Tag Archives: Navigator of the Seas

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Royal Caribbean transiting the Grand Canal Venice.

Geopolitical events in Europe impacted North American bookings of Mediterranean cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. officials said during a conference call Friday to discuss RCCL’s first-quarter results.

CFO Jason Liberty categorized it as a “lull” in demand, which the company filled with bookings from European travelers, a market that the company said was robust. However, the sourcing shift was accompanied by a decrease in fares and a drop in onboard purchases because North Americans tend to spend more money than Europeans on Mediterranean cruises, Liberty said.

Outside of the Med, however, bookings to the Baltic region have proceeded apace, and executives noted the strength of the Caribbean, Alaska and Bermuda, positing that some of the bookings intended for the Med had been redirected to North America.

“Some of the softness we see in Europe, the Caribbean is the beneficiary of that,” said Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International’s CEO.

RCCL CEO Richard Fain said it was “interesting to note that strong last-minute demand helped our bookings at the same time that we were simultaneously enforcing our price integrity program.” He pointed to the Caribbean in particular.

Overall, robust sales during the first three months of 2016 and strong demand in the Caribbean helped fuel a bullish mood. Fain kicked off the call by saying it was “gratifying to report results that are so much higher than we have ever enjoyed in any winter quarter in our history.”

“We’re in the happy position that just about everything in the quarter that could have gone right, did,” he said. “Ticket revenue was stellar, onboard revenue was terrific, costs were well controlled and even below-the-line items helped.”

Royal Caribbean cancels another cruise ship stop in Labadee due to local protests

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Royal Caribbean has decided to cancel today’s scheduled stop for one of its cruise ships at the cruise line’s private destination of Labadee in Haiti due to ongoing protests.

Photo by Michael C.

Navigator of the Seas was scheduled to stop at Labadee on Thursday, January 21, 2016, but Royal Caribbean canceled the port call and withdrew all employees from the site.

This is the second cruise ship to skip a stop in Labadee, after protests prevented Freedom of the Seas from allowing its guests to go ashore earlier this week.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean commented further on the situation, “Royal Caribbean has not received any guarantees or assurances that there will not be any protests in the future. If a protest takes place while a ship is port, there would be a significant impact on our guests’ ability to enjoy Labadee, or we may have to cancel the visit completely.”

In regards to upcoming stops in Labadee, Royal Caribbean noted, “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and are in close communication with local and government officials in Haiti. At this time, we have not made any decisions regarding any additional upcoming port calls to Labadee. The next schedule call is Vision of the Seas, on Sunday, January 24.”

Everything we know about the virtual balcony

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If there’s one feature of Royal Caribbean’s next-generation cruise ship that is just starting construction, Quantum of the Seas, that is capturing people’s imagination the most, it’s likely the virtual balconies.  These 80-inch LED screens attached to a wall are promising to deliver an innovative take on the inside cabin.

Understandably, there’s a lot of intrigue regarding this new kind of cabin and people want to know what it is exactly and what to expect.  We don’t know everything quite yet, but here’s a listing of all the information on virtual balconies that we do know in one place.

What is a virtual balcony?

The virtual balconies will be 80-inch LED projection screen that stretches from floor to ceiling.  They will offer digital real-time views of the ocean and destinations visible from the ship’s exterior.

It will be displayed in high-resolution color on a giant 80-inch LED screen on the wall of an otherwise windowless stateroom.  It will work at sea and in port.

Will virtual balconies cost extra?

When they were announced, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein said there will not be a specific surcharge for interior cabins with virtual balconies, but added that he hopes they will bring higher yields.

How many inside cabins on Quantum of the Seas will have virtual balconies?

There will be 373 inside cabins on Quantum of the Seas that will offer the virtual balcony feature.

Will any ships other than Quantum of the Seas have virtual balconies?

It’s a safe bet sister ship Anthem of the Seas will have virtual balconies along with the unnamed third Quantum-class cruise ship Royal Caribbean has on order.

In addition to those ships, Navigator of the Seas will receive virtual balconies as part of a previously planned refurbishment.  Navigator of the Seas will go for its refurbishment in December 2013. It is scheduled to sail from Galveston when the upgrades are complete.  Royal Caribbean will use Navigator of the Seas as the “testing ground” for this brand new innovation.

In addition to Navigator of the Seas, virtual balconies will be included as part of scheduled refurbishments for Voyager, Adventure and Explorer of the Seas.  Those ships are set to undergo the revitalization process in 2014-15.

Will the virtual balcony projection be on all the time?

No, you may turn the virtual balcony feature on or off at your convenience.

Where did Royal Caribbean come up with the idea for the virtual balconies?

According to Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain, they got the idea from Disney Cruise Line’s virtual portholes that debuted on their ships a few years ago.

“We actually had looked at the idea, and we didn’t think that the technology and the receptivity from the public was there,” he says. Disney “proved that the public does value something like this.”

virtual balcony projection video