Royal Caribbean: More New to Brand Guests

Posted on 28 July, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

Independence of the Seas in Southampton Photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

“In the second quarter, the per cent of guests were either new to the brand or new to cruise surpassed 2019 levels by a wide margin, and we have seen post-cruise repeat booking rates nearly double 2019 levels,” said Jason Liberty, CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, speaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

“While we have made positive strides in narrowing the gap to land-based vacations over the last several months, cruising remains an exceptional value proposition, allowing us to outperform broader leisure travel as we seek to further close the gap to land-based vacations, drive better revenue and welcome even more happy customers,” he said.

Liberty said that the company had double the web traffic now compared to 2019.

“In addition, our travel partners are now fully back up and running and delivering more bookings than they did in 2019,” he continued. “Our improved commercial capabilities have allowed us to capture this quality demand and expand our share of the guest wallet.”

Part of the new brand strategy has been the company’s investment in the short cruise market, with refurbished ships and Perfect Day at CocoCay. That strategy takes the next step in 2024 with the new Utopia of the Seas, which will be positioned year-round in the short cruise market.

“Utopia will be the first Oasis-class ship that will be entirely focused on short cruises in the Caribbean, supporting our strategy of competing with land-based vacation alternatives and driving new-to-cruise customers into our vacation ecosystem as we seek to close the value gap,” Liberty said.

“Demand and pricing for Utopia have far exceeded our expectations.”

Photo Dairy Story – Working Sea-Craft.

Posted on 27 July, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

I love looking at all ships and seacrafts on the right is the WaveWalker 1 similar to the one used to repair the Dawlish train station and promenade, the left craft is the MPI Resolution a 6-legged jack-up vessel

WaveWalker 1 is a dynamic, innovative 8-legged, self-contained walking jack-up, capable of operating safely and effectively in rough seas, surf zones, on beaches, shallow transition zones and other intertidal locations it can even step over obstacles under the water
MPI Resolution is a wind turbine installation vessel deployed to install turbines at offshore wind farms. It was the first self-elevating Turbine Installation Vessel in the world. She can raise herself on her six legs between 3 metres and 46 metres above the sea.

Floating Docks really amaze me, how you can sink a vessel on purpose which weighs several tons itself sail a boat/ship onto it and then lift it all up out of the water so the boat/ship can be worked on safely.
The latest floating dock in the world can be found in South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has started construction of the fifth Royal Dock, the world’s largest floating dock. The dock will have a length of 432m, a width of 85.6m and a capacity of 130,000dwtBoth of the Photographs above were taken on a recent trip to Rotterdam where I couldn’t resist a trip on the river cruise to have a look at the docks, both images are taken on my ageing Canon 60D camera with the Canon 10-18mm lens.

#shipping #seacraft #Rotterdam #photography #photooftheday #photo #WaveRiders

Photo Dairy Story: Rotterdam Harbour Tour

Posted on 20 July, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Virtuosa.

The Photo header of the MSC Virtuosa is berthed outside the Rotterdam Cruise terminal with the bridge just on the Sturnside side (backside 🤣) and I took this image at the Harbour Cruise Tour ticketing counter. The Harbour tour cost £13pp but they only accept credit/debit card payments, so the dirty deed was done and tickets purchased.

With the bridge (Erasmusbrug), in the background, we sat on the open top deck which was a bit windy and chilly but the best for viewing and taking snapshots of the ships in the harbour.

When you move off check that bridge out behind you it’s an amazing piece of engineering and it’s within walking distance from the cruise terminal.

Before you enter the working part of the docks keep an eye on Rotterdam’s wonderful architecture all around from the old windmills to the original port buildings including the original Holland America Line head office, where the 1908 steamship the SS Rotterdam is now berthed as a hotel and restaurant.,

When you cruise the industrial area of the docks you will see Massive floating dry docks, containerships being offloaded and loaded, bulk carriers and specialised craft, such as the WaveWalker 2 which has been used to repair the train station and promenade in Dawlish Devon.

The wave walker on the right and the MPI Resolution on the left which has 6 massive 70-ton legs and are used for the installation of wind turbines at sea.

On the return to the tour, dock check out the HAL head office a bit closer which is worth a visit, cruise past any ships in the cruise terminal and take in the wonderful bridge again before disembarking the 75-minute harbour tour.

We enjoyed this harbour tour and it gave us a good close-up and views of the ships on the dock, below are a few more harbour images taken by myself and Dawn my ever-loving Wife, I hope you have enjoyed this tour description and the photograph included.