ROyal Caribbean will send three ships to the United Kingdom in 2014 - Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas - with bookings opening on March 20, 2013.

Both Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas will sail out of the Southampton for their second consecutive seasons from May 2014 until late October 2014. Brilliance of the Seas will return to her home port of Harwich after a debut season in summer 2013.

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President and General Manager for the UK and Ireland, Jo Rzymowska, commented on the news, "We are delighted to announce our 2014 sailings from Southampton and Harwich on our newly revitalised ships. Our guests can continue to enjoy our innovative facilities and activities onboard including rock climbing, ice skating and surfing, plus our great entertainment. We want to continue to give our guests unforgettable experiences that can only be found on Royal Caribbean International.”

Independence of the Seas will feature a range of itineraries in 2014, including shorter sailings such as a three-night and four-night cruise to Le Havre for Paris, and Zeebrugge for Bruges. Independence of the Seas will also showcase a six night cruise to France and Spain, an eight-night cruise to Norway, various 14-night Mediterranean cruises, plus 11 and 12-night Canary Islands cruises.

From May 2014, Adventure of the Seas from Southampton will return to a series of seven to 16 night cruises around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, plus shorter sailings, including a four-night trip to Belgium and France.

Brilliance of the Seas, sailing from Harwich, will visit Northern Europe on 12-night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland cruises and the Baltic Sea on 12-night Scandinavia & Russia cruises.

Royal Caribbean is preparing to launch a £2.5 million fall marketing campaign, which will be the biggest yet by the company in the UK.  The new marketing push is aimed at "nearly cruisers" - people who have not yet cruised but are actively considering the option.

The new campaign also features a host of interactive games, state-of-the-art technologies, branded merchandise and lucrative incentives to get trade partners excited about Royal Caribbean. The autumn campaign. This is the first of its kind for the travel trade and uses an innovative new technology that reinforces the cruise line’s history of staying one step ahead of the cruise industry.

UK and Ireland associate vice president and general manager Jo Rzymowska said, “This brand campaign is all about what makes us so different regarding what we offer on board/ The Blippar smart phone app brings the whole experience to life.”

After Royal Caribbean refurbishes Brilliance of the Seas in the spring of 2013, it plans on sending her to the United Kingdom later that year.

Brilliance of the Seas will offer eight 12-night cruises to Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea out of Harwich, England starting May 15, 2013. These voyages will include stops at Copenhagen; Stockholm; Helsinki; Talinn, Estonia; Gothenburg, Sweden; and an overnight in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Brilliance of the Seas also will operate a single 11-night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland itinerary departing July 27, 2013 that will call at Bergen and Geiranger, Norway; Lerwick/Shetland, Scotland; Klaksvik, Faroe Islands; and Reykjavik, Iceland (for an overnight stop). The ship will be based in Harwich through Aug. 31, 2013, when it will depart for Boston on a 15-night itinerary that will include calls at Le Havre, France; Portland, Dorset, U.K.; Cork (Cobh) and Dublin, Ireland; Klaksvik; and Reykjavik.

Brilliance of the Seas is scheduled to spend the summer 2012 sailing to Northern Europe out of Copenhagen and Amsterdam. 

Royal Caribbean announced it is planning on doubling its presence in the UK next year.

Coming to the UK in the summer of 2013 will be Adventure of the Seas, which will join Independence of the Seas.  Independence is returning for its fifth season in the UK.

Adventure of the Seas will offer seven-night cruises to France and Spain, and include stops in ports such as Vigo, Gijon and Le Havre (Paris).  In addition, Adventure of the Seas will offer 12-night Baltic cruises to ports like Oslo, Copenhagen, Talinn and Helsinki.  Royal Caribbean is also planning to send Adventure of the Seas on 14-night Mediterranean cruises.

Royal Caribbean's Vice President and Group Managing Director in Europe, Dominic Paul, commented on the addition, "The UK cruise market has long been a success story for Royal Caribbean International and doubling the number of ships sailing from Southampton is another great milestone."

Royal Caribbean has restarted its "wave" marketing campaign for the busy peak season after the company decided to suspend marketing efforts in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster.

Royal Caribbean decided to stop marketing out of respect to the victims of the Concordia, which sank off the coast of Italy on January 13.

Royal Caribbean feels now is the time to resume marketing campaigns once more and is offering thousands of free flights for summer cruises. The new campaign will focus on ads on television, radio and print.

Royal Caribbean's General Manager in the United Kingdom, Jo Rzymowska, spoke about the decision, "It’s up to us to work with our trade partners and get the message to the consumers that this was an awful, very rare but terrible accident and we as an industry are doing everything we can to make sure it never happens again."

“We needed to be sensitive about what happened and the immediate decision to stop all activity was not a difficult one. It was crystal clear to us in the light of the tragedy that was the right thing to do."

“From then on we have monitored things day by day by getting sentiment from the market, and a lot of that we did by talking to our trade partners. We feel that February 1 is the right time to go out with our own activity.”

The resumed campaign will last throughout February and offer 10,000 free flights for summer 2012 sailing across Royal Caribbean’s European program of cruise itineraries.

Royal Caribbean United Kingdom and Ireland announced that the new head of trade sales will be Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, who will report directly to Royal Caribbean's Associate Vice President & General Manager Jo Rzymowska.

Tempest-Mitchell had previously overseen sales for all national accounts, but her new duties will have her responsible for all trade sales in the United Kingdom and Ireland in an effort by Royal Caribbean to strengthen its position in the region.

Tempest-Mitchell will head up a team of seven others, including three new positions that have not been announced yet.  This new team will also include a new Royal Caribbean Head of Sales and a field sales manager.

The goal of this team is to address the ever changing needs of cruise specialists, high street agents, home workers and online players.

Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president & general manager, UK & Ireland said “Nicki Tempest-Mitchell’s well deserved promotion and our new structure demonstrates our commitment to the trade, and now more than ever ensures that we are in a position to manage the needs of the trade and deliver on our promise to work in true partnership”.

Nicki Tempest-Mitchell added “I’m really excited about my new challenge and I’m looking forward to working with the team to build the trade business and ensure that RCL Cruises is strengthening its position in the UK & Ireland”.  

Royal Caribbean's newest marketing campaign in the United Kingdom will focus on the onboard activities found on its ships.  The new promotion that will debut this fall is named "Pack More into Your Holiday" and will feature activities and other things to do on Royal Caribban's fleet of ships.

Royal Caribbean's Associate Vice President and General Manager of Royal Caribbean International UK and Ireland Jo Rzymowska spoke a little about the new marketing strategy's goals, "Last year sales in late summer and autumn for Royal Caribbean International were healthy. As well as including tactical pricing offers to drive sales, we’re also gunning for improved agent and consumer awareness as to just what a holiday with Royal Caribbean International includes. The new ‘Pack More into Your Holiday’ campaign is designed to make agents reappraise their idea of who might choose a cruise, and encourage them to sell more holidays at sea”. .

Royal Caribbean has named Louise James the new head of Royal Caribbean's Public Relations division in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

James' responsibility will be to take charge of the communications division for Royal Caribbean UK, which includes its press office and marketing communications.

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President & General Manager, Jo Rzymowska, thinks James will be a good fit, "The marketing and communications need for the RCL Cruises Ltd business has evolved significantly in recent years. As well as celebrating new ships, we are investing in increasing our brand awareness within the overall holiday sector. The new PR appointment is a key development to aid this area of our communications strategy and I’m excited to welcome Louise James to the team."

Royal Caribbean in the United Kingdom is offering its passengers an extra layer of luxury service with chauffeur serviceto and from UK ports and London airports.

For those sailing on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas out of Southampton and Jewel of the Seas out of Harwich or those flying from London airports can book a chauffer driven service with partner Tristar Chauffeur Services to and from their address to their port or airport of departure.

Royal Caribbean Associate VIce President and General Manager of United Kingdom of Ireland, Jo Rzymowska,  commented on the new service, "This is a great addition to the list of optional extras we offer our guests.  Having the opportunity to transfer in luxury is the perfect way to make the most of your holiday time and a fantastic treat.”

Peak time transfers cost approximately £65 for first 15 miles and £1.40 per mile thereafter. Off-peak transfers cost approximately £55 for first 15 miles and £1 per mile thereafter. Costs will vary depending on where the guest is being picked up from.

Photo by Tom Stevenson