Tag Archives: Anthem of the Seas

Royal Caribbean history, as seen through its ship naming’s

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Anthem of the Seas Christening
By Tom Stieghorst 
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The Harmony of the Seas christening was as grand as the ship itself, an impressive feat of logistics and technology that took place within the confines of the 226,000-ton behemoth, rather than dockside.
 
It involved Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd chairman Richard Fain and godmother Brittany Affolter at the aft of the ship in the Aqua Theater, an oversized bottle of champagne rigged to the ship’s zipline in the middle of the ship, and somewhere deep down in the innards, a robotic bartender as a relay of Affolter’s signal to release the champagne.
 
Oh, and bagpipers. 
 
I’ve come to understand that bagpipers are a Royal Caribbean christening signature. In this case, it was the Dunedin Pipe Band from Dunedin, Fl., doing the honors as part of the warm up entertainment before the christening.
 
They seemed as out of place as ever on a ship, but also provided a kind of familiarity and continuity that I’m sure is part of the intended effect. If memory serves, bagpipers were part of the first Royal Caribbean christening I witnessed, the 1990 naming of the Nordic Empress at the Port of Miami.
 
That event was notable chiefly for the grit of the godmother, Miami Sound Machine singer Gloria Estefan, who was still in a back brace recovering from a bus accident while on tour three months earlier.
 
Royal Caribbean has learned a few things about christenings since then. The dockside Miami Empress event was sweltering in June. With the Harmony, although Royal took delivery in May it sailed the ship in Europe for the summer and then christened it on a picture-perfect evening in November.
 
Also, when Estefan swung the 77-pound bottle of California sparkling wine into the side of the Empress, it bounced rather than smashed. No second attempt was necessary for the Harmony’s French champagne, which exploded on cue.
 
Twenty-six years after it was christened, the Nordic Empress is sailing alongside Harmony of the Seas from South Florida, now offering 4- and 5-day cruises under the name Empress of the Seas, instead of the 3-and 4-day cruises it started with.
 
And although inflation has made nearly everything more expensive since 1990, a four-day cruise on the Empress of the Seas in January can be had for as little as $219, plus $100 in taxes, fees and port charges.
 
In 1990, a four-day cruise on the Nordic Empress started at $615, minus a $100 per person deduction for passengers who didn’t need airfare to and from Miami. Port charges ranged from $29 to $32.

Royal Caribbean Will Invest $250 Million to Expand Presence in Miami

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Oasis Class and Quantum Class to call Miami Home

Big Thank You To David Block for this story.

Check out David’s Google+ site; https://plus.google.com/u/0/112416669860023952159/posts

Royal Caribbean Cruises has plans to open a new cruise terminal in Miami by 2018, increasing its presence in the U.S. market and giving its giant new-build vessels a potential homeport in South Florida.

Earlier this week, the Miami-Dade county Board of Commissioners signed a legislative resolution which will likely lead to a new home for Royal Caribbean’s ships in the region.

The resolution, obtained by Skift from the Miami-Dade county Board of Commissioners, shows that a long-term lease to accommodate Royal Caribbean’s large new vessels will likely be signed in the next four months.

According to deal, Royal Caribbean will invest more than $100 million to build a new cruise terminal in a ten-acre plot on the north side of PortMiami. Its expected investment over the course of the contract is $250 million.

Royal Caribbean Cruises will introduce eight new ships across its six brands by the end of 2020, including four more gigantic Oasis- and Quantum-class ships.

PortMiami says the deal is a good one for them because Royal Caribbean will bear the brunt of all upfront costs for building the new terminal. The port just completed a costly dredging project to let large cargo and cruise ships access its facilities.

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Port of Miami.

“Although much work remains to determine the cost ranges for various elements of this program, RCL will bear the full cost for constructing the cruise terminal, parking garage, ancillary facilities, and any bulkhead work,” according to the report.

PortMiami expects to earn $9.5 million annual from leasing the land to Royal Caribbean, an increase from the about $1.2 million it currently earns from cargo companies using the land. The initial lease will run for 20 years and will be renewable in ten year increments once the original terms expire.

Royal Caribbean’s biggest vessels now homeport at Port Everglades due to its infrastructure’s support for larger ships, and PortMiami wants the cruise line’s continued business.

“At the time that PortMiami failed to secure the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas, the Port did not have facilities capable of hosting these vessels nor did it have suitable expansion plans,” reads the document.

Royal Caribbean can bring in other investors to help finance the new terminal, but will be on the hook for at least 20 percent of the venture when the project is completed.

Royal Caribbean reverts to traditional seating in main dining rooms

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Dining room on the Independence of the Seas; photo credit Dave Jones

Royal Caribbean International has decided to end its main dining room format called Dynamic Dining, which was launched with Quantum of the Seas two years ago.

Starting with the Nov. 27 sailing of Anthem of the Seas, the main dining room will operate under the My Time Dining system. Ovation of the Seas will make the change on Nov. 23.

Dynamic Dining was conceived as a way of breaking up the main dining room into smaller venues. The Quantum-class ships were built with a quartet of 480-seat rooms that had different menus and themes. Diners could make reservations, and rotate among them.

When more tradition-bound guests complained, an option was added for a fixed early or late seating called Dynamic Dining Classic.

After Nov. 27, the same menu will be available in all four restaurants: Chic, American Icon, Grande and Silk. As on other ships that have My Time Dining, guests can choose their own dining times and table mates. Alternatively, they can choose the traditional early or late seating at a fixed table.

Royal Caribbean said guests booked on Anthem and Ovation who have already selected the Dynamic Dining Classic option for their upcoming cruise will be assigned to either early or late seating to match their original choice of time. Guests who have selected the Dynamic Dining Choice option will be assigned to the My Time Dining flexible option.

Royal Caribbean said guests on the flexible option will dine in the American Icon and Silk dining rooms while guests on early and late seating’s will eat at either Chic or Grande.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said it decided to end Dynamic Dining after sifting through guest feedback. “Our guests have told us that they prefer the ease of a cruise vacation where they have flexibility without having to plan extensively,” the statement said.