caribbean cruises

Royal Caribbean International (OSE: RCL NYSE: RCL) is a Norwegian-American cruise ship company based in Miami, Florida and Wichita, Kansas. It is a brand of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with 20 ships in service and one more under construction. All the ships have names ending in "of the Seas." Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. also operates Celebrity Cruises.

Company/Brand History

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was founded in 1968 by Anders Wilhelmsen & Company, I.M. Skauge & Company, and Gotaas Larsen - all Norwegian shipping companies. The newly created line put its first ship, the Song of Norway, into service two years later. The next year, the line's capacity was doubled with the addition of the Nordic Prince to the fleet. Continuing to expand, the line added the Sun Viking in 1972. After four years of successful operation, Royal Caribbean's Song of Norway became the first passenger ship to be lengthened. This was accomplished via the insertion of an 85 foot section to the vessel's severed center. Following the success of this procedure, Nordic Prince was stretched in 1980. Royal Caribbean finally received widespread global recogntion when in 1982 it launched the Song of America, over twice the size of Sun Viking and at the time the largest passenger vessel afloat.

Royal Caribbean innovated once again with its 1986 purchase of a coastal property in Haiti for use as a private destination for its guests. This destination is now called Labadee. After a corporate restructuring in 1988, the line lauched Sovereign of the Seas, again the largest passenger vessel afloat at the time. Two years later, Nordic Empress and Viking Serenade entered service for the line, continuing a rapid growth trend within the company. In the same year Royal Caribbean purchased its second private destination, Little Stirrup Cay, an island in the Bahamas, which they rechristened "Coco Cay".

Monarch of the Seas, the second ship of the Sovereign class, entered service the next year. The third ship of the Sovereign class, Majesty of the Seas, was delivered one year later. With a large passenger capacity and a growing market share, Royal Caribbean finally went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1993. Over the next two years the company experienced extreme growth. A new corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida was completed, and the Nordic Prince replaced by a new (and once again largest at the time) vessel, the Legend of the Seas.

The next year brought more growth. Two more Vision class vessels entered service, the Splendour of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas. Also in 1996, the company finalized its contracts for 130,000 ton vessels with Aker Finnyards in Finland. The trend of growth and change continued into 1997. The line's oldest ship, Song of Norway, was sold, and two new Vision-class ships entered service as Rhapsody of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas. The company also merged with the Greek cruise line Celebrity Cruises and changed its name from "Royal Caribbean Cruise Line" to "Royal Caribbean International". The next year marked a transition to a more "strictly modern line", when the last of the company's older vessels, Song of America and Sun Viking, were retired.

In 1999 the Voyager of the Seas, the line's newest and world's largest cruise ship entered service with much attention from the news media. The next two years saw the delivery of Voyager's sister ship, Explorer of the Seas, and the first of a new class of environmentally friendly cruise liners, Radiance of the Seas, as well as the introduction of Royal Caribbean's "cruise tours Alaska", featuring glass-domed train cars to scenic destinations within the state and Canada. 2002 saw the debut of the Navigator of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas, the second ship of the Radiance class. Serenade of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas were introduced the next year, and rock-climbing walls were made a feature of every Royal Caribbean ship. Jewel of the Seas followed in 2004, and the line's ship Nordic Empress was refurbished and re-christened as Empress of the Seas.

Construction commenced on Freedom of the Seas, the line's newest ship, at Aker Finnyards in 2005 and the vessel launched the next year as the largest and arguably the most innovative ^{citation needed]} passenger vessel in the world, pushing Royal Caribbean well into the future of the cruise industry. Freedom of the Seas' sister ship, Liberty of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas of the Freedom class are scheduled to be delivered in 2007 and 2008 respectively. An even larger class, the Genesis class, will be launched in 2009, guaranteeing Royal Caribbean the ship size lead for years to come.

Royal Caribbean cruise ships

Each Royal Caribbean ship includes the signature top-of-ship lounge called the Viking Crown Lounge offering sweeping panoramic views. The line has a special kids and youth program known as Adventure Ocean. The line's first ship was the Song of Norway, now Caspi Cruises's Dream Princess. The current fleet consists of:

Genesis class

The first ship of this class, as yet unnamed, is expected to surpass the Freedom-class ships as the world's largest passenger ship in autumn 2009. It will be able to accommodate up to 6,400 passengers, will have a gross tonnage of about 220,000 tons and has cost the line around US$1.24 billion. The first vessel is expected to be called Genesis of the Seas.

Freedom class

Freedom of the Seas left Aker Finnyards shipyard in Turku, Finland on April 24, 2006. The second ship of this class is currently under construction at Aker Finnyards in Turku, Finland, with a scheduled delivery of May 2007. With gross tonnage of 158 000 tons, they dethrone Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 as the largest passenger ships in the world even though they are five meters shorter than the Queen Mary 2.

• Freedom of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas

Voyager class

The largest ships at sea only behind the Freedom Class and Cunard's Queen Mary 2. The ships were built at Kvaerner Masa-Yard’s (now Aker Finnyards) facility in Turku.

• Adventure of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Mariner of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas
• Voyager of the Seas

Radiance Class

Radiance class are the ships in RCI's fleet with the greatest ocean liner feel to them ^{citation needed]}. They still have all the signatures of RCI but have grand public rooms like on the Queen Mary 2. All ships have environmentally-friendly gas turbine engines. The Radiance Family of ships are a great alternative to the larger Voyager Class ships and the smaller Vision Class ships.

• Brilliance of the Seas
• Jewel of the Seas
• Radiance of the Seas
• Serenade of the Seas

Vision class

These are the most well-traveled. The Legend and Splendour differ slightly from the rest of their class, as they are the only ones which have a golf course but are also 5000 tons less gross tonnage.

• Enchantment of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Legend of the Seas
• Rhapsody of the Seas
• Splendour of the Seas
• Vision of the Seas

Sovereign class

These were the first "mega-ships" in the industry, built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, France. They were also the last of RCI's ships to feature the Viking Crown Lounge as a seperate visual element as part of the design.

• Majesty of the Seas
• Monarch of the Seas
• Sovereign of the Seas

Empress of the Seas

This vessel, previously named "Nordic Empress", is smaller than RCI's other ships and is the only ship of its class in the fleet.

Retired Ships

Former RCI ships no longer in the fleet:

• Song of Norway - Now operating with Capsi Cruises as Dream Princess
• Nordic Prince
• Sun Viking
• Song of America
• Viking Serenade - Now operating with Island Cruises as Island Escape

Private resorts

Royal Caribbean operates two privately-owned resorts that are used as stops by some Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. They are Labadee, a resort on the northern coast of Haiti, and Coco Cay, a private island in the Berry Islands region of The Bahamas.

Muster Drill

International law requires a muster drill be conducted by Royal Caribbean and all other cruise lines prior to departure from port. A muster drill is a demonstration in the use of life vests and life boats, and it prepares passengers for several possible emergencies.

Attendance at the muster drill is mandatory for all passengers, even those who have previously sailed and have attended one recently. Onboard crew will strictly enforce attendance and will search for each passenger on the manifest in staterooms and other areas of the ship. Failure to attend the muster drill may result in a fine up to $500, payable to one's country of citizenship. In addition, the cruiseline reserves the right to remove the passenger from the cruise, and to bar the passenger from any future cruises.

Onboard Security

Following several incidents on cruiselines that have claimed media attention, Royal Caribbean and other cruiselines have worked to increase security in order to make the cruising experience safer for all passengers. This includes the use of closed-circuit cameras and other technology, and an increase in security personal.

Some security measures include:

• Metal detectors and X-ray. Similar to those found at airports, these are used to prevent passengers from bringing aboard contraband.
• Facial recognition technology. This enables security personnel to locate any passenger on the ship, except in private areas (such as staterooms and restrooms).
• Child alert. Using the above, will notify security if a minor child enters a stateroom other than that of his/her parents/guardian or that which the child is otherwise registered to enter. This prevents children from being harmed in private areas on board the ship.

George Allen Smith case

Main article: George Allen Smith

On July 5, 2005, passengers on board the Brilliance of the Seas reported what appeared to be blood on a part of the ship below passenger balconies. After a search, George Allen Smith was discovered to be missing and thought to have fallen overboard. A criminal investigation into possible foul play was conducted, and a brief press release on the company's investor relations website announced the settlement of the case on June 29th.[1]

Corporate crimes during the 1990s

In the late 1990s, Royal Caribbean was twice fined for violating U.S. environmental cruising regulations. They pleaded guilty on June 8, 1998, to charges of dumping fuel oil on the high seas, using falsified records to cover it up, and even destroying a bypass pipe on the Sovereign of the Seas to further cover it up. It additionally pleaded guilty on July 26, 1999, to 21 felony charges in connection to dumping fuel oil in U.S. territorial waters and the accompanying coverups. Royal Caribbean was forced to pay a total of US$27 million (€25 million, 211 million NOK) in fines. [2]

Environmental Awards

Since the 1990's Royal Caribbean has been the recipient of several prestigious environmental awards including the Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers in 2004, the Environmental Life Buoy Award for Jewel of the Seas in 2004, the Green Planet Award for Brilliance of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas by Kuoni Travel in 2004, and Best Eco-Friendly Cruise Line by Porthole Cruise Magazine in 2002 & 2003.

External links

• Royal Caribbean website
• Official history of the company
• Royal Caribbean UK & Ireland website
• Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas website
• Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas website
• CruiseJournals.com - Cruise Community Pages
• A Royal Caribbean fan website and online forum.
• Caribbean Cruise Pictures
• Photographs of RCCL Retired and Present-day Vessels
• Celebrity Cruises website
• Celebrity Cruises UK website
• Atmospheric and oceanic research aboard the Explorer of the Seas
• Aker Finnyards - Ship construction yard (Voyager class, Freedom class, Project Genesis)
• George Allen Smith Controversy
• Transcript on Larry King Live! of the George Smith Controversy