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
