Royal Caribbean International today announced the opening of Vision of the Seas’ winter 2012-13 Caribbean season for sale. Vacationers can choose among 19 Caribbean and Panama Canal cruise vacations, ranging from 10 to 15 nights and sailing roundtrip from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Vision of the Seas’ new seasonal itineraries are destination rich and visit smaller Caribbean islands less traveled by the cruise line’s larger ships.

This winter season, the Vision of the Seas is sailing from Santos, Brazil.

Variations of a 10-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary features calls at Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Croix and Martinique. Vacationers also can choose variations of an 11-night Southern Caribbean itinerary aboard Vision of the Seas, calling at Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, Dominica, and St. Vincent – a maiden port for Royal Caribbean. On a very special holidays and New Year’s cruise, departing Dec. 24, 2012, guests will visit St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, Martinique and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination in Haiti.

In response to customer demand, Royal Caribbean also is offering four Panama Canal-transit sailings aboard Vision of the Seas, sailing through one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, allowing for quicker and safer passage of ships between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Two 14-night Panama Canal itineraries will sail from Port Everglades and San Diego on Oct. 5 and 19, 2012 respectively. Two 15-night sailings on March 18 and April 2, 2013 also depart Port Everglades and San Diego, respectively.

Additionally, vacationers can experience the grand tradition of a trans-Atlantic crossing between the ‘old’ and ‘new worlds’ on two sailings aboard Vision of the Seas. A 14-night westbound itinerary sails on September 21, 2012, from Southampton, England, to Port Everglades, calling at Gijon and Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Ponta Delgada, Azores. The 13-night eastbound itinerary sails on April 17, 2013, from Port Everglades to Southampton, England, calling at Lisbon; Vigo, Spain; and Normandy (Le Havre), a French gateway to Paris.