Royal Caribbean recently announced that it will invest approximately $300 million to revitalize the cruise line's ships across the fleet. As part of these major upgrades, the cruise line will introduce the highest guest-rated programs and features from its Oasis-class to its other ships. Planned to occur through 2014, these Royal Advantage revitalization activities will bring guests a wider variety of new onboard dining and entertainment options, family cabins and baby & toddler nurseries, iPod docking stations, and lots more.
Royal Caribbean currently has 22 ships in service. As part of the enhancements to the Vision-class, Voyager-class and Radiance-class ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, guests will see major improvements in the following areas:
Ship Features
* Royal Babies and Tots Nursery: Safe, fun and interactive vacation environments will be available in nurseries designed for babies and toddlers ages 6-36 months across Royal Caribbean's ships.
* New Staterooms: New levels of accommodations - particularly new staterooms ideal for families - will be added to the ships.
* New Technology: Guests will have access to pervasive Wi-Fi, interactive flat-panel televisions in staterooms and electronic mustering.
* Digital Wayfinding Systems: New plasma and LCD touch screen signs throughout the ships will display onboard activities, real time updates, customized directions and routing, as well as popular ship facts.
* Outdoor LED Video Walls: Oversized video screens will be installed on the pool decks for day and night outdoor programming and entertainment.
Additional Dining Options
* Chef's Table: This exclusive experience co-hosted by each ship's Executive Chef and Sommelier will provide an intimate wine pairing dinner of five courses.
* Izumi: This pan-Asian cuisine restaurant will feature a sushi bar with hot-rock cooking among other highlights.
* Chops Grille: Royal Caribbean's signature steakhouse featuring a menu of prime cuts will now be located on these ships.
* Park Cafe: A casual dining venue featuring gourmet salads, sandwiches, soups and pastries to appeal to every palate.
* Rita's Cantina: A casual restaurant offering traditional Mexican dishes, a full selection of margaritas and live evening entertainment.
* Boardwalk Doghouse: This casual eatery will offer guests a wide assortment of brats, links, wieners and dogs.
Families will be thrilled with the addition of the Royal Babies and Tots nurseries across the Royal Caribbean fleet. These programs are very popular for parents of little ones and will significantly strengthen Royal Caribbean's appeal to families with young children. The new family cabins will also be a huge plus.
The Royal Advantage revitalization program began with the Radiance of the Seas in May 2011. It will now be followed by upgrades to the Splendour of the Seas in November, 2011. In 2012, revitalizations are scheduled for Vision-class ships including the Rhapsody of the Seas (March 2012) and the Grandeur of the Seas (May 2012), along with Radiance-class ships Serenade of the Seas (November 2012). Each ship will be in dry dock for approximately one month and will emerge with the new dining venues, entertainment options, technology enhancements and more. The speed with which these upgrades will be added is pretty amazing.
In 2013 and 2014, additional Royal Advantage revitalizations will be made to Royal Caribbean's Vision-class ships. These include the Legend of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. Royal Caribbean will also make the enhancements to its four Voyager-class ships - Navigator of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas - along with the Radiance-class Brilliance of the Seas. In addition, Royal Caribbean will make less extensive upgrades to the Independence of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas.
Keep an eye out for these newly revitalized ships. Royal Caribbean has been named the Best Cruise Line Overall for eight consecutive years in Travel Weekly's Readers' Choice Awards. These new upgrades are sure to help Royal Caribbean stay at the top of their game in the competitive world of cruising.
For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com, call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN, or contact your favorite travel agent.
