Royal Caribbean takes delivery of Anthem of the Seas

Posted on 13 April, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

A signing ceremony in Bremerhaven, Germany, made the Anthem delivery official.

Meyer Werft shipyard formally turned over Anthem of the Seas to Royal Caribbean International on Friday, 10 days ahead of the ship’s naming ceremony in Southampton, England.

The 4,200-passenger Anthem, the second ship in Royal’s Quantum class, will sail from the U.K. on various European itineraries this summer and fall. In November, it will arrive in New York Harbor to dock at its permanent home port of Cape Liberty, N.J.

Unique features of the Quantum-class ships include the North Star aerial observatory, the SeaPlex bumper car arena and the RipCord by iFLY skydiving simulator.

Royal Caribbean gives US residents a tax holiday

Posted on 10 April, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean – giving US residents a five-day tax holiday

In a novel US tax season twist, Royal Caribbean International is letting travelers off the hook for cruise-related taxes and port fees. For five days only, from April 11 through 15, the line will pay the taxes, port charges and fees on new cruise bookings.

With Royal Caribbean’s ‘Tax-Free Holiday,’ US residents can save up to $200 per person when they book a six-night or longer Bahamas, Caribbean and roundtrip-Europe itinerary. The offer applies to sailings that depart April 15, 2015, through March 31, 2016, but does not include Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

Starting April 11, details will be at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/TaxFree.

Renderings Leaked Of New Ship For Virgin Cruises

Posted on 10 April, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

The cruise industry can hardly keep a secret anymore and today we learned even cruise lines that don’t technically exist aren’t exempt.

Virgin Cruises, Richard Branson’s new cruise line, is set to make waves by 2019 and promises to deliver a cruise experience not yet offered by any other cruise line. Today, the cruise industry has been granted a peek into Branson’s plans thanks to a lawsuit filed against Virgin Cruises by Colin Veitch, the former President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line. Veitch, a former partner of Branson, claims the Virgin Group stole his plans for a “Virgin style” cruise line.

The lawsuit, which has now been made public, shares detailed renderings of ships that could potentially sail for the Virgin fleet. The designs leaked through the lawsuit show a red hulled ship sporting a unique bow design, a split superstructure similar to Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, and even a skydiving simulator similar to the one found aboard yet another Royal Caribbean ship, Quantum of the Seas.

virgin 2 The renderings, while undated, would appear to share similarities with many modern cruise ships sailing today, notably with the Royal Caribbean ships mentioned prior.

The new Virgin Cruises brand states they will debut two new ships focused on offering a high end, yet mainstream, cruise experience to cruise passengers. While Virgin has been successful with this unique approach in other industries, Virgin may find difficulty in cornering a market that has already been captured by cruise lines such as Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity.