Royal Caribbean unveils info site for shore excursions

Posted on 22 September, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Screen Dump of Royals new Shore Excursion site. Credit Dave Jones

Royal Caribbean International said it has created a website for travel agents to provide more information about its shore excursions.

The new site has tour clips, photography and other tools to help agents plan clients’ shore excursions. There is also information about commissions paid on group bookings.

Royal Caribbean pays 10% on groups booked by an agent on standard and custom excursions, and a 5% referral fee when group clients pre-book individual shore excursions. Royal Caribbean, like most lines, does not pay commission on individual bookings of shore excursions.

The new website follows a recent expansion of Royal Caribbean’s shore excursion program.

Royal Caribbean seeks new terminal in Miami

Posted on 11 September, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has started negotiations aimed at building a new $100 million terminal at Port Miami that would accommodate Oasis-class ships.

Specifications call for a 170,000-square-foot terminal with a berth of 400 meters, or about 1,312 feet. Oasis of the Seas is 1,186 feet long.

The specifications are in a memorandum of understanding to be considered by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16. If approved, the memorandum would become a roadmap for a final negotiation. The memorandum said the terminal is “assumed to become operational” by the end of 2018.

“By the nature of a memorandum of understanding, there is still a long road to go,” said Rob Zeiger, Royal Caribbean’s vice president of communications.

Royal Caribbean currently docks at Terminal G at the port, the closest one to downtown Miami. The new terminal would be built partly on a cargo area in the easternmost part of the port furthest from downtown. Designated Terminal A, it would be developed and owned by Royal Caribbean except for a small contribution from the county.

The agreement, which would last for a minimum of 20 years, calls for Royal Caribbean to pay an initial rent on leasing the land beneath the terminal for $9.5 million a year, or about $250 million over the life of the agreement, after annual escalators. The lease would have four 10-year optional extensions. A summary of the memorandum calls it a new model for financing terminals at the port.

“This deal structure is extremely attractive to the port because it transfers risk from the county to a private company,” said the summary, signed by Jack Osterholt, deputy county mayor.

The memorandum said that ever since Miami lost the deployment of Oasis and Allure of the Seas to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades in 2009, the port has been talking with Royal Caribbean about ways to boost the number of passengers. Currently, that number is about 730,000 a year.

Harmony of the Seas to Debut New Aquatic Adventure Park

Posted on 17 August, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

The Harmony of the Seas will debut Splashaway Bay, an interactive aqua park for kids, Royal Caribbean announced today.

The Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea touting a 100 foot dramatic plunge, The Perfect Storm trio of water slides and Splashaway Bay are the latest in a collection of activities.

Slashaway Bay will be a vibrant waterscape for kids and toddlers with sea creature water cannons, winding slides, a gigantic drench bucket and a multi-platform jungle-gym.

There is the Ultimate Abyss, a 10 story slide that begins in the Pool and Sports Zone at the aft of the ship down to the Boardwalk neighborhood below.

Spiraling five decks above the lushly landscaped, open-air Central Park in the center of the ship, water slides Supercell, Typhoon and Cyclone come together as The Perfect Storm, inviting travelers to slide into an adventure.

Thrill seekers can test their mettle in Supercell, featuring a champagne bowl swirling guests around as they descend into their approach towards a big splash finale.