Oasis Sale Extended!

Just received word that the $899/person fare for the Oasis of the Seas will be extended until March 8 for the May 15 sailing only! So if you were unable to take advantage yesterday, there's still time!On the other two sailing dates, May 1 and 29, I'm still showing the fare available as well. However, I'm not sure how long they will last, so there *might* still be an opportunity to book on those

TODAY ONLY! $899/person on Oasis of the Seas PLUS $100 Onboard Credit! ++

JUST got offered a special, exclusive deal from Royal Caribbean for TODAY ONLY! Until they pull the offer, which will happen at midnight, ET, but could happen before, 3 sailings on the Oasis of the Seas are being offered for just $899/person!This rate is good for the May 1, 15 and 29, 2010 sailings ONLY and only for Inside Category Z Guarantee cabins.But wait! That's not all! In addition, we

Stay Connected on Oasis of the Seas

During the pre-inaugural activities aboard the Oasis of the Seas, mention was made of an upcoming feature to help families and friends stay connected aboard. Finally, the service is available!Called Royal Connect, in partnership with DeFi, and using specially modified iPhones which can be rented onboard, cruisers can now electronically view the daily Cruise Compass, instant message friends or

Oasis/Allure of the Seas 1-Day Sale!

Oasis is here! She's arrived at her home port in Ft. Lauderdale, and the first of the preview sailings begin on November 19. This ship will change the face of cruising, and whether you're a large ship fan or small ship lover, if you love cruising, you'll want to know what this means to you, because everyone WILL be talking about her... they already are.On November 20, be sure to watch Good

Oasis of the Seas Delivered! Will It Sail Full?

Huge news for Royal Caribbean today: the Oasis of the Seas was officially delivered this afternoon in Finland. The delivery of a new ship is always a big day for a cruise line, but especially so this time. Brand new ship design, 50% larger than any other cruise ship, many innovative features... we all know the list. Financing was secured, the check cleared, and the ship is now officially

EXCLUSIVE Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas Promotion!

Have you been reading enviously the reports on the countdown to the Oasis of the Seas inaugural in December? Jealous of those who will be first onboard? Now you can join in the fun two different ways! I have exclusive onboard credits for December 2009 sailings, and there's a contest to win a spot on one of the pre-inaugurals!First off, there's a contest to be one of a very few "civilians"

Film Your Way Onboard the Oasis of the Seas!

Do you know how to turn on your video recorder and press play? Great! Then you're eligible to win a pre-inaugural cruise onboard the hottest new ship on the horizon, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, with veteran cruise reporter (and all-around great guy) Gene Sloan of USA Today.

Royal Caribbean and USA TODAY are joining forces to launch a “Reporter at Sea” contest in search of a talented citizen journalist for the chance to report for USA TODAY’S Cruise Log alongside Gene Sloan on one of the biggest travel stories of the year – the unveiling of Oasis of the Seas. Starting today through October 9, 2009, aspiring journalists are invited to enter to win the coveted job of special field correspondent onboard Oasis of the Seas' preview sailing alongside USA TODAY’S own cruise editor, Gene Sloan. Once onboard the ship, the lucky winner will receive behind-the-scenes access to file reports that will appear at USA TODAY’s Cruise Log about one of the most buzzed about hospitality and entertainment stories of the year. In addition to the United States, the “Reporter at Sea” contest is searching for journalists in Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom with one winner from each country.

Gene Sloan is one of the best versed reporters covering the cruise industry, so if you are a cruise fanatic, it's your chance to talk cruise "politics" trends and issues with someone who knows the biz inside and out. And of course we all know that the inauguration of the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas is THE big story for the next few months. You'll be onboard before the first paying guests, be able to check out all the new features (and have some of the first cupcakes from the Cupcake Cupboard), sleep in a brand new bed, and take in that "new ship smell" that all cruisers long to experience.

Eager reporters-to-be can audition for the assignment of a lifetime by submitting a creative video no longer than 45 seconds at reporteratsea.usatoday.com. The video should showcase his/her best reporting skills and tout why Royal Caribbean should select him/her to serve as a citizen journalist onboard Oasis of the Seas. Videos will be judged based on creativity and quality, as well as the entrant’s ability to entertain, effectively bring to life and clearly explain travel or cruising concepts, and articulate why he/she should be chosen to represent their country.

Once the entry period ends, judges will select 10 finalists per country, and voters will choose their favorite video between October 20 and October 25. One winner from each country will be simultaneously announced on November 4 and will be flown with a guest to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to cover the first pre-inaugural cruise onboard Oasis of the Seas from November 19 to November 22.

Submit your creative video showcasing your best reporting skills at www.reporteratsea.usatoday.com. Residents in Canada, Mexico, the UK and Germany can enter at www.oasisoftheseas.com/reporteratsea.

This is an exciting opportunity! Get your video in by October 9, 2009!

Royal Caribbean Wins 2009 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards

September 1, 2009 -- Royal Caribbean International garnered the most gold and most total awards in the cruise ship category in the 2009 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. Among its 12 wins, the cruise line took gold for Freedom of the Seas, the H2O Zone kids' water park and Presidential Family Suite on Freedom-class ships, the Clues to the Cruise marketing campaign, and the overview video and official website of Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean was conferred the accolades from the award's panel of judges, comprising some of today's most respected travel industry professionals.
Royal Caribbean International's 2009 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards included:


Gold Award for Overall Large Cruise Ship (Over 1200 Passengers) - Freedom of the Seas
Gold Award for Suite Design on a Contemporary Ship - Presidential Family Suite
Gold Award for Pool Design on a Contemporary Ship - H2O Zone
Gold Award for Cruise Marketing Website - http://www.OasisoftheSeas.com
Gold Award for Cruise Advertising/Marketing Campaign - Clues to the Cruise
Gold Award for Cruise Marketing Promotional Video - Oasis of the Seas Overview
Silver Award for Overall Contemporary Ship - Mariner of the Seas
Silver Award for Cruise Advertising/Marketing Campaign - Nation of Why Not
Silver Award for Cruise Web Marketing/Advertising - Rodale Online Advertising
Silver Award for Print Advertising - Cruisetour Trade Campaign
Silver Award for Cruise Marketing Website - http://www.RoyalCaribbeanProductions.com
Silver Award for Cruise Marketing Promotional Video - Central Park Reveal

Royal Caribbean also had received four awards in the sixth annual Travel Weekly Readers Choice announced in December 2008. Among those wins were Cruise Line Overall, Cruise Line Sales and Service, Cruise Line Caribbean, and Overall Individual Best in Cruise Ships for Freedom of the Seas.

The Magellan Awards is the premier award for the travel industry. From design to marketing to services, the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honors the best in travel and salutes the outstanding travel professionals behind it all.

Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 20 ships currently in service and two under construction. The line also offers unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. For additional information or to make reservations, call call (800) 365-1445.

Modification to 16 Oasis of the Seas Sailings

Royal Caribbean today announced that they would be changing their Western Caribbean itineraries from May through November, 2010 as their new port facilities at Falmouth, Jamaica, won't be completed in time for the summer season.

Instead of Falmouth, the Oasis of the Seas will be visiting the Mexican port of Costa Maya. Because of the size of the ship, there are limited ports with the appropriate docking facilities and depth needed to accommodate the ship. Costa Maya is one of those ports. In addition, because of her size, whenever possible Royal Caribbean wants to avoid tender ports.

As an aside to those booked into Costa Maya, I'm going to go out on a limb and say don't be surprised if a number of calls there are cancelled due to weather. There are prevailing wind patterns there at the port which, at times, affect even smaller ships and prevent them from docking in. With the height of the Oasis, the wind effect would be even greater, and I anticipate they will be very careful with their new baby.

New Ships, Cruising and the Economy

In talking with clients recently, two questions are asked most frequently: Are things busy for you and how is the cruise industry? We're all reading about how hard the travel industry is being hit by the current economic conditions, but what isn't being widely reported is how well the cruise industry is positioned not just to ride it out, but to do well overall.

Recently, both Carnival and Princess announced record call volumes during the peak booking months of January and February. The cruise lines helped drive these calls with some pretty spectacular offers, but there are always offers during the "wave" season. Consumers responded to these offers this year in unprecedented numbers, reinforcing the strength in the industry.

One of the greatest assets the cruise industry has is the mobility of its product. No, not just that the ships go to multiple destinations, but that the industry can react fairly quickly to changing demand. We're about to see the release of the 2010/2011 schedules, and I'm predicting that "home port" cruising from ports such as Baltimore, New York and similar formerly "secondary" markets will see an increase in the number of ships along with larger, newer ships being ported in these locations. Why? Because it's increasingly harder for cruisers to fly to the more "traditional" ports in Florida and the like due to the airline cutbacks. So if the cruisers can't easily get to the ships, the ships will come to the cruisers.

Likewise, I also expect to see more ships sailing in Europe or other areas for longer periods of time. Both with itinerary changes to bring them into the Europe markets earlier in the season (which we're already seeing), more assigned year-round, and also ships being transferred to the European sister brands of the American lines. Just like in the US, Europeans are looking to cruise closer to home, and their market is expanding rapidly, both for the US brands, and also the brands which are based in and targeted toward Europeans. Because of low-cost intra-Europe air and easily-available charters to places such as Dubai, Europeans can more easily travel in that region than fly to the US or the Caribbean, and they're taking advantage of it.

Yes, cruise fares are a bit lower right now overall, but in traditional peak periods, like the spring break period we're going into, the fares and demand both are extremely strong. Summer Caribbean bookings for families are looking similarly positive for the industry.

But what about newbuilds? Can the industry absorb the new ships and berths which are already in the pipeline? I say absolutely, and point to a couple key indicators.

First, there was quite a bit of question until very recently of whether the Norwegian Cruise Line's F3 project was going to be cancelled. Even before the market changes, there were design cost overruns on the ship, and NCL was looking at their options to draw back. But negotiations continued, and the release of the first ship's name (Norwegian Epic) and newly-released design elements for the ship show that this project is going forward to continue the innovations for which NCL is so well known.

An even larger indication of the strength and power new ships have in the market is, quite literally, the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas project. Set to launch in November, 2009 with inaugural sailing in December, this largest-ever ship is selling extremely well. With prices on her commanding a premium, and strong sales, this ground-breaking ship has and will continue to draw market attention from the press and educate and remind cruisers all the aspects a cruise vacation can cover, further shattering the myth of a "typical" cruise vacation. Knowing Royal Caribbean, there will be a huge media and industry campaign, with lots of paid and free press on all aspects of this launch, bringing even more new passengers into the cruising. Yes, there was a blurb in the SEC filing a couple weeks ago that Royal Caribbean was continuing to negotiate the terms of purchase financing, but that was a legally-required statement and shouldn't have surprised anyone in the markets or industry. Along with most in the industry, I look forward to seeing for myself what this industry-changing ship is like late this year.

Finally, you can see not just my optimism, but my company's (my family of companies is the largest retailer of cruises in the world) along with the largest trip insurer's confidence with our announcement two weeks ago of our partnership with TravelGuard to provide the industry's only "job assurance" protection in our standard trip insurance policy. We know that people want to cruise, and took the step to make it easier to book when you want by taking out the worry of a potential job loss. Do you think an insurer would open themselves to this risk if they didn't feel the industry was strong... and that the economy would support the position?

Cruising continues to increase in popularity, and I don't think we'll see a change in that trend any time soon. I just hope you all take advantage of the price advantages we have right now and schedule your own vacation soon. There's no better value in vacation than cruising, and no better way to get away.