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Royal Caribbean holding Symphony of the Seas preview event in London

In:
10 Jan 2018

Attention all Brits, Royal Caribbean is inviting you to preview Symphony of the Seas at a special event in London!

Between February 2 and 3, 2018, the public is invited to "a first ever interactive, theatrical cruise experience on dry land and gain an exclusive preview of what will be the world’s newest and largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas."

The event is in Central London, and tickets are free. You simply need to register online.

Symphony of the Seas will be the fourth Oasis class cruise ship, and will launch in April 2018, offering cruises to the Mediterranean.

Royal Caribbean UK sponsors Chorley shirts ahead of FA Cup

In:
02 Nov 2017

Royal Caribbean UK and the Chorley Football Club announced today a new shirt sponsorship deal.

The shirt sponsorship has been agreed for the Emirates FA Cup First Round game with Fleetwood Town, which will be screened worldwide on Monday 6 November. Royal Caribbean will also take TV arc advertising, programme advertising and hospitality as part of the sponsorship agreement.

Ben Bouldin, UK Managing Director, Royal Caribbean, said: “We are very excited to be sponsoring the shirts for Chorley FC’s biggest game in the club’s history. We wish Chorley FC all the best and look forward to a positive result!”

The FA Cup game will be screened on BT Sport in the UK and throughout Europe, North Africa, USA, Russia and China by FA official broadcast partners.

Royal Caribbean UK launches new fly-cruise packages

In:
12 Apr 2017

Royal Caribbean UK announced new fly-cruise packages for residents of the UK to get them to their Orlando cruises.

Beginning in September 2017, the packages include flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick and Manchester, packaged with private transfers and hotel accommodation close to International Drive, Orlando.

The new packages include a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis of the Seas out of Port Canaveral, Florida with stops in Labadee in Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico.

A standard fly-cruise package, including direct return flights, transfers and a night's stay in a hotel before the cruise, costs from £1197pp.

Royal Caribbean UK looking for Instagramer to be the cruise line's summer intern

In:
03 Jan 2017

Royal Caribbean UK is kicking off a search for an Instagram user to be the cruise line's "summer intern" and share the cruise experience via Instagram.

The 3 week Instagram Intern-ship will take place over the summer of 2017 and involve, "capturing incredible content and uncovering amazing stories." The successful candidate will be responsible for finding and documenting the extraordinary on a daily basis via Instagram.

Royal Caribbean describes this "intern-ship" as a hybrid between being a photographer, documentary maker and a storyteller. A typical day will see the successful candidate immerse themselves in the extraordinary moments, experiences and stories that take place on land and at sea, and share them with the world via Instagram.

Anyone interested in applying needs to ensure they meet the following criteria

  • Skilled in Instagram with extensive knowledge of all 23 filters
  • Exemplary ability to capture stunning views, extraordinary experiences, beautiful sunsets and amazing stories on social media
  • Available to travel for three consecutive weeks between June –July 2017 to regions including New York, the Caribbean, Asia and the Mediterranean.
  • Inquisitive nature, love storytelling and enjoy sharing experiences
  • Unbeatable sense of adventure and hunger for the extraordinary
  • Own a smartphone
  • Note: Photocopying, administrator and tea-making skills are not required

Successful candidates will receive

  • Travel package including transport via three company cruise ships
  • All travel, accommodation and daily expenses included
  • £3,000 in prize money
  • Uniform is not supplied. Bring your own swimmers, sandals & shades
  • You will be traveling on three cruise ships over a three week period including Ovation of the Seas (Beijing), Anthem of the Seas (New York) and Freedom of the Seas (Barcelona)
  • Complimentary access to climbing walls, Flowrider, restaurants, swimming pools, zip wires, water-slides and onboard fitness facilities

If you want to apply, you must be 21 years old and a resident of the UK and Republic of Ireland with a full passport, no criminal record and no travel restrictions. If you meet these requirements, just post your most extraordinary travel photo or short video on Instagram, tagging @RoyalCaribbeanUK and #ExtraordinaryExplorer.

Participants may enter this free of charge competition from 09:00 GMT on 03 January 2017 until 23:59 GMT on 31 January 2017.

Royal Caribbean UK offering Google Street View contest with a free Harmony of the Seas cruise grand prize

In:
17 Dec 2015

Residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland can win a free 7-night cruise on Harmony of the Seas through a new contest Royal Caribbean is offering in conjunction with Google Maps.

Participants may enter the completion by going to Google Ship View, which will take them to the Allure Google Street View page hosted on the Royal Caribbean UK website.On that webpage participants will be greeted with a clue to where the Harmony Christmas Present is hidden within Google Street View. From there the participant must find the present and click on it for a pop up to appear inviting them to insert their personal details and accept these competition terms.

Participants may enter this free of charge competition from 09:00 GMT on Thursday 17 December 2015 until 23:59 GMT on Thursday 31st December 2015. No entries will be counted after the closing date.

One winner and 4 runners up will be selected entirely at random from all eligible entries by 8th January 2015 and will be informed by email within 7 days.

The grand prize winner will win a cruise for themselves and a guest of their choice traveling with them in the same accommodation on Harmony of the Seas sailing on the June 26, 2016 from Barcelona which will call at Palma De Mallorca, Provence, Florence, Rome & Naples then return to Barcelona on July 2nd, 2016. This prize includes flights from selected UK departure airports, in destination transfers, standard meals on-board (excluding specialty dining) and ship WiFi but excludes optional gratuities.

The next 3 runners up that are picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will each win an iPad mini 16GB and the final runner up picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will win an Xbox 1.

Full contest terms and conditions can be found here.

Royal Caribbean sticking with no last minute discounts and extending the program to the UK and Ireland

In:
23 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean is sticking with its policy of offering no last-minute discounts to protect its price integrity and expanding it to new markets.

During Royal Caribbean's third quarter financial results call with investors, Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain highlighted the gains made by the company's "Price Integrity Policy", which promise not to drop prices in the days leading up to a ship sailing, even if it means unsold staterooms.

The rationale behind the program is two fold: First, it promotes higher guest satisfaction with the notion they do not have to worry that after they book a cruise, the price will drop and they will end up paying more.  Second, it has lead to higher revenue for Royal Caribbean.

Fain commented the policy gives,"our guests and our travel partners more comfort that when they book a cruise with us, we wont be dropping the price of that same cruise during the last few days before the ship sails."

"Depending on the itinerary, we have internally banned any new discounts in the U.S. and Canada in the last 10, 20, 30 or 40 days before the cruise starts.  The program has been in place for seven months or so and we have not granted a single exception to the policy."

The Price Integrity Policy is still progressing and that has cost Royal Caribbean money in the short term, "I acknowledge that is has cost us a bit, and is costing us a bit this year in revenue. And some cabins have gone empty, which could have been filled with dramatic last minute deals. But we stood firm and we have made zero exceptions."

"We believe our guests and our travel partners are beginning to respond as we had hoped they would and we are sticking with the program."

Fain also mentioned that Royal Caribbean has expanded the Price Integrity Policy to other the cruise markets of the United Kingdom and Ireland.  These policies extend the same policies about no new last minute discounts in Britian and Ireland that we have been applying in the U.S. and Canada.

Royal Caribbean appoints Tamara Strauss as new Marketing Director for UK & Ireland

In:
06 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean appointed Tamara Strauss as its new Marketing Director in the UK and Ireland.  

As part of her new role, Strauss will lead the marketing, communications and distribution teams in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the goal of bringing the Royal Caribbean International brand to a wider audience.  There will be a special emphasis on the guests new to cruising.

Strauss was previously with InterContinental Hotels Group, where she held a number of senior marketing roles and managed a multi-million pound relaunch of Holiday Inn in the UK.

Royal Caribbean UK & Ireland managing director, Stuart Leven, commented on the hiring, "It’s an exciting time to have Tamara come on board as we have high ambitions to take the cruise category and Royal Caribbean in particular to new audiences. I look forward to building on the brand’s success as we continue to target the new-to-cruise audience and launch two new game-changing ships in 2016."

Royal Caribbean targeting Scottish cruisers

In:
02 Mar 2015

Royal Caribbean says people from Scotland are the biggest spenders on cruise ships among Great Britain, given that they book more expensive staterooms and spend more onboard.

Royal Caribbean UK managing director Stuart Leven indicated Royal Caribbean will now try to lure more Scots to book a Royal Caribbean cruise by launching a new development fund to encourage more travel agents to sell cruises.

Leven said the new direction came ahead of the cruise line adding billions of dollars in new cruise ships over the next four years.

Royal Caribbean will bring Anthem of the Seas to Southampton when she debuts in April 2015, which will mark a new effort by Royal Caribbean to appeal to the UK cruising market.

Royal Caribbean awards UK brand contract to Lexis

In:
07 Nov 2014

Royal Caribbean has awarded Lexis a four-way pitch for the UK and Ireland account.  

Lexis will manage the Royal Caribbean UK's corporate, consumer and crisis PR as well as raising its the awareness amongst a ‘new to cruise’ consumer audience, by tackling misconceptions of cruise vacations.

Royal Caribbean UK's PR was previoulsy managed by Siren Communications.

Royal Caribbean UK & Ireland Director of Marketing, Jo Briody, commented on the deal with Lexis, "Lexis impressed us with its understanding of our core challenges and with its creativity. We are leading change in the cruise industry and want to take a fresh approach to our communications. Lexis shares our passion for the brand and demonstrated the ability to challenge misconceptions and positively influence people outside of the cruise sector."

Royal Caribbean UK chief hints at higher cruise prices in future

In:
21 May 2014

Royal Caribbean managing director for the UK & Ireland, Stuart Leven, spoke at Barclays Travel Forum in London and mentioned that cruise prices could rise as the economy recovers.

Leven said high levels of discounting in the sector had been necessary due to the economic climate of the last few years.  Leven believes that the discounting strategy could change in conjunction with a recovering economy and cruise brands looking to seperate themselves from the competition.

“My observation is it is very hard to differentiate between the brands,” Leven said.

“[During the recession], we fell back on the deals that you have to get to fill your ships and that led to price [wars].

“The market is coming out of recession and the more you differ your brand as a brand, then you can charge a premium, and the cruise companies are looking at that now.”

In Southampton, Royal Caribbean's move to bring the brand new Anthem of the Seas has sparked a renewed competition among cruise lines to the UK cruise market.  With new ships trying to dominate the market, perhaps premium pricing for these ships will be part of the equation.

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