Category — Royal Caribbean

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International’s newest cruise ship – the highly anticipated Oasis of the Seas – made her global debut today, arriving into her home port of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. following a 14-day transatlantic crossing from Turku, Finland. Hundreds of eager onlookers – ranging from Royal Caribbean top executives to local government officials, residents and media – came out to welcome Oasis of the Seas to the United States for the first time and to be among the first to catch a glimpse of the world’s most revolutionary cruise ship.

In the course of the next six days, the ship will undergo the final touches in preparation for pre-inaugural festivities kicking off with an exclusive private performance by pop music artist Rihanna, the first performer ever to take the stage on Oasis of the Seas’, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Oasis of the Seas will then make her national television premiere on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Friday, Nov. 20, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (EST). The official naming ceremony for Oasis of the Seas will take place on Monday, Nov. 30 during a one night inaugural celebration fundraiser to benefit the non-profit Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

The ultimate expression of Royal Caribbean’s legacy of imagination and innovation, Oasis of the Seas introduces unique industry “firsts” including a neighborhood concept – seven main themed areas providing guests with the opportunity to seek out relevant experiences based on their personal style, preference or mood. Within these seven neighborhoods – Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, Pool & Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone – are extraordinary elements such as the first living park at sea; a thrilling zip line that races diagonally nine-decks above an open-air atrium; an original handcrafted carousel; 28 multilevel urban-style loft suites boasting floor-to-ceiling windows; an amphitheater-style theater that serves as a pool by day and a dazzling ocean front theater by night; and an array of epicurean innovations that allow for new culinary experiences each day of a guest’s cruise vacation.

Oasis of the Seas is the largest and most revolutionary cruise ship in the world. An architectural marvel at sea, she spans 16 decks, encompasses 225,282 gross registered tons, carries 5,400 guests at double occupancy, and features 2,700 staterooms. Oasis of the Seas is the first ship to tout the cruise line’s new neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas, which includes Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone. The ship will sail from her home port of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean cruise packages and onboard events will set your holiday in motion. With popular warm-weather destinations, this season replace winter chills with tropical thrills.

Halloween

• Costume Contest
• Halloween Decorations
• Monster Bash Dance Party
• Professional Face Painter or Characturist for Kids
• Halloween Movies
• Costume Parade and Trick or Treating for Kids
• Halloween Arts and Crafts for Kids
• Kids’ Halloween Theme Party
• Scary Halloween Storytime
• Teen Halloween Costume Party

Thanksgiving

• Thanksgiving Family Activities
• Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts for Kids
• Thanksgiving Games for Kids
• Special Decorations for Adventure Ocean
• Special Thanksgiving Menu
• Thanksgiving Storytime

Hanukkah

• Onboard Holiday Shows
• Hanukkah Songs, Games and Food
• Rabbi Onboard
• Traditional Hanukkah Religious Service
• Hanukkah Singalong for Kids
• Hanukkah Games for Kids
• Hanukkah Arts and Crafts for Kids

Christmas

• Holiday Movies and Music
• Holiday Cookie Decorating for Families
• Holiday Arts and Crafts for Kids
• Holiday Ice Skating on Select Ships
• Meet & Greet with Santa and the Elves
• Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
• Priest Onboard Select Ships
• Special Christmas Day Meal
• Holiday Caroling
• Christmas Eve Storytime
• Special Adventure Ocean Decorations

New Year’s Eve

• Themed Party
• Kids New Year’s Eve Party & Countdown
• Teen New Year’s Eve Party & Countdown

 Courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean proudly announced that it received the first ever “Clean Sea Award.” The award was announced at the Clean Shipping Awards ceremony held during the Nor-Shipping Conference (Oslo, June 9-12), presented in cooperation with Det Norske Veritas (DNV). In total, 60 companies were considered for the various awards and winners were selected by an independent jury.

Royal Caribbean won the award in recognition of its superior efforts to limit discharges from ship to sea. In 1992, Royal Caribbean established the widely renowned Save The Waves® program, to ensure crew and guests are directly engaged in our environmental management efforts. Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas, which launches at the end of the year and with a passenger capacity of 8,400, will have a higher standard of waste treatment than that of the most stringent global guidelines.

“Royal Caribbean is honored to be recognized for our efforts to minimize our environmental footprint, contribute to conservation and set new standards of environmental stewardship in the shipping industry,” said Jamie Sweeting, vice president of Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “As an industry we have a special responsibility to protect our marine ecosystems, because clean waters are good for the environment, good for our guests and good for our business.”

The launch of the Clean Shipping Awards corresponded with this year’s Nor-Shipping Opening Conference titled “From Crisis to Opportunity: Shipping’s Role in the Fight against Climate Change”. The conference brought together leading industry voices representing ship owners, cargo owners and regulators to discuss climate change. During the opening conference, Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., spoke on the importance of making sure governments, consumers and other industries around the world understand the shipping industry is concerned about climate change and playing its part to minimize its greenhouse gas footprint.

“The Norwegian shipping industry is internationally recognized for being a pioneer in the development of solutions and technologies to manage a broad range of environmental issues,” said Tollef Schieander, director of Nor-Shipping. “The Clean Shipping Awards will serve to support these efforts and reward any company with the vision and expertise to develop good environmental solutions.”

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

From heavenly entrees to delectable desserts- Royal Caribbean have dining options to suit a range of vacationing needs- this is fine dining that everyone can enjoy.

Traditional Dining option allows you to preselect your ideal dining time for the length of your cruise vacation. It’s the perfect way to relax and enjoy your cruise vacation as you like-at the spa, in the pool, or on an exciting shore adventure-and know you’ll always have a reserved time and table waiting for you in our main dining room. With Traditional Dining service you will be assigned a dinner table for our main or second seating for the duration of the cruise based on your preferred seating time and availability.

With My Time Dining you can experience the fine quality, ambiance and service offered in our main dining room while enjoying flexibility in your dining options. By selecting My Time Dining, you can choose to dine in our main dining room between the hours of 6:00 – 9:30 pm (times vary by ship). Then once onboard your ship, you will have the convenience and flexibility to select the perfect dining time for each day of your cruise vacation. Prepaid gratuities are required when you select My Time Dining.

Menu
Menus feature VitalityTM items, which are lower in fat, as well as vegetarian options and a selection of kids’ favorite foods. Kosher meals are also available if arranged in advance. Menus change daily throughout your cruise and can vary from ship to ship. We also modify dishes seasonally to use the freshest ingredients available.

Dress Suggestion
During the day, casual clothes are fine for the main dining room. In the evening, there are three distinct types of dress onboard: casual, smart casual and formal.

The number of smart casual and formal nights is at the ship’s discretion, the general guide for evening dress is as follows:

3-Night
Casual – 2/ Smart Casual – 0/ Formal – 1

4-Night
Casual – 3 / Smart Casual – 0 / Formal – 1

5-Night
Casual – 3 / Smart Casual – 1 / Formal – 1

6-Night
Casual – 3 / Smart Casual – 0 / Formal – 2

7-Night
Casual – 4 / Smart Casual – 1 / Formal – 2

8-Night
Casual – 4 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2

9-Night
Casual – 5 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2

10-Night
Casual – 6 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2

11-Night
Casual – 7 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2

12-Night
Casual – 8 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2*

13-Night
Casual – 9 / Smart Casual – 2 / Formal – 2

14-Night
Casual – 8 / Smart Casual – 3 / Formal – 3

15-Night+
Remaining Casual / Smart Casual – 3 / Formal – 3

Note: *Some 12-night Europe cruises may have 3 formal nights.

Bare feet or bathing suits are not allowed at any time in the dining room and shorts are not permitted at dinner. Each ship also offers a variety of casual dining options, for example, the Windjammer Café.

Serving Times
Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Lunch: Noon – 2:00 p.m.
Dinner: Main Seating 6:15 p.m., Second Seating 8:30 p.m.
Please note: Opening and closing times vary by ship.

Reservations
When you make your reservation, you will be assigned a dinner table for the duration of the cruise based on your preferred seating time and availability. We will make every effort to accommodate requests to sit with friends or to change your table assignment whenever possible. There is open seating during breakfast and lunch.

Costs
All meals (including coffee, tea, water, iced tea or lemonade) in the main dining room are included in the price of your cruise. Specialty beverages, beer, wine and soda are offered at current bar menu prices.

By Jacques Botty, Cruise Consultant, The Cruise Web.

Royal Caribbean and Universal Orlando have teamed up to create several fantastic combination options for a fun-filled cruise and stay at Universal Resort, Orlando! These vacation options now include a 3 to 4 night Bahamas or 7-night Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral along with a stay at the Universal Orlando resort.

I recently had the opportunity to experience this package and believe these package combinations have created an win-win solution to a long debated topic: Universal Orlando OR a cruise. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International [Read more →]