Royal Caribbean

The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

The Royal Caribbean Cruise is the second largest cruise line which started in the late 1960s. This came as part of an agreement with the owners of the Norwegian ships who desired to enter the fast expanding American market in the industry.

From its first ship – the Song of Norway, which was launched in 1970, this ship line has often introduced new innovations aboard its ships. After having completed its first three ships by 1972, it built the Song of America in 1982 which was by far much larger than the other former ships it purchased before it.

The biggest break for the Royal Caribbean…

…came in 1988 through the Sovereign of the Seas which was the first mega ship in modern times. Although it is considered to be only a middle sized ship by current standards at 70,000 tons, the Sovereign of the Seas was measured to be massive during its time of introduction and first voyages, fully dwarfing all other competitors in the industry. The most highlighted feature of the said ship was the installation of the first modern atrium onboard which consisted of glass elevators, a grand piano, and a view that no onshore hotel could equal.

Unable to wait for the other competing lines to draw alongside, it launched the Monarch of the Seas and the Majesty of the Seas in rapid succession. In line with the Nordic Express which is smaller and designed for cruises shorter than one week, the Royal Caribbean purchased the Admiral Cruises – a company that specialized in short cruises and turned the new Stardancer into the Viking Serenade after a huge refurbishment.

During the early 1990s company steadily…

…moved on to other endeavors such as designing ships to be used for its traditional travel grounds in the Caribbean. While other cruising lines have already sent their ships further, the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines was not able to build a ship that was specially manufactured and designed for cruising worldwide.

However, this was remedied in 1995 when the Legend of the Seas was brought into the field. It was an impressive new ship that was smaller than the Sovereign class ships, but was the most luxurious ship ever in its fleet. It boasted of bigger cabins, a wider area for public use, open decks, a mini golf course and a pool area (the Solarium).

The Legend was followed by the Splendor of the Seas, the Grandeur, Enchantment of the Seas, Rhapsody and the Vision of the Seas. From 1995 to 1999 the four original ships were disposed and were replaced with the new Vision-class ships that were designed for the purpose of worldwide travel.

After making itself known outside the Caribbean route, the Royal Caribbean returned to the development of its foundation market. During the mid 1990s after the Vision ships had gone into service to receive a lot of good reviews, the company planned to build a new ship which would exceed their Sovereign of the Seas that was the best from the previous decade.

The Voyager of the Seas began sailing…

…in 1999 and it fully outdated all the mega ships that came before. It had new features like an ice rink, rock wall and an indoor boulevard. It was the first ship which actually replicated a resort. Four other voyager class ships followed and all were the ground-breaking ships of the 21st century.

After an overtime run of all the ships most of them look old and worn out despite renovations and upkeep. But the company was still able to create the Freedom of the Seas which has been narrowly acclaimed as the largest cruise ship to date.

Currently, the biggest ship to ever come from its fleet is the first Oasis-class that would start sailing in 2009. Larger by 40% than the Freedom of the Seas, the Oasis of the Seas would mean that a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship is once again the biggest worldwide.

Additional Articles of Interest

• Great food! The majority of The Royal Caribbean ships have one alternative Italian-themed restaurant called the Portfino. With excellent food, ambiance and great Italian food… you will love it.