royal caribbean

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.

Tags: allure of the seas, royal caribbean, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises, worlds largest cruise ship

Continue reading “World's Biggest Cruise Ship Heads For Home Port”

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

Rough Waters Ahead For Cruising? Royal Caribbean Cuts 400 Jobs

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Hard times for the world of cruising? Royal Caribbean Cruises announced today that they have cut 400 jobs and are making other cost-cutting measures to reduce annual expenses by $125 million. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain has named soaring fuel prices and the economic downturn as a factor in the moves. The announcement followed lower-than-expected second quarter earnings. So far though, bookings have been holding up well with no decline in the number of people booking cruises. The last few years have been strong for the cruise industry as the growing number of baby boomers have fueled the upscale cruising market. I suspect that the economic fallout for the cruise industry may be slower to occur since cruises are often booked farther in advance. Royal Caribbean's dramatic cost cutting may be a way to try and head off the storms ahead.

Source

Tags: cruises, cruising, royal caribbean, RoyalCaribbean

Freedom of the Seas Completed

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Though the construction of the behemoth Project Genesis cruise liner casts a slightly shadow on the glory of its launch, the current world's largest cruise ship is complete and the ship is en route to its new owners, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., in Florida. Freedom of the Seas can hold a total of 4,000 passengers - 1,000 more than its closest rival - and can entertain them with pools, an ice skating rink and the largest ship-bound rock climbing wall. To see all that the ship has to offer or to making bookings on one of its upcoming Caribbean cruises, take a look at its website, where you can take a virtual tour of the ship. The ship's first passenger voyage with Royal Caribbean is scheduled for June 4.

[Image The Star]

Source

Tags: caribbean, cruise, cruise ship, freedom of the seas, FreedomOfTheSeas, ocean, ocean liner, passengers, royal caribbean, travel, vacation

Project Genesis Will Be The World's Largest Cruiseship

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

It's like nothing that has ever been built. We've watched cruise ships get larger and larger and now Royal Caribbean International has ordered the world's largest and most expensive cruise ship. Aker Yards in Finland will be making the new ship, currently known as Project Genesis. The ship will cost around $1 billion, making it the most expensive ship ever ordered. It will be a 1,181-foot ship and will hold 5,400 passengers. The massive ships will be 43% larger than the current behemoth, Aker's "Freedom of the Seas," which will be the world's largest cruise ship when it is delivered to Royal Caribbean in April. The new ship should be delivered in late 2009.

Source

Tags: boat, cruise, largest cruise ship, LargestCruiseShip, royal caribbean