Norway

Next year, Royal Caribbean will offer cruises out of the capital of Norway, Oslo, once again with 4 stops planned on Legend of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on why Royal Caribbean is returning, "Norway is a wonderful country and an amazing destination, as people from all over the world want to visit. We have offered cruises often to Oslo in the past, and look forward to being here again."

Goldstein also pointed out cruises out of Oslo have the ability to sail to other ports in Norway, Sweden, Estonia, St. Petersburg and so on. In addition, ord are very special.

Royal Caribbean cruises from Norway will also have stops in Stavanger, Geiranger and Aalesund. There will be a 14-night transatlantic cruise that ends up in the United States

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean may be offering Northern European cruises once more is because of the Euro crisis in Southern Europe.  In addition, Norway's popularity among tourists is on the rise from 1.9 million in 2011 to 2.5 million last year. This year it is expected that there will be 3 million passengers, according Visit Norway.

Photo by Vegard Elias Antonsen

Due to a maritime pilot strike in Oslo, Norway, Royal Caribbean has been forced to adjust Vision of the Seas' itinerary slightly.

Vision of the Seas will call at Geiranger, Norway, today as planned, then spend Friday at sea and conclude its sailing in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Saturday.  Vision was originally scheduled to end its cruise in Oslo but passengers will instead transported by  bus to Oslo.

Brilliance of the Seas will call on Bergen, Norway, today as scheduled, spend Friday at sea and conclude its sailing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday as scheduled.

The strike impacts cruise ships because pilots boats are not able to go out and meet ships, and thus ships that require a compulsory pilot to navigate within local waters cannot sail into the Norwegian ports.

Royal Caribbean has said that Vision of the Seas will dock in Bergen, Norway and Brilliance of the Seas will dock in Flam, Norway this morning as planned, despite a strike by pilot boat skippers in Oslo.

The strike is expected to spread across Norway by Thursday.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez issued a statement regarding the situation, "Both ships are expected to depart their ports of call today as scheduled. However, we are currently preparing contingency plans in the event the strike continues and either ship is unable to make their next scheduled port of calls in Norway."

The strike comes at the peak of the Norwegian fjord sailing season and threatens to disrupt the tourists coming to see them.

Vision of the Seas is scheduled to call to Geiranger, Norway, on Thursday, May 31, then spend Friday, June 1, at sea and conclude its sailing in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday, June 2.

Brilliance of the Seas is scheduled to call to Bergen, Norway, on Thursday, May 31, spend Friday, June 1, at sea and conclude its sailing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday, June 2.

After a thorough agency competition shifts, Royal Caribbean Nordic has chosen Saatchi & Saatchi Norway to be their new ad agency. The Oslo agency will use the Nordic network in the operational work of the various markets. Royal Caribbean has previously been with agencies Shnel & Melnychuck  and Bates.

"We look forward to continuing collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi. They are in the process convinced that they are the right agency for us now. We have big ambitions, both in Norway and other Nordic countries. Saatchis combination of excellent local agencies and a highly dense network is what we've been looking for", says Head of Marketing at Nordic Ellen Stebekk.

Agency Director Jon Fredrik Sand Engen at Saatchi & Saatchi is more than satisfied.

"This is great fun and exciting. We have all been cruise enthusiasts in a few weeks, and we have already become very fond of Royal Caribbean and its people. Being a developing Royal Caribbean and this market forward is a dream job. In Oslo, we are also proud to be chosen as the main agency for the Nordic countries", he said.

Royal Caribbean is the market leader in Scandinavia, with a market share of about 45 percent and, according to the company, a position in Norway that is stronger than in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

"Cruise holidays that the form is growing rapidly, but has a lot to go on to take out the potential in all the Nordic markets. In the future we will do more local and regional initiatives. Therefore, we have a good strategic and creative master agency with a strong network, we have found in the Saatchi & Saatchi Norway," says Stebekk.

Royal Caribbean General Manager of Nordic and Baltic region, Roar Meidal,  reports that 86 percent more Nordic tourists go on Mediterranean Sea cruises this year, of which 58 per cent more Norwegians

"We are very pleased that the Nordic people finally seem to realize the great benefits of the cruise has to offer as a holiday. We like to think that cruise offers the best of two worlds: on the one hand, an all-inclusive, relaxing holiday in the sun, on the other hand, a cultural experience with stops at ports such as Rome, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes, Istanbul and Jerusalem," says Meidal.

Statistics show that Norwegian passengers account for the largest increase, by as much as 58 percent of the total increase.  Swedes are in second place with 23 percent increase, while both the Danes and the Finns can boast of a 10 percent increase. The preferred holiday is a 7-day cruise with some of Royal Caribbean's largest and most innovative ships, such as the Liberty of the Seas.