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Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - Liberty of the Seas Listener Cruise Preview

In:
08 Jan 2014

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We've invited another podcast listener to join us for this week's show, Chad from Kentucky, who is going on his first Royal Caribbean cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas for a 5-night western Caribbean adventure.  We will discuss why Chad chose Royal Caribbean and his plans for what to do on Liberty of the Seas as well as shore excursions.  We also have a lot of great listener feedback to share, so we'll cram in as many messages as we can.

Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...

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Three Royal Caribbean ship spas make Top 25 Cruise Ship Spa list

In:
21 Feb 2013

Condé Nast Traveler released its list of the top spas around the world and in the case of the best spas for cruise ships, three of Royal Caribbean's onboard spas made their Top 25 list.

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas (9), Grandeur of the Seas (16) and Allure of the Seas (20) all ranked in the top 25.  The list of the best spas ranked them by treatments, staff & facilities.

The polls results came from Condé Nast Traveler readers who shared their findings with the web site over the course of the year.

Liberty of the Seas Photo Report

In:
02 Jan 2013

Our friend Beci from MEI-Travel took a cruise on Liberty of the Seas last month and shared these great photos with all of us from her cruise.  Here's a quick look around the ship!

Inside Johnny Rocket's

Pool play area

Special wine dispensers in Vintages

Looking down the Royal Promenade

Christmas decorations on Royal Promenade

Boxing ring in gym

Swinging chairs on pool deck

Solarium pool

Pool deck

Casino

Schooner Bar

Looking up at the elevators

FlowRider

Vintages Wine Bar

Looking down from elevators

Hoof & Claw bar

Cupcake Cupboard

Cupcakes!

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein promotes company's presence in Italy

In:
04 Oct 2012

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein spoke in Milan, Italy yesterday about new investments, ships, airports and important partnerships.

"For years Italy has played a strategic role in the planning of Royal Caribbean International: Since 2005 we have more than doubled the ports of embarkation in the area, adding to Civitavecchia and Venice also Genoa, Messina and Naples. The arrival of a ship like Liberty of the Seas, which next season will embark from the port of Naples, confirms the company's commitment towards the Italian market, " Goldstein said.  " Even in 2013 Royal Caribbean International will pay particular regard to Italian guests with a special offer on board: from excursions, offering food and beverage, staff of dedicated service, all in an international environment that meets the needs of Italian. "

Coinciding with Goldstein was the debut of two new Royal Caribbean ships in Italy.  Liberty of the Seas will go toItaly for the first time and offer 7-night cruises out of Naples to the Western Caribbean while Legend of the Seas will take the place of Mariner of the Seas and offer 7-night Western Mediterranean cruises out of Civitavecchia and from Genoa to France and Spain.

"The ships dedicated to the Italian market in 2013 are the most innovative in the fleet," adds John Rotondo, CEO of Royal Caribbean, Italy "In 2013 there will be 5 ports of embarkation and 13 ports of call in Italy for four ships of the fleet Royal Caribbean International, for a total of 18 ports, 330 airports and more than 850,000 passenger movements, a further indication of the fact that Italy is a very important basin for. "

New gas scrubber on Liberty of the Seas gets DNV approval

In:
20 Jul 2012

A Green Tech Marine GTM R15 compact exhaust gas scrubber recently installed aboard Royal Caribbean's cruise ship Liberty of the Seas has received a MARPOL "Statement of Compliance" certificate from DNV.

This scrubber has shown that the measurements of exhaust gas emission and wash water criteria have been shown to be well below the required limits stated in the MEPC guideline 184(59). This will ensure Liberty of the Seas is compliant with the 0.1 percent sulfur limit that will be required in ECAs from 2015.

Beyond the efficient removal of SOx and other particles, the GTM R15 offers a number of advantages over other scrubbers, such as its minimal footprint requirement and low weight. It is also energy efficient, requiring virtually no external chemicals and allowing for installation during operation.

The GTM R15 that Green Tech Marine and Royal Caribbean are pilot testing was installed onboard Liberty of the Seas while the ship was in service. The compact design required no extra space as the scrubber replaced the ship's exhaust silencer.

Prior to the shipboard pilot, a preliminary scrubber test was performed shore side in Norway for 11 months. After several visits to analyze the scrubber's performance, Royal Caribbean committed to a pilot test.

Over the next 4-6 months Green Tech will continue to test the GTM R15 onboard Liberty of the Seas to demonstrate that the scrubber can be operated continuously over a sustained period of time and maintain the same positive results as the initial tests achieved.

Royal Caribbean looks back on one year in France

In:
21 Jun 2012

July first marks the one year anniversary of Royal Caribbean adding a subsidiary in France.  For months, Royal Caribbean has been marketing to support sales and now they are seeing those efforts taking shape with the first cruises to French ports.

On June 3rd, Liberty of the Seas made her inaugural visit to Marseilles and Toulon harbor.  Liberty of the Seas is the largest ship operating in Europe and this summer will offer 21 cruises from France.

On July 5th, another Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas, will make its first stop at Le Havre and head for the Norwegian fjords.  Following her will be the recently refurbished Grandeur of the Seas, which will begin with a stop in Marseilles.

Frederic Martinez, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises France, is happy with the progress the company has made, "We are very happy because ships arrive, they can be seen and tested by customers."

Overall, this year, the company will offer 27 cruises from French ports for a target of 30 to 35,000 passengers. This is less than the expected 40 to 45,000 customers at the launch of the French subsidiary, but Royal Caribbean was forced to reduce the estimates because of a difficult environment and the impact of the Costa Concordia disaster.

"We had one year in the form of a challenge because of the events he was forced to cash. Our growth has remained strong because we are still small, we have established a subsidiary in France there are less than a year, compared to the previous situation, our offer is much stronger because of departures from French ports. Nevertheless, we still felt a slowdown from February to early April. Also noteworthy is that the economic context is not famous. The crisis in the euro area can be felt in all European markets and, like others, the French are watching their budget. But now the market is very strong, although it has been boosted with blows of promotions, which is good for customers but not so good for owners, whose margins are reduced. This also causes a visibility problem because many customers wait until the last minute to book, hoping to get a better price, "says Frederic Martinez.

Royal Caribbean's boss in France believes, that the very aggressive pricing policy practiced in recent months by different companies, which forces Royal Caribbean's hand, should not last: "It's a real issue. We had an exceptional year and it was therefore necessary to sustain demand by offering very attractive. But we must not repeat this indefinitely and make reference price. Because this approach is not economically viable, at least maintaining a high level of quality, what we want. " 

Liberty of the Seas arrives in France

In:
08 Jun 2012

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas arrived in France earlier this month and now is based out of southern France.   Since the beginning of June, Liberty of the Seas offers each week more than 3,600 cruise to discover the Mediterranean from Toulon.

"One year after the opening of our office in France, we are very pleased to offer our first departures from French ports", says Frederic Martinez, CEO of Royal Caribbean France.

Liberty of the Seas is not the only ship from France, as the Grandeur of the Seas will sail from Marseille and the Brilliance of the Seas, from Havre. "We worked hard to adapt our offer to French customers, says Frederic Martinez. A significant part of our staff speak French. The menus are in French, the French television channels are available. And we worked our wine. "Interest in the French market is due to its dynamism for several years. Last year, 441,000 passengers were carried by cruise ships, according to the French Association of Cruise Lines (AFCC), an increase of 14%.

Regarding the effect the Costa Concordia disaster has had on Royal Caribbean, Royal Caribbean has taken steps to hinder the negative effects. "We have reduced our ambitions, however, recognizes Frederick Martinez. We visions French 40,000 passengers this year. They will eventually be only 30,000 to 35,000. "This is still a nice progression: the group table and a market share of 6% this year, against only 4% last year. For 2013, the group is up 10%. The starting number will increase from 27 to 39 this year next year. Despite the loss of the ship from Le Havre. "Next year, the Brilliance will be used in Asia, where we record very strong growth, said Frederic Martinez. Pending the arrival of our ships coming in 2014 and 2015, we must make trade-offs depending on the strength of our markets. "

Royal Caribbean brought 31,500 cruise passengers through Cadiz, Spain

In:
25 Apr 2012

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas will visit Cadiz, Spain this year and will be the largest ship to ever dock at the port.  The ramifications of which will bring over 31,500 cruise passengers to the city and have a direct and indirect financial impact of "more than 1,800,000 euros."

Liberty of the Seas arrives in Spain after serving the Caribbean cruise season and will also visit Mediterranean ports after Cadiz of Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona.

Royal Caribbean releases plans for 2013 European cruises

In:
04 Apr 2012

Royal Caribbean has outlined its plans for cruises to Europe in 2013 and it will include sending Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas, among other ships, to Europe for the season.

Royal Caribbean calls for stopping in 30 ports and features 121 sailings over 25 itineraries.

Royal Caribbean had previously announced Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas were being deployed to Southampton, England, and now there are more ships that will be sent as well. Royal Caribbean plans to have these five ships ready for bookings with additional deployments in the region that will be announced later this month.

Royal Caribbean vice president Dominic Paul commented on the plans, "Royal Caribbean International is the perfect choice for couples and families to experience and share all the wonders, flavours and colours of Europe. Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Serenade of the Seas already offer holidaymakers so many things that other operators do not, such as the DreamWorks Experience onboard Liberty of the Seas, or a real ice-skating rink featuring breath-taking shows onboard Navigator of the Seas and even self-levelling pool tables onboard Serenade of the Seas."

Five Royal Caribbean ships make best cruise ships for families list

In:
06 Feb 2012

The Today Show Travel listed their favorite cruise ships for families and five of Royal Caribbean's newest ships made the list.

First up is Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.  The sheer number of amenities are notes for fun things for kids.

The two largest ships at sea each have pretty much everything you need to entertain the kids: a sprawling H2O Zone water park, a pair of rock-climbing walls, a miniature golf course, two surfing simulators, a basketball court, an ice-skating rink, and a hand-carved wooden carousel.

The Freedom-Class ships were also mentioned, including Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.

Aside from a huge playroom and video arcade aboard the Freedom-class ships, kids can't enough of the H2O water park, rock-climbing wall, ice-skating rink, surfing simulator, mini golf course, and basketball court. Kids of all ages love the Ben & Jerry's ice-cream parlor and the Johnny Rockets diner on board for burgers, fries and milkshakes (both venues at an extra charge).

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