Royal Caribbean delays Dynamic Dining roll-out

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas

When Quantum of the Seas was launched late last year so to was Royal Caribbean’s concept of Dynamic Dining. Royal Caribbean replaced the main central dining room with a multitude of individual restaurants, comprising of a mix of complimentary and fee-charging restaurants. The intention was to create a more flexible dining set-up for guests where they could choose where to dine, when to dine and with whom on a day-by-day basis rather than being restricted to set times (early or late seating).

During her spell in dry dock last year the main dining room on-board Oasis of the Seas was redeveloped into the style of separate venues. It was intended that traditional main dining room system would be offered until March 2015 at which point Dynamic Dining would then replace it.

Recently, however, Royal Caribbean International confirmed that they are delaying the rollout to their Oasis-class ships until “late 2015”. Reports suggest this delay is to gather more guest feedback prior to help ensure a successful launch of the concept onto an older vessel for the first time.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean UK stated “Dynamic Dining is a strategic initiative for Royal Caribbean and based on the positive response from our guests, it is our intention to implement this program across as many of our ships as possible, as part of our Royal Advantage program — our ongoing commitment to offer the best experience in the industry to our guests."

This delay appears to only affect the retrospective rolling out of Dynamic Dining. It will not affect Anthem of the Seas which will launch with Dynamic Dining facilities in place in April. Allure of the Seas is expected to receive the same main dining room changes as sister ship Oasis of the Seas received when she goes into dry dock in May with the switch to Dynamic Dining following later in the year.

(Photo credit to Royal Caribbean International)

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Take a look at the new cruise ships arriving in 2015

The forthcoming year looks very promising for the cruise industry as five new vessels are scheduled to launch within the next twelve months.

The first to launch is P&O Cruises’ Britannia. At 142,000 gross tons the vessel will be the largest the cruise line has ever ordered. The line has opted for a contemporary interior décor design for this family-friendly ship. She boasts 1,837 cabins (including 27 single occupancy cabins), 26 bars, restaurants and cafés and four swimming pools. In a first for the cruise line every outside cabin will have its own private balcony. Britannia’s maiden voyage sets out on 14 March from Southampton.



Viking Star is the first ocean cruise ship from Viking Ocean Cruises, sister line to Viking River Cruises. The inaugural cruise commences on 11 April from Istanbul, Turkey on an epic 50-day voyage around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. At 47,800 gross tons with a capacity of 928 guests, the luxury Viking Star is very much an intimate vessel. Highlights of the vessel include the aft infinity pool, alfresco dining options and the luxurious staterooms, each one with a private balcony.



On 22 April Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas will embark on her maiden voyage from Southampton. This Quantum-class vessel is expected to be almost identical to Quantum of the Seas which was launched in October of this year. The 168,666 gross ton vessel promises to be one of the most technologically-advanced cruise ships afloat. The ship will benefit from a modern contemporary décor and boasts 2,090 cabins (including 28 studio cabins). The Quantum-class ship will offer Dynamic Dining offering five complimentary main restaurants with a further eight additional-fee venues available.



Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions are looking forward to welcoming Le Lyrial to the fleet. The inaugural sailing will see the yacht sailing from Venice on 9 May cruising along the Adriatic and Dalmatian Coast. At a mere 10,944 gross tons, this luxury intimate yacht will offer just 122 staterooms and suites, each with private balconies, and will feature contemporary Mediterranean-inspired interior décor.

Ponant Le Lyrial

Lastly, on 25 October Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape will depart on her maiden voyage from Hamburg, Germany bound for Miami, USA via Southampton. The cruise ship is the first in the “Breakaway Plus”-class and it builds upon the success of the Breakway-class vessels. At 164,600 gross tons she will accommodate up to 4,200 passengers. She will boast the largest ropes course and aqua parks at sea, together with an expanded “The Haven” area and a range of dining venues at “678 Ocean Place”.



(Photo credit to Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions; ©Philip Plisson)

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Love Boat stars reunite to christen Regal Princess

It was a night of love, or possibly L-U-R-V-E, as the stars of TV comedy The Love Boat gathered for the christening of cruise ship Regal Princess this week.

Six actors from the original cast acted as godparents and a host of performers who made guest appearances had walk-on parts in the lavish ceremony in Port Everglades, Florida.

Two Princess ships were used as locations for filming the series which ran for 10 seasons in the late 70s and early 80s.

Gavin MacLeod, who played Captain Stubing, was joined in the naming by Fred Grandy (Gopher, the chief purser), Ted Lange (Isaac, the bartender), Bernie Kopell (Doc, the ship’s doctor), Lauren Tewes (Julie, cruise director) and Jill Whelan (Vicki, the Captain’s daughter). Together, they pulled a ship’s telegraph to send 50 bottles of Champagne crashing against the ship’s hull - marking the start of celebrations of Princess’s 50th anniversary next year - and a final bottle by the ship’s pool.

The galaxy of stars also included Don Most, who played Ralph Malph on Happy Days; Jamie Farr, the cross-dressing Corporal Klinger from M*A*S*H; Florence Henderson, the mother in The Brady Bunch; singer Jack Jones;  Golden Globe and BAFTA winner Diane Ladd; Falcon Crest star Lorenzo Lamas; Doris Roberts, the mother-in-law in Everybody Loves Raymond; Marion Ross, Mrs Cunningham in Happy Days; Frank Sinatra Jr; Dallas actress Charlene Tilton; Knots Landing’s Joan Van Ark; and Adrian Zmed from T.J.Hooker, among many others.

Star of the show, though, was singer-comedienne Charo, who appeared in eight episodes of the Love Boat and was a regular on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. She brought the house down with a flamboyant flamenco guitar performance.

A video tribute to the company’s history included reminiscences from founder Stan McDonald, now 94 and enjoying retirement in Seattle, and glimpses of the Duchess of Cambridge launching sister ship Royal Princess in Southampton last year, and Princess Diana christening an earlier ship of the same name.

Princess Cruises’ president Jan Swartz said the event was not just about love, but about passion - “50 years of passion and a passionate founder who believed travellers could be drawn to the seas.”

The £460 million Regal Princess carries 3,560 passengers and has its own TV studio and one of the biggest spas at sea. The almost identical sister ship Royal Princess will be sailing from Southampton throughout next summer, in competition with P&O’s Britannia - being built to a similar design - and Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas.

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Cross the Atlantic on Anthem of the Seas for £799

Quantum of the Seas arrives in the UK today for the first – and possibly only – time, ready for a weekend being shown off to and being tested by some of the world’s media and travel trade partners.

Sister ship Anthem of the Seas (above) comes to Southampton in April 2015, and there are already deals on offer for her Transatlantic crossing to New York departing on 27 October.

Fares start at £799 pp for the nine-night cruise (including return flight to the UK) and an additional £299 secures a two-night stay in New York. The lead-in fare is for an inside cabin complete with virtual balcony – a wall-sized screen showing the view outside in real time. Outside cabins start at £899 pp and balconies are from £999.

Some of the other itineraries Anthem will be sailing during summer 2015 include a three-night cruise to Bruges and Le Havre departing 30 April from  £499 pp (ocean view) or £549 (balcony). An eight-night cruise to France and Spain, visiting Vigo, Gijon, Bilbao and Le Havre, departing 22 April, starts at £999 pp. A 13-night cruise to Vigo, Funchal, Lanzarote, Las Palmas and Tenerife, departing 15 September, from £1,699 (ocean view) and £1,899 (balcony).

The Quantum-class vessels are among the most technologically advanced cruise ships in the world, with first-of-a-kind features including dodgem cars, the NorthStar observation pod, a RipCord by iFLY skydiving simulator, and robotic bartenders. The ships have also banished traditional main dining rooms and feature so-called Dynamic Dining in a number of themed restaurants.

That 27 October departure could be the last time we see Anthem in the UK - at present there are no plans for the ship to return to Europe. Details from Iglu Cruise  0208 544 6620.

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Quantum of the Seas heading for the UK

Richard Fain (right) and Bernard Meyer at the handover of Quantum of the Seas

The most eagerly awaited new cruise ship of the year has been handed over by its builders and will soon be arriving in the UK.

Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain took delivery of Quantum of the Seas from Bernard Meyer, the managing partner of Germany’s Meyer-Werft shipyard. With Capt Srecko “Felix” Ban at the helm, the ship is heading for Southampton. After a weekend being shown off to media and trade partners from around the world, the ship will welcome its first paying guests on Sunday before setting out to cross the Atlantic to its home port In New Jersey.

The ship, carrying 4,180 passengers, will sail from New York harbour to the Bahamas and the Caribbean throughout the winter; next May it will relocate to Shanghai, China. Sister ship Anthem of the Seas, currently under construction at Meyer-Werft, will debut in Southampton in April 2015 and spend the summer cruising to the Mediterranean.

The ships are among the most technically-advanced in the world, with a micro-bubble air “lubrication” system claimed to make their passage through the water more efficient.  They also have advanced internet capability with 500 times more bandwidth than any other cruise ship.

Visibly spectacular are Quantum’s Ripcord by iFLY sky-diving simulator, the NorthStar observation pod – looking like a capsule from the London Eye on a giant arm – and the world’s first dodgem cars at sea.

Passengers can expect to be served cocktails by a pair of robot bartenders, and inside cabins have wall-sized flat screens creating “virtual balconies” by showing real-time pictures of the view outside the ship.

World of Cruising editor John Honeywell will be among the guests aboard Quantum this weekend. Check out this blog and our Facebook page for updates.

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Anthem of the Seas inaugural season all-inclusive offer

Amongst the innovations on offer with Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas are robot bartenders, a wrist band for opening cabin doors and paying bar bills, and an app that lets you monitor your baggage from check-in to the cabin - as well as the fastest internet connection at sea. All this plus sky-diving, dodgem cars, and the North Star observation pod.

You can sample all of this when Anthem sails from Southampton in 2015.  Joining Anthem of the Seas in its inaugural season will let you take advantage of the company’s current all-inclusive holiday offer. Guests who book on select 2015 voyages can enjoy gratuities and select (wine up to £5) or soda drinks packages included into the price of their holiday.

A 13-night Sunshine in the Canaries cruise is priced from £1,549 per person (based on two people sharing an interior stateroom). Price includes gratuities, a select or soda drinks package per person and a 13-night cruise departing from Southampton and calling at Vigo , Madeira, Tenerife, Lisbon (Above) and Bilbao before returning to Southampton.

Price is based on 11 October 2015 departure; Royal Caribbean International’s All-Inclusive offer ends 30 September 2014.

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Royal Caribbean's new Anthem of the Seas is being launched bit by bit ...

It’s a complicated business building giant cruise ships, especially when you’ve got two twin sisters under construction at the same time.

The Meyer-Werft yard in Papenburg, Germany, is assembling Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas for Royal Caribbean. Work takes place under cover in a vast construction shed, but even that is not big enough to contain both vessels.

So one mega-block of Anthem has been floated outside into a basin connected to the River Ems. The 120-metre long section will remain there until Quantum emerges into the open air within the next few months.

It's a bit like launching a ship in separate sections. The block will return to the shed to complete the construction work.

Quantum is expected to visit Southampton in early November, en route to New York, from where it will cruise to the Caribbean during the winter before transferring to China.

Anthem, due to be launched in spring 2015, will be based in Southampton.

Both ships will have sky-diving simulators and a North Star observation capsule inspired by the London Eye.

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Royal Caribbean Reveal Anthem's Southampton Voyages

By Editor Simon Veness

The big question (in every sense) about what itineraries Royal Caribbean will be offering from Southampton with their new Anthem of the Seas next year has been answered - with a bold array of different cruises from April to September.

As we have already noted here at Time Spent At Sea, Royal Caribbean will be going head-to-head next spring and summer with P&O Cruises out of Southampton, with P&O debuting their all-new Britannia at the same time as the Anthem arrives for her inaugural season.

Anthem is Royal Caribbean’s second Quantum-class ship and will offer 20 Mediterranean sailings beginning on April 22, 2015, before heading to Fort Lauderdale in the autumn, and her itineraries range from three to 16 nights, with a strong focus on ‘taster’ cruises designed to attract British holidaymakers who haven’t previously considered a cruise holiday.

Quantum and Anthem will mark another step forward for the cruise industry, introducing more unique facilities at sea, such as a skydiving experience called RipCord by iFLY and the North Star (above), an engineering marvel featuring a capsule that extends 300ft above the ocean and over the side of the ship to deliver 360-degree views for guests.

Additional cutting-edge venues include SeaPlex, the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars, roller-skating and more; and the cruise line’s largest and most advanced staterooms ever. These new, larger rooms enable innovation in design, storage and comfort, including the industry’s first 'virtual balconies.'

Royal Caribbean's managing director for UK and Ireland, Stuart Leven, explained: “The unveiling of the Anthem of the Seas itineraries is another major milestone in our exciting year. We have significant confidence in the strength of pent-up demand for the Royal Caribbean holiday product from UK and Ireland."

Anthem's cruise options from Southampton next year are as follows:

• Four 3-night taster cruises and one 4-night taster cruise calling at Bruges and Paris (Le Havre).
• One 7 and one 8-night 'France & Spain' cruise calling at Bilbao and Paris (Le Havre).
• One 16-night 'Mediterranean Cities of Distinction' cruise including Barcelona, Nice, Rome Seville and Lisbon.
• Three 13-nights, one 10-night and one 12-night 'Sunshine in the Canaries' cruise.
• One 7-night 'Norwegian Fjords' sailing.
• Two 14-night 'Italian Mediterranean' sailings.
• One 14-night 'Spain & Mediterranean Beaches' sailing, including an overnight in Palma de Mallorca and a call into Ibiza, not departing until 8pm in the evening.

Peak summer holiday cruises include the 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise and the 14-night Spain & Mediterranean Beaches sailings to appeal to family travellers. In addition, the three-night taster cruise operating over August Bank Holiday weekend is expected to be popular.

A 14-night cruise from Southampton starts from £1,599 per person, based on a July 2015 departure. The taster three-night cruises start from £449 per person, based on a May 2015 departure, and the programme goes on sale on March 4. 

More info: call 0844 493 4005 or visit www.royalcaribbean.co.uk.

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Laverne & Maconie Talk Music - And Anthem Of The Seas

It might just be a coincidence, but as soon as P&O Cruises release a 'teaser' video of their new ship Britannia (due to make its debut in spring 2015), Royal Caribbean follow suit with a celebrity-laden music project tied to the launch of their massive Anthem of the Seas in Southampton the same year.

 

We had the P&O video last week (which you can see on this link), and today comes this one from Royal Caribbean, a music-themed survey to find Britain's favourite 'anthems,' as highlighted by DJ Lauren Laverne and music guru Stuart Maconie (above).

 

Laverne and Maconie recently hosted a celebration of music to launch Anthem, which Royal Caribbean claim will have music at its heart. Speaking at the announcement of the ship's UK debut, Laverne commented: “Bob Geldof once said that everybody talks about the power of art, but you don’t often stand in front of a painting and cry, but music has that power over us. It’s the closest thing we’ve got to magic.”

 

Music industry expert, author and DJ Maconie was tasked with researching what makes a song an 'anthem' and what is it about an anthem that gets under people’s skin. As part of the research, Stuart put together a list of songs with anthemic status – both recently popular and traditional – and asked the nation to choose the song that makes them the happiest.

 

Especially composed versions of the top 5 anthems were performed on the night by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. They are: 

1. "It’s a Beautiful Day" by U2
2. "Hey Jude" by The Beatles
3. "Jerusalem" by Hubert Parry 
4. "Angels" by Robbie Williams
5. "Nimrod" by Edwards Elgar

Royal Caribbean insist that Anthem of the Seas will be the most entertainment-dedicated and technologically advanced cruise ships to be based in the UK when it launches in spring 2015, taking in the sights of the Mediterranean.

 

The follow-up sister ship to 2014's Quantum of the Seas, it will include a Music Hall at the heart of its music scene, built to showcase the best in live music, and new venue Two70°, a magnificent 270-degree panoramic sea-view space provided by vast, floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Featuring a three-storey bar and huge entertainment spaces, Two70° will offer entertainment technology so advanced it is only found in two other locations in the world.

 

More info: visit www.royalcaribbean.co.uk.

 

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