Royal Caribbean planning WOW sale June 1 through 4

In:
30 May 2014

Royal Caribbean has announced its next WOW Sale, with offers of up to $200 onboard credit and 50 percent reduced deposits for all cruises.

This WOW sale is valid on all worldwide sailings, except Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

  • Cruises of 3 to 5 nights get US$50 onboard credit per stateroom
  • Cruises of 6 to 9 nights get US$100 onboard credit per stateroom
  • Cruises of 10 nights or more get US$200 onboard credit per stateroom

LISTEN TO OUR ADVICE ON WOW SALES AND IF THEY ARE A GOOD DEAL

The onboard credit and 50 percent reduced deposit offers are applicable to all Royal Caribbean International cruises, including cruisetours. All bookings must be made and the required deposit must be paid by June 4, 2014, by 11:59 p.m. local time to qualify for the promotion.

What is a WOW Sale? Are WOW Sales good deals?  Read our Cruise 101: WOW Sale post to get information on what this deal is all about.

Friday Photos

In:
30 May 2014

Another Friday is here and that means we are sharing our readers great Royal Caribbean cruise photos with all of you. Each and every week, we showcase the Royal Caribbean photos our readers send to us.  Let's jump into this week's batch!

First up this week is a photo by Ken Slusser of his banner "Carolina Cruise-saders" that he hung on deck 9 balcony bump on Independence of the Seas while on his March 2014 cruise.  Love the creativity!

Next is a photo by Nick of sunrise on their way to Bermuda on Explorer of the Seas. I haven't found a sunrise photo I didn't like!

Here we have a photo from Dirk of the Serenade of the Seas in the port of Cartagena, Spain from May 2014.  Bueno!

Kyle from D.C. sent this photo of "Lady O" in St. Thomas.  I really like the colors in this shot.

Here we have the Dreamworks parade as seen from Alison's Royal Promenade stateroom on Voyager of the Seas.

The Cruise Buddies, from Pennsylvania, British Columbia and Louisiana line up for their Crown and Anchor cruise point photo on the Brilliance of the Seas transatlantic crossing to Harwich. Cruising with a group is always fun and this looks like a great group!

That wraps things up for this week's batch of photos but be sure to send us your Royal Caribbean photos and we will feature them in an upcoming post!

Internet access on Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

In:
28 May 2014

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

Episode 43 is available for downloading which has a look at the internet options while on your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Matt explains what Royal Caribbean currently offers to its guests for internet connectivity options today and what is around the corner for getting online.  Matt also shares how to get online while in port and other options.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 43. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSSStitcher 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 selects new sales director for Mexico

In:
28 May 2014

Royal Caribbean named André Pousada, the former Brazil Sales Director, will become the sales director for Royal Caribbean in Mexico starting in July.

Mexico is considered a strategic market for Royal Caribbean because of the value and potential of the cruise market, so having the right plan in place there is critical.

Pousada has a career of over 22 years in the tourism industry, including experience in agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels and cruise ships. At the same time, he developed his career in Academic SENAC, one of the leading Universities of Tourism and Hotel in Brazil.

Pousada commented on his hiring, "I am very pleased to have the opportunity to get in front of Royal office in Mexico.  It's a challenge for me to lead this project, Mexico is a country of great opportunities is a key element for the cruising, so we want to develop a series of actions and strategies that benefit the Mexican cruise and in turn, our sales reflect within Mexican territory. "

British boy drowns on Independence of the Seas cruise ship pool

In:
27 May 2014

A six-year-old boy from the United Kingdom was found unconscious in the pool onboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas earlier Tuesday.

The boy was was air lifted in serious condition to a hospital in Brest, France after he was found in cardiac arrest at the bottom of the pool, according to officials in Brest.

"The child was found in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest at the bottom of the ship's pool," said Yann Bouvard, a spokesman for the maritime prefecture in the port of Brest.

Shortly before 2:00pm (12:00 GMT), sea rescue services were requested and a helicopter was sent to the ship that was in the Atlantic.

Two hours later, the child was transferred to the Morvan hospital in Brest where his condition was described as "grave".

Royal Caribbean begins building new $55 million Cape Liberty cruise terminal home for Quantum-class ships

In:
27 May 2014

Royal Caribbean announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build the next phase of the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, NJ.

The $55 million project will include construction of a new, state-of-the-art guest terminal, 900-car parking garage and pier improvements.

The new terminal will be the home for Royal Caribbean's next generation of cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, which both begin service in November 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Ground breaking has already occurred and the new terminal will be complete in November 2014.

Rhapsody of the Seas arrives in Seattle for 2014 Alaska season

In:
24 May 2014

Rhapsody of the Seas arrived in Seattle to begin her 2014 Alaska cruise season.  Our blog readers Tom & Diane Trudnowski sent us photos of Rhapsody's arrival.

Arriving at the cruise terminal area

Rhapsody of the Seas is there, but is blocked by Celebrity Solstice

There she is

Wide angle look at Rhapsody of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas heading to Alaska

Rhapsody of the Seas passing by

Rhapsody of the Seas passing by other boats

Friday Photos

In:
23 May 2014

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  We're starting this weekend with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos.  Each week we invite our readers to share their photos with us!

Our first photo this week is from Ken Slusser and it's of the new cabanas recently added to Adrenaline Beach in Labadee.  I can tell you from first hand experience that napping on a beach couch is the way to experience Labadee!

Krystal Sullivan sent in this photo of Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, from her Explorer of the Seas cruise. Her husband took this panoramic photo of the ocean and the color looks gorgeous!

Here's another photo from an Explorer of the Seas cruise to Bermuda.  Kelly Tarman sent in this photo from Southampton Parish, which is the Queen's View.  Kelly says this view, "was made famous by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 when she visited Bermuda following her coronation. If you look in the distance you can see Explorer of the Seas in all her glory."

Next is a photo from Dirk of his view from Serenade of the Seas in St. Maarten when Allure of the Seas gave him a huge good-bye.  Note the crew members under the Allure name with the prop!

SK Goh sent us this photo of the view of Port Klang as seen from Mariner of the Seas' Windjammer back in January.  Hard to beat breakfast with a view like that.

Lastly, we have this photo from Steven Brinkman from his Navigator of the Seas cruise last month. Wish I was back on her right now.

We want your Royal Caribbean photos too! Use this form to send us your favorite photos and we will include it in an upcoming blog post.

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas seized due to unpaid fees

In:
22 May 2014

Norwegian authorities temporarily seized Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas after the cruise ship did not pay its port fees.

Independence of the Seas was placed under arrest until the cruise line paid about $101,000 in unpaid piloting and security fees from 2013 to the government.

Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reports the fees should have been paid last year but had not done so.

Royal Caribbean made restitutions to the government and the ship was released.

In a statement on its website, the administration noted delayed payments from certain cruise lines has been a problem. “There’s a lot of work for us in following up these cases,” Dimmen said. “The ships are often based overseas, and it is dependent on the season when they visit our area. It’s an advantage for us that we can make use of the maritime liens regime. Then we can secure the payment.”

Majesty of the Seas passenger suffers head injury and flown to hospital

In:
22 May 2014

A Royal Caribbean passenger aboard Majesty of the Seas suffered a head injury onboard the cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean Director of Communications Cynthia Martinez said a 32-year-old Swedish passenger was treated onboard Majesty of the Seas late Wednesday before being transfered to a fire rescue boat.

The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. on the Majesty of the Seas in waters not far from Miami.

The Majesty of the Seas continued sailing to Key West, where it was expected to arrive several hours later than scheduled.

The passenger was safely taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was admitted to the emergency room, Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Robert Hevia said.

It's not yet clear how the passenger was hurt.

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