Find out which Splendid Ship Won Ship of the Year in South America!

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!

BY:Lisa Bauer|31st March, 2011 4 Comments

“It Starts with Us”: Lisa Bauer Recaps the 2011 Fleet Operations Conference

A couple of weeks ago, Captain Bill and I hosted the majority of our Captains and Hotel Directors at our annual Fleet Operations Conference which was held in Las Vegas this year. Since our Marine and Hotel teams work together as one team, we hold a joint meeting to ensure everyone is aligned on key strategies for the year. Our theme of the meeting was “It Starts with Us” and was focused on leadership and developing our people.

One of the meeting highlights was our keynote speaker, Captain Michael Abrashoff, who wrote a book “It’s Our Ship”. He shared how he turned one of the worst performing ships in the Navy to the number one ship. He really hit on the importance of empowering, developing and supporting your crew, as well as the importance of training. He was an excellent presenter and truly one of the best speakers I’ve seen because he had great examples of everything he did and how he was personally involved.

The week also featured a number of key sessions from other departments that play a strong role in the cross functional support of the fleet, including senior leadership from Marketing, Brand Finance, Safety, Security and Environment, Our Chief Medical Officer, Chief Information Officer, Corporate Controller, and Supply Chain. The meeting provided a way for each department to update everyone on key strategies to support the fleet, which led to a highly interactive session to discuss some “hot” topics.

We also had several round table discussions to solicit feedback and suggestions from the fleet on how we could continue to deliver the WOW for our guests.

It was Captain Bill’s birthday during the week, so we invited “Marilyn Monroe” to sing to him for his birthday. There may have been a few show girls as well - all in good fun.

The highlight of the week was definitely the 2010 Awards banquet. The energy and spirit in the room was very special. Everyone cheered wildly and the evening even inspired a few standing ovations. It is difficult to describe the sense of camaraderie and spirit that the fleet shares with each other.

Captain Rob Hemstead won an award for the Captain with the most positive comments for the year, and also presented awards for various categories, including friendliest ship. The most coveted award of the evening is definitely Ship of the Year. We had a three way tie this year - which is unprecedented. Congratulations go to Radiance of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Spendour of the Seas. We couldn’t give a second place because there was a nine way tie for second!

BY:Lisa Bauer|29th March, 2011 2 Comments

Find out how Guest Blogger Peter J. Compton Sang His Way to the Top of Cruise Ship Entertainment

Adam Goldstein asked me to think about how the entertainment offered on our ships has evolved since I joined the Cruise industry. As I reflected on this I started remembering that when I was a young man I was a California Dreamer “Boy Singer” living in Los Angeles trying to be the next Jack Jones (If you don’t know who Jack Jones is think a taller, better looking Michael Buble… just kidding Michael). The only problem was there already was a Jack Jones so when I was offered a gig on a cruise ship sailing from Miami, I jumped at it. I had never been on a cruise ship so I really wasn’t prepared for what I discovered.

After I boarded my assigned ship I walked off three times looking for the show room! The ship had originally been a combination cruise ship and car ferry sailing between South Hampton and Gibraltar where the sea could be pretty rough. The “stage” also served as the dance floor. Railings were built around the dance floor in case people lost their balance in the heavy seas on the way to Gibraltar. The effect was that the stage looked like a boxing ring with a very low ceiling. I remember I was considered a bit of a prima donna because I asked for a black out after “my big closing number”. The Cruise Director at the time said “Sure you can have a black out. Just reach up and turn the toggle switch off”. Since the ceiling was so low it wasn’t too hard!

Needless to say cruise ships and entertainment facilities have come a long way since the early 1970s. Today’s vessels are not your father’s cruise ships! But it took a while to get here. I eventually moved to Royal Caribbean International where the first generation of ships, and the rest of the industry for that matter, had relatively limited entertainment facilities. The ceilings were quite low and the theatrical equipment minimal. The theaters were multipurpose lounges for shows, dancing and activities. The best site lines, or best “seats” in the house for viewing the shows, were FROM the stage. By the next class of ships, however, we started to upgrade.

The Sovereign class ships introduced large theaters with good sight lines and better facilities. Thanks to these enhancements and growing management commitment to entertainment productions onboard, the shows were produced with elaborate sets and costumes including video walls and featured larger casts. Royal Caribbean Productions was born in 1990 committing us to in-house produced shows designed specifically for our ships and guest demographics. Prior to that we staged shows by outside producers which were also playing elsewhere and not designed for our audiences. Following the Sovereign class ships each new class of ship introduced even more theatricality and we continued to evolve our commitment to our entertainment product. The Vision class ships introduced orchestra pits, enhanced show automation, and even better sight lines and back stage facilities.

Who knew then that we were headed for the Voyager Class and ultimately the Oasis class ships which would feature more elaborate theaters, introduce ice shows, parades, Aqua Theaters or that we would enter into partnerships with the likes of DreamWorks and iconic Broadway producers for Chicago, Hair Spray and Saturday Night Fever? The journey through the evolution of our entertainment facilities and programming was an exciting creative trip made possible by the relationships developed with visionary architects, designers, creative staffs, consultants and a committed senior management who encouraged and supported us with the necessary resources along the way.

The lines between entertainment and guest activities have blurred and merged delivering exciting personal experiences through land based quality sports facilities, full court basketball, rock climbing walls, FlowRiders, zip lines, mini-golf courses and yes - Presidential table tennis facilities.

The ideas for all these innovations are the result of many creative minds with the help of serendipitous occasions during the process. One of my favorites, for example, includes when we introduced concepts to our management team for activity in Studio B, our onboard Ice Skating rinks. We mentioned we might even do some limited glice skating as a demonstration for our guests. When Richard Fain saw this he said ”No way! If you are going to do that we will have a REAL ICE RING there” Needless to say my staff and I would never have had the nerve to ask for the first ice rink at sea.

The same sort of surprise occurred the first time we saw the drawings for the aft space of the Oasis of the Seas. The architects had placed a pool in the open deck. Everyone in the room upon seeing the suggestion for the first time shouted that it looked like a perfect amphitheater. This space, of course, became the focal point AquaTheater for the Boardwalks onboard our Oasis and Allure cruise ships.

This story, quite naturally, leads to an exploration and discussion of all the great talent, personalities, designers, and entertainment concept development teams who have brought all these spaces to life. The introduction of those talented characters (and I mean characters in the most respectful and fun way) is a story I’ll save for another time!

BY:Peter J. Compton|24th March, 2011 4 Comments

Adam Enjoys a Whirlwind Day Opening Our New Company Office in Mexico City

There are many enjoyable days in this job. Of course, some are better than others. One of the better ones transpired recently in Mexico City. We launched our company office in Mexico to do the sales and marketing for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. There is a different company office already existing in Mexico City for our sister brand, Pullmantur Cruises.

True to my crazy lifestyle, I flew into Mexico City in the morning and out first thing the next morning, my third major round trip from Miami in a nine day period. The Mexico “winter” weather was absolutely stunning, affording incredible views of this 24+ million-person city ringed by mountains. I attended various meetings with my colleagues, media and government tourism personnel during the day. Just as in our other 9 foreign offices, there is a management team of enthusiastic, talented professionals who love to promote our brands and are passionate about the company.

The feature launch event took place at a stunning location - the covered courtyard of the Colegio de las Vizcainas, an 18th century Baroque building that started as a school for Basque girls. There were about 300 guests comprised of travel agents, media, government officials, bankers, Crown & Anchor Society members, a member of our Board of Directors and various others. The entertainment was a Beatles tribute band - that seems to work everywhere.

Thanks and good luck to Gabriela Gonzales Saul, our Country Director for Mexico, and her team. Royal Caribbean International is already the leading brand in Mexico and we look forward to a bright future there. Thanks also to American Express, which played a key role in developing our brands as our International Representative in Mexico for over 20 years. They remain a major producer for us and a valued partner.

BY:Adam|17th March, 2011 No Comments

5 Distinct European Flavors Everyone Should Try Once

Introduction by Adam Goldstein

As we have been reporting, we will have eleven ships cruising in Europe this summer visiting 85 ports in 34 countries which provides so many opportunities to visit this fascinating region of the world. In this blog entry, I have asked Patrick Schneider, Director, Shore Excursions, to update you on some of the highlights of the tour program that will be offered for guests visiting Europe this summer. Patrick is one of the leaders in Craig Milan’s Land Operations group.

——-

Guest blog by Patrick Shneider

My primary responsibility as Director, Shore Excursions, is to oversee a team of Account Managers who identify and develop the tour programs offered worldwide on Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. I am passionate about providing our guests the opportunity to experience amazing cultures around the world, to try new things they never thought they would and to simply escape from their day to day routine. As a former Shore Excursion Manager onboard Celebrity Cruises, I spent several seasons cruising in Europe and learned to love this wildly diverse region for its culture, history, architecture, and people. In my current role, I travel to Europe periodically for onsite inspections and always find a new place to visit or a new experience to try, regardless of how many times I’ve been there before.

Since there are so many things to see and do in Europe I wanted to use this blog to share some of my destination and tour recommendations to help first time and returning visitors select ports and cities. While there are many options for exploring Europe during a cruise vacation, from exploring on your own to hiring a tour guide, my following recommendations highlight great tours that we offer.

Whatever you decide, the main point is to take advantage of the unique occasion to experience something different, and learn all sorts of new things!

First-time visitors to the amazing city of Rome, Italy via the port of Civitavecchia will undoubtedly want to experience the famous landmarks they’ve read and heard about. Rome has an atmosphere and mystique around it, which envelopes its visitors. It has such a deep and interesting history that even if you have visited the city before, you can go back and see something new. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience one of Europe’s most influential cities! Venues in Rome can be split into religious and secular options with some qualifying as both. The “Rome, the Eternal City” tour offers a religious overview of the city with visits to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and Colosseum while our “Imperial Rome” tour offers a secular perspective with stops at the Colosseum, Roman Forum and St. Peter’s Basilica. Guests who are returning to this port may want to experience something outside of Rome. The “Olive Oil Tasting & Scenic Drive” is perfect for guests who would like to take in the flavors and history of Etruscan Italy and enjoy the taste of typical Italian products, all homemade in a typical farmhouse located in the beautiful countryside of Tuscania. And for the chef (or want-to-be chef), try your hand at making three types of pasta on the “Pasta Making Experience & Lunch” tour before enjoying a five-course meal with several courses of pasta. Having just returned from a trip to Italy, believe me that there is nothing like Italian pasta. Well, except fresh mozzarella or pizza or wine or homemade olive oil or….

Corfu, Greece is on an island and is the most westerly point of Greece. For me, Corfu is a perfect example as to why the Greek Islands are so sought after as a premier vacation destination. It is full of beautiful scenic views, and has an air of relaxation around it. Even if you just go into the town and walk around, you can feel your stress just melt away. One of the highlights of Corfu is the Achilleion Palace, built by the Empress Elizabeth ‘Sissy’ of Austria in 1891 and later owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. And one of the most beautiful spots on the island, celebrated for its unique and natural beauty, is the Bay of Paleokastritsa, known as the Capri of Greece. Both of which can be experienced on the “Achilleion Palace, Paleokastritsa & Old Town” tour. Guests looking for a more low-key experience will love the beaches of Corfu found in the “Dassia Beach Hotel Package.”

Guests returning to Europe will find the country of Israel fascinating. It is hard to compare this country with any of our other destinations, when you think of the number of different cultures that have inhabited the region. What I found most surprising and interesting during my visits were all of the different phases the area has gone through – and that you can explore all of these from the ports we visit. Royal Caribbean International visits two ports in Israel to provide guests with a comprehensive experience of the country. The most popular activity from Haifa, Israel is to visit Galilee, the scene of Christ’s youth where Jesus was baptized, preached and performed many of His miracles. Other popular sites include the River Jordan, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Church of Multiplication, and Nazareth, which are all visited during our “Nazareth and Galilee - Jesus Ministry” tour. Guests looking for another unique spiritual tour will enjoy learning about Kabbalah on a tour to its birthplace during “The Saffed Kabbalah Experience.”

From Ashdod, Israel, the most popular destinations are Jerusalem and Bethlehem. On the “Jerusalem & Bethlehem” tour, guests will travel to Jerusalem to visit some of the most sacred sites in the world, including the Garden of Gethsemane, the Western or Wailing Wall and the Church of Holy Sepulcher. In Bethlehem, guests will visit the Church of the Nativity. Return visitors will be fascinated by The Dead Sea & Massada excursion. Here visitors can soak up the history of the moving site where Jewish zealots held Roman armies at bay for three years followed by a visit to the the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

Guests who are looking to take full advantage of the two days in Israel can book the “Grand Overland” tour which features Galilee and Jerusalem and many of the sacred sites I mentioned earlier, as well as lunch in a kibbutz and an overnight stay in Jerusalem with an optional tour of the Old City at night.

Guests cruising in Northern Europe will find the ancient city of St. Petersburg, Russia rich in cultural heritage and a masterpiece of architecture. I have to confess that St. Petersburg is one of my favorite European destinations. While its history is not as long as some of the cities in the Mediterranean, it is very rich and displays one of the most impressive periods of the Russian culture. It is simply fascinating to explore these venues and see how much influence and interaction this empire had with other countries. Additionally, the collection of art and artifacts found in these venues is just beautiful. As with most cities in Europe, one day is never enough to fully explore all they have to offer. With St. Petersburg, you’re in luck as many of our cruise itineraries here offer two days in port. Guests can visit their fancy of palaces, cathedrals, museums and much more. On the “Hermitage & Peterhof” tour, guests will visit the Peterhof Palace which is a testament to the pomp, pageantry and extravagance of Russia’s ruling class. Also on this tour is Yusupov’s Palace which became known as the place of Rasputin’s assassination. On the “St. Petersburg Cathedrals” tour, guests will visit St. Isaac’s Cathedral which is one of the world’s largest cathedrals, the Cathedral of Resurrection on Spilled Blood, which was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated, and St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, which combines the Baroque style with elements of traditional Russian architecture.

Of course, no trip to St. Petersburg would be complete without a visit to the Winter Palace, which is home to the Hermitage Museum. This enormous complex is comprised of five buildings and displays one of the greatest art treasures in the world. Today, the museum contains more than 3 million exhibits, rivaling the Louvre and Prado in architectural, historical and artistic magnificence (after 10 visits to this fascinating museum, I’ve probably only seen 30% of its displayed contents). On the ”Exclusive Hermitage Museum with Gold Room” tour, the highlight is a visit to the Golden Treasury Room which contains the famous Scythian and Greek gold, numerous royal gifts, and a collection of Western European jewelry made by the most prominent jewelers of the time. Guests looking for a perspective on today’s Russia will enjoy the “Local Life Experience: Metro Ride, Kuznechny Market” tour. Or take advantage of the opportunity to visit the home of the Kremlin on the “Journey to Moscow” tour.

I’ve only talked about five of the 85 ports we’re visiting this summer in Europe – if I had unlimited time and space, I could go on for hours about all there is to do in these ports (fortunately for you, that’s not the case). For more details on the tours I referenced and the hundreds of other tours we’re offering, you can visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/ShoreEx.

BY:Patrick Schneider|15th March, 2011 No Comments

A Day in the Life of a Royal Caribbean Cruise Director

Intro from Adam:

Many readers have requested to hear more about our crew, their backgrounds and their responsibilities. Since we also hear similar questions from guests onboard, I will ask select crew members to periodically blog about their experiences on our ships. I hope you enjoy the first post from Cruise Director, Ken Rush. Please let us know what other crew members or roles you are interested in hearing more about.
———-
I’m Ken Rush, a Cruise Director on Allure of the Seas and I can boast of being from the Courtesy Capital of the World - La Mirada, California. After studying acting, I pursued a successful career as a Master of Ceremonies for many major events including charity auctions, nightclubs and cabarets. In the fall of 1984, I took a cruise aboard the Azure Seas that changed my life. Within months I was hired as a Cruise Staff member. I was promoted quickly through the ranks holding several positions from Shore Excursion Manager, Production Manager to Cruise Director. I have been Cruise Director on numerous Royal Caribbean International ships and am very honored to have been chosen as part of the inaugural team taking out all of our new ships including the latest amazing, Allure of the Seas.

Many guests ask me, “Do I ever sleep?” and the answer is “Yes about 5 hours a day.” That’s not necessarily true, it’s more like 5-7 hours on a very busy day, like an average sea day onboard the “Ship of Entertainment,” Allure of the Seas. Our ship offers entertainment not only in the evening time, we offer entertainment all throughout the day.

As the Cruise Director, I am in charge of all of the activities and entertainment throughout the entire cruise and I am not just saying this, as much as I have enjoyed every ship I have ever worked on, we have really hit a home run in every aspect onboard Allure of the Seas with the many different shows we offer and the quality of the shows, which in my opinion (and many others) are terrific.

Also, a lot of people have no idea what is involved in being a Cruise Director as they think the only thing we do is host the activities and shows. There are many things to do behind the scenes; from office time which includes planning the cruises, creating the activities, music and entertainment schedule for the week, to budgets, finances, human resources and managing a team of 225 staff members, just to name a few but there is much more.

Here is an example of what a sea day looks like to the Cruise Director of Allure.

7:00am – Wake up and get ready for a busy sea day
7:30am – Office time – making sure everything is set for the day and to look ahead and plan future cruises.
8:30am – Meeting with the Hotel Director and all division heads to discuss business of the day and the entire week, the clientele and any concerns or questions everyone has.
10:30am – Call with the Miami office and my bosses in Entertainment and Guest Activities for a weekly check in.
11:00am – Record television show for guests
11:30am-12:15pm – Walk the ship saying hello to our guests.
12:15pm-12:30pm – A quick lunch
12:55pm – Close the “How To Train your Dragon” Family Ice show
1:15pm – Host the Belly Flop Competition in the AquaTheater
2:55pm – Close the next “How to Train your Dragon” Family Ice Show
3:00pm – 4:30pm – Walk the ship saying hello to our guests
4:30pm – Get ready for the evening
5:00pm – Attend and host the Platinum and Diamond party for our Crown and Anchor Society members who have sailed many times with us before.
6:00pm-6:30pm – Dinner
6:30pm-7:30pm – Office time – answer emails and do business calls.
7:30pm – Host OceanAria Aqua show
8:15pm – Close OceanAria Aqua show
8:15pm-9:30pm – Walk the ship and check in with the staff and musicians and support them in the shows and music sets they are hosting
9:30pm – Host next OceanAria Aqua show
10:15pm – Close OceanAria Aqua show
10:15pm-10:30pm – Run over to the Amber Theater
10:30pm – Host the Love and Marriage Game show
Midnight – Attend the Escape by Malibu party in the Solarium, support the team running the event and socialize with our guests.
1:00am – Go to bed and get ready for another full day tomorrow.

Typically a Cruise Director works for 4 months then has 2 months off and yes, during the 4 months on, we are really “on” with no days off and very limited time off but if you love people like I do and love your job like I do, it’s a wonderful life. And I must love it as I just celebrated 26 years with Royal Caribbean and I still enjoy every single day.

People also ask me, “What is the toughest part of your job?” and my answer is “To try and make every single person onboard happy.” Some say that is impossible and my response to that is, “that doesn’t mean I won’t try…..I only want all of our guests to have a wonderful cruise vacation and yes, I know that sounds like a planned response but I am very sincere when I say that because I truly mean that.”

BY:Ken Rush|4th March, 2011 32 Comments

Ask Adam - New Blog Series!

One of the reasons I enjoy writing in this blog is because I think it’s important to share company news with our guests. I look forward to reading through comments and try to focus my posts on topics readers are asking about. So when the idea was brought to me to start answering questions in a video blog once a month I was really excited. Watch my clip below for the details of our “Ask Adam” series.

Click the “Ask Adam a Question” button (located at the top-right of this page) to share your questions in our Facebook discussion. Looking forward to reading them at the end of each month.

BY:Adam|2nd March, 2011 4 Comments
 

Community picks