It was only a matter of time – in-stateroom gaming. Pittsburgh-based Allin Corporation has unveiled “DigiCasino” at the annual Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami. Allin Corporation says the casino application works on Allin “DigiHD” interactive stateroom televisions, which are currently available on a number of cruise ships.

The application offers a number of games and has a “interactive cashier” enabling guests to purchase or redeem gaming credits . The company hopes to launch the application on various ships in late 2010.

Stay tuned for more breaking cruise news as ExpertCruiser will be reporting live from Cruise Shipping Miami this week.

It’s two months into 2009 hurricane season and the first tropical storms and major hurricane are impacting a number cruises in the Caribbean. Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ana doused much of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Hurricane Bill became the first hurricane of the season, and is currently a Category 4 storm.

So what happens to guests on cruises that are affected by storms?

In the rare instance a cruise is canceled, passengers are entitled to a full refund. Still, the majority of ships set sail regardless of weather. Cruise travel is unique in that you will usually have a vacation even with a hurricane since cruise ships are mobile and can sail away from the storm and avoid storm-affected ports. In most cases the cruise line will be able to substitute the canceled stop with an alternative port. Still, changes in itinerary can be upsetting for some guests since they aren’t getting the exact scheduled vacation they purchased.

In every cruise lines’ passenger contract is a clause stating that the cruise line has the right to skip or change ports during a cruise — a normal occurrence in hurricane season. Cruise lines aren’t required to compensate passengers in those instances, but some do offer partial refunds, shipboard credits or discounts on a future cruise. Carnival is the only cruise line that will notify guests of a pre-cruise itinerary change. The line offers booked guests the opportunity to cancel their cruise within 24 hours without penalty.

“Late summer and early fall are great times to travel, but they’re also the prime seasons for tropical weather conditions that can impact your travel plans,” said Dan McGinnity, Travel Guard Vice President.

A typical insurance plan from Travel Guard can provide coverage for trip cancellation or interruption if the insured’s travel is impacted by a hurricane or other severe weather. Travel Guard also offers a plan that provides emergency travel services for customers in transit to help rebook flights and escape harm’s way. Carnival recently enhanced its Cruise Vacation Protection Plan to include severe weather watch and warning protection. Should the watch or warning affect either the cruise departure city or the guest’s route to that city within 48 hours of a cruise departure, the plan will allow for cancellation and reimbursement up to the full amount of the cruise cost.

Most basic travel insurance policies do not cover passengers who cancel or delay a trip merely because the itinerary has changed. There are some insurers and cruise lines like Royal Caribbean that offer a ‘cancel for any reason’ add-on to a regular travel insurance Depending upon the insurer, cancel-for-any-reason policies provide a cash payout of a portion of a canceled trip’s cost or for a cruise line a voucher for use on a future trip.

For losses to be covered, travel insurance must be purchased before a hurricane is named, McGinnity said. Once a warning is issued, losses resulting from a named hurricane on, before or fewer than 14 days after the effective date of coverage are excluded.

Not all travel insurance companies offer protection for weather related interruptions, so it is necessary to read the fine print carefully. Understanding the components in travel insurance is essential for making sure that you are not caught off-guard, thinking you have protection when you actually don’t. Always read the fine print in all insurance policies. If you don’t understand something, ask. The more you know up front, the fewer problems you will face if you need to file a claim.

Sailing during hurricane season requires a level of flexibility. You’ll want to plan accordingly for the possibility that what you’ve booked might not happen as expected. If your heart is set on visiting a specific destination or sailing a certain itinerary, you may want to think twice about booking sailings during hurricane season.

Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO Richard Fain says every ship must have a good system for mustering guests in times of emergency, but the current ubiquitous lifeboat drill isn’t rocket science and is made harder than it has to be. The problem is lifejackets, they are a “pain in the ass” noted Fain in his Chairman’s Blog.

So when the 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas launches in December, Royal Caribbean will be tweaking the lifeboat drill. Instead passengers will no longer have to return to their cabin during the muster drill to retrieve their lifejacket. Instead lifejackets will be stowed at Oasis’ muster stations.

“This takes up more space at the mustering stations (lifejackets are very bulky), but we have the space,” Fain said. “It also frees up a smidgen more space in every stateroom.”

Catherine’s Palace is located twelve miles south of Saint Petersburg in Pushkin. Named for Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine I, the estate is now a museum housing art, furniture and weapons from the 16th-19th centuries.

The building’s white, blue and gold Baroque facade stretches nearly a thousand feet, topped by the chapel’s five golden domes. Although the Palace was destroyed after WWII, its restoration continues even today. The Palace’s world-famous Amber room, stolen in its entirety and lost at the end of WWII, has recently been restored in all it’s glory.

Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Magic will be calling upon St. Petersburg, Russia in the spring/summer of 2010. This week Disney Cruise Line invited a select group of journalists to preview their shore excursions in Tunis, Tunisia; Florence, Italy; and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Here is a tour of Catherine’s Palace where Disney will have a Signature Tour offering a “Princess Ball” in the palace’s ballroom. Imagine all the little girls dressed up in their Belle, Cinderella and Snow White costumes dancing in a real palace with Disney princess characters. How cute is that?!