Royal Caribbean Blog

During Royal Caribbean's second quarter 2018 financial call with investors, the company shared some interesting anecdotes, facts, and insight into the ever changing cruising environment.  While most of the information discussed in these earnings calls deal primarily with financial indicators, cruise guests can glean some insight into how Royal Caribbean runs its business.

Symphony of the Seas debut has been spectacular 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) Chairman and CEO Richard Fain started off the call with investors beaming about the positive response Symphony of the Seas has received in her inaugural season in Europe.  Fain indicated that not only is the ship booked well, but guests are raving about the experience and the high level of service they are experiencing.

"Her performance for a first time ship in a new market. For her to perform so amazingly well when she is the fourth in a series, is a testament to the innovations the team has incorporated and the power of the Royal Caribbean International brand.

This ship has remarkable new wow's, new shows, and new activities, but what truly sets her apart is the careful execution and high level of service which have been pivotal in achieving these record-breaking ratings."

Smart phone update

Of particular interest to Royal Caribbean cruisers is an update was given on the progress being made with the cruise line's new smart phone app and technology innovation, known as Project Excalibur.

Fain offered an update on where the project stands, and seemed bullish on the prospects of rolling the app out to most ships in the fleet by the end of 2019, as well as the progress being made.  There were no specific updates in terms of when certain functionality will be completed, but it did sound like they wanted to get it right the first time, instead of just pushing out an app that may or may not work well.

"The program is on track and the progress is impressive. We have taken a methodical, hands-on approach to this implementation, rolling out new upgrades on a monthly basis or even more frequently. We're finding that this 'softly softly' approach allows us to move more quickly, but also to correct the errors early before they impact a lot of vacations.

We continually add features to the app, and we remain on our trajectory of having half the fleet connected by the end of this year and most of the rest by the end of next year.

The most complete version of the app today is on Symphony of the Seas, and in December, that distinction will be taken over by Celebrity Edge.

One interesting milestone is the introduction of frictionless arrival.  We have been rolling this out on a limited basis and expect that it will be operational on a large scale basis on Symphony of the Seas and on Celebrity Edge later this fall.

By the way, we recently trademarked the term 'frictionless', so don't expect to see that being used by any other cruise line."

Higher onboard revenue is up (again)

If you spend time listening to these earnings calls, one trend that continued again this quarter was higher spending by guests, namely in the form of drink packages and other packages that can be purchased online or onboard.

In short, a lot of Royal Caribbean's revenue can be traced back to guests not only booking cruises in droves, but also because they are spending more than ever once onboard.

RCL Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty spoke about onboard spending during his summary of the quarter, "The beat was driven by stronger than anticipated close-in demand, and better than expected onboard revenue spend.

Onboard areas, such as beverage, specialty dining and internet, helped deliver a 5.5% year-over-year increase in onboard revenue."

Mariner of the Seas singlehandidly helped drive up Caribbean demand

If there is one ship not named Symphony of the Seas that has hit a home run for Royal Caribbean, it is definitely Mariner of the Seas.  Mariner of the Seas has the distinction of being a very popular choice with consumers that are looking for short cruises, and has been a boon for the cruise line in terms of being booked well and driving up revenue.

In providing an overview of the Caribbean cruise market, Jason Liberty spoke about the impact Mariner of the Seas has had, "Demand for the Caribbean sailings has been strong, with bookings trending ahead of last year's very storng numbers. Our Caribbean capacity is up in the back half of the year, due mainly due to the addition of the reimagined Mariner of the Seas for the short Caribbean market.

Our strategy behind modernizing the Mariner of the Seas was to offer the best alternative for a short Caribbean getaway as a response to consumer trends. The younger generations are opting for shorter, more frequent vacations and the Mariner of the Seas is very well positioned for this segment with onboard activities, dining options, and entertainment similar to those on Oasis class ships.

Mariner of the Seas is booked very well and we are particularly excited about 2019. While we generally don't expect to recieve many bookings for short Caribbean sailings that are more than six months away, Mariner of the Seas' load factors in the first half of 2019 are closer to those of seven-night products than they are to shorter products."

Lessons learned from 2017 hurricane season

Towards the end of the call, an analyst asked Royal Caribbean's leaders about any lessons learned from the 2017 hurricane season that they can apply to the 2018 hurricane season.  This was an opportunity for Royal Caribbean to talk about the impact the cruise line had on the people affected by the storms, and the positive public relations and humanitarian response that Royal Caribbean saw.

Richard Fain spoke about the lessons learned, "We felt our response last year was really ended up being quite good. Probably built up a fair amount of good will from the way we handled it, and I'm not sure that from a pure financial point of view we learned much that would significantly change the outcome if you had, again, a hurricane that exactly tracked as our ships itinerary and exactly hit the ports of call on the days that they would be most impactful. So we constantly try and learn, and obviously there are always some lessons to be learned, but overall, I think we felt that last year we did pretty well.

I do think though that people should be impressed by how well the destinations responded afterwards. These were horrific events for them, but now people are reporting back and travel agents, which are always an important source of information as well as internet chatter, shows how well they've recovered and I think that may help us a little bit in terms of assuaging the concern that people had that if they went to some of these destinations afterwards they would encounter a bad experience. And that simply hasn't been the case."

Royal Caribbean is trying to make it simpler to locate discounts offered before a cruise on its Cruise Planner site via a new tab that has been added to the main menu.

In addition to the regular set of menu links, a new highlighted "Deals" link has been added that will quickly identify deals on services such as drink packages, excursions and Internet packages.

The items listed on the deals tab are the same items found elsewhere in the Cruise Planner, but it offers guests a quicker way to locate what is on sale.

Royal Caribbean unveiled its August cruise offer, where guests can get 50% off the second guest, discount on kids and a special offer code.

The August Offer is valid on sailings booked between August 1 – August 29, 2018 on sailings departing on or after September 1, 2018.

The offer includes:

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest booked in the same stateroom as first full-fare paying guest.
• 25% off cruise fare for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualified guests.
• Fall/Winter Sailings Promo Code Driven Promotion:
  • Up to $50 instant savings for any Empress, Enchantment, Majesty, Mariner, Liberty and Freedom of the Seas sailings determined by category booked:
  • $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View and $50 savings for Balcony and Suites for those guests’ sailing between September 1, 2018 and December 17, 2018. Must be added through promo code: SAVE.
• Free Upgrades Promo:
  • Includes free upgrades from ocean view to balcony when sailing on Anthem of the seas for all sailings departing on or after September 1, 2018.
  • Free upgrades refer to purchasing a Balcony at the price of an ocean view at standard/full fare.

BOGO and Deck the Holiday Deals are combinable with each other as well as with as Fall/Winter Sailings Promo Code Driven Promotion, NRBD OBC, promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean. 

Royal Caribbean is now offering a new type of zipline experience at its private destination of Labadee.

The Furious Flyer Zipline has popped up as an excursion to reserve prior to a Royal Caribbean sailing that offers guests a tandem zip line course to experience. Royal Caribbean Blog reader melski94 spotted the new option.

The excursion is described as, "Take a thrilling leap into sky-high adventure as you race head-first on a tandem zip line course that shoots you along 2,800 feet of cables dangling above the forested mountains and tropical seascapes of Labadee. Atop a launch tower in the middle of the forest you’ll meet expert trainers who will deliver a safety briefing before gearing you up with a helmet and cable harness. Then feel the adrenaline rush of flying head-first, like a soaring superhero, through a tunnel of tall trees along a zip line that opens up over craggy cliffs plunging to the bright-blue ocean below. This unforgettable flight whizzes you over Labadee’s powdery sands, crystalline seas, and coral reefs — all before touching down safely on an elevated landing deck."

There is a minimum weight of 75 pounds, and a maximum weight of 275 pounds.  Guests must also be at least 48 inches tall.

Royal Caribbean announced today a change to its non-refundable deposit program, where beginning November 1, 2018, guests that book non-refundable deposit fares will no longer receive onboard credit for staterooms booked. Instead, the cruise line promises lower pricing on the cruise fare.

The decision to remove the onboard credit for non-refundable bookings has to do with onboard credit not being a factor in the booking process for many guests, "Over the past year, we regularly monitored booking analytics and conducted research which identified that the onboard credit was not influencing the consumer's buying decision. Based on these findings, the decision was made to sunset the onboard credit and to ensure that the non-refundable deposit program continues to offer the lowest pricing. This change will take effect for all new bookings made on-or-after November 1st, 2018."

Unless a change occurs to an existing reservation that forces a reprice to the booking, no impact will be seen to existing reservations. The amendments that lead to a reprice include, but are not limited to, amending the ship, sailing, or category of an existing reservation, as well as converting to a different fare or promotional offer. Should a reprice occur on-or after November 1st, 2018, the onboard credit will no longer apply.

Non-Refundable Deposit reservations made prior to November 1st, 2018 qualify to earn an onboard credit of up to $100 per stateroom.  Those who book non-refundable deposit fares on-or-after November 1st, 2018 will no longer qualify to earn an onboard credit of up to $100 per stateroom.

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 261 is available for downloading, where we share the story of a frequent Royal Caribbean cruiser who reached the highest level of Crown and Anchor Society recently.

What is it like to become a Pinnacle Club member in Crown and Anchor?  Many of us dream of reaching this goal, and on this week's podcast, we talk with Nick Vitani about his recent ascension to Pinnacle.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 261. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean's Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet shared photos of the construction progress being made on the cruise line's new cruise terminal in PortMiami.

Van Fleet joined Royal Caribbean's International Marine Ops Team and took some behind the scenes photos of what will become the new home for Symphony of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.  

The new terminal, Terminal A, would house an angular glass center and a parking garage with about 1,000 parking spaces at the northeastern side of the port, designed by England-based global architecture firm Broadway Malyan. 

Here is a look at the exterior work being done, as taken by Royal Caribbean Blog reader Twangster.

The 170,000-square-foot terminal is nicknamed the ‘Crown of Miami’ because of its distinct shape. The design evokes the points of the symbolic headgear when viewed from the water; the ‘M’ of Miami when viewed from the east or western approaches; and a sense of waves rising or ships passing when viewed from the terminal side. 

Royal Caribbean Asia is calling out to budding designers to submit their vision of a cruise ship of the future in its first ever nationwide design competition, and stand a chance to win cruise holidays and cash prizes up to SGD $5,000

Open to tertiary students nationwide till September 28, Royal Caribbean’s ‘Brainwaves: Reimagining the Future of Cruising’ invites contestants to conceptualise and develop never before seen, innovative ideas for a cruise ship that would appeal to the next generation. Submissions need to showcase futuristic features covering the three key aspects of a cruise holiday – entertainment, activities and accommodation..

Royal Caribbean’s Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Angie Stephen said, “Cruising has transformed well beyond the basic pools, buffet restaurants and theatres. Skydiving at sea, robotic bartenders, virtual balconies and smart features are just a few of the latest innovations you can expect today from a Royal Caribbean cruise, and we believe nothing is impossible when it comes to the holiday of the future.”

“Which is why with Brainwaves, we are excited to see what the youths of today can come up with in terms of innovative and creative features, and showcase where their imagination can take them when it comes to the cruise holiday of tomorrow.  Our ship is their canvas.”

The inaugural competition has also appointed local architect and TV host, Khairudin Saharom, as Brainwaves’ ambassador and face of the competition. Mr Khairudin will also be part of the final judging panel to determine the winning design.

From all the submissions, five finalists will be selected to go forward in pitching their ideas before a judging panel consisting of Royal Caribbean’s senior management and Mr Khairudin on 15 October. The Grand Prize will feature an Asian cruise for two on Royal Caribbean’s upcoming new ship Spectrum of the Seas and a SGD$ 5,000 cash prize.

To find out more, visit www.brainwavessg.com for competition details.

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on August 2, 2018 at 10am to discuss its second quarter 2018 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

It appears Royal Caribbean's drink packages now include milkshakes at Johnny Rockets as part of the package benefits.

Recently we heard reports that guests were being informed that their drink package benefits included milkshakes at Johnny Rockets, and now we see Royal Caribbean's website has been updated to indicate that milkshakes are indeed included.

Recent email shared on Liberty of the Seas Facebook Group

Dining at Johnny Rockets still comes with an additional surcharge, milkshakes have historically cost extra on top of the cover charge.  With this drink package policy change, guests with the Deluxe Beverage Package have the opportunity to enjoy milkshakes that are included with the cost of their beverage package.