Want to know the latest Royal Caribbean this over the past week?

Royal Caribbean may not have made any big announcements lately, but there's still plenty happening in and around Royal Caribbean that you should know about.

In an effort to keep you updated, here's some of the cruise news happening that you might find interesting.

Have a great weekend!

Royal Caribbean returns to Asia for first time since 2020

Spectrum of the Seas recently sailed its first international call in Asia since December 2020.

Spectrum of the Seas sailed from her homeport of Singapore and arrived at Malaysia's Port Klang.

The Royal Caribbean ship's arrival in Malaysia is an import milestone as it marks the return of cruising to Asia. Malaysia and Indonesia are the first Southeast Asian countries to resume port calls since cruising was halted in March 2020.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared the news on Facebook, "After over 350 ocean getaways from Singapore, our guests finally got to explore the culture, history, and mouth-watering street food of Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia."

"We are looking forward to many more memorable vacations out of Singapore. Thank you to our partners for making this all possible !"

Serenade of the Seas European 2023 cruises cancelled

It appears Royal Caribbean is redeploying Serenade of the Seas in summer 2023.

Serenade of the Seas was to offer sailings departing from Copenhagen, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden starting May 21st, 2023. 

Travel agents received an update indicating the war in Ukraine is to blame for the change, "However, with the increased uncertainty of visiting St. Petersburg, Russia, we've reviewed our upcoming 2023 deployment and decided to reposition Serenade of the Seas to a new homeport in Florida for our Summer 2023 season. "

Instead, Serenade of the Seas will be homeported in Florida in summer 2023

Royal Caribbean helps travel agents with new call back feature

Royal Caribbean has added another upgrade for travel agents to make their jobs a little bit easier.

A new call back function has been added for travel partners in their contact centers in an effort to minimize hold times.

The added feature is first available to trade partners booking groups and expected to be broadly available for U.S. and Canada-based trade at the end of August 2022.

When travel partners call the contact centers, they are immediately prompted with the option of a call back if the wait time exceeds 20 minutes. Once prompted, travel partners can leave a brief message and input their number to initiate a call back with a Royal Caribbean representative. A direct number to a land line or mobile is required; extensions are not supported. 

Royal Caribbean has been steadily working to make the process easier for travel agents to do their jobs, with over a dozen automation enhancements in the last 24 months.

Disney Cruise Line raises gratuity

Something to keep an eye on is another cruise line has raised their gratuities.

Disney Cruise Line increased its recommended gratuity rates $1 per day, per stateroom guest.

With the change, DCL's gratuities are now at $14.50 per passenger, per day for most staterooms, and $15.50 per passenger, per day for concierge suites.

Carnival and NCL have already raised their gratuities earlier this year.

Royal Caribbean hasn't touched their gratuity rate since the end of 2017, when they announced a change to the gratuity to begin in 2018.

Royal Caribbean hiring frenzy continues

Since the spring, Royal Caribbean has been busy trying to hire lots of new crew members, and that trend is continuing.

Royal Caribbean recently held career fairs in three different countries.

In Kenya, the company is looking to hire 2,000 new crew to work as cooks, waiters, baristas, kitchen utility staff, pastry chefs, guest relations agents, lifeguards, and marine staff.

They've also recently hired 600 people from Trinidad and Tobago as new crew.

Royal Caribbean also held hold another recruitment drive earlier this week in Grenada.

Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas made her first visit to two different ports in the Philippines this weekend, Subic Bay and Manila. This is the largest ever cruise ship to call at any Filipino port, and with the highest number of guests onboard totalling close to 4,600 from around the world. She is currently on a 5-night cruise from Hong Kong.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

To celebrate the maiden call at Subic Bay, a traditional plaque exchange ceremony was held onboard between Ovation of the Seas’ Captain Flemming Nielsen and local officials namely Atty. Wilma Eisma, Chairman and Administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Mr Roberto Alabado III, Assistant Secretary of Department of Tourism. Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon and Ms Ma. Cristina Garcia, Vice Governor of Bataan were present at the event as well.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

A similar ceremony was held to celebrate the ship’s maiden call in Manila, with Captain Nielsen and Mr Mancile Francisquiel, Port Manager of Philippine Ports Authority, Mr Pocholo Joselito Paragas, Chief Operating Officer of Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) – Department of Tourism, and Atty. Solfia Arboladura, Director of Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau presented the “key to the City of Manila” to the ship's Captain.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

Ovation of the Seas is the largest cruise ship to enter the Philippines.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas arrived in Singapore to begin her longest-running Southeast Asia cruise season ever.  Voyager of the Seas will call Singapore home from April 2018 through June 2019.

She will be offering as many as 90 sailings of 3 to 9 nights from Singapore to a variety of popular regional destinations.

Voyager of the Seas’ itineraries that start from Singapore for this period include:

• 3-night weekend cruise to Penang/ Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang)
• 4-night cruise to Penang/Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) and Phuket
• 5-night cruise to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang and Phuket
• 5-night cruise to Bangkok (Laem Chabang) with an overnight stay
• 7-night cruise to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang, Langkawi and Phuket (with an overnight stay)

The Port of Penang, Malaysia is partnering with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd expand berth from the current 480m to 700m, so that it can handle up to two large cruise ships simultaneously.

New Straight Times reports Royal Caribbean and the Port entered into a joint-venture about a year ago to upgrade and improve Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) in Georgetown, Penang.  The work aims to accommodate berthing of larger cruise ships at its facilities.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd managing director, Asia Pacific, Sean Treacy said Malaysia has been a strong performer for our business and it is now the fastest growing market for Southeast Asia, doubling between 2015 and 2016.

“While we expect a similar performance this year, this strong growth is driven by our deployment of more ships, and newer and larger ones such as Ovation of the Seas and Voyager Class ships like Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas are attracting a growing number of travellers in Malaysia,” he said in a recent interview.

Royal Caribbean welcomed its one millionth guests sailing from Singapore, marking a milestone for the cruise line's 11 years of sailing history in Asia.

Singaporean Mr Wong Sin Fatt (王信發), 52, boarded Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas earlier this afternoon in full surprise as he was welcomed and cheered by Royal Caribbean crew and staff in the millionth guest countdown at the ship’s gangway. To celebrate, Mr. Wong was taken to the ship's Viking Crown lounge, where both the ship’s Captain Claus Andersen and Mr Sean Treacy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. presented to Mr Wong the millionth guest prize package worth over US$2,400.

Mr Wong can look forward to a free cruise holiday for him and his sibling in his stateroom for his current 4-night Penang & Phuket Cruise sponsored by Royal Caribbean, plus VIP treatment for both. In addition, the cruise line is treating both of them to onboard credit of US$300 which they can spend on for instance specialty dining, shore excursions, shopping and even the special behind-the-scenes tour. Mr Wong also receives a cruise certificate worth US$1,000 for his next cruise holiday.

“This definitely made my holiday knowing that I’m the millionth guest for Royal Caribbean! This is my first time with Royal Caribbean, but never dreamt of winning something like this. My sister wanted a different holiday experience for the whole family, and I’m really excited about my prize that I’m sharing with my family with me here,” said Mr Wong, who is travelling with his family of eight for a vacation.

Mr Treacy said, “We have been looking forward to this day to welcome our millionth guest and thanking him in a big ‘Royal’ way. Crossing this milestone in a span of 10 years here represents a true achievement for us, and this would not have been possible without the strong support of all our guests and key stakeholders including the Singapore Tourism Board and Changi Airport Group which partner us on fly-cruise marketing, as well as the two cruise terminals in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte Ltd. celebrated its 10th anniversary last week with a celebration in Singapore at Clifford Pier, together with more than 150 trade, media, corporate and government partners from the region.

Guests in attendance were regailed with a look at the milestones reached over the past 10 years, from the first ship Rhapsody of the Seas’ arrival in 2007 to the most recent homeporting of Asia’s largest Ovation of the Seas in Singapore this year. In addition, the new TVC ‘Where Everyone Gets What They Need’ was unveiled, while guests got a virtual experience of Royal Caribbean’s most popular features from the new head-mounted display (HMD) VR headset – the ‘Holideck’ – on display.

Sean Treacy, Royal Caribbean’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific, thanked their team and travel partners for all of their support, "The last 10 years have seen Royal Caribbean flourish tremendously, having expanded our regional footprint from just one office in Singapore to six across Asia Pacific, and from one to three ships for our fleet in Singapore today. We are committed to continue bringing innovative and quality ships and growing Royal Caribbean as the top vacation choice for travellers in the region."

Royal Caribbean Asia is looking to use virtual reality to help show potential cruisers what a cruise experience is all about.

Using Royal Caribbean's new head-mounted display (HMD) virtual reality (VR) experience, dubbed the "HoliDeck", guests can be transported onto a Royal Caribbean International ship and experience these and other Royal Caribbean’s most popular features, without going out to sea. Viewers can choose a variety of interactive games, videos and images from the ‘HoliDeck’ 360° spherical virtual space to explore in depth the entertainment, accommodation and dining options onboard such as the skydiving simulator, Two70 high-tech entertainment space and Main Dining Room, with highly realistic visual effects.

The ‘Holideck’ will soon be available at Royal Caribbean’s booth at the upcoming NATAS Travel Fair in August and other roadshows, as a demo tool for customers to get a virtual taste of the Royal Caribbean cruise experience. The company is also distributing cardboard VR headsets that play a VR video showcasing key features like the Royal Promenade, ice show, skydiving simulator, SeaPlex and Loft Suite, to its key agents in Singapore as well as its International Representatives in the region as the latest sales toolkit.

This is part of Royal Caribbean’s new marketing campaign ‘Where Everyone Gets What They Need’, launched today with a TVC as well to mark the start of its 10th anniversary celebrations in Singapore. The TVC centers on the concept that a Royal Caribbean cruise is an enjoyable and hassle free holiday that appeals to multi-generational families, couples and singles. The line “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” from the Rolling Stones classic hit is playfully quashed here by the truly ‘one size fits all’ Royal Caribbean holiday, where all guests can indeed get what they need with the wide range of activities, from the aspiring North Star elevated glass capsule to bumper cars and DreamWorks Entertainment for instance.

Royal Caribbean, Changi Airport Group and the Singapore Tourism Board signed a new multi-million dollar marketing deal to promote cruising out of Singapore to passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.

In a press release, the three entities indicated they intend to bring in about 45,000 tourists flying in to Singapore for a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas between March and June. The partnership is expected to generate more than S$26 million in tourism dollars over this period, it added.

Royal Caribbean also said it will increase the number of homeported sailings in Singapore. The cruise line will have its longest deployment of ships in Singapore from 2017 to 2019, and Ovation of the Seas will also be docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre for its first season in Singapore.

“The announcement of Royal Caribbean’s longest deployment for the next three years is a reflection of how multi-sector collaborations like these are vital to developing the local and regional cruise industry. It is these partnerships that enable Royal Caribbean to bring bigger and more innovative ships to Singapore, enhancing the cruise experience for travelers and ultimately growing the industry here,” said Sean Treacy, Royal Caribbean’s managing director for Asia Pacific.

This is the second partnership between Royal Caribbean and the STB and Changi Airport Group, which was signed in August 2015. Royal Caribbean indicated that deal attracted 40% more visitors than its target goal.

The partnership can be extended for subsequent years if it proves to be successful.

Royal Caribbean announced it will offer cruise stops at the Tongan ports of Vava'u on December 12, 2016 and Nuku’alofa on December 13, 2016 for the very first time.

Radiance of the Seas will offer these new stops in the 2016/2017 cruise season, as part of a 13-night South Pacific, Fiji and Tonga journey.  The cruise begins in Sydney on December 3 2016, and calls at the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia, Lifou in the Loyalty Islands, Suva and Lautoka in Fiji, as well as Tonga, before arriving in Auckland. 

The two new destinations offer a host of experiences unique to Tonga for guests to enjoy, such as the islands of Vava’u are renowned for their coral gardens and sparkling lagoons, while Nuku’alofa, capital of Tonga and home to the only royal family in the Pacific Islands, is a thriving hub of island charm and regal tradition. Guests will have the opportunity to explore the islands further with a range of optional excursions, including whale-watching and snorkeling in Vava’u and a cultural tour in Nuku’alofa.

"We’ve had our eye on Tonga as a destination for our guests for some time, with its vibrant culture, diverse marine life and stunning natural beauty," says Adam Armstrong, managing director for Royal Caribbean International in Australia and New Zealand.

"Radiance of the Seas is the perfect size for us to explore new ports in our region, paving the way for a number of new, exciting destinations for our guests."

The largest cruise ships in Asia, Ovation of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, will be back in Singapore from October 2016 through May 2017 to offer Royal Caribbean's longest-ever homeporting season in Singapore.  The season will run for eight months, totalling 55 cruises and will bring about 200,000 guests to ports in Southeast Asia.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

The 2016-2017 cruise season will see a 30% increase in Royal Caribbean's capacity in Southeast Asia over last year.

Ovation of the Seas, which is Asia's largest and newest cruise ship, will be back in March to April 2017 with a total of 10 new sailings, comprising three to five nights to Penang, Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and a 12-night one-way cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) for an overnight, Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon).

Mariner of the Seas will offer 39 sailings until next March, ranging from three to seven nights to popular destinations such as Penang, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My). The new itineraries for the season are the 3-night Penang Weekend Cruise which will feature night touring and the 4-night Phuket Cruise.

Voyager of the Seas is returning in May 2017 to offer six sailings of three to five night Southeast Asian itineraries to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang, Phuket and an 8-night one-way cruise to Hong Kong, with stopovers at Bangkok (Laem Chabang) for an overnight, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Nha Trang.