The three (or more) versions of the Royal Caribbean cruise experience

 I recently had a note from someone who said that he was considering going on Royal Caribbean International's new ship Quantum of the Seas and since I have sailed with Royal quite often, he wanted to get my insights into the cruise experience on the Royal Caribbean ships. Although this was a seemingly straightforward question, it was difficult to answer because there is more than one Royal Caribbean cruise experience. In fact, there are presently at least three types of cruise experience offered that roughly correspond to the various classes of ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

At the outset, I should say that there are a number of things that are done throughout the fleet. Thus, you always know when you are sailing on a Royal Caribbean ship. For example, the daily program is the Cruise Compass, the children's program is Adventure Ocean, and the loyalty program is the Crown and Anchor Society.  They all have a Viking Crown Lounge.  But just as both rural Mississippi and urban New York City are both part of the United States, life can be much different depending upon which class of Royal Caribbean ship you are cruising on.

The Radiance (ex. Radiance of the Seas ) and Vision (ex. Vision of the Seas) class ships are medium size cruise ships ranging from approximately 75,000 gross tons to 90,000 gross tons and carrying 2,000 to 2,500 passengers. The cruise experience on these ships is more of a classic cruise experience that is favored with a high percentage of adult passengers. Although the recent fleet-wide revitalization program, the Royal Advantage, has given these ships more specialty restaurants and a number of other features, their size does not permit them to have all of the features of the larger Royal Caribbean ships. Consequently, the emphasis tends to be on friendly and personalized service. In addition, the ships, especially the four Radiance class ships, tend to go to a wider range of ports than their larger fleetmates.

The eight Freedom (ex. Freedom of the Seas ) and Voyager (ex. Explorer of the Seas) class ships are cities at sea. Indeed, the Royal Promenade that runs down the center line of these ships is essentially a main street with shops, bars and restaurants. On the open decks, there are two large pool areas and on the Freedom class, a kids' aqua park and surfing simulators. Both classes also have ice skating arenas. Thus, there are lots of things to do. Of course, the Freedom class ships are nearly twice the size of the Vision class ships and carry up to 4,375 passengers. So the cruise experience is not as personalized as on the smaller ships. In general, the cruise experience on these ships tends to be a more active experience with a high proportion of families as passengers.

Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas offer yet another cruise experience. These giants are not merely bigger versions of the Freedom class ships, they are a new model of cruising. Traditionally, an evening on a cruise ship revolved around the two seatings in the main dining room and the two performances in the ship's theater. Even the advent of flexible dining did not change the model significantly because the only real entertainment offerings were, as a practical matter, the two shows in the theater. With Oasis and Allure, you not only have quality dining alternatives but quality entertainment alternatives.

People who have not cruised on Oasis or Allure often express concern to me about the number of passengers on the Oasis class (6,300). However, the boarding and disembarkation goes amazingly quickly and the passenger flow on these ships is so well managed that long lines are a rare exception. Indeed, I have been generally impressed by the sophisticated management of these ships.

The new Quantum class, which is just going into service this week with Quantum of the Seas, may offer yet another version of the Royal Caribbean cruise experience. A little larger than the Freedom class ships, one might expect Quantum to be a bigger version of that model of cruising. However, she has no ice rink nor a traditional Royal Promenade. Nor is she a miniature Oasis. Instead, she has new entertainment venues and a new dining system, which replaces the main dining room with five themed, complimentary restaurants. Thus, Quantum promises yet another version of Royal Caribbean.

I like the fact that Royal offers more than one type of cruise experience. It provides variety. If the experience were the same throughout the fleet, it would be as dull as traveling on an airliner or having dinner every night at the same chain food restaurant where everything is homogeneous. Also, not everyone likes the same thing and so by offering a variety of cruise experiences Royal Caribbean appeals to a wider audience.

On Beyondships this week, we have a new destination guide to cruise port Boston. http://beyondships.com/Ports-Boston.html In addition to looking at the port http://www.beyondships3.com/boston-cruise-port.html, we walk the Freedom Trail http://www.beyondships3.com/boston-freedom-trail.html , take a look at USS Constitution http://www.beyondships3.com/uss-constitution.html and take shore excursions to Fenway Park http://www.beyondships3.com/visiting-bostons-fenway-park.html and to neighboring Salem, Massachusetts http://www.beyondships3.com/visiting-salem.html

Talking with Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Chairman Richard Fain

Richard Fain has certainly made this an exciting time in the cruise industry. As chairman and CEO of the world’s largest cruise company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., he could have grown the company gradually and in small increments. Instead, its Royal Caribbean International brand recently introduced the largest cruise ship ever built, Oasis of the Seas, and is building a second one just as large. Meanwhile, he has propelled Celebrity Cruises to the front ranks of the premium cruise line brands by building five new ships (collectively referred to as the “Solstice class”) that not only are larger than any cruise ship serving the premium cruise market but which are full of innovative new features. These ships are setting set new standards and thus are placing competitive pressure on all cruise providers to enhance their guests’ cruise experience.


What makes Fain’s actions dramatic is that there was no guarantee that these multi-billion dollar investments would succeed. As Fain has admitted it was a gamble and one what went against the common wisdom of the industry.

On the occasion of the naming of Celebrity Cruises latest Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Eclipse, I had a chance to talk with Mr. Fain about the Celebrity part of this gamble. We also discussed the reasons for stationing Eclipse in England and dedicating her to the British/Irish market. My interview with Mr. Fain appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-art-Fain.html

Speaking of the Royal Caribbean family, I have also posted a new photo essay on Freedom of the Seas in St. Thomas. Freedom is a large cruise ship - - indeed, until Oasis of the Seas came along, Freedom was the world’s largest cruise ship. However, she does not look cumbersome or ungainly. In fact her nicely curved bow, the long lines of her superstructure and her curved sloping stern make her rather photogenic. The nice thing about St. Thomas is that there are a number of good places to take photos of the ships. Also, the light changes over the course of the day, which adds variety to the photos. My photo essay on Freedom is at: http://www.beyondships.com/FOS-Photos-1.html

Freedom of the Seas

I have just added an extensive photo tour of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas to the Beyondships website based upon my recent visit to that ship. http://www.beyondships.com/FOStour.html Also, I have added some menus and daily programs to the profile page for Freedom. http://www.beyondships.com/FOS.html I think these will be useful for those trying to get a feel for this impressive ship or for those who just want to remember their time on Freedom.
Freedom of the Seas is a larger version of Royal Caribbean International's (RCI) Voyage-class cruise ships. At over 150,000 tons, she is the largest passenger ship now in service. (Freedom's younger sister Liberty of the Seas can make the same claim and a thrid member of the class, Independence of the Seas, will go into service later this year. However, RCI is building two 220,00 ton ships, the first of which is due out in 2010).
The first thing people focus on with Freedom is her size. Yes, she is very big and holds some 4,300 passengers in her 1,817 staterooms. However, by virtue of that size, the ship is able to house an extensive array of facilities. Indeed, the ship has just about every amenity that one can find on a cruise ship and several that are unique to her class including a boxing ring and a surfing simulator.
As the aforementioned examples indicate, the emphasis on Freedom is on action. That is what Royal Caribbean is alluding to with its slogan "Get Out There" - - Freedom and her fleet mates were designed for people with an active lifestyle. The other side of the coin is that intellectual enrichment is not emphasized.
This is not to say that Freedom is unsophisticated. There is an extensive art collection built around the theme of the four basic elements of ancient times - - water, air, fire and earth. For the most part, these are contemporary works including several rather whimsical pop-art style giant statues. The overall feel that they give off is consistent with a young, active lifestyle.
The decor of the public areas adds to this ambience. The focal point of the interior public spaces is the Royal Promenade - - a 445 foot, multi deck high boulevard that runs the length of the ship from the theater to the reception area. It is done in a light-hearted manner and resembles an up scale shopping mall. However, other rooms, such as the Champagne Bar, Boleros, and the Schooner Bar, to name a few, are done in an elegant contemporary style. Finally, the three-level main dining room is a spectacular space done in a grand 19th Century style.
Freedom is clearly not bound by tradition. As seen by the fact that RCI has injected such nautical novelties as skating rinks, rock climbing walls, boxing rings, and surfing simulators to its ships, the criterion for adding a feature is whether it will be fun and popular rather than whether it is a traditional feature of ships. This may appear irreverent but the same was probably said when libraries, movie theaters and other features that are now commonly associated with passenger ships were first introduced on passenger ships. Such evolution is necessary in order for passenger ships to remain viable holidays.
In sum, Freedom is well-suited to do what she was designed to do - - provide enjoyable holidays for people who have an active lifestyle.