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Royal Caribbean will send more ships to Europe

In:
24 Aug 2010

Royal Caribbean is planning on sending in the summer of 2011 as many cruise ships to Europe as ever before. Eleven ships will be in operation in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, the company said in Frankfurt, Germany.

That's three more ships than in the current summer season 2010. Also announced, the Brilliance of the Seas in the winter season 2011/12  will be reinstated in the Persian Gulf. The first tour to/from Dubai begins in November 2011 and that two months earlier than in the coming winter season.
 
For the first time this side of the Atlantic, Liberty of the Seas with space for up to 3634 guests, will be traveling in the summer of 2011 the 339 meters long, . It belongs to the second largest class of ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet and will travel from Barcelona to the western Mediterranean. Also for the first time in Europe is Grandeur of the Seas (279 meters, 2446 passengers), with a base port in the Palma de Mallorca. In Genoa, Mariner of the Seas begins the third Euro-novice their travels.

Upgrades coming to some Royal Caribbean ships

In:
18 Aug 2010

The very successful debut of the Oasis of the Seas also came with some new amenities and entertainment options that were never seen on the Royal Caribbean fleet and now Royal Caribbean is set to copy some of those new innovations to existing ships.

Starting in early 2011, passengers will soon enjoy new dining opportunities, entertainment, children’s programming and other enhancements on select Royal Caribbean ships already in service.  These vessels include Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas.

Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas will receive...

  • Broadway show (yet to be named and Liberty of the Seas only)
  • Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
  • Large 18.5-foot video screen overlooking family pool area
  • LCD wayfinder system
  • Cupcake Cupboard restaurant
  • Vintages lounge will be redone

Guest blog entry: What’s New with Royal Caribbean?

In:
12 Aug 2010

Friend of the blog, Melissa DiCato of Possible Vacations has graciously taken some time to write this guest blog entry!  Today, she looks at what Royal Caribbean is doing to keep things new and fresh across their fleet of ships.  Take it away Melissa!

Royal Caribbean is doing all they can to ensure all of their clients’ needs are being well taken care of.  Oasis of the Seas has been such a huge success for Royal, they are starting to take the ideas that were only implemented on Oasis of the Seas and place them on the rest of their fleet.  Below you will find a breakdown of what you can soon find onboard Royal Caribbean Ships.

Liberty & Freedom of Seas

  • Broadway Shows
  • Nursery
  • Outdoor Screens
  • Cupcake Cupboard
  • Vintages
  • Way Finder (currently only on the Oasis of the Seas, this device is located next to all elevators to help clients find their way around the ship)

Fleetwide

  • Family Library
  • Royal Bedtime stories
  • Sitters @ Sea (Sitters will come to your stateroom and watch your children while you enjoy the night with your loved one)
  • Nintendo Wii

Family programming – Royal Babies & Royal Kids

  • Fisher-Price toy lending program
  • Crayola beginning workshops
  • Babies 2 Go! (pre-order service for parent to order baby food and diapers)
  • Stroll & Roll

Dinning

  • My time dinning
  • Exclusive food experiences
  • My family time dining (for family with children ages 3-17)
  • Expedited service
  • Adventure Ocean pick-up (youth counselors will come and pick up your children and take them to their kids clubs)
  • Leisure dinner for parents

Suite Enhancements (Grand Suites & Higher)

  • Distinct Seapass cards
  • Luggage Valet
  • Complimentary Dry Cleaning
  • Cocktail Reception in Captains Quarter
  • Reserved seating in shows
  • Upgraded suite amenities
  • Breakfast & Lunch in specialty restaurants

If you are looking to take a Royal Caribbean Cruise, these enhancements will be sure to delight any family at sea.  Every cruise ship will offer you something a little unique and different which is why people cruise time and time again.  Most families enjoy taking cruises because they can just sit back and relax while everything around them is taken care of, including their most precious cargo…their children.  Something to consider is taking a Royal Caribbean themed cruise such as Romance, Music, Cruise4Haiti amongst many others.

Thanks again to Melissa for her great blog entry.  You can find Melissa on Twitter as well as on her own blog, Possible Vacations: Friends sharing travel stories.

Tea Party holding special cruise

In:
05 Aug 2010

If you affiliate yourself with the Tea Party movement, then there's a Royal Caribbean cruise for you.  Conservative publishing site WorldNet Daily is sponsoring a special cruise dubbed "The WND Tea Party at Sea" to be held aboard Liberty of the Seas September 19-26, 2010.

This cruise will feature teaching sessions by Joseph Farah, Alan Keyes, Jerome Corsi, David Kupelian, and Aaron Klein, all of whom are contributors to WorldNet Daily, a site with politically conservative tenancies.

The cruise follows the WorldNet Daily "Taking America Back" conference, a three-day extravaganza at Miami's Doral Resort and Spa (home of the Blue Monster golf course). The conference spans Constitution Day, Sept. 17, and features a current elected representative, Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.); a couple of formers, Jeremiah Denton (R-Ala.) and Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.); and a couple GOP hopefuls (Floridians Allen West, seeking a House seat, and Alexander Snitker, running for Senate). And, for all of you who have been wondering, "Where's Ann Coulter lately?", the conservative commentator will be on board, too.

If September 2010 doesn't work for you, there's another cruise being held by the same organizing group in January 2011 for "true patriots who are passionately committed to the principles of liberty and freedom as granted to us by the Founding Fathers."  This cruise will feature Keyes as well as former Georgia congressman Bob Barr and Gary DeMar, founder of American Vision.

The European invasion of American cruise ships

In:
20 Jul 2010

CruiseLineFans posted an article that is looking at the effects of cruising on Europe and the overall trend that cruise lines are experiencing to move their ships to Europe to meet the growing demand there.  In the article, there's a mention about Royal Caribbean's strategy of increasing their presence in Europe and competing against not only their traditional counterparts (NCL, Carnival) but also stalwarts of European cruising such as P&O, Thomson and others. 

Royal Caribbean International will have eleven ships in Europe in 2011, with the latest addition being Mariner of the Seas, having left Los Angeles for Rome. Mariner will sail from March to November 2011, while the Liberty of the Seas will be based in Barcelona and the Independence of the Seas now will sail year-round from Southampton, England.

Royal Caribbean will also base a ship in Palma, the traditional base for tour operator ships (such as TUI/Thomson, with whom they halve a half interest in TUI Cruises) and also to take on Aida Cruises.

Lewis Black to headline Liberty of the Seas cruise in November

In:
19 Jul 2010

Quick note for anyone sailing on Liberty of the Seas, comedian Lewis Black will be headlining a seven-day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas on Nov. 7, sailing out of Miami.

Joining Lewis will be some other comedians including

  • John Pinette
  • Dom Irrera
  • Kathleen Madigan
  • John Bowman
  • Larry Wilmore
  • Ted Alexandro
  • Joe Grifasi
  • Mark Linn-Baker
  • Vic Henley
In addition to comedy acts in the evening, there's also a number of events taking place such as Mark Linn Baker, from Perfect Strangers, will be screening Mel Brooks' My Favorite Year, the first movie in which he starred, and hosting a Q&A afterwards; Dom Irrera, Star of Comedy Court, will do the show with some of you felons participating; Lewis Black will be doing book signings and Q&A sessions.

Barcelona Spain set to be popular cruise port

In:
15 Jul 2010

The summer of 2011 will have some very big cruise ships stopping in Barcelona, Spain and Liberty of the Seas, a Freedom Class ship, will be included. Aside from Oasis and Allure of the Seas, it's the next largest Royal Caribbean ship with a capacity of 3,600 passengers.

The Miami Herald had a quick write up about the things to see in Barcelona, a city known for its beauty, and one of the most popular European cities for Americans to visit in Europe.

Downtown, near the port and especially along the famed walking street Las Ramblas, Barcelona pulses with strolling crowds of all ages. You'll find engaging street entertainers, including mimes dressed like the Tin Man or a flowering plant, each hoping for a contribution. Nearby are outdoor markets, churches, parks, and dozens of fine restaurants.

Liberty of the Seas will sail on Saturdays to Toulon, France; Nice; Civitavecchia and Naples. 

Port Everglades competing with Miami for cruise capital of the world

In:
25 Jun 2010

Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is gaining ground quickly on Miami, Florida for most cruise passengers in the world.  Miami has been the traditional "cruise capital of the world" for many years but recent changes have made Port Everglades, located just 28 miles to the north, a close competitor.  If current trends continue, Port Everglades will overtake Miami by 2012, thanks to in part, Royal Caribbean.

Liberty of the Seas, currently serving Europe, will return to the United States next year and has been announced to call Port Everglades it's home port.  Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, the two largest cruise ships in the world, already call Port Everglades home.  This leaves just Majesty of the Seas left in Miami as Royal Caribbean's presence.  

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s level of commitment is less clear. Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., declined to comment on its future plans to sail from Miami, nor would he say whether Royal, which owns several brands including Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises, intends to keep its headquarters at the port after its building leases expire in 2011 and 2014.

Miami, for it's part, admits it needs to do more to lure Royal Caribbean back to Miami.  Recently the port of Miami inked a deal with Carnival to keep Carnival in Miami until at least 2018 and County Manager George Burgess said, "We need to roll up our sleeves and negotiate with Royal, just like we did with Carnival".

Port Everglades earned a lot of Royal Caribbean's new found loyalty thanks in part to how it handled the Oasis of the Seas situation.  When Royal Caribbean was shopping for a home port, it received a lukewarm reception from Miami but Port Everglades agreed to double the terminal budget from $37.4 million to $75 million. Royal Caribbean then promised to send even more passengers to Port Everglades to compensate for the extra cost of the 5.5-acre super terminal, which has 90 ticket counters.

Update to passenger arrested for fondling child

In:
24 Jun 2010

We reported earlier today of a Pennsylvania man that was arrested by the FBI for fondling a young boy on a Royal Caribbean cruise.  Royal Caribbean has issued a statement to USA TODAY newspaper regarding the incident.

 

"Royal Caribbean maintains a zero tolerance policy regarding any criminal activity onboard our ships. Any allegation of a crime is treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.

On December 18, a guest onboard Liberty of the Seas brought Mr. Stevenson's alleged inappropriate behavior to the attention of a crew member. Royal Caribbean's onboard security immediately responded and preserved information and potential evidence that could be helpful to law enforcement. The incident was immediately reported to the FBI and the Miami-Dade police department, and Mr. Stevenson was confined to his stateroom.

On December 20, the ship was met at the Port of Miami by the FBI and Miami-Dade Police Department officers who conducted an investigation onboard. We will continue to support law enforcement agencies during their prosecution of this allegation."

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