Caribbean

The new Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas (SDAA) launched on Thursday at an event in Barbados and is the largest-scale effort to date through which public and private entities have united to focus on destination sustainability in the Americas.

The SDAA will offer seven destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America significant support with their sustainability efforts. Each participating destination will begin with an evaluation of destination management practices designed to recognize areas of strength, and to identify areas in which they have the greatest opportunity to improve. 

Royal Caribbean is teaming up the Caribbean Tourism Organization, global NGO Sustainable Travel International and the United States Government through the United States Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States to form the organization.

Destinations will also have access to an online sustainable tourism course called Sustainable Tourism Professionals, designed to facilitate implementation of sustainability practices, and a destination sustainability monitoring framework called SMART, which will support the tracking of key performance metrics. Results and lessons learned will be disseminated regionally to leverage market advantage, and to foster greater understanding among destination decision-makers.

Royal Caribbean's Ocean Fund will provide financial resources along with the United States Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States to complete in-depth work in the  first 7 destinations.  Four destinations will be funded by the US Mission, and three will receive funding from Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean Vice President of Safety and Environmental Stewardship, Rich Pruitt, commented on the news, "It’s critical that companies look at ways they can have a positive impact in the places where they do business.  We want to see the uniquely beautiful destinations of the Caribbean and Latin American region thrive, and are committed to collaborating with the organizations that can work to move these destinations toward greater sustainability."

Royal Caribbean announced its full winter 2015-2016 Caribbean season today, which includes plenty of cruises out of Florida to destinations all over the Caribbean.

Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will sail out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and offer alternate seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Eastern Caribbean ports of call include Nassau, The Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten, while Western Caribbean ports include Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; and Labadee.

Freedom of the Seas will continue offering seven-night alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary calls at St. Thomas, St. Maarten and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private Bahamian-island paradise. The Western Caribbean itinerary calls at Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Cozumel and Labadee. 

Serenade of the Seas will sail a 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean itineraries, roundtrip from Port Everglades. The 10-night itinerary calls at Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica, Antigua and St. Maarten, with the Dec. 4, 2015, and Feb. 26, 2016, sailings replacing Dominica with Martinique. On the 11-night itinerary, guests will call at Aruba, Antigua, Barbados, Bonaire, Grenada and St. Lucia. A special 12-night holiday sailing includes all the ports from the 11-night itinerary, plus calls at St. Thomas and Labadee. And a once-only, nine-night itinerary will call at the Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Key West, Fla. 

Royal Caribbean has released its 2015 Caribbean summer itineraries, including which ship will replace Allure of the Seas out of Port Everglades when she goes to Europe.

Independence of the Seas will be ported in Port Everglades after she crosses the Atlantic in May 2015, returning for its first summer of Caribbean cruises.

Royal Caribbean had announced earlier that it is sending Allure of the Seas to Europe for a summer season in 2015.

Independence of the Seas will offer eastern and western Caribbean itinaries on alternate weeks.  This includes stops in Falmouth, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Labadee for the western Caribbean.  In the eastern Caribbean, she will visit San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts.

Oasis of the Seas, will continue sailing out of Fort Lauderdale as well, with Freedom of the Seas remaining in Port Canaveral.  Both ships will offer 7 night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.

Grandeur of the Seas will remain in Baltimore and offer alternate Bermuda and Canada/New England cruises.

Brilliance of the Seas will sail out of Boston and offer Canada/New England cruises.

Serenade of the Seas will offer 10- to 14-night fall foliage cruises back and forth between Bayonne, N.J., and Quebec City.

Lastly, Liberty of the Seas will sail out of Galveston, Texas to replace Navigator of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean offers a number of cruises to the tropical destinations of the eastern Caribbean and in this video, we get a preview of these great islands!

Today's video is all about the destinations in the western Caribbean Royal Caribbean visits.

Royal Caribbean announced its three- to five-night Caribbean and Bahamas cruises throughout 2014-15 that depart from Tampa, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and Miami.  Nearly all of the ships offering these cruises have recently been refurbished to include up to 10 onboard dining options, more onboard amenities and better entertainment.

From Port Canaveral and Miami respectively, Enchantment of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas will continue year-round three- and four-night Bahamas cruises, calling at Nassau and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island paradise in The Bahamas. On Majesty of the Seas’ four-night sailing, guests also call at Key West, Fla. At CocoCay, guests enjoy a private island with many watersports options; plenty of beautiful beaches to soak up the sun, sip refreshing cocktails, and enjoy a seaside barbeque lunch; and shopping at a colorful craft market.

Throughout the summer 2014 season, vacationers also can choose a Caribbean getaway from Port Everglades aboard Vision of the Seas. A four-night itinerary takes guests to Cozumel, Mexico, and two five-night itineraries take guests to Cozumel and Roatan, Honduras, on one, and another to Key West, Fla., and Grand Cayman. Guests also will delight in the high-flying, acrobatic musical production overhead in the four-deck high Centrum, while guests enjoy a cocktail at the new retro-chic R-Bar below.

Also from Port Everglades, Liberty of the Seas will sail four- and five-night Western Caribbean cruises for the winter 2014-15 season, offering the broadest range of innovative and popular amenities and entertainment that were introduced aboard the world-acclaimed Oasis-class and Freedom-class ships on a short cruise. Guests enjoy the FlowRider surf simulator, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Presidential Family Suite – which can accommodate up to 14, as well as the exclusive DreamWorks Experience, featuring DreamWorks Animations’ lovable ogres Shrek and Fiona, Po the Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar’s Alex the Lion and Gloria the Hippo, a 3-D movie theater showing some of the latest DreamWorks Animation films, Broadway-musical Saturday Night Fever, and more. Liberty of the Seas’ four-night cruise calls at Cozumel, Mexico, and its two five-night itinerary calls at Cozumel and Belize City, Belize, on one, while another at Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination.

From Tampa, Brilliance of the Seas also will offer four-night cruises to Cozumel, and two five-night Cozumel itineraries, which will additionally call at Key West on one, and at Grand Cayman on another.

Royal Caribbean announced today Jewel of the Seas will return to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2014 and offer Southern Caribbean cruises once again.

Following what will be its first year-round 2013-14 Southern Caribbean season, Jewel of the Seas will offer three itineraries throughout the region, calling at St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados on one; at St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados on another; and at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba and Curacao on the third.

Royal Caribbean has released the 2014-2015 deployment schedule for the summer Caribbean and northeast itineraries for Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

In summer 2014, Allure of the Seas will offer 7-night eastern Caribbean itineraries on June 8, 22; July 6, 20; August 3, 17, 2014.  Allure will also sail 7-night western Caribbean itineraries on June 1, 15, 29; July 13, 27; August 10, 24, 2014.

Oasis of the Seas will also offer 7-night eastern Caribbean itineraries on June 14, 28; July 12, 26; August 9, 23, 2014.  The 7-night western Caribbean sailings aboard Oasis will occur on June 7, 21; July 5, 19; August 2, 16, 2014.

Explorer of the Seas will sail out of Bayonne, New Jersey in Summer 2014 and offer 5-night Bermuda cruises on May 3, 17, 31; June 14, 28; July 12, 26; August 9, 23, 2014.  Explorer will also offer 9-night Bermuda and Caribbean itineraries on May 8, 22; June 5, 19; July 3, 17, 31; August 14, 2014.

Grandeur of the Seas will cruise out Baltimore, Maryland and offer 6-night Bermuda cruises on April 26, 2014.  Grandeur will also offer 7-night Bahamas cruises on May 2, 16, 30; June 13, 27; July 11, 25; August 8, 22, 2014.  Slightly different 7-night Bermuda itineraries will be available on Grandeur of the Seas on May 9, 23; June 6, 20; July 4, 18; August 1, 15, 2014.

Freedom of the Seas will continue to offer 7-night eastern Caribbean cruises out of Port Canaveral on May 4, 18; June 1, 15, 29; July 13, 27; August 10, 24, 2014.  Freedom will also offer 7-night western Caribbean itineraries on May 11, 25; June 8, 22; July 6, 20; August 3, 17, 2014.

Royal Caribbean will roll out the rest of its 2014-2015 deployment schedule as follows

• Fall Bermuda & Canada: March 6, 2013
• Alaska: March 13, 2013
• Europe & Transatlantics: March 14-28, 2013
• Australia and Hawaii: April 10, 2013
• Winter Caribbean and Northeast: April 18, 2013
• Short Caribbean and Bahamas: April 23, 2013
• Brazil, Asia and Panama: Coming soon