A Cruise Through Royal Caribbean's History
By Lucky Balaraman, Fri Dec 9th
Copyright 2005 http://royal-caribbean-world.info * Introduction * Ever heard of a luxury hotel that moves every half hour?
You guessed it: it's a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, a mass ofone hundred thousand tons, that glides on the ocean betweenFlorida and the islands of the Caribbean on a regular basis. Royal Caribbean International is the second largest cruise shipoperator in the world with revenues in excess of $4 billion. Itowns 28 ships with more than 65,000 berths on them and isgrowing. Here's their story. Flash back to 1969. An idea suddenly struck Arne Wilhelmsen andEdwin Stephan (Arne was a Harvard-educated investor and Edwin afamous Floridian businessman). The idea was that there was alarge community of extremely wealthy Americans in Florida, andthat this community would put down top dollar for a short,relaxing luxury cruise to the nearby Caribbean. Arne and Edwin marketed this brainwave to some of the shippingmagnates in Norway who readily bought it and came up with largeinvestments. After a short gestation period, Royal CaribbeanCruise Lines (and an entire new industry) was born. By the next year (1970), the infant company could speak of it'sfirst possession: The SONG OF NORWAY, a splendid cruise ship,weighing 18,500 tons and equipped for 700 passengers,custom-built in Finland. The most stunning feature of it was acocktail lounge cantilevered around the smokestack (EdwinStephen got the idea from the Seattle Space Needle). This loungewas built into many of the Line's later ships and became thehallmark of the Company's fleet. * Growth, Growth and More Growth * The founders of the Company pursued their vision of achievingmarket dominance through a continual program of adding ships andservices. A consolidated record of this, which is very difficultto find elsewhere in the media, is presented below: 1971 Cruise ships NORDIC PRINCE and SUN VIKING arrive 1978 SONG OF NORWAY cut in half, 75-foot piece with 164 cabinsintroduced in between 1980 NORDIC PRINCE augmented the same way 1982 SONG OF AMERICA arrives with a larger, more luxuriouslounge around the smokestack 1988 SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, the largest cruise ship ever builtat 73,162 tons for 2,276 passengers, arrives at a cost of $150million 1990 - NORDIC EMPRESS arrives - The Company expands beyond theCaribbean: Mexico, Alaska, and Europe are added as destinations;- Industry's first computerized booking system introduced 1991 - MONARCH OF THE SEAS arrives, ready for 2,354 passengers 1992 - MAJESTY OF THE SEAS delivered, equipped for 2,354passengers 1993 - The Company 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 2,440passengers - SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS, in the same class asGRANDEUR, delivered 1997 - Name changed to Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL) -RCCL buys Celebrity Cruises and its four working ships fromChandris Lines at a cost of $1.3 billion - RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS,at 79,000 tons and for 2,435 passengers, is delivered -ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS, at 74,000 tons and for 2,440passengers, arrives 1998 - Enter VISION OF THE SEAS, 79,000 tons and to carry 2,435passengers - Joint ownership agreement signed with Chicago'sPritzker family (that has $15 billion in assets) and Haifa'sOfer family (that owns one of the world's largest shippingcompanies, Ofer Brothers Shipping Co) 1999 - VOYAGER OF THE SEAS comes in at a whopping 140,000 tonsfor 3,114 guests 2000 - EXPLORER OF THE SEAS arrives; in the VOYAGER class, ithas marine laboratories on board as well 2001 - ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS arrives: 3,114 passengersaccommodated per cruise - RADIANCE OF THE SEAS delivered: 2,100passenger capacity at 90,000 tons, with gas turbines, it is thefirst in it's class - The company buys 20% of UK tour operatorFirst Choice and launches a joint venture cruise line. It offersland-based tours in Alaska through Royal Celebrity Tours. 2002 - BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS, a vessel in the RADIANCE class,arrives and is ready for duty 2003 - SERENADE OF THE SEAS, the third RADIANCE class vessel, isdelivered 2004 JEWEL OF THE SEAS, RADIANCE class, makes its debut ... and of course, more ships, even
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larger that the earlierones, are on order! * Conclusion * With revenues in excess of $4 billion, RCCL is a juggernautwhich will not slow down. Its ships are floating cities, boast amenities such as rockclimbing walls, miniature golf courses, swimming pools, iceskating rinks, sun decks, basketball courts, beauty salons,exercise and spa facilities, gaming facilities, lounges, bars,cabaret performances, cinemas, shopping arcades, multiplerestaurants and casinos. Most importantly, when on a cruise, one experiences somepriceless bonuses: unpolluted air and a virtually noise-freeenvironment. These are truly, in the modern context, balm forthe soul. If you can afford the entirely reasonable average fare of $400per person for a 3-night cruise in a luxury stateroom... don'tthink twice about it, sign up for a cruise and gain theexperience of a lifetime! About the author:Lucky Balaraman has a Master's degree from a prestigious USuniversity and writes on several subjects. To learn more aboutRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, please visit the websitehttp://royal-caribbean-world.info | 
