In today’s post we are going to do something a little different. Instead of writing about the new delicious dishes coming October 29th to Oasis of the Seas’ 150 Central Park by Chef Michael Schwartz, we are going to show you. So please sit back and relax as you enjoy a 5-course meal.
Dining & Specialty Restaurants
The Radiance Dry Dock is in full swing. I joined the ship in Victoria to see how the progress was going, as well as to help host a press trip to share the scope of the revitalization work being completed onboard. In addition to our guests from the US and Canadian media, we also had the pleasure of having Barry Penner, the Attorney General of British Columbia, join us at the yard for a full tour and meeting to discuss the economic impact that the cruise industry has on the local economy. Royal Caribbean contributed significantly to the local economy, both in terms of dollars spent in the yard, as well as providing jobs for local contractors.
Overall it has been a very positive experience. The ship yard in Victoria has been outstanding to work with, and has been given top praises by Captain Claus and the New Build team. The biggest challenge we’ve faced so far was running into a Canadian holiday so we had some challenges with customs approvals. This put us behind our plan by about 8%, but we’ve managed to cut the timeline to being 3% behind and the team is confident we can catch up this week.
The biggest comment from everyone was the scope of the revitalization. When walking around Radiance, it had the same feel as when we do our walk-arounds for new builds. There was plywood in all of the elevators, all the carpet is completely covered, and the noise from drills, saws, and hammers resounded everywhere. Several of the areas have complete structural changes, such as the new addition of the pub, so it really is a major revitalization effort.
While part of the team was focused on the actual construction, crew training and orientation was taking place to share all the new venues and services that Radiance will offer. We also had several events and shore excursions for the crew while in Victoria so they could experience the island when they weren’t working. We had about 750 of the crew of almost 800 that stayed onboard during the dry dock.
Our fleet Executive Chef Marco was there as well, and the culinary team was practicing with the menus for the new restaurants. I’m heading back to Radiance this week to see the progress and Chef Marco has promised that the meatballs and lasagna for Giovanni’s will be ready for taste testing when I return. More on that next week!
The revitalization of Radiance of the Seas is underway in Victoria, British Colombia. She is in dry-dock or “high and dry” in our parlance. I won’t re-cap all of the new features she will be getting as Lisa Bauer will give you a detailed update after she visits the ship in a few weeks. I will make a few general observations as the Royal Advantage revitalization program gets going in earnest.
I’m pleased that Radiance happens to be the first of our new generation of revitalizations. She is an important ship in our history. As the first ship in the four-ship Radiance-class (followed by Brilliance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas), she led us into a new era of cruise ship design, particularly featuring a close connection between the outside and inside via acres of glass that produce a wonderful effect. Throughout the last ten years we have often placed two of the Radiance-class ships in Europe and two in Alaska, allowing us to compete favorably with any ships in those markets.
Behind the scenes, as I have mentioned previously, we took a fresh look at our shipboard organization during Project Radiance (1999 – 2001). Although the immediate effect of profound change was a challenged start-up period for Radiance after her delivery in early 2001, the new approach has been critical to our successful expansion to a 22-ship-fleet operating all over the world.
Our long-term fans will recall that Radiance of the Seas debuted with two specialty restaurants, Chops Grille and Portofino. Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas, which had arrived in 1999 and 2000, respectively, had only one – Portofino. So we really thought we were doing something dramatic by doubling the number of specialty restaurants. That thought seems quaint and naïve as we prepare to add multiple new dining establishments to Radiance during her revitalization.
Radiance of the Seas arrived in 2001 as the dot com crash was unfolding. There wasn’t a strong connection ten years ago between the online environment and the cruise ship experience. Just as with culinary variety, a sea change has occurred in our and our guests’ expectations of technology. Pervasive Wi-Fi, upgraded in-stateroom televisions, digital signage and electronic waivers are some examples of additions in the current project, which we regard as obviously necessary for Radiance today.
The revitalization of Radiance will make an already fabulous ship even more fabulous. I cruised on her with family and friends to Alaska in 2002. I could not have envisioned most of what we are adding to her right now. I might have to find time for a repeat cruise to experience the changes for myself. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we are applying the final touches to the revitalization plan for Splendour of the Seas this fall.
KEYWORDS: Adam Goldstein , Chops Grille , Cruise Lines , Cruise Ship , cruise ships , Cruises , dry-dock , Lisa Bauer , Portofino , President & CEO Adam Goldstein , Radiance , Radiance Class , Radiance of the Seas , Royal Advantage , Royal Caribbean , Royal Caribbean International , ship enhancements , ship revitalizations
My name is Christian Compton and I am a project manager in our Newbuilding and Fleet Design department working with our Revitalization team, led by our Radiance Project Manager Dominick Flores, to revitalize our wonderful ship Radiance of the Seas. We have a wonderful team here of Engineers, Architects, Designers, Accountants, Ship Managers, Crew, Contractors and everything else we need to pull off this wonderful challenge. As I am writing this post, the ship is now in day 3 of our 21 day drydock, which will be sure to make Radiance of the Seas one of the most exciting ships in our fleet. You can see more of the details about what new venues we are adding here.
Radiance is the 3rd ship this year to receive new features under our Royal Advantage program after Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas. The revitalization of Radiance is the largest of the three projects. I can only say, wow, we are excited. For those of our guests who have followed our company through the years you may remember our team featured in a documentary called “Drydock: A cruise ship reborn.” Well that team has grown and through the years we have pushed ourselves to take on bigger and greater challenges so that we can deliver bigger WOWs.
A big revitalization project like this takes a team of nearly 700 contractors and nearly 75 managers from our shoreside departments. That doesn’t even include the more than 1,000 regular crew members who will stay and help out. Although the ship is only out of service for 3 weeks a project like this is culmination of thousands of man hours, days of planning, meetings, and coordination. Already several weeks before the drydock began on May 20 we had teams or “riding crews” loading materials and organizing plans and cleaning out ship stores. When we build new spaces, we don’t need that old carpet design anymore, what we will need is space for new spares.
The whole team arrived in Vancouver in the days prior to May 20 to make sure that everything was in place to organize time for loading materials, debarking our guests and embarking 500 contractors. So as Radiance of the Seas came into the port of Vancouver, a small army of forklifts and teams were busy organizing containers, pallets, tools and checking-in 500 contractors. Thanks to our outstanding guest services, logistics, and hotel teams 45 minutes after the last guest was debarked 10 containers, 200 pallets and 500 contractors were onboard and making speed to Victoria Shipyard in Victoria, Canada.
The first day of revitalization can only be compared to that first day of school after a long summer break. Just like our guests who build long term relationships with other guests through years of sharing wonderful cruise vacations on our ships, our contractors too have become long time friends. The first day is a chance to see old friends and make new ones to take on exciting new challenges. Even our crew and officers have grown with us. Our outstanding Captain Claus Andersen was Staff Captain during Sovereign of the Seas Revitalization back in 2004. So 7 years later we have been reunited, albeit both in new roles yet just as excited to do it bigger and better.
As we pulled into the drydock on a beautiful spring day here in Victoria, only 6 hours after leaving Vancouver, Radiance of the Seas was already becoming her dramatic new self. Up on top the turf was pulled to make room for new future teak and space for the big screen TV to adorn the pool deck. The golf course was ripped up to make room for a bigger and better one. But the real drama was happening inside.
The Seaview Cafe not only has a seaview, it now temporarily has an open air patio as the window wall was torn down to make room for the new enlarged glass facade of the future Samba Grill. Across the hall the Country Club was paved to make room for the new arcade, which will be bigger than most a float. And as the new arcade was finding its home the old arcade was already stripped down to make way for our new Nursery in the Adventure Ocean area.
Downstairs at the same time the old sports bar memorabilia in the Scorecard Bar was being carefully packed away as a an army of sledge hammer holding demolition crews geared up to bring in the dawn of our biggest and grandest Pub at sea, the “Quill and Compass”. By the next morning the only remembrance of the Scorecard Bar was a Royal Caribbean International pennant hanging on the wall to remind everyone where we are and what is happening.
Part of the fun of growing with this team and developing our skills brings the joy of finding new ways to do our jobs better. We like to call it “finding new toys” and for this Revitalization we have wonderful set of little demolition superstars we affectionately call Terminators 1 and 2. These little machines resemble a little cleaning car, except their brushes are swapped out for mean little blades and spears that can pull up teak, turf, carpet, tile, and anything in between. Before we arrived in Victoria our contractors were struggling with the deck demolition. So when Captain Claus rolled the terminators out onto deck, like “blue knights” riding to the rescue, I can assure everyone the cheers from all the teams were probably heard back in Miami. Ahh the smile of kids and their toys.
While all of this work is going on we have to thank our outstanding crew onboard for keeping us safe, housed, fed and happy. The thing with Revitalization is that we are all living onboard, so really, Radiance is just on a different type of cruise with a different type of guest. Imagine that if you went in for a makeover, however extreme, and that you had to keep working while it was happening, not even the newest smart phone can handle that task. Although we are on a drydock cruise I can ensure you there is no sleeping in. If you would happen to forget to wake up by 7 am there are enough jack hammers, grinders, and workers running around to make sure that you get your wake up call.
Speaking of jack hammers, Our Vice President of Newbuilding and Fleet Design, Kevin Douglas, likes to say you can smell and hear how the project is going. Today I heard jack hammers and smelled burnt steel, so we know we are just starting and demolition is at full speed. Once we get that “new car” smell we will all know that guests are packing their bags and we better be heading out.
Long hours and hard work aside, we are looking forward to moving into the construction phase during the coming days. The real fun is seeing all of the workers and crew get excited about what we believe will be some of the best dining experiences, anywhere. I already mentioned the Samba Grill, but right below will be Rita’s Cantina and Izumi Asian Cuisine. Both venues will be finding homes next to our fabulous Windjammer Cafe making this truly an international culinary destination.
Speaking of international, as we all know we have wonderfully diverse crews, and we have a wonderfully diverse group of contractors helping us as well. Right now there are contractors from more than 20 different nationalities working together to build our new venues. Out here we all speak the same language which translates to working safely and efficiently so that on June 10 our guests will confirm the goal that we are what we are all working towards. To DELIVER THE WOW!
Dominic Barr, Brilliance of the Seas. Dominic is a Maitre D’ (Restaurant Operations Manager).
Turn Around Day – Get ready for a busy day!!!
Turn around day begins with a pre-inspection at 6:00 am. This is our internal USPH inspection to ensure all my areas are in compliance with the United States Public Health rules and regulations. At 6:30 am, we begin the main inspection with a briefing from the Food and Beverage (F&B) Director in the dining room on deck #5. All the subdivision heads from the F&B team are present, which include the Executive Chef, the Bar Manager, the Windjammer manager, and the Galley Stewarding specialists. Areas are assigned to all parties to be inspected and I was assigned to inspect the Windjammer Café.
After we are finished with the inspection, we all report back to deck #5 for our wrap-up meeting. This is where we inform each other of our findings, of corrective action that was taken, and areas that need to remain a focus. After the wrap-up meeting is complete, we all remain in our areas and focus on the departure operation.
As usual, while the inspection and the wrap-up meeting are going on, the departure breakfast is being served in both the Main Dining Room and Windjammer Café. As expected, both of these areas are extremely busy. All guests are ready to go home, no matter how reluctant they might be to leave us! A walk around is done in both dining areas to ensure that there is sufficient man power present to take care of the guests’ needs.
Time to double check on all departure lounges and to check that there is still an ample supply of coffee and Danishes for our guests. The last morning of the cruise can be very hectic but it’s up to us to make sure our guests have a seamless vacation right until the end!
It is now 9:00 am, with the inspection, wrap-up meeting and breakfast service all complete…..it’s time to start all over again and get ready for the next cruise. The boarding of our new guests starts in less than 3 hours! It’s now time for me to go back to the office to review the emails that are needed for the start of the next cruise.
Once the dining room is reset after breakfast, the Senior Headwaiter calls me to do a brand quality walk around with him. We need to make sure all of our standards are in place before the boarding begins.
We check the Dining Room, to make sure all set up standards are followed and that all table numbers are visible for our guests so they can check where they are sitting. We make sure that the area is clean, the lighting is right, and the music is playing. Looks like the dining room is ready to welcome our new guests!
It’s now time to go onto the pier. We already have guests arriving and waiting to come onboard. We make sure that the refreshment table for our boarding guests is in place, and that the My Time Dining team is set up to assist guests with their dining arrangements. We also have a wine display table to assist the guests in getting their wine organized in advance for dinner. Everything looks to be in order!
It is now time to revisit the Senior Headwaiter and go around the different set ups that we have on boarding day. We pass by the “booking table” and the silverware kiosk, to ensure that the entire set up is situated to help assist those guests that would like to change or rearrange their dining room seating allocation. The beverage station is also in place, ready for our guests when it’s time to board.
We also need to check the wine display tables, again we make sure all of the set up is in place. This means having the correct collateral out, ready to sell the wine packages and individual bottles to our guests as they board or before or after they have lunch. At this time, I conduct a quick business meeting with the team and review our marketing plans for the voyage. We look at our pace for the month and set forth on various incentives and initiatives to ensure we meet our targets and guest’s expectations.
It’s getting closer and closer to the boarding time of our new guests. Time to pass by the Windjammer Café and meet up with the Windjammer Manager. The restaurant is getting set up and ready for our boarding day lunch. Deep cleaning is ongoing, but all is running (at present anyway) according to schedule!
It’s now approx. 11:00 am, and an announcement is made saying that boarding is about to begin. Finishing touches are going on, but all is in order.
Lunch items start appearing on the line in the Windjammer Café. The Executive Chef is there to supervise the opening of the venue. The Executive Chef, the Executive Sous Chef, the Windjammer Manager, and I all do a walk around of the buffet. This includes a food tasting of the different items on display so that all is, once again, in order for our guests.
Once the “all clear” is given, it’s time to open! “Welcome Onboard!” is heard throughout the venue as the staff welcomes our new guests onboard. It’s now approx. 11:45 am.
Back in the dining room, guests are starting to trickle through and check their seating arrangements. The Headwaiter is on duty and has already been provided email messages containing information required for this cruise. He is there to take requests and adjust whatever seating arrangements he can. I check to see that all is well….so far so good…no major issue right now.
It’s time again to check back in with the Specialty Restaurant Managers. I need to check that his displays are ready for the boarding day expo, the time where we get to showcase our products to our new guests. At this time, we review business expectations for the specialty venues. They are ready!
Time to go back on the pier to double check that everything there, such as the refreshment set up, the wine display, and the My Time Dining table, are still in full swing.
It is getting towards 1:00 pm and now that everything is checked…I will try to get a short break!!
3:30 pm……back on duty. Table changes are completed and it’s time to assign and assistant waiters to their stations for dinner service. My Restaurant Operations Coordinator has all the files updated so that the team can do the waiter’s station assignment, but my job is to make sure all of the rules are followed and the stations for the new cruise are posted for all the staff to see.
We’re coming up to 4:30 pm and it’s time for the guest boat drill. The announcements are made and the boat drill begins.
The boat drill finishes just after 5:00 pm. All the headwaiters report to the dining room to have a meeting with me. Discussed at the meeting, amongst other topics, are guests with special requests, any table assignment challenges, guest demographics, and any other information that is needed to pass onto their teams before we open the dining room doors for our main seating guests.
At this time my senior team assigns training topics and safety related topics for headwaiters to review at their section meetings with the waiters. I go to my office to double check my emails again. Many guest related requests from other areas of the ship begin to come in through, and I need to sort these out with my team so that we can accommodate our guests.
It’s now 5:50 pm, we open the doors for our main seating guests, the staff is lined up by the dining room entrances to escort guests to their tables. I make sure the headwaiter is in place to see if we can further assist guests with their seating arrangements.
Main seating service for dinner is now going on and is flowing smoothly. I meet with the Executive Chef to update him on the spread of guests between main and second seating, as well as any special requests. We talk about any other issues that we may have. The relationship between the front of the house and back is traditionally an important one in the restaurant business - perhaps the most important.
It’s time to go for dinner!
Second seating is approaching, the dining room will open for our second seating guests at 8:30 pm, and again we go through the same routine. The staff lines up at the door to escort the second seating guests to their table. The headwaiter is in place to assist any guests who want to change table. I also spend some time in My Time Dining, which holds about 20-25% of our guests dining in this area. I review reservations and seating times to make sure it’s a smooth operation and guests are happy.
At 10:30 pm, all is calm and dinner is coming to an end. Most guests are in the process of leaving or have already left the dining room. The clean up is ongoing…….for me it is almost time to go and get some rest. However, before I retire, I meet with my senior team to ensure all guest requests and any other areas of concern have been attended to. Day One of the cruise is nearly done and we want to make sure we take quick action on any table or service concerns. We also want to set our goals for the cruise in motion.
I retire for the evening and reflect on a very eventful and successful day. Once again the teamwork from the restaurant’s team has provided a flawless product to our guests. I’m proud of what they all have achieved and tomorrow I need to come up with a creative way to show that appreciation and inspire the team.
Well it all starts again tomorrow!
Captain Bill and I just completed our Anchored in Excellence (AIE) visit to Freedom of the Seas. Freedom just came out of dry dock on Sunday, March 27th, so we wanted to see the result of how everything looked and was operating. One of the other objectives on our AIE visit was to see what else we could be doing to support the ship with any key operational challenges they were facing.
We boarded the ship in Port Canaveral, there we found some definite challenges with the check in process and the security screening. I was very concerned by the security processes and lack of customer service. When something like this happens that is part of another division, we reach out the department head and raise the issue, then we get together to discuss the situation or challenge. In this case, I immediately raised the issue to Gary Bald, our SVP of Safety, Security, Medical and Public Health, and we will be jointly reviewing our fleet wide security screening standards and expectations. We have a Shoreside Executive Committee that is comprised of all the department heads that support the operation and it is great to be able to reach out and receive the support to address whatever issues we have cross functionally.
Once onboard, we did a full ship tour to see the new venues. Our guests were already enjoying the new outdoor screens. They were watching the NCAA Tournament and having a great time. Because our guests have been enjoying the outdoor screens so much, we’ve decided to add them to Radiance and Splendour later in the year as well.
I was doing my full walk around and ran into two guests that were looking for the screening room. I walked them over and showed them where it was, and they asked me how I knew where it was since it wasn’t on our signage or the new digital signage. I laughed and said I should know where it is because I work here, and thanked them profusely for the feedback that we had indeed neglected to list the screening room in our signage and our new digital screens. Guest feedback is always appreciated and it helps us become our best!
While onboard, we also had the opportunity to try the new Chops Grille menu. I heard lots of great commentary from the guests on the new menu additions, and I personally loved the new goat cheese soufflé and the red velvet cake. I didn’t think it would have been possible to find a better dessert than the Mississippi Mud Pie in Chops, but somehow Chef Josef came up with the Red Velvet Cake and it is amazing. I actually think he was inspired by the Cupcake Cupboard because the Red Velvet cupcakes continue to be the top seller, which is closely followed by the Turtle Cupcake. By the way, the new Cupcake Cupboard on Freedom was greatly received by the guests and we sold out of cupcakes the first day!
We met with the division heads, and updated everyone on our key areas of focus for 2011 and then they brought areas to light where we can provide more support. An area that surfaced was our new pervasive Wi-Fi. While the entire ship now has pervasive Wi-Fi, we are still limited by the number of users that can be on the system at one time. When we encounter an issue like this, we bring it back to Miami and meet with our IT team to address and then solve the issue. We get great support from Bill Martin and his team who have already begun working on a solution so the ship will be able to take full advantage of the enhanced Wi-Fi coverage.
On Freedom, we are adding a Britto Gallery like we have on Allure of the Seas. It is right on the Royal Promenade and I believe it will be very popular with our guests.
Overall it was a great visit. The crew is very proud of what they have accomplished in dry dock, and are also very excited about the new areas and programming. Freedom was already an amazing ship, and with these new additions under the Royal Advantage program, she offers even more now than ever.
KEYWORDS: Britto , corporate blogs , cruise , Cruise Lines , Cruise Ship , Cruises , Freedom of the Seas , Freedom ship , Lisa Bauer , Royal Caribbean , Royal Caribbean International , vacations
Captain Bill and I are just wrapping up a considerable schedule of ship visits to Splendour of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. It was a great opportunity to see how all three ships were doing in South America.
Prior to joining Splendour in Buenos Aires, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with Captain Zini (Allure) and his wife Anja. They were great tour guides and Buenos Aires is an amazing city. As Adam will attest because he always teases me, I am quite the food critic when it comes to steak. I definitely had the best steak I’ve ever had in Buenos Aires - every meal was a great experience.
The ship visits were a great opportunity to see a full immersion product come to life. Portuguese is the primary language spoken onboard, and the entertainment and dining are reflective of the local culture. There is a great atmosphere onboard, and the pool deck is the central gathering spot with lots of music, dancing and even a poolside barbeque. We also have a large number of Brazilian crew members and they do an amazing job and are very engaging and really deliver our signature GOLD Anchor service.
The timing was great to start with Splendour, as we were able to announce to the crew that Splendour was Ship of the Year! It was also good timing because we were able to review all the exciting plans for her extensive revitalization in November of this year. We had our colleagues from the New Build department and architects join us for this leg of Anchored in Excellence (AIE) so we could confirm all the locations of the new venues and ensure we finalized all our plans. Splendour will have an extensive 28 day dry dock in November, and the revitalization scope includes everything from fully refurbished staterooms, to the addition of 124 balconies, Giovanni’s Table, Izumi, a Park Café, and Pervasive Wifi, a Diamond Club, a nursery, an upgraded Concierge lounge and an outdoor Movie Screen.
Mariner was making her way around the Horn and had the opportunity to do a few extra sailings in South America during Carnaval. This was definitely an experience! Mariner is getting ready for her transatlantic crossing for her first ever European season. There is a great spirit onboard as the crew is really looking forward to visiting new ports.
The final leg of our AIE experience was a visit to Vision of the Seas. The ship is doing great, and is currently the number one performing ship in our fleet. It was great to see the Captain, Srecko Ban, who learned to speak Spanish during his time on Enchantment, also learning Portuguese now. The guests loved it!
Guest Blog Post: Lisa Bauer on Liberty of the Seas After Dry Dock
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Last week was a great opportunity to combine our Anchored in Excellence (AIE) visit to Liberty of the Seas with the chance to sail on her immediately after her dry dock last week to access the impact of the new venues and programming.
It was actually hard to believe what the team accomplished in seven days! When we boarded the ship, there was no evidence of construction, not a ceiling panel out of place, and all the new venues looked like they had been there forever. I’m very proud of the team. The only venue that we weren’t able to complete was the nursery, but we knew that would take longer and it will be open beginning this week.
The Cupcake Cupboard is prominent on the Royal Promenade and by the time I got there, my favorite flavor, Red Velvet was sold out! Thought everyone might enjoy a picture of the third Cupcake Cupboard in the fleet.
Another Royal Advantage enhancement was within Vintages. Our guests really loved the new furniture and atmosphere of the Vintages on Oasis class, so we remodeled the Vintages on Liberty, added a wine tasting table, and the very popular Wine dispensing technology. These new machines offer the ability to have 1, 3, or 5 ounces of wine and it is a great way to try new wines.
The new screen on the pool deck is already a huge hit with our guests. We showed Secretariat the first night it was up and the pool deck was packed. I can’t wait to see the reaction when our guests get to watch popular sporting events, like the Super Bowl, on the screen.
We were busy, because not only did we add the screen on the pool deck, we also added the 3D movie capability in the theatre. This 3D programming is one of the many elements of the DreamWorks® Experience that we launched this week on Liberty. The sail away party was very festive, and adults and kids alike approached the characters for a hug or picture. We did two character breakfasts this week, and I was very happy to have had chocolate waffles for breakfast! The parade is amazing on Liberty, and Shrek, Fiona, Po and the gang seem to “pop” up around the ship.
I really enjoyed watching our guests interacting with the digital signage. It was such a huge success on Oasis that we added it to Liberty, and it has quickly become a great resource for our guests.
During dry dock, we also greatly extended the WIFI capabilities of the ship, what we now call pervasive WIFI, so I was able to keep up with my colleagues in Miami from the comfort of my stateroom. The entire ship now has WIFI instead of just select areas.
I will be back on Liberty in late April, as our timeline to officially open our Broadway Show Saturday Night Fever is the April 21st sailing, and I can’t wait!
Not only was I able to sail and spend time on Liberty, but Radiance of the Seas was docked right across from us in Cozumel, so I joined Captain Claus and Hotel Director Clunis for a total walk around of Radiance to review all the new venues that Radiance will receive when she goes into dry dock in May this year.
Allure became known as the Ship of Entertainment, and now I am going to name Radiance the Culinary ship! When we did the full tour, the totality of all the new food & beverages was overwhelming. Radiance will feature a Samba Grill where the current SeaView café currently is located, a Rita’s Cantina, an Izumi, our highly acclaimed Chef’s Table, Giovanni’s Table will replace Portofino and both the Boardwalk DogHouse and the Park Café will be added! We may need to add more equipment in the gym with this plethora of food offerings. Of course there is a lot more to the revitalization than dining, and I believe the new Diamond Lounge will be beautiful, as will the new Concierge Lounge.
KEYWORDS: corporate blogs , cruise ships , Cruises , Liberty of the Seas , Liberty ship , Lisa Bauer , Royal Caribbean International , vacations
Well, I’ve seen it all now during the Allure of the Seas‘ transatlantic crossing. First we had ribbon cuttings, then red carpets, then meat carvings to celebrate the opening or “firsts” onboard Allure. Today we opened up Rita’s Cantina for lunch, and instead of a ribbon cutting we did a margarita pouring and toast. It was the best margarita I’d ever had!
The atmosphere at Rita’s is a lot of fun. Chips and salsa are my favorite, and the tricolored chips were served warm. For some reason, the basket of chips kept disappearing. 
The staff at Rita’s added to the festive atmosphere by dancing and singing to the song “Tequila”. Everyone in the restaurant got into the spirit. Then the wait staff at Johnny Rockets decided they didn’t like the competition from the newest restaurant on the Boardwalk so they came out and did a dance to try to get everyone to come to Johnny Rockets. I think we are going to see a fun rivalry between these two restaurants! The experience made the Boardwalk come alive in a very cool way.
The menu at Rita’s Cantina has a nice variety of traditional Mexican dishes, I had the chicken quesadillas which were good. I also got to enjoy great company since I was joined by our VP of Food and Beverage, Frank Weber, Chef Molly Brandt from 150 Central Park, Anja Zini, and Claudia King McWilliams, Director of Housekeeping and Guest Services. Rita’s will be open for both lunch and dinner for a cover charge of $7.95.
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