Royal Caribbean - 2/4 - Cheap Cruises

Royal Caribbean, Princess and P&O

Update 14 Sept 2009, I have kept this post on here, though I am no longer using the image generated.

The whole purpose of this post is not to talk about our Cheap Cruises even though they are cheap, it is to help create the logo on the front page using Wordle, the great free website that looks at feeds from websites and creates words based on those feeds.

For our feed imprint we want Royal Caribbean, Princess and P&O to show up more than anything else, along with Planet Cruise as well as the term cruise deals. What I almost forgot was Med, as I have missed Med off my last post. Mediterranean should also be shown as well so I will say it, Mediterranean again!

So with a little playing around, this post will give us what we want!

Oasis of the Seas Sunk into Doubt

Oasis of the Seas is set to cost Royal Caribbean a cool $1.2 billion, however in Royal Caribbean’s annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission they stated “Although we believe that we will be able to, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so (finance the ship) or that we will be able to do so on acceptable terms.”

Even though Royal Caribbean says Oasis is three quarters built, there are doubts if she will ever set sail, so does this mean that Oasis of the Seas is sunk? If so what effect will that have on Royal Caribbean?

Well recently Royal Caribbean’s credit rating was lowered as they struggle with cash flow due mainly to people spending less on board. Added to this the current financial markets will make it difficult for Royal Caribbean to gain monies from elsewhere. They do have however government financing guarantees from Finnvera, the export credit agency of Finland. This is for 80% of the financed amount for both Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas which is also currently being constructed. Though the guarantees are in place Royal Caribbean has yet to line up actual financing for the vessels.

So is Oasis of the Seas sunk before she even sets sail, probably not, this ship will create so much expectancy that she will fill her cruises for a couple of years at least and after all Royal Caribbean will need to get some of their money back.

That all said I think very few cruise lines will be announcing new builds in the next couple of years, after all the order books are already full, yet the ships are not!

Let’s hope Royal Caribbean get to bottom of this, let’s hope Oasis of the Seas is not sunk before she even sets sail.

Mariner of the Seas

Royal Caribbeans‘ Mariner of the Seas has now started to cruise from Los Angeles on the west coast of America. Mariner of the Seas is the largest cruise ship to home port on the west coast and will operate a series of seven night cruises to Mexico.

Royal Caribbean Updated

We have added more pages to the Royal Caribbean section of our Cruise website, the ships added are Legend of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and last, but due to its shear size no means least, Freedom of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Classes

With a Royal Caribbean Cruise, your cruise experience not only depends on your itinerary or destination, it also has as much to do with the choice of ship you are on.

Royal Caribbean has five ship classes of cruise ship, this will expand to 6 when the first of the Oasis class ships, Oasis of the Seas appears later in 2009.

Oasis Class
Freedom Class
Voyager Class
Radiance Class
Vision Class
Sovereign Class

Oasis Class

The Oasis class ships will be the largest cruise ships afloat and are part of what Royal Caribbean once named the Genesis Project.

Freedom Class

Freedom class ships are currently the largest ships Royal Caribbean has. Being innovative Royal Caribbean introduced Freedom of the Seas and it’s unique surf rider on board the Freedom ships. Also you will find a water park, whirlpools, an Everlast boxing ring, and the now usual Royal Caribbean rock-climbing wall. Independence of the Seas, the third and final Freedom class ship cruises from Southampton each summer.

Voyager Class

The Voyager class ships appear to be a smaller version of the Freedom class ships and are perfect for the sports enthusiasts with mini-golf courses, rock-climbing walls, and ice skating rinks.

Radiance Class

Many peoples favorite, the Radiance class ships are known for their unique design with open space balconies and glass walls making you feel closer to the sea than virtually any other cruise ship.

Vision Class

There are two versions of the Vision class ships, the difference being the internal layout of some of the decks, however with a monumental amount of glass canopy these ships are for those who want a great time on the sea.

Sovereign Class

The oldest and smallest class is the Sovereign class ships, they also offer great family fun with programs for the kids and the usual casinos and bars for the adults.

Whatever class of ship you choose and wherever you go, the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships will give you more than just a cruise!

Jewel of the Seas

Her maiden voyage being on 08 May 2004, Jewel of the Seas is one of the Radiance class of Royal Caribbean ships. This spacious but comfortable cruise ship has a capacity to carry just over 2,500 passengers, and is relatively speedy in terms of cruise ships with a cruising speed of 25 knots.

Jewel of the Seas boasts a ten-storey glass Centrum, she also has elevators facing out to sea and there are wonderful ocean views to be enjoyed from almost anywhere on the ship.

Jewel of the Seas Panama Canal

One of the highlights of sailing with Royal Caribbean is that you can sail the Panama Canal on Jewel of the Seas. The first of four cruises of its type in early 2009 leaves Miami on 09 February. As well as cruising the Panama Canal the cruise will visit Oranjestad, Aruba; Cartagena, Colombia; Cristobal Pier, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and George Town, Grand Cayman before returning to Miami.

Royal Caribbean has named the cruise “11 Night Ultimate Panama Canal Cruise” and you can understand why. Watching Jewel of the Seas from her comfortable and spacious decks navigate the canal will be a magnificent sight to behold.

Brilliance of the Seas in Dubai

While recently announcing that Brilliance of the Seas will be crusing out of Barcelona during the winter months of 2009, Royal Caribbean have also stated that Brilliance of the Seas will offer new Dubai itineraries in 2010.

Ports of call for when Brilliance of the Seas is in Dubai include United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.

Brilliance of the Seas in Barcelona

Royal Caribbean recently announced that Brilliance of the Seas will be cruising out of Barcelona during the winter months of 2009. This is a first for Royal Caribbean and it begs the question have they over estimated the number of ships they need to operate a profitable cruise line?

Royal Caribbean Back Online

After a slight payment glitch our Royal Caribbean website is back up and running. It went down recently when our parent company did not pay the bill! Naughty naughty, however they are back up and running now.