A Cruise Through Royal Caribbean’s History
by:
Lucky Balaraman
* Introduction *
Ever detected
of a luxury building that moves every half hour?
You guessed it: it’s a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, a mass of one hundred thousand tons, that glides on the ocean between American state and the islands of the Caribbean on a regular basis.
Royal Caribbean International is the second largest cruise ship operator in the earth with revenues in excess of $4 billion. It owns 28 ships with much than 65,000 berths on them and is growing. Here’s their story.
Flash back to 1969. An idea suddenly smitten Arne Wilhelmsen and King Stephan (Arne was a Harvard-educated capitalist
and King a celebrated American
businessman). The idea was that there was a large community of extremely affluent Americans in Florida, and that this community would-be put down top dollar for a short, restful luxury cruise to the near Caribbean.
Arne and King marketed this brainwave to several of the shipping magnates in Kingdom of norway who promptly bought it and came up with large investments. After a short gestation period, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (and an entire new industry) was born.
By the next year (1970), the baby institution could speak of it’s 1st possession: The SONG OF NORWAY, a splendid cruise ship, deliberation 18,500 tons and equipped for 700 passengers, custom-built in Finland. The most stunning feature of it was a cocktail lounge cantilevered about the stack (Edwin Author got the idea from the City Space Needle). This lounge was built into galore of the Line’s later ships and became the hallmark of the Company’s fleet.
* Growth, Growth and Much Growth *
The founders of the Institution pursued their vision of achieving market dominance through a continual program of adding ships and services. A consolidated record of this, which is really difficult to find elsewhere in the media, is bestowed below:
1971
Cruise ships NORDIC Aristocrat and SUN Norse arrive
1978
SONG OF Kingdom of norway cut in half, 75-foot piece with 164 cabins introduced in between
1980
NORDIC Aristocrat increased
the same way
1982
SONG OF AMERICA arrives with a larger, much luxurious lounge about the stack
1988
SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, the largest cruise ship ever built at 73,162 tons for 2,276 passengers, arrives at a cost of $150 million
1990
- NORDIC Emperor
arrives
- The Institution expands on the far side
the Caribbean: Mexico, Alaska, and Europe are accessorial as destinations;
- Industry’s 1st computerised booking system introduced
1991
- MONARCH OF THE SEAS arrives, available for 2,354 passengers
1992
- Stateliness OF THE SEAS delivered, equipped for 2,354 passengers
1993
- The Institution goes public
1995
- LEGEND OF THE SEAS arrives, built for 1,804 passengers
1996
- GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS arrives at 74,000 tons and for 2,440 passengers
- SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS, in the same class as GRANDEUR, delivered
1997
- Name changed to Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL)
- RCCL buys Celebrity Cruises and its four working ships from Chandris Lines at a cost of $1.3 billion
- Epic poem OF THE SEAS, at 79,000 tons and for 2,435 passengers, is delivered
- ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS, at 74,000 tons and for 2,440 passengers, arrives
1998
- Enter VISION OF THE SEAS, 79,000 tons and to carry 2,435 passengers
- Joint ownership agreement signed with Chicago’s Pritzker family (that has $15 billion in assets) and Haifa’s Ofer family (that owns one of the world’s largest shipping companies, Ofer Brothers Shipping Co)
1999
- Traveller
OF THE SEAS comes in at a humongous 140,000 tons for 3,114 guests
2000
- Adventurer OF THE SEAS arrives; in the Traveller
class, it has marine laboratories on board as well
2001
- ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS arrives: 3,114 passengers accommodated per cruise
- RADIANCE OF THE SEAS delivered: 2,100 rider capacity at 90,000 tons, with gas turbines, it is the 1st in it’s class
- The institution buys 20% of UK tour operator 1st Select and launches a joint venture cruise line. It offers land-based tours in Ak through Royal Celebrity Tours.
2002
- BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS, a vessel in the RADIANCE class, arrives and is available for duty
2003
- SERENADE OF THE SEAS, the third RADIANCE class vessel, is delivered
2004
JEWEL OF THE SEAS, RADIANCE class, does its debut
… and of course, much ships, even as larger that the earlier ones, are on order!
* Conclusion *
With revenues in excess of $4 billion, RCCL is a juggernaut which wish not slow down.
Its ships are floating cities, boast amenities such as rock climb walls, miniature golf courses, swimming pools, ice sport rinks, sun decks, basketball courts, beauty salons, exercise and spa facilities, gambling facilities, lounges, bars, cabaret performances, cinemas, buying arcades, multiple restaurants and casinos.
Most importantly, once
on a cruise, one experiences several invaluable bonuses: uncontaminated air and a virtually noise-free environment. These are truly, in the modern context, balm for the soul.
If you can afford the entirely reasonable average fare of $400 per person for a 3-night cruise in a luxury stateroom… don’t think doubly just about it, sign up for a cruise and gain the experience of a lifetime!
Copyright 2005 http://royal-caribbean-world.info
About The Author
Lucky Balaraman has a Master’s degree from a prestigious US university and writes on several subjects. To discover much just about Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, please visit the website http://royal-caribbean-world.info.
This article was announce on Dec 08, 2005
