Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is going to be receiving her brand new life boats very soon, after a shipment was spotted at the STX France shipyard.
Harmony of the Seas will debut in April 2016 and offer cruises in Europe before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in late 2016 to be homeported there.
Royal Caribbean will once again have a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, likely to promote the arrival of Anthem of the Seas to her new homeport of the New York City area.
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade website has Royal Caribbean's float listed and a photo of the float that Royal Caribbean has used for the last two years, entitled, "A World At Sea".
The float was designed by the creative artists of the Macy’s Parade Studio and depicts three distinct postcard scenes which take place onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. The rotating scenes depict three “WOW” moments found only on Royal Caribbean, including the FlowRider surf simulator, thrilling zip line and iconic rock climbing wall.
Photo by Michael Poole
Royal Caribbean has had a parade float in the annual event the last two years to promote sister ship, Quantum of the Seas.
The 89th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationwide on NBC, on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2014.
Celebrating holidays on a Royal Caribbean ship is always a fun opportunity, because combining the fun of a cruise adventure with holiday traditions just seems to be a great combination.
Halloween is coming up this weekend and Royal Caribbean UK has given its guests an idea of what to expect on a number of Royal Caribbean ships when it comes to special Halloween events.
Photo by Flickr user S K Joiner
These event listings may not be the complete list of activities fleet wide or even on each particular ship. But they are a glimpse at the fun guests can expect onboard.
Enchantment of the Seas
The Centrum has been decorated for Halloween all month and will become the venue for our fright night costume dance party on October 31st.
Explorer of the Seas
Adults and kids can take part in a fun costume parade through the Royal Promenade, ending with a dance party. Guests will also get the chance to take part in a ‘Thriller’ dance class.
Jewel of the Seas
Jewel will be holding a special costume competition and party, while kids can try their luck trick-or-treating onboard.
Oasis of the Seas
Halloween will be guests’ first night onboard Oasis, and what a great night it will be! There will be a costume competition and party in the Royal Promenade.
Splendour of the Seas
Splendour of the Seas guests and crew will be celebrating Halloween in style, with a huge costume party in the Centrum.
Serenade of the Seas
Hopefully guests have remembered their best costume, as there will be prizes up for grabs at the onboard Halloween party.
Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is wrapping up her European cruise season in preperation for her move across, "the pond" to the United States, where she will arrive at her new home in the New York City area.
Royal Caribbean Blog reader Steven van Belleghem sent us these great shots of Anthem of the Seas today in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
October is almost over (how did that happen?) and hopefully that means you are getting closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise! We have sifted through all of this week's Royal Caribbean news to bring you what you need to know.
The big news this week is Royal Caribbean announced it is bringing back a cruise ship that left the fleet over 7 years ago, Empress of the Seas.
During Royal Caribbean's third quarter financial results call, Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty announced Empress of the Seas will return to Royal Caribbean International after spending the last number of years as a part of Pullmantur Cruises.
Empress of the Seas will undergo an, "extensive refurbishment" and be available for service sometime in Spring 2016.
We have a lot more to share, so let's jump right in...
If you are on a Royal Caribbean cruise and spot something cool, new or just fun, share a photo with us on Facebook or Twitter so we can add it to our Royal Caribbean Blog Reader Finds each Sunday!
We will be sailing on Allure of the Seas on February 21, 2016 and there are some fabulous rates available. Interior staterooms start at only $850 per person (double occupancy)!
The 116th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, and we are talking all about the fabulous shows available on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
In this episode, Matt looks at the shows Royal Caribbean offers on its ships and talks about what makes them so enjoyable. There is a wide array of shows to cover, and there is bound to be a favorite (or two) that you will want to see on your next cruise.
Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.
Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is less than two weeks away from her arrival in the New York City area and many fans are excited to check out what this brand new ship offers.
Royal Caribbean has packed Anthem of the Seas with innovations, activities and technology that all contribute to give guests that "WOW" factor the company is well known for.
There is a lot of exciting options onboard and in anticipation of Anthem of the Seas' arrival, we are counting down the top five coolest features onboard.
5. Virtual Balconies
When Royal Caribbean announced it would transform indoor staterooms with an 80-inch LED television that would provide real-time views, the concept may not have resonated with guests as much until we saw it in action.
Virtual balcony staterooms transform the experience of an indoor stateroom without the balcony stateroom price and the picture quality is amazing.
In addition to the real-time views, the virtual balcony provides audio as well and unlike a real balcony, you can simply press a button on your remote and turn it on or off at your discretion.
4. Voom high speed internet
If you have a need for speed when it comes to surfing the internet, Royal Caribbean's Voom internet is perfect for you.
Imagine being at sea and sharing photos and videos from all the "WOW" moments in this blog post with your friends and family back home. Or better yet, show them by calling them on Skype or Facetime. You can do all that and more with Voom.
Anthem of the Seas is one a few Royal Caribbean ships currently offering Voom internet and for just $15 per device, per day, you can stay connected without the sluggish internet speeds traditionally found on a cruise ship.
If you are a gamer, head over to the X-Box pod in the SeaPlex, because Voom is powering the gaming experience there, where guests can engage in Xbox Live.
3. Two70
Entertainment has always been a staple of Royal Caribbean cruises and Two70 offers some of the most impressive shows we have ever seen.
Two70 is a venue at the aft of the ship that offers a two hundred and seventy degree view of the ocean, and there is much more than just that to see.
During the day, you will find Roboshows shows that feature robotic screens that move and adjust to the show they are displaying.
Two70 also features Vistarama, which transforms its expansive floor-to-ceiling windows into any scene, real or imagined, by combining 18 projectors to create an ambient surface over 100 feet wide and over 20 feet tall. Across this expanse, impromptu digital shows come to life in stunning 12K resolution.
At night, there is yet another show to enjoy here, with Spectra's Cabaret. This is an immersive audio and visual experience that is certain to be like nothing you have seen before.
Two70 is a hub of activity for guests onboard Anthem of the Seas and after your cruise is over, it is quite likely many of your cruise photos will have been taken here.
2. Ripcord
Four words: sky diving at sea.
That is all most guests need to hear to understand what Ripcord by iFly is all about.
Guests get the sensation and experience of sky diving without the whole jump out of a perfectly good airplane from an obscene altitude.
It is one of those things that so many guests instantly want to try because not only does it look super cool, it is also super fun!
There is no additional cost to hop in Ripcord, guests simply make a reservation and get suited up and literally jump in.
Be sure to have someone take photos for you, because Ripcord is such an unique experience and something only available on Royal Caribbean.
1. North Star
When we are talking about "WOW" moments, there is nothing that quite compares to the most visible feature on Anthem of the Seas, North Star.
Guests board a jewel-shaped observation capsule and are taken up 300 feet above sea level for views never before seen on a cruise ship.
North Star offers 360 degree views all around Anthem of the Seas and it is something that simply never gets old. No matter how many times you go up on North Star, it is still a stunning sight to behold and you will need extra memory cards for your camera to be able to handle all the photos and video from here.
If you really want to spice things up, remember the Voom internet from earlier in this post? How about streaming your experience on Periscope or calling your friends at home on Facetime and showing them where you are? When you are on North Star, you are going to want to do all of it!
There is much more!
We limited ourselves to the top 5 coolest things about Anthem of the Seas for this blog post, but there is so much more that will impress you.
Surf simulators, bumper cars at sea, an amazing adults only pool, incredible restaurants and much more. We cannot fit it all into one blog post but rest assured that a cruise on Anthem of the Seas is certain to impress.
What aspect of Anthem of the Seas is the coolest, in your opinion? Tell us in the comments below!
Royal Caribbean is sticking with its policy of offering no last-minute discounts to protect its price integrity and expanding it to new markets.
During Royal Caribbean's third quarter financial results call with investors, Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain highlighted the gains made by the company's "Price Integrity Policy", which promise not to drop prices in the days leading up to a ship sailing, even if it means unsold staterooms.
The rationale behind the program is two fold: First, it promotes higher guest satisfaction with the notion they do not have to worry that after they book a cruise, the price will drop and they will end up paying more. Second, it has lead to higher revenue for Royal Caribbean.
Fain commented the policy gives,"our guests and our travel partners more comfort that when they book a cruise with us, we wont be dropping the price of that same cruise during the last few days before the ship sails."
"Depending on the itinerary, we have internally banned any new discounts in the U.S. and Canada in the last 10, 20, 30 or 40 days before the cruise starts. The program has been in place for seven months or so and we have not granted a single exception to the policy."
The Price Integrity Policy is still progressing and that has cost Royal Caribbean money in the short term, "I acknowledge that is has cost us a bit, and is costing us a bit this year in revenue. And some cabins have gone empty, which could have been filled with dramatic last minute deals. But we stood firm and we have made zero exceptions."
"We believe our guests and our travel partners are beginning to respond as we had hoped they would and we are sticking with the program."
Fain also mentioned that Royal Caribbean has expanded the Price Integrity Policy to other the cruise markets of the United Kingdom and Ireland. These policies extend the same policies about no new last minute discounts in Britian and Ireland that we have been applying in the U.S. and Canada.
During its third quarter earnings call with investors, Royal Caribbean confirmed Empress of the Seas will return to its fleet following a restructuring of sister company Pullmantur cruises.
Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty announced that Empress of the Seas will return to Royal Caribbean's fleet following an "extensive refurbishment" in Spring 2016.
Empress of the Seas is simply known as Empress in Pullmantur, but when she returns to Royal Caribbean, she will go back to being called Empress of the Seas.
Empress debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress before being renamed in 2004 as Empress of the Seas. Empress of the Seas' final cruise took place on March 7, 2008 and was subsequently transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Empress.
Empress can accommodate 2,020 guests and 685 crew members.
Are you excited about Empress of the Seas returning to Royal Caribbean? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Royal Caribbean reported a 5.4 percent rise in quarterly revenue in its third quarter 2015 financial results.
Caribbean and European demand and strong performance in Asia more than off-set further weakness in Latin America. In addition, Anthem of the Seas joining the fleet, efforts to drive incremental Onboard Revenue, and a continued focus on cost efficiencies also contribute to a stronger end of the year.
Royal Caribbean's total revenue jumped to $2.52 billion from $2.39 billion a year earlier, in the third quarter.
"As we have reiterated throughout the year, we remain ahead on both pricing and volume versus same time last year," said Jason T. Liberty, chief financial officer. "While Latin America is stressing yields in the fourth quarter, strong year-over-year pricing in the Caribbean, and the addition of capacity in China, will solidify this fourth quarter as the best in our company's history."
Royal Caribbean also announced a $500 million share repurchase program, where the company will look to buyback its common stock. The company plans to begin with an accelerated share repurchase transaction of $200 million that should be completed by the end of January 2016. The company expects to complete the program by year-end 2016.
Royal Caribbean Blog is an unofficial fan blog written for other fans of Royal Caribbean International. The Royal Caribbean Blog is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean International
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