentation.

"In today's food-aware culture, the palettes of our guests have evolved and they have come to expect, not only a variety of choices, but cuisine of the highest quality made with the freshest of ingredients," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Executive Vice President, Operations, Royal Caribbean International. "In recent years, we have introduced many new specialty dining concepts and in this next evolution we are expanding the options in our main dining room with even more variety, allowing us to cater to our international guests while offering them the highest quality dining on land or at sea."

The cruise line has revamped the menus in the main dining room with added variety and made sure to include classic favorites that guests have long enjoyed, such as aged hand-cut Manhattan steak, escargot bourguignonne, shrimp cocktail and crème brulee, popular selections now available every night.

Royal Caribbean - sailing to more than 270 destinations in 72 countries around the world - will continue to cater to its growing global clientele by adding international flavors to the dining room experience with a renewed focus on authenticity. Sourcing and understanding flavor profiles has become an essential direction the cruise line has taken in its international menu development. All of the new menu offerings will include upgraded entrees such rack of lamb and surf & turf with new offerings like premium beef sliders and daily entrée dinner salads. There also has been a focus on the desserts with a new "hot from the oven" blueberry peach crumble, sticky bread and butter pudding and sumptuous carrot cake. Guests also will notice a change in the menu with a new fresh design featuring the cruise line's international culinary team. As part of the investment the cruise line will continue to focus on training which includes a sous chef certification program with the American Culinary Federation and a new wait staff training curriculum targeting the new menus, standards training, and allergen and dietary programs.

Catering to the increasing demand of heart-healthy, gluten-free and lactose-free options for guests, Royal Caribbean also has enlisted a registered and licensed dietitian and nutrition consultant to evaluate existing menus, create new offerings for guests with dietary restrictions, and shape the cruise line's current gluten-free and lactose-free program into a more guest-friendly experience. All low calorie, gluten-free and lactose-free options will be clearly identified with respective menu icons as well as menu selections that can be modified to fit these requirements for guests. The updated menu format also includes a new vegetarian symbol, which is the official symbol of the European Vegetarian Union and considered the most widely used vegetarian symbol worldwide for easy recognition. In addition to the new menu designations, Royal Caribbean is rolling out new daily gluten-free bread offerings, available on request in all venues, including specialty restaurants.

These new enhancements are yet another example of how Royal Caribbean has continuously evolved the onboard dining experience over the last decade, leading the industry with the most complete and innovative dining options on the high seas including introducing more than 20 new dining concepts onboard the revolutionary Oasis-class ships such as Izumi Asian cuisine, Giovanni's Table, Park Café and The Cupcake Cupboard. These popular venues are being introduced to all the other ships in the fleet during an extensive revitalization program that will be conducted through 2014 and beyond. Royal Caribbean has the most extensive selection of dining venues at sea with a total of 100 options across the fleet.