Contrasting calls on Royal Caribbean sailing

Posted on 20 November, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Labadee is situated on a mile-long peninsula, with the ocean on one side and a bay on the other. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas at Labadee’s concrete pier, built in 2009 to accommodate Oasis-class ships. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom StieghorstBy Tom Stieghorst
I recently had a chance to visit two of the Caribbean destinations developed at least in part by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. One, the Haitian private port of call of Labadee, exceeded my expectations. The other, in Falmouth, Jamaica, did not.

Both are big enough to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world: Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis class, which includes the hulking Harmony of the Seas, my transport to the two ports. Neither is devoid of interest. But for my money, Labadee is the more enjoyable of the two.

Part of it is simply a matter of time. Labadee has been around since 1986 and has had a chance to grow into itself. Its facilities don’t look like they just came out of the box, as do those at Falmouth, opened in 2011.

Labadee is situated on a peninsula perhaps a mile or so in length, with the ocean on one side and a bay on the other. Forested mountains offer a backdrop. There is a stout pier built in 2009 to accommodate the Oasis-class ships, making it easy to go back and forth between the ship and the facilities.

The giant Labadee sign is a good spot to pose for photos. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom Stieghorst

The setting is quite attractive, more so than I expected. The bay side, in particular, has some beautiful, calm swimming beaches and is a natural spot for the rentable cabanas that have been installed along its shores.

There are actually three distinct beaches on the bay side, which feels nicely sheltered and different from the ocean side. The Barefoot Beach Club area includes the cabanas close to the water. At least some are reserved for the use of Suite Class guests who shell out for the top-end suites on Royal ships.

It also has the more elaborate of two spa treatment areas at Labadee.

A bungalow at Columbus Cove. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom Stieghorst

Nellie’s Beach is somewhat similar. Columbus Cove, the largest of the three beaches and the most distant from the ship, is a good spot for families. It has a collection of inflatable floating slides and rafts offshore as well as the Dragon’s Splash waterslide, a twisty, low-slung, blue metal slide that must look like it’s worth every penny of its $27.50 daily cost to kids of a certain age, if not their parents.

One could easily make a day of it at Columbus Cove alone. There is a cafe, bars, restrooms, a trading post, beach chairs and a station for the island tram.

There is also a free one-way shuttle boat from the pier.

The tram operates on a sand road that forms the spine of the island and really makes it easier to get around, especially for guests who are older, have young kids or are not very mobile. I walked the length of the place to see it but was happy to hop the tram to go back.

One of the most pleasant parts of Labadee is that there’s lots of shade provided by mature Australian pines, coconut palms and other trees. The walk from the ship along the pier was hot on a late October morning, but the rest of it was pretty breezy.

The ocean side of Labadee is protected by a reef, so the waves broke rather gently on shore when I was there. A promontory point anchors the crescent curve that at the far end becomes Adrenaline Beach, where there is a breakwater and daybed-style cabanas.

The Dragon’s Splash waterslide. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom Stieghorst

As for activities, personal watercraft, parasailing, kayaking and snorkelling are all available. There’s a nicely done splash park for little kids and volleyball for adults. The star attraction is undoubtedly the five-line, 2,600-foot-long Dragon’s Breath zipline that starts high atop an overlook and swoops over the ocean beach. It costs $95.75 per ride.

There’s also the Dragon’s Tail, a tracked coaster with two-person sledges that curves around the side of a steep, forested hill. It costs $19.75 for a five-minute ride.

Entertainment at Labadee includes Haitian musicians and dancers. There is an extensive Artisan’s Village with native crafts of a somewhat higher calibre, I thought than those for sale at other Caribbean ports. Be prepared for a friendly but aggressive pitch.

Falmouth a port in progress

I left Labadee wanting to spend more time there. The next stop on the Harmony’s itinerary at Falmouth left me feeling I’d seen it all in an hour.

The Harmony of the Seas looms over the buildings of the shopping village at the cruise port in Falmouth, Jamaica. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom Stieghorst

The cruise port, developed by RCCL and the Jamaican government along with some partners, is a triangle jutting into the sea with two long wharves with new shops meant to mimic Falmouth’s 18th-century Georgian architecture. There’s a very healthy assortment of jewellery shops along with a large Margaritaville complex and not a lot of natural shade.Outside the gates of the triangle lies the town of Falmouth, which boomed in the late 18th and early 19th century as a slave market and sugar depot and thereafter fell into decay. Jamaica tourism minister Edmund Bartlett said there are efforts underway to restore some of the historical architecture, and a cab driver who took me to Montego Bay Airport confirmed they have started, but most of the town remains somewhat ramshackle.

Two showcases of the Georgian era, the courthouse and the Anglican church, fit squarely in the colonial style of much of the Caribbean, and I was mildly disappointed that the quality wasn’t as high as in some American colonial villages, much less the London originals on which they are based.

Beyond the gates, there are vendors and would-be tour guides trying to drum up business, but I didn’t find them as aggressive as some reports might suggest. On the whole, however, a first-time visitor to Falmouth might be better off taking the excursion to Ocho Rios rather than hanging around in town.

Venice to Ban Large Cruise Ships From City Center

Posted on 9 November, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

PHOTO: Large cruise ships will be banned from docking in Venice by 2021. (photo via Flickr/Martin Cooper)Venice has taken action against cruise ships in a move that isn’t likely to sit well with future passengers.

According to The Independent, an Italian government committee has ruled to ban cruise ships over 60,000 tons from docking in the city centre by the year 2021.

Instead, the large ships will bypass the Grand Canal and St. Mark’s Square for the mainland at Marghera, a destination that pales in comparison to the photogenic Venice.

The controversial decision comes in the wake of concerns expressed by both locals and activists that the vessels are harming the city’s historical infrastructure as well as the environment.

Venice hosts approximately 30 million tourists annually, according to CNN. While the large cruise ships that enter the city represent a key driver of its tourism-based economy, Venice’s 50,000 or so residents have warned that the city can’t withstand all the attention.

“We want it to be clear to UNESCO and the whole world that we have a solution,” said Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro via The Guardian. “This takes into account all the jobs created by the cruise industry, which we absolutely couldn’t afford to lose, and we can start to work seriously on planning cruises.”

Ships under the specified mass will continue to travel along the iconic Zattere waterfront and into Venice’s city centre.

While 99 percent of Venetians who voted in an unofficial referendum this past June supported the ban, not everyone is optimistic about the committee’s ruling.

Activist Tommasso Cacciari of the No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) protest group told The Guardian that the “declaration means nothing.”

“They haven’t found a solution, there is no plan—basically, nothing will change. They say the largest ships will go to Marghera—but where will they put them?” he asked. “They say all of this will be done within four years, but even projects in Dubai do not get completed in that space of time.”

Cacciari also argued that the ban won’t quell environment concerns.

This week’s decision comes four years after authorities banned ships over 105,000 tons from sailing through the city. That ban was subsequently overturned in 2015.

World’s largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, nearing completion

Posted on 31 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

The exterior of Royal Caribbean's soon-to-debut Symphony

Symphony of the Seas

The giant is almost ready.

New photos from the shipyard building Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas — the largest cruise ship ever — show the vessel rapidly approaching the finishing stages of construction.

As seen in the carousel above, the new images of the 230,000-ton ship show an exterior now gleaming with a finishing coat of paint and work well under way on outdoor decks including the Boardwalk amusement zone. Boardwalk will be home to a classic carousel, diner, rock climbing walls, the base of a nine-deck-high slide and more.

Another highlight of the Boardwalk area, an “aqua theater” that will boast daring high-diving and aerial performances, also can be seen nearing completion in the photos.

Royal Caribbean revealed earlier this month that Symphony would be ready weeks ahead of schedule. Now debuting in March instead of April, the vessel has been under construction for more than two years at the giant STX France shipbuilding facility in St. Nazaire, France.

Symphony was floated out from a dry dock at STX France in June, a construction milestone that marked the end of basic exterior work. It is now undergoing months of finishing work to its interior.

Behold the largest cruise ship ever built, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. USA TODAY

Symphony will be more than 3,000 tons bigger than the current size leader in the cruise world, Royal Caribbean’s 226,963-ton Harmony of the Seas. Like Harmony, Symphony will be part of Royal Caribbean’s record-breaking Oasis Class of ships, though it won’t be an exact copy of its sisters. Royal Caribbean has unveiled several new features for the vessel including a first-of-its-kind, two-deck-high family suite with a slide between floors.

Symphony is scheduled to sail to the Caribbean out of Miami starting in November 2018. It’ll move to the city after spending its first few months operating voyages in the Mediterranean.