Royal Caribbean Cruises

World's Biggest Cruise Ship Heads For Home Port

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

The amazing image above is of the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's The Allure of the Seas as it passes under the Store Belt Bridge connecting Danish islands of Fuenen and Zealand (it squeezed under with about a foot of room to spare after lowering its retractable smokestacks). The ship left the shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland where it was built, and is now is headed for its homeport of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Allure of the Seas should arrive in Florida on November 11, and will have its official naming ceremony on November 28. The first commercial cruise for the ship is planned for December 1. The vessel is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas and shares the title of largest cruise ship in the world. USA Today recently mentioned that there is still space available on the first cruise, a four-night cruise to Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private beach destination in Haiti.

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Art Auctions to End on Royal Caribbean?

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Auctions, Art

Adam Goldstein, the top dog over at Royal Caribbean, wrote on his blog this week that the cruise line is not renewing its contract with Park West Art Services. It looks as though the future of art auctions on the ships is uncertain, given that the president and CEO says the company is evaluating alternatives.

Writes Goldstein:

"[O]ur contract with Park West Art Services has expired and we have decided not to renew it. There is a wind down period in effect and the art auctioneers will finish on different ships at different times over the next few months. We are evaluating what if any art-related programming we may offer in the fleet in the future beyond Oasis of the Seas where Art Actually is our provider of art tours and art for purchase onboard."

Source

Tags: art auction, art auctions, cruise, cruise ship, CruiseLines, cruises, royal caribbean, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises

Tips for Tipping on Cruise Ships

by Sabah Karimi (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Tips. Gratuities. Service Charges. It's the cost of getting great service, but how much do you tip the waiter, butler and housekeeping personnel each day of your cruise vacation?

When it comes to tipping on a cruise ship, the recommendations and requirements vary only slightly by cruise line. Norwegian cruise lines points out that guests are "not obliged to offer a gratuity for good service", but they do recommend tipping a service provider that's gone above and beyond the call of duty to meet your needs. Celebrity Cruise Lines takes a different approach to the cruise tipping process, automatically adding gratuities to all restaurant and stateroom services and encourages guests to add extra if they feel they received exceptional service.

Most cruise lines encourage passengers to tip for services per person, per day, but tips can be rolled into the service charge or fee you pay as part of your cruise package.

If you need a general idea of how much to tip each individual who serves you, here's a breakdown based on recommendations per person, per day from Celebrity Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International:

Suite Attendant: keeps your room clean and orderly, orders supplies and amenities, provides you with towels and fresh linens as needed, works with housekeeping staff and handles laundry and room service deliveries
Recommended tip: $5.75

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