MSC Cruises is offering air/sea packages from West Coast gateways for bookings of select balcony accommodations on Caribbean sailings of MSC Poesia that are made by Oct. 15. The packages include roundtrip air from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, airport transfers and select balcony accommodations.

Royal Caribbean International has partnered with Chefmakers Cooking Academy, a cooking school dedicated to aspiring home cooks of all ages, to bring cooking programs to guests aboard the Liberty of the Seas and, beginning this fall, the Freedom of the Seas. The program is available at an additional cost and features more than a dozen classes that are taught in the ships’ galleys.

Royal Caribbean International is sponsoring the “Cruise them or Lose them” online game, which lets consumers play for a chance to win a cruises.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will establish a corporate office in Mexico City. The new office will open in December to support the sales, marketing and commercial operations for the company’s three cruise brands -- Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. American Express will continue representing Royal Caribbean in Mexico until the end of the year to allow for a seamless transition.

Princess has revealed its 2011-12 Panama Canal season. The line’s Two-Day Canal Experience, available on many longer sailings, combines a full transit of the canal, including the Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun Locks, with a second day in Panama at Fuerte Amador. This extra day gives travelers time to explore Panama with excursions such as riding the Panama Canal Railway, exploring a rainforest, visiting an authentic Embera Indian village and touring Panama City. Beyond the Panama Canal, these itineraries offer calls in Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera and a number of ports in Central America.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is offering cruises focusing on 60 topics or themes throughout the upcoming season. The “Titanic Mini Cruise” was designed to sail prior to the Titanic Memorial Cruise in April 2012, organized by Miles Morgan Travel. The mini cruise departs Southampton on April 3, 2012, visiting Liverpool, England, and Belfast, Ireland, before returning on April 8.