Everything about Royal Caribbean International totally explained
Royal Caribbean International is a
Norwegian-
American cruise ship company based in
Miami, Florida. It is a brand of
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with 20 ships in service and three under construction. All the ships have names ending in "of the Seas." Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. also operates
Celebrity Cruises,
Pullmantur Cruises,
Azamara Cruises and has a stake in
Island Cruises.
Company and brand history
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was founded in
1968 by
Anders Wilhelmsen & Company,
I.M. Skaugen & Company, and
Gotaas Larsen - all
Norwegian shipping companies. The newly created line put its first ship, the
Song of Norway, into service two years later. The next year, the line's capacity was doubled with the addition of the
Nordic Prince to the fleet. Continuing to expand, the line added the
Sun Viking in
1972. After four years of successful operation, Royal Caribbean's
Song of Norway became their first passenger ship to be lengthened. This was accomplished via the insertion of an 85 foot section to the vessel's severed center. Following the success of this procedure,
Nordic Prince was stretched in
1980. Royal Caribbean finally received widespread global recognition when in
1982 it launched the
Song of America, over twice the size of
Sun Viking and at the time the third largest passenger vessel afloat (after the
Norway and the
QE2)
Royal Caribbean innovated once again with its
1986 purchase of a coastal property in
Haiti for use as a private destination for its guests. This destination is now called
Labadee. After a corporate restructuring in
1988, the line lauched
Sovereign of the Seas, the largest passenger vessel afloat at the time. Two years later,
Nordic Empress and
Viking Serenade entered service for the line, continuing a rapid growth trend within the company. In the same year Royal Caribbean purchased its second private destination,
Little Stirrup Cay, an
island in the
Bahamas, which they rechristened "Coco Cay".
Monarch of the Seas, the second ship of the
Sovereign class, entered service the next year. The third ship of the Sovereign class,
Majesty of the Seas, was delivered one year later. With a large passenger capacity and a growing market share, Royal Caribbean finally went public on the
New York Stock Exchange in
1993. Over the next two years the company experienced extreme growth. A new corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida was completed, and the
Nordic Prince replaced by a new vessel, the
Legend of the Seas.
The next year brought more growth. Two more
Vision class vessels entered service, the
Splendour of the Seas and
Grandeur of the Seas. Also in
1996, the company finalized its contracts for 130,000 ton vessels with
Aker Finnyards in
Finland. The trend of growth and change continued into 1997. The line's oldest ship,
Song of Norway, was sold, and two new Vision-class ships entered service as
Rhapsody of the Seas and
Enchantment of the Seas. The company also merged with the Greek cruise line
Celebrity Cruises and changed its name from "Royal Caribbean Cruise Line" to "Royal Caribbean International". The next year marked a transition to a more "strictly modern line", when the last of the company's older vessels,
Song of America and
Sun Viking, were retired. In 1998,
Vision of the Seas came into service, the last of the Vision Class Ships. In 2004, Royal Caribbean made history again with the massive refurbishment of
Enchantment of the Seas, cutting the ship in half and adding a 74 foot midsection.
Grandeur of the Seas is rumored to be the next to have the massive refurbishment sometime in late 2007 or early 2008.
In
1999 the
Voyager of the Seas, the line's newest and world's largest cruise ship entered service with much attention from the news media. The next two years saw the delivery of Voyager's sister ship,
Explorer of the Seas, and the first of a new class of more environmentally friendly cruise liners,
Radiance of the Seas, as well as the introduction of Royal Caribbean's "cruise tours
Alaska", featuring glass-domed train cars to scenic destinations within the state and
Canada. The year 2000 saw the formation of a joint venture with British
First Choice Holidays to form a joint venture for the informal British and Brazilian markets,
Island Cruises.
2002 saw the debut of the
Navigator of the Seas, as well as the Brilliance of the Seas, the second ship of the Radiance class. Serenade of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas were introduced the next year, and rock-climbing walls were made a feature of every Royal Caribbean ship. Jewel of the Seas followed in 2004, and the line's ship Nordic Empress was refurbished and re-christened as Empress of the Seas. Construction commenced on Freedom of the Seas, the line's newest ship, at Aker Finnyards in 2005 and the vessel launched the next year as the largest passenger vessel in the world. Freedom of the Seas' sister ship,
Liberty of the Seas, was launched in
2007, and
Independence of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered in
2008. An even larger class, the
Oasis class, will be launched in
2009, guaranteeing Royal Caribbean the ship size lead for years to come.
In November 2006, Royal Caribbean finalized the purchase of
Pullmantur Cruises in
Madrid, Spain. Onwards from that point the company expanded radically with the creation of new cruise lines.
Azamara Cruises was created in May 2007 as a subsdiary of Celebrity Cruises. In September 2007 Royal Caribbean unveiled plans for a new cruise line,
Croisières de France, aimed at French-language customers. The new company will start operations in Spring 2008, initially with one ship, the
Bleu de France, which currently sails for Pullmantur Cruises as the
Holiday Dream. Just two months later Royal Caribbean announced plans for yet another new cruise line, this time aimed at a German-speaking audience in collaboration with
TUI AG. This brand will be called
TUI Cruises and begins operations in 2009 with one ship transferred from an existing Royal Caribbean brand, with two newbuildings following in 2011 and 2012. TUI and Royal Caribbean already collaborate in the British market, as TUI AG acquired the majority of First Choice Holidays in 2007, hence gaining control of 50 % of the Island Cruises brand.
Royal Caribbean cruise ships
Each Royal Caribbean ship includes a top-of-ship lounge called the
Viking Crown Lounge offering sweeping panoramic views, onboard rock climbing walls, bars, lounges, spas, gyms, a main dining room and alternative dining venues. The line has a special kids and youth program known as
Adventure Ocean. The line's first ship was the
Song of Norway, now International Shipping Partners'
Clipper Pearl. The current fleet consists of:
The first ship of this class is expected to surpass the Freedom-class ships as the world's largest passenger ship in autumn
2009. It will be able to accommodate up to 5,400 double-occupancy passengers (up to 6,400 when third & fourth passengers are included), will have a registered tonnage of approximately 220,000 tons and will cost the line around US$1.24 billion. This would make it “the most valuable ship ever ordered in the history of commercial shipbuilding” as per a Royal Caribbean spokesperson. It is anticipated that the Oasis-class of vessels will primarily sail the waters of the Caribbean Sea, but Royal Caribbean may also choose to deploy these vessels in other parts of the world. Like the Freedom class ships, it'll be constructed at
Aker Finnyards,
Turku,
Finland. A second Oasis-class ship was ordered on April 2,
2007, to be delivered in August
2010.
Royal Caribbean International, in conjunction with
USA Today, sponsored a contest to name the vessels.
- Allure of the Seas.
- Oasis of the Seas
The largest passenger ships at sea only behind the Freedom Class and Cunard's Queen Mary 2, the Voyager class ships were built at Kvaerner Masa-Yard’s (now Aker Finnyards) facility in Turku, Finland. These ships include a 350 foot indoor mall known as the Royal Promenade, featuring indoor pubs, shops, cafes, and bars. Activity options on board include: basketball courts, skating rinks, at least 3 pools, a mini-golf course, and a rock wall.
- Voyager of the Seas
- Explorer of the Seas
- Adventure of the Seas
- Navigator of the Seas
- Mariner of the Seas
Radiance class ships have all the features of RCI, as well as grand public rooms such as on the
Queen Mary 2. All ships have more environmentally-friendly
gas turbine engines. The Radiance Class ships have over 3 acres of glass, glass exterior viewing elevators, over 700 balcony staterooms, two-level glass windowed dining rooms, alternative restaurants, a retractable glass roof over a pool, an outdoor pool, as well as the first self-leveling billiard tables at sea. The Radiance Class ships were constructed at
Meyer Werft,
Papenburg,
Germany.
Radiance of the Seas
Brilliance of the Seas
Serenade of the Seas
Jewel of the Seas
Technically speaking the Vision Class consists of three pairs of sister ships and isn't a "class" of ships in the same sense as the Radiance, Freedom or Voyager classes. The Legend and Splendour, built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire, France have a gross tonnage of approximately 70,000 and are the only ones which have a golf course. The Grandeur and Enchantment were built at Kvaerner Masa-Yards, Helsinki, Finland and have a tonnage of approximately 81,000 gross tons. The final pair, Rhapsody and Vision were also built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, and have a tonnage of 83,000 gross tons. All ships of this class feature over 2 acres of glass.
In 2004, a 74 foot midsection was added to the Enchantment of the Seas, allowing for the addition of a pool, suspension bridges, specialty restaurants, additional staterooms, and expanded areas for guest comfort.
Legend of the Seas
Splendour of the Seas
Grandeur of the Seas
Rhapsody of the Seas
Enchantment of the Seas
Vision of the Seas
These were the first "mega-ships" in the industry (with exception of the SS Norway, an ocean liner converted into a cruise ship), built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The Sovereign Class ships were the first ships ever to have an open atrium area. Like larger Royal Caribbean ships, the Sovereign Class ships have pools, open bars and pools, bars and lounges inside, and grand theaters.
In 2004, the Monarch of the Seas went into drydock for an extensive refurbishment, followed by the Sovereign in 2005, and the Majesty of the Seas in 2007. New features include enhanced staterooms, public areas, Johnny Rockets, addition of rock walls, new pools, and more space for guest comfort. In October 2007 it was reported that the Sovereign of the Seas will transfer to the fleet of Pullmantur Cruises in late 2008.
Sovereign of the Seas
Monarch of the Seas
Majesty of the Seas
Retired ships
Former RCI ships no longer in the fleet:
Song of Norway - Now operating with International Shipping Partners as Clipper Pearl
Nordic Prince - Now operating with Transocean Tours as Arielle
Sun Viking - Now the casino-cruise ship Omar III
Song of America - Now operating with Thomson Cruises as Thomson Destiny
Viking Serenade - Now operating with Island Cruises as Island Escape
Empress of the Seas - Now operating with Pullmantur Cruises as .
Private resorts
Royal Caribbean operates two privately owned resorts that are used as stops on some Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. They are Labadee, a resort on the northern coast of Haiti; and Coco Cay, a private island in the Berry Islands region of The Bahamas. Each island features beaches, canopies for eating, lounge chairs, palm trees, and white sand beaches.
Onboard security
Following several incidents on cruise ships that have claimed media attention, Royal Caribbean and other cruiselines have worked to increase security in order to make the cruising experience safer for all passengers. This includes the use of closed-circuit cameras and other technology, and an increase in security personnel.
Some security measures include:
Metal detectors and x-ray. Similar to those found at airports, these are used to prevent passengers from bringing aboard contraband.
George Allen Smith case
On July 5, 2005, passengers on board the Brilliance of the Seas reported what appeared to be blood on a part of the ship below passenger balconies. After a search, George Allen Smith was discovered to be missing and thought to have fallen overboard. A criminal investigation into possible foul play was conducted, and a brief press release on the company's investor relations website announced the settlement of the case, later revealed to be more than $1 million.
Environmental Record
In 1998 and 1999, the company was fined $9 million US dollars because one of its ships, the Sovereign of the Seas, had repeatedly dumped oily waste into the ocean and tried to hide this using false records, including fake piping diagrams given to the US Coast Guard. Because the company is incorporated in Liberia, Royal Caribbean unsuccessfully argued that this case wasn't in the jurisdiction of US courts.
In the 21st century, the company has taken siginificant initiatives to address environmental concerns with its fleet. In 2008, RCI created a new "Vice President of Environmental Stewardship" position, with Jamie Sweeting (formerly of Conservation International) hired to fill the role
Further Information
Get more info on 'Royal Caribbean International'.
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