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Royal Caribbean ships move west to avoid path of Hurricane Isaias

In:
01 Aug 2020

Hurricane Isaias is approaching The Bahamas this weekend, and it has forced a few Royal Caribbean ships to move out of the region to avoid the path of the storm.

While there are no cruises sailing for guests, a number of Royal Caribbean ships have been anchored off CocoCay, including Grandeur of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean spread its fleet out around the world during the voluntary cruise shutdown, with some ships remaining in the Caribbean, and others in Europe and Asia.

According to cruisemapper.com, these ships have all headed west, through the Straits of Florida and to an area west of Cuba.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. update, Hurricane Isaias remains on track to skirt up Florida’s east coast as it gains strength entering the Bahamas Saturday morning.

Moving cruise ships out of the path of a storm is normal operating procedure for cruise lines to ensure the crew onboard are safe, along with protecting the ship.

There are no cruises during this global health crisis, which prevented Royal Caribbean from having to alter sailings or cancel sailings all together.

When tropical storms develop, Royal Caribbean's Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet works closely on the track of the storm and provides guidance to ships on the safest course of action.

 

Forecasters expect Isaias to move near the east coast of the Florida peninsula Saturday night through Sunday.

Royal Caribbean talks Hurricane Dorian hit on revenue, impact of ship upgrades, Perfect Day at Lelepa and more

In:
30 Oct 2019

During an earnings call with investors today, Royal Caribbean's executives discussed a variety of topics related to the company's financial success in the third quarter. Part of those discussions shed some light into various plans and progress being made by the cruise line that guests may find intriguing.

Hurricane Dorian cost Royal Caribbean $27 million

Anytime a hurricane disrupts cruise itineraries, there is an impact on Royal Caribbean's bottom line, but Hurricane Dorian caused the largest impact of any hurricane in Royal Caribbean's history.

Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty characterized Hurricane Dorian's unusual, one-time impact on Royal Caribbean's financial performance.  Three main Florida embarkation ports closed on a weekend as a precautionary measure.  These measures impacted 16 sailings and made this the most disruptive storm in the company's history. 

The financial impact was particularly large because the affected ships included the very successful Oasis-class, because Perfect Day at CocoCay was closed for 10 days, and because of the cruise line's extensive relief efforts.  The combination of guest compensation, the closure of Perfect Day at CocoCay and the relief efforts negatively impacted the third quarter by $27 million.

Guests love the upgrades and enhancements

Royal Caribbean's investments in destinations and ships continue to be a hit with guests who are booking cruises to experience them.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain spoke about this effect, "Perfect Day at CocoCay continues to amaze our Royal Caribbean International guests, and boost our bottom line. Our vessel modernization program is driving strong results. These upgrades are expensive, but our guests love them and reward us accordingly."

"Or take our investments in technology, which are beginning to bear fruit. These investments are expensive, and demanding, but they improve the experience for crew and guest alike. They make us more attractive, or more efficient. "

Perfect Day at Lelepa will built with sustainability in mind

Royal Caribbean recently announced a new Perfect Day island destination in Vanuatu, and the island will be powered by renewable sources of energy to ensure it is carbon footprint is reduced.

Mr. Fain spoke about their plans for Lelepa, "There's also one, very special aspect of this project that is also worth noting. Lelapa will be the first private cruise destination in the world that achieves carbon neutrality. All of the energy consumed will be generated from renewable sources. Accomplishing that requires both major investment and major innovation, but Perfect Day at Lelapa will be rich in both."

A look at how many guests are experiencing Perfect Day at CocoCay

You do not have to listen to earnings call with investors to know Perfect Day at CocoCay has been a giant hit with guests.

Mr. Liberty mentioned at one point in the call, more than 70% of Royal Caribbean's guests sailing on a Caribbean cruise will experience Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Plans for Perfect Day at Lelepa

Royal Caribbean International CEO and President Michael Bayley provided a few details on Perfect Day at Lelepa in Vanautu during the call.

Mr. Bayley indicated Perfect Day at Lelepa should open in late 2021 or early 2022.

He also said that guest volume for Perfect Day at Lelepa will be less than Perfect Day at CocoCay, "The volume will be less less than Perfect Day at CocoCay, which I think at its peak in a few years will get to close to 3 million people going there. The number for Vanuatu, I think, reaches close to 750-800,000 is currently in our plans."

Symphony of the Seas changes itinerary to avoid Tropical Storm Karen

In:
23 Sep 2019

Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas cruise ship has changed itineraries to avoid the path of Tropical Storm Karen.

Guests sailing onboard Symphony of the Seas have been informed of a change in their sailing that will skip scheduled stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten and insyead visit Cozumel and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Thanks to @FmtTony for providing this photo

Symphony of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas have now had their itinerary changed to avoid Tropical Storm Karen.

Royal Caribbean changes Harmony of the Seas itinerary to avoid Tropical Storm Karen

In:
23 Sep 2019

Royal Caribbean has rerouted Harmony of the Seas to avoid the path of Tropical Storm Karen.

Sheri from Cruise Tips TV shared an update from Harmony of the Seas to indicate an announcement was made onboard that the ship will change from an Eastern to a Western Caribbean itinerary.

Instead of visiting St. Thomas San Juan, the ship will head to Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico.

First-hand look at Royal Caribbean's Hurricane Dorian disaster relief in The Bahamas

In:
07 Sep 2019

In the days since Hurricane Dorian rolled through The Bahamas and inflicted a great deal of damage to many islands, Royal Caribbean has assembled a colossal relief effort by having its ships deliver much-needed supplies.  

Royal Caribbean invited us to join them on Mariner of the Seas to get a first-hand look at the hard work their crew, volunteers and staff are doing on a near daily basis across many ships to assist Bahamians who have had their lives disrupted by the storm.

From her homeport of Port Canaveral, Mariner of the Seas sails three and four night sailings to The Bahamas, and while many cruise guests are enjoying a fantastic cruise vacation, a veritable army of volunteer crew members from all types of roles across the ship report to the main dining room to assemble 10,000 meals.

Dancers, technicians, servers, officers and more prepared sandwiches, proteins with rice and fruits and snacks so that they can be distributed in a few short hours to locals in The Bahamas who desperately need it.

These crew members took a break from their personal time to join in the effort and ensure these meals would be ready for delivery on-time.

Beginning at 10:30pm, crew members worked tirelessly to assemble the meals, while occasionally breaking out into a song, cheering a crate being filled and otherwise sharing a smile with each other.  

Fast-forward a few hours later, and at daybreak carts after carts of food was standing by to be delivered into Freeport, Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean is working with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to help distribute the food to those that need it the most.  NEMA is part of The Bahamanian disaster management effort, and essentially Royal Caribbean provides the disaster relief supplies, as well as the manpower to load it for NEMA to distribute. 

A convoy of buses, trucks, and other private vehicles arrived to pick up the supplies. In less than 12 hours, food went from storage to packaged to on a vehicle to be delivered. 

 

 

In addition to the supplies delivered, Royal Caribbean also brought aboard hundreds of evacuees so that they could be taken out of Freeport and brought to Nassau, Bahamas. Evacuees enjoyed breakfast, beverages and a movie screening during the short voyage to Nassau. 

Earlier today, Mariner of the Seas became the third ship in Royal Caribbean International's fleet to provide such aid, and there are a number of other ships prepared to do the same in the coming days and weeks.

Royal Caribbean is committing $1 million to Dorian disaster relief and matching every dollar of guest and employee donations. To make sure those donations go where they can do the most good, they are collaborating with the Bahamian government and its non-profit partner, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), and a network of Bahamian charities and other local organizations, including the Bahamas Feeding Network.

You can donate money by visiting the PADF site.

Royal Caribbean helps deliver first batch of relief supplies to Bahamas

In:
05 Sep 2019

Royal Caribbean announced hours after Hurricane Dorian devastated The Bahamas it would pledge $1 million in aid to the island, and the cruise line is already making good on that promise with the first batch of supplies loaded onto Empress of the Seas.

Guests sailing on Empress of the Seas were informed their ship would deliver much needed food, water, equipment and supplies to the people on Grand Bahama Island. Empress of the Seas was loaded with 10,000 meals, 10,000 bottles of water, as well as medical supplies, generators and other necessities.  The ship will dock off the coast of Grand Bahama Island to make the delivery, before resuming its cruise itinerary.

Thanks to Brad Garfinkel & Skip Bebout for providing this photo

Letters to guests were delivered to their stateroom to explain the extra stop.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - Hurricane season redux

In:
04 Sep 2019

Listen to the Show

Matt shares the lessons he learned from what happens when a hurricane directly impacts your cruise plans.

Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...

On this episode:
Running time:

Royal Caribbean pledges $1 million to Hurricane Dorian disaster relief

In:
03 Sep 2019

In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, Royal Caribbean announced it is committing $1 million to Dorian disaster relief, and ITM—our partner in the Holistica joint venture that is developing the Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport—is also donating an additional $100,000.

Royal Caribbean will collaborate with the Bahamian government and non-profit partner, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), and a network of Bahamian charities and other local organizations, including the Bahamas Feeding Network.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean elaborated on their relief effort plans, "We are loading all kinds of goods onto our ships— generators, water, cleaning supplies, clean sheets, towels, and more—for direct delivery to the Bahamas. The trained employee volunteers we call the GO Team are on their way to assist with relief efforts. And we’re taking special care of coworkers and their families who were affected by the storm."

"And we’re matching every dollar of guest and employee donations to PADF so they can help our friends as well."

If you want to contribute please follow this link (https://www.padf.org/hurricane-dorian-royal) and get started.

Royal Caribbean alters itineraries of its cruise ships to avoid Hurricane Dorian

In:
30 Aug 2019

Late yesterday, Royal Caribbean announced updates to a number of Caribbean sailings in order to avoid the path of Hurricane Dorian.

  • The August 30th sailing of Navigator of the Seas has been extended and will return to Miami on September 4, instead of September 2. It will visit Nassau and Cozumel.
  • The September 2nd sailing of Navigator of the Seas has been shortened and will depart Miami on September 4th, instead of September 2. It will visit CocoCay.
  • The August 30th sailing of Mariner of the Seas has been extended and will return to Port Canaveral on September 4th, instead of September 2. It will vist Cozumel & Costa Maya.
  • The September 2nd sailing of Mariner of the Seas has been shortened and will depart Port Canaveral on September 4th, instead of September 2. It will visit CocoCay.
  • The August 24th sailing of Empress of the Seas has been extended, and will return to Miami on September 4th. A visit to Roatan has been added.
  • The September 1st sailing of Empress of the Seas has been shortened and will now depart on September 4th. It will visit Nassau.
  • The August 25th sailing of Harmony of the Seas has been extended and will return on September 4th. Harmony has added an overnight visit in Cozumel.
  • The September 1st sailing of Harmony of the Seas has been shortened and will now depart Port Canaveral on September 4th. It will visit Labadee.
  • The August 25th sailing of Allure of the Seas has been extended and will now return to Fort Lauderdale on September 4th. A visit to Roatan and Costa Maya has been added.
  • The September 1st sailing of Allure of the Seas has been shortened and will now depart Fort Lauderdale on September 4th. It will visit Cozumel
  • The August 28th sailing of Majesty of the Seas has been extended and will now return to Fort Lauderdale on September 4th. An extra sea day and visit to Nassau has been added.
  • The September 2nd sailing of Majesty of the Seas has been shortened and will now depart Fort Lauderdale on September 4th. 

Royal Caribbean maintains its own list of itinerary changes related to Hurricane Dorian on its website.

Hurricane Dorian alters four more Royal Caribbean ship itineraries

In:
28 Aug 2019

Royal Caribbean announced itinerary changes to three more Royal Caribbean ships, and decided to wait on making a decision for sailings this weekend in order to take advantage of more accurate predictions.

  • The August 26th sailing of Navigator of the Seas had their day in Perfect Day at CocoCay scheduled for Wednesday changed to Nassau, Bahamas. 
  • The August 26th sailing of Mariner of the Seas will have their day in Perfect Day at CocoCay scheduled for Thursday changed to Nassau, Bahamas. 
  • The August 24th sailing of Empress of the Seas will remain in Cozumel on Friday and then spend a day at sea on Saturday. The extra day in Cozumel replaces a scheduled visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.
  • The August 24th sailing of Symphony of the Seas will have their day in Perfect Day at CocoCay scheduled for Friday changed to Nassau, Bahamas. 

Royal Caribbean is deferring itinerary changes for the Navigator 8/30/19, Mariner 8/30/19, Harmony 9/1/19, Harmony 8/25/19 & Symphony 8/31/19 by an additional day in order to get more accurate prediction models. 

"Currently, the two main weather models used for prediction (American & European) have the storm going different ways. So, we’re going to wait a bit more to evaluate the new data, which we’ll receive this afternoon. Then, we’ll confirm alternate ports and share your final itinerary changes with you by 3 PM on Thursday, August 29th, or sooner."

Royal Caribbean also stated that the Harmony of the Seas 8/25/19 and Symphony of the Seas 8/31/19 sailings were never sailing to CocoCay, but their itinerary may be impacted by Hurricane Dorian in order to steer clear of any adverse weather.

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