At the turn of the Millennium, Royal Caribbean had come up with two rather excellent but quite different designs for cruise ships. The first was the Voyager design, which premiered in late 1999. It was for a megacruise ship of more than 130,000 tons, which have the line the space to include amenities such as the Royal Promenade and the ice skating rink, which had never been seen on a cruise ship before. Its large size also lent itself to economies of scale as the design could accommodate large numbers of guests.
The other design was the Radiance class design, which first saw service in 2001. This design was also for a large ship but at 90,000 tons, much smaller than the Voyager design. At the same time, capable of doing 25 knots, it was a much faster ship. It was more traditional in its interior but very well laid out with the use of large amounts of glass enhancing the public spaces. In sum, it was an eloquent design that pointed in something of a different direction than the Voyager design.
Serenade of the Seas is the third of four Radiance class ships built for RCI between 2001 and 2004. Her modern sleek lines are immediately appealing. Her interior is delightful. In many ways, she is a significant milestone in the development of the traditional cruise ship design. Although she has many of the signature Royal Caribbean amenities, it is a different experience.
Recently, Royal Caribbean has focused its attention on developing the Voyager class, which gave rise to the Freedom class and which is the ancestor of the forthcoming Oasis class. Thankfully the Radiance design has not been abandoned. RCI’s sister company Celebrity Cruises is developing the Radiance design with its Solstice class ships.
My profile of Serenade of the Seas is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS-Profile.html. and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS--tour-1.html.
The other design was the Radiance class design, which first saw service in 2001. This design was also for a large ship but at 90,000 tons, much smaller than the Voyager design. At the same time, capable of doing 25 knots, it was a much faster ship. It was more traditional in its interior but very well laid out with the use of large amounts of glass enhancing the public spaces. In sum, it was an eloquent design that pointed in something of a different direction than the Voyager design.
Serenade of the Seas is the third of four Radiance class ships built for RCI between 2001 and 2004. Her modern sleek lines are immediately appealing. Her interior is delightful. In many ways, she is a significant milestone in the development of the traditional cruise ship design. Although she has many of the signature Royal Caribbean amenities, it is a different experience.
Recently, Royal Caribbean has focused its attention on developing the Voyager class, which gave rise to the Freedom class and which is the ancestor of the forthcoming Oasis class. Thankfully the Radiance design has not been abandoned. RCI’s sister company Celebrity Cruises is developing the Radiance design with its Solstice class ships.
My profile of Serenade of the Seas is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS-Profile.html. and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS--tour-1.html.
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