Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

The Harmony of the Seas is currently returning to North America, having started a trans-Atlantic crossing to Port Canaveral in late July.

Sailing from Barcelona, the 13-night cruise is highlighted by visits to destinations in Spain, such as Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena, Málaga and Cádiz.

The repositioning voyage also includes eight days of cruising in the Atlantic before arriving at the ship’s homeport in Central Florida on August 8, 2026.

As part of its new year-round deployment in Port Canaveral, the Oasis-class ship will kick off a series of four- to seven-night itineraries to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

For its first sailing in the region, the Harmony of the Seas offers a four-night cruise to the Bahamas that features visits to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The vessel’s schedule is also highlighted by short cruises to the Western Caribbean, in addition to longer itineraries to the Eastern Caribbean.

Other ports of call set to be visited by the 2016-built ship include Cozumel in Mexico, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Before starting its repositioning voyage to North America, the vessel spent the past few months offering summer cruises in the Western Mediterranean.

Sailing from Barcelona and Rome, the itineraries were part of Royal Caribbean’s summer season in Europe and included visits to destinations in France, Spain and Italy.

The Harmony of the Seas also underwent a modernization project while in Europe, introducing new features as part of the Royal Amplified initiative.

Among the new features that debuted onboard the 5,558-passenger ship are a Caribbean-inspired pool deck and Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade.

Royal Caribbean also added nearly 100 staterooms to the vessel, replacing technical areas and public rooms with additional accommodation space.

Royal Caribbean Cuts Steel on Fifth Oasis Class Ship

PHOTO: Royal Caribbean steel cutting of a fifth Oasis Class ship. (photo via Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International celebrated the steel cutting of a fifth Oasis Class ship Wednesday with the new vessel scheduled to be delivered in 2021.

The steel cutting ceremony took place at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The new ship will combine the seven-neighbourhood concept her sister ships feature with a lineup of dining, entertainment and technology experiences.

The Oasis Class took the cruise industry by storm with the introduction of Oasis of the Seas a decade ago and again with the introduction of Symphony of the Seas in 2018.

Earlier in April, Royal Caribbean officially took delivery of the 26th ship in its fleet, Spectrum of the Seas, in a ceremony held in Bremerhaven, Germany. The first in the Quantum Ultra class of ships, Spectrum will homeport from Shanghai starting June 2019.

The cruise line also made headlines earlier this month when Royal Caribbean received approval on a deal that would allow the construction of a new office and parking garage near the site of the cruise line’s older facilities in Miami.

Sixth Oasis class mega ship ordered by Royal Caribbean

Sixth Oasis class mega ship ordered by Royal Caribbean

A sixth Oasis class mega cruise ship is due to be delivered to Royal Caribbean International in autumn 2023.

Parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd yesterday revealed that it has entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to order the latest in the family of giant vessels.

The ships, reputed to cost more than $1 billion each to build, are capable of carrying 6,680 passengers.

The Oasis class ships made their debut a decade ago with Oasis of the Seas followed by Allure of the Seas.

Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas have since entered service for the line.

The line’s fifth Oasis-class ship is due for delivery in spring 2021.

The new order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of this year, according to the company.

RCCL chairman and CEO Richard Fain said: “It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Oasis-class ship.

“This order is a reflection of the exceptional performance of this vessel class and the extraordinary partnership between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.”

The French shipyard’s general manager Laurent Castaing added: ”This is the 23rd cruise ship that Royal Caribbean will be building at our shipyard, and we are especially proud of it.

“The order reflects the confidence our customer puts on us, based on the exceptional quality of our long-term co-operation between the two companies and on our capacity to bring innovative solutions to meet our customer’s expectations.”

RCCL brands operate a combined total of 60 ships with an additional 16 on order.

Royal Caribbean: 'Very Aggressive' on Tech Infrastructure

Royal Caribbean: 'Very Aggressive' on Tech Infrastructure

At Royal Caribbean Cruises, the idea is to anticipate the future of technology and get ready for it now.

“I believe that the largest challenges for us are the things that we don’t even know will be coming in the next five to 10 years. There are revolutions coming, things like virtual reality and other things that we don’t even imagine. We need to look at the historical growth of those technologies in the past, focusing on the future,” said Guillermo Muniz, director of satellite and network engineering, Royal Caribbean Cruises.

While cruise lines may plan into the 2020s on the technology front, challenges still remain when it comes to internet aboard today’s fleet.

“Royal Caribbean is being very aggressive regarding infrastructure within the ship. We are investing to make sure we have the infrastructure on our ships to have the correct Wi-Fi and the latest technologies to be able to not worry about connectivity over the next decade,” Muniz said.

The newer Royal Caribbean ships are using a new technology, marketed as Voom, that has significantly improved internet access aboard, helped in part by SES Networks.

“On those ships, the connection is comparable to our home experience. You can stream and watch videos on your devices easily. The amount of bandwidth that we provide to a single user today is the same amount of bandwidth that we provided for our entire fleet in 2000,” Muniz noted.

Royal Caribbean is working on a new boarding process that uses facial recognition to speed up the embarkation. Muniz explained that guests will be able to take a selfie at home, upload it via an app, and then be recognized at the cruise terminal by special facial recognition cameras. The cruise line plans to launch the system over the next few years.

Royal Caribbean Launches Multi-Billion Dollar Private Island and More

PHOTO: CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island, is getting some amazing enhancements. (Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean)

Cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean is upping the ante on amenities, facilities and services across its land-based private islands and ships in what company officials described Wednesday as a “multibillion-dollar” effort designed to lure millennial and first-time cruise vacationers to its vessels.

Royal Caribbean’s initiative is highlighted by the debut of a new, $200 million “Global Private Island Collection” at the company’s private island in CocoCay, Bahamas in 2019. CocoCay will be the company’s first private island to offer Royal Caribbean cruisers a “Perfect Day Island Collection,” a series of “unrivalled and exclusive” private island destinations around the world.

Royal Caribbean will eventually expand the program to include its private islands in Labadee, Haiti and at ports of call in Asia and Australia, said Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean’s president and CEO. “We said, ‘let’s apply the same expertise we did in building our Oasis-class ships to our private islands to create the perfect day,’” he said.

Upon its 2019 premiere, guests will find a new CocoCay, transformed with a series of new attractions. The Thrill Waterpark will feature two water towers with 13 slides, which company officials say are the most slides at any waterpark in the Caribbean. The 135-foot-tall Daredevil’s Peak will be the tallest waterslide in North America, they added. The waterpark will also feature the Caribbean’s largest wave pool and a kid-friendly obstacle course pool.

Also scheduled to debut in 2019 is Oasis Lagoon, described as the Caribbean’s largest freshwater pool, with a swim-up bar and in-pool loungers. A 1,600-foot zip line will extend across the island at up to 50 feet high and feature the Caribbean’s only water landing, say officials.

Other attractions will include Up, Up and Away, a helium balloon that will float up to 450 feet above the ground and offer the Bahamas’ highest vantage point. Two specially designed beaches, Chill Island and South Beach, will offer a quiet beach “escape” and an active beach filled with activities, respectively.

Finally, the exclusive Coco Beach Club will offer an upscale island experience highlighted by the Bahamas’ first overwater cabanas.

Royal Caribbean ships departing from New York, Maryland and Florida will offer Perfect Day at CocoCay excursions. The CocoCay program will debut in phases beginning in September with the construction of a new pier. The majority of the island’s experiences will be open by the spring 2019 said, Bayley. Coco Beach Club, the final phase, is scheduled to open November 2019.

“The Perfect Day Island Collection [will] deliver the most memorable vacation for adventure seekers on land and onboard our ships,” Bayley said. “Once completed Perfect Day at CocoCay will be the ultimate family destination in the Caribbean.”

Royal will further court new cruisers via a $900 million program to “reimagine” its fleet through Royal Amplified, a new modernization plan that will span 10 vessels in four years.

The program will impact “every facet of the guest experience,” said Royal Caribbean officials, with innovative new features and experiences, including specialized pool spaces, experiential dining and nightlife concepts, and unprecedented attractions including Sky Pad, a virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience.

Royal Amplified reflects the company’s passion for innovation, relentless attention to detail and commitment to delivering the best vacation in the world. “We’re always focused on how to create phenomenal experiences for our customers,” Bayley said.

Port of Miami Set to Continue Record-Shattering Growth Pace

PortMiami Set to Continue Record-Shattering Growth Pace

Norwegian Getaway turning in Miami port.

“We do have space. I want that to be very clear, that we have space for growth here at PortMiami,” said Juan Kuryla, port director. “We are growing and need to continue investing.”

Miami is coming off a record year, with 5.3 million cruise passengers, and a similar, slightly better year is expected in 2017-2018. After that, Kuryla is forecasting a continued pattern of record-breaking cruise traffic.

Going from 4.9 million to 5.3 million passengers in a year, the most ever recorded anywhere; Kuryla is juggling multiple projects for a 20 percent bump up in 2019, and even more growth behind that.

“We will likely be at 6.4 million passengers,” he added.

Multiple Projects

The biggest bump up in numbers last year came from Royal Caribbean, with 350,000 more passengers. That figure will grow exponentially when the company opens Terminal A for its Oasis-class ships come 2018.

Talking to Cruise Industry News on a November Monday, there were a staggering seven cruise vessels docked and Kuryla was weeks away from the grand opening of Terminal F, a new facility developed for MSC Cruises and the MSC Seaside.

That terminal is only the beginning, as MSC has bigger plans, including the deployment of the Meraviglia in the Caribbean, sailing from Miami alongside the Seaside in summer 2019.

Discussions are ongoing with Virgin and Norwegian for new terminals.

“Both would be additional to the terminals we have,” Kuryla said. “We are taking some land on the north side from the cargo operations to create a footprint for additional terminals.”

Not to be overlooked, Carnival Cruise Line has been the port’s largest customer dating back to the 1970s and accounted for more than 2 million passenger movements last year. This year the new Carnival Horizon will homeport in Miami after a brief summer in New York.

“We are also in discussions with them on how to work together to accommodate further growth,” explained Kuryla.

‘Total Commitment’

He attributed the growth to a total commitment to the cruise industry not only by the port but by the willingness of elected officials to accept the port’s and cruise line’s recommendations on investments.

New terminal projects must consider not only the space for the terminal, but land infrastructure ranging from parking to utilities, apron needs, traffic patterns and more, Kuryla said.

“The speed at which we need to grow to accommodate new ships is unprecedented,” he continued, “and we are moving quickly.”

Various studies have been conducted on LNG, and the port is moving toward a solution regarding whether bunkering would be a land or water-side operation. Kuryla said he expects Miami to receive its first LNG-powered ship in 2022.

Fourth Oasis-class ship to be called Symphony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's new 170,000-square-foot terminal in Miami will be home to two Oasis-class ships.

Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis-class ship will be called Symphony of the Seas and begin service in late 2018 from its new Crown of Miami terminal.

The 5,400-passenger ship will be joined at the new terminal by another Oasis-class ship, Allure of the Seas.

Since the debut of the Allure in 2010, Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale has been the home of two Oasis-class ships and Miami none. The new 170,000-square-foot terminal in Miami is being built to accommodate the giant ships and to create an iconic presence at PortMiami, where Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has its global headquarters.

The Harmony of the Seas, now sailing from Port Everglades, presumably will remain there while the Oasis of the Seas continues at Port Canaveral, Fla. The Harmony entered service last spring.

The four Oasis-class ships would give Royal Caribbean the capacity to carry 21,600 passengers or more per week from the three Florida ports.

On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean also will announce an agreement with the government of the Bahamas allowing RCCL to build a pier at its Coco Cay private island in the Bahamas and make other upgrades.

In return, RCCL will expand a program for local vendors at Coco Cay, make a commitment to hire more Bahamians to work on ships and start a training program in the Bahamas for hospitality workers.

Fincantieri to buy stake in STX France shipyard

STX France shipyard

An agreement has been reached for the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to acquire 48% of the French shipyard in St. Nazaire that is one of a handful of yards that builds large cruise ships.

The French yard is majority-owned by Korean conglomerate STX with the French government a minority 33% partner. The French government would continue to hold its one-third stake, plus veto power over decision-making, the French daily Ouest France reported.

A navy shipbuilder in France, DCNS, would get a 12% stake and a nonprofit called Fondation CRTrieste would be a 7% partner, the paper said.

The agreement, according to Ouest France, includes "commitments, particularly regarding the sustainability of the site and its activities, as well as investment and the maintenance and development of employment."

Fincantieri emerged as the only bidder for the STX stake in the French yard, which has been for sale for several years due to financial pressures at STX.

STX France built the Harmony of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International and has contracts for a fourth Oasis-class ship, plus two Edge-class ships for Celebrity Cruises, due in 2018 and 2020.

With the deal, Fincantieri and Germany's Meyer Werft will be the two major suppliers of big ships to the cruise industry, following Meyer's acquisition of yards in Finland and Fincantieri's investment in the STX France facility.

What's Next for Royal Caribbean International?

PHOTO: Three Oasis-class ships sailing together. (photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean International)

2018-2019 Deployments

When Symphony of the Seas, (already open for reservations), sets sail as the fourth Oasis-class ship, it will mark the line’s biggest-ever lineup ever from Florida, as Royal Caribbean will soon have a new terminal at PortMiami.

Besides the Caribbean, the line will also head to Alaska, Europe, China and exotic locales.

The Symphony will arrive at PortMiami on November 9, 2018, and will depart on its 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries starting on November 17, 2018. While the ship will be the same length as its sister Harmony of the Seas, it will carry an extra 28 cabins and measure in as the largest cruise ship in the world at 230,000 gross registered tons.

Joining Symphony in Miami will be Allure of the Seas in November 2018 as well. Oasis of the Seas will continue to leave from Port Canaveral, Florida and Harmony of the Seas will continue to depart from Port Everglades, Florida.

Cuba and the Caribbean

Later this month, Royal Caribbean International will visit Cuba for the first time, sailing a 5-night cruise from Miami on April 19, 2017. It will send the newly revitalized Empress of the Seas to Havana for overnight experiences and a visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site on its Cuban sailings. Other opportunities will include seeing Cojimar and the Tropicana and riding in classic cars.

The Empress of the Seas will also feature 4- and 5-night cruises from Tampa in summer 2017 along with Rhapsody of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas' 5- to 7-night Caribbean voyages. Meanwhile, Adventure of the Seas will also depart from Puerto Rico on 7- to 10-night Southern Caribbean itineraries.

From the Northeast, Rhapsody of the Seas will team up with Anthem of the Seas from Cape Liberty, New Jersey in 2017. In the summer, Rhapsody will head out on 7-night cruises to the Bahamas, while Anthem will sail to Bermuda, with the latter to the Caribbean year-round as well on 5-, 7- and 9-night departures.

Alaska and Europe

Explorer of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas will return to Alaska this season. Explorer will showcase 7-,10- and 12-night round trips from Seattle, Washington, while Radiance will alternate 7- to 14-night voyages to and from Vancouver, BC and Seward, Alaska.

In Europe, Jewel of the Seas will sail 9-night Greek Isles itineraries from Rome, Italy, plus 7-night Western Mediterranean plans, as well as 7-night itineraries on the Freedom of the Seas from Barcelona, Spain. The Serenade of the Seas and Vision of the Seas will also traverse Northern Europe and ports such as Copenhagen, Denmark.

Future Fleet

Looking to 2019 and beyond are several more new ships that Royal Caribbean will deploy internationally, starting with a fourth Quantum-class ship in 2019 and a fifth to follow during 2020.

Joining the four aforementioned Oasis-class ships will be a fifth in 2021, and then an entirely new class of vessel will emerge by 2022. Two fuel cell and LNG-powered Icon-class ships will first set sail during 2022 and 2024.