Posts Tagged ‘cruise ships’

Adam Endures 49 Hours in the Air as His Travels Continue

My travels have continued with visits to San Juan for the annual Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) conference and to Asia/Pacific for company business.

The FCCA conference is always an intense affair because of the economic significance of the cruise industry to many of the island nations of the Caribbean basin. The focus of the meeting has evolved over time and this year the impact of the globalization of the industry was more evident than in the past. Although new ships still make their presence felt in the region (not the least of which being Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas), the growth of other cruise markets and the predominance of “homeport” cruises (i.e., cruises originating on the U.S. Coast that do not require air travel for many of the guests) have caused the number of cruise visitors to certain ports to decline quite dramatically. Many of these ports are to the south and southeast of San Juan. So it was important that the conference took place in San Juan. The government of Puerto Rico took advantage of the opportunity to restate its commitment to the cruise industry. They really put on an impressive showing from Governor Fortuno on down.

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BY:Adam|15th November, 2011 5 Comments

Ask Adam Blog Series - October 2011 Answers


The air has turned crisp and fresh and just in time for the October edition of our “Ask Adam Blog Series.” To see the answers to September’s questions please click here, or if you have a question you would like to ask Adam regarding Royal Caribbean news, what he’s have been up to or just curious about anything Royal related, please follow this link to our Facebook discussion page.

How many passengers will the refurbished Splendour of the Seas hold in 2012?
– Pamela B.

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BY:Adam|8th November, 2011 19 Comments
CATEGORY: Our Company

Our President and CEO Shares Some Random Thoughts

Randomness:

- Someone once said the business of America is business. Even taking that into consideration, the outpouring of grief and accolades for Steve Jobs after his death was remarkable. And it wasn’t limited to America. There is a global recognition that his leadership and accomplishments were transformational. As both an admirer and a customer, I join in the mourning of his untimely passing and wish the leadership of Apple well in the daunting task of carrying on with Jobs’ vision. He obviously inspired a lot of people. Who else do you find similarly inspirational?

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BY:Adam|28th October, 2011 5 Comments

From National Ice Champion to Allure Ice Captain

My name is Åsa Persson, I am from Sweden and I am the Ice Captain onboard Allure of the Seas. I was five years old when I started to skate and little did I know back then that my ice skating was going to give me a career onboard a cruise ship! I started in the local skating club because my sisters skated and I thought that it looked like a lot of fun. I ended up loving the sport. When I was ten I was selected by the Swedish Figure Skating Association to be part of a small group of young skaters who showed a lot of promise. At the age of 13 I won my first National Championship and before I retired as an amateur I won four National titles and had been a finalist at the World Championships.

I traveled all over the World for International competitions and I am very fortunate for all the amazing experiences my skating had given me. However, my last couple of years as an amateur were difficult for me because I kept getting injured. Any sport at a high international level is very strenuous on the body and mine couldn’t handle it. I lived and trained in Canada at the time and I started to worry that I was going to become injured for life.

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BY:Asa Persson|25th October, 2011 7 Comments

Ask Adam Blog Series - September 2011 Answers

Fall is in full swing and so is the September edition of the “Ask Adam Blog Series.” To see the answers to August’s questions please click here, or if you have a question you would like to ask Adam regarding Royal Caribbean news, what he’s have been up to or just curious about anything Royal related, please follow this link to our Facebook discussion page.

Do you plan on having a ship stay year round in Tampa? Other cruise companies do. Thank you.
- Karol W-W.

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BY:Adam|11th October, 2011 14 Comments
CATEGORY: Our Company

One Last Performance: Royal Caribbean’s Director of Entertainment Takes Her Final Bow

Over recent months we have featured a number of our crew in “day in the life” entries such as the one immediately below. The response to them has been very favorable but I would like to hear a little more about specifically what makes them enjoyable to read and how we might make them even more so. From my standpoint, I find it interesting that the authors of these guest blogs appear to be so schedule driven. Our shipboard colleagues rightfully speak about how flexible and guest-centric they must be because just about everything is happening onboard at all times. Their blog entries indicate that the way they accomplish the seemingly impossible is to inject structure (i.e., a schedule) into their endlessly unique days. When we ask them to tell us about their “typical” day they often respond by reciting their schedule. When I see this I sometimes ask them to give us more “color commentary” to go with the “play by play”. The goal is to give you (and me!) as much insight into their world as we can bring to a blog entry.
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My name is Maryann Delany and I am the Director of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean Productions. My team and I are located in Hollywood, Florida in a 38,000 square foot rehearsal facility. We are approaching our 11th year here where we audition, cast, contract, house, costume, teach and rehearse singers, dancers, actors, flyers, gymnasts, ice skaters, swimmers, divers and DreamWorks® costume characters, to name a few, We create and produce all entertainment and entertainment-related activities for 22 Royal Caribbean International ships, and two Azamara Club Cruises ships. Collectively we have 14 ice shows, 18 Parades, four water shows, 56 theater productions and three Broadway shows, Hairspray, CHICAGO: The Musical and Saturday Night Fever.

Sovereign of the Seas

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BY:Maryann Delany|4th October, 2011 25 Comments

Finalizing Plans for 2012 and a Look at 2013 and Beyond

The end of summer is upon us. We are finalizing our thoughts about the 2012 Plan for Royal Caribbean International. This is always a challenging exercise with 22 ships sailing around the world and customers coming from over 100 countries to those ships. We want to do the best we can for our guests, our shareholders and our employees. This is the primary process for making the necessary trade-offs. It’s never easy.

Even as we define next year’s activities and expenditures we are casting our eyes further forward. All of the strategic discussions about where our ships will sail from spring 2013 to spring 2014 are taking place at this time. There are a lot more opinions than there are ships. Now that we are offering our All Access behind the scenes tour onboard the ships, maybe Chris Allen should offer an All Access behind the scenes tour of our deployment planning. Just kidding.

image-ship-royal-caribbean

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BY:Adam|13th September, 2011 32 Comments
CATEGORY: Our Company

Ask Adam Blog Series - August 2011 Answers

As the summer begins to wind down here is the August edition of our “Ask Adam Blog Series.” To see the answers to July’s questions please click here, or if you have a question you would like to ask Adam regarding Royal Caribbean news, what he’s been up to or just curious about anything Royal related, please follow this link to our Facebook discussion page. Now let’s get to the questions.

Adam, are you from Brooklyn?
- Michael B.

Actually I am from Philadelphia.

Can frequent Royal Caribbean International cruisers submit name ideas for future ships?
– Steph R.

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BY:Adam|9th September, 2011 10 Comments
CATEGORY: Our Company

Updates on the Impact of Hurricane Irene and Concierge Lounge Policy

One of the striking features of cruising is its complexity. When hospitality intersects with maritime, the result is — a lot of variables!

Usually we master the variables in a way that reinforces the world class reputation Royal Caribbean is fortunate to enjoy. This blog just posted an entry about a spectacular passport retrieval that saved a cruise with minutes to spare. There are many stories directionally like that and we are proud of our people who so often deliver the WOW.

The complexity produces two consequences from time to time. First, we sometimes fail to read a guest situation correctly and the failure has implications. Second, we sometimes do get things right but there is nevertheless a perception that something is amiss. In recent days, we have experienced one of each. This blog provides an opportunity to comment on such matters.

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BY:Adam|6th September, 2011 84 Comments
CATEGORY: Our Company

Adam Returns from Falmouth: An Update on the Latest Developments

Oasis of the Seas for three nights may not be as much fun as Oasis of the Seas for seven nights, but I’m only allowed so much enjoyment at one time especially when I am working. So I took my three nights and am happy to report I’m pleased with what I experienced at sea and on land.

The primary purpose of the trip was to see Falmouth, Jamaica. The secondary purposes were to get reacquainted with Oasis of the Seas and to see the latest at Labadee.

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BY:Adam|16th August, 2011 22 Comments
CATEGORY: Oasis of the Seas
 

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