Royal Caribbean International kicks things up a notch with more ways for guests to explore while onshore, a new luxury suite class, and an interactive aqua park just for kids.
Adventures for All Ages
Royal Caribbean International has expanded its 2,800 shore excursions options to include new adventures in seven special interest categories: Active Adventures, Family Connections, Royal Tour Challenge, Culture and Sights, Culinary Delights, Caring Discoveries, and the Royal Premium Tour Collection.
The new Active Adventures excursions offer guests the opportunity to rappel through waterfalls and go cliff jumping at a watercourse in Madeira, Portugal, among others. The Family Connections tours bring kids, parents and in some cases, grandparents together to attend gladiator school in Rome, or experience a wilderness kayak experience at Chilkoot Lake in Skagway, Alaska. Guests who enjoy a little competition can challenge their family and friends to a game of laser tag in Cozumel or a five-on-five soccer game in Gijon, Spain with the Royal Tour Challenge program. For those guests who simply want to sightsee, you’ll want to book them a Culture and Sights tour of the Buddhist temple complex in Bangkok or a scooter adventure in Rome, where they can whiz around the city’s famous landmarks in an Ape Calessino (a small vehicle dating back to 1948 and the post-WWII reconstruction of Europe). The Culinary Delights program, meanwhile, offers foodies the chance to make and taste bonbons and truffles at the Graycliff Chocolatier in Nassau, Bahamas, or learn the art of pizza-making from experts in Naples, Italy. Caring Discoveries tours connect good Samaritans with volunteer opportunities, such as saving sea turtles in Cozumel, Mexico or meeting with an Iditarod musher (a dogsled driver) and their racing dogs at a dogsled camp in Skagway, Alaska. Guests looking for an escape should book a Private Destinations tour to one of Royal Caribbean’s private island resorts, where they can zipline on the Dragon’s Breath Flight Line in Labadee, Haiti or go on a guided nature walk in CocoCay, Bahamas. Guests who book sailings departing on or after Sept.14 will earn a credit of up to $150 to use towards the shore excursion of choice. For more information, visit royalcaribbean.com/shoreexcursions.
The Suite Life
The line’s new Royal Suite Class proves that guests can enjoy the same benefits and luxury amenities on a ship that they would at an exclusive resort. The Royal Suite Class is broken down into three service levels based on suite category—Star Class, Sky Class and Sea Class.
Sea Class guests—passengers staying in a Family Connected Junior Suite, Family Junior Suite, a Spa Junior Suite, or a Junior Suite—are provided with Hermes, Ferragamo and L’Occitane bath products, and pillowtop mattresses. Guests who book an AquaTheater Suite, a Crown Loft Suite, an Owner’s Suite, a Royal Family Suite, a Superior Grand Suite, or a Grand Suite are Sky Class passengers. They receive the same amenities as Sea Class guests, as well as access to a complimentary spa thermal room; complimentary high-speed Internet; an in-suite welcome amenity; and in-suite dining options. The top Star Class tier—for guests staying in the 2-deck Royal Loft Suite, an Owner’s Loft Suite, a 4-bedroom Family Suite, a Grand Loft Suite, a Sky Loft Suite, or a 2-bedroom AquaTheater Suite—features all of the aforementioned amenities, in addition to 24 7 Royal Genie service. These butlers, who are trained and certified by the British Butler Institute, assist guests with restaurant and show reservations, in-room dining requests, and laundry needs, as well as luggage handling and unpacking, and creating and reserving personalized shore excursions. To top it off, Star Class guests are also able to view unlimited in-suite movies, participate in a complimentary onboard fitness class, and receive full access to a minibar, in addition to guaranteed reservations at specialty restaurants and unlimited beverages with the Ultimate Beverage package.
But there’s more. Royal Suite Class guests can dine at the Coastal Kitchen, a restaurant exclusive to suite guests, as well as reserve private cabanas at Barefoot Beach, Royal Caribbean’s private beach in Labadee, Haiti. In addition, Star and Sky Class guests receive a private Suite Sun Deck and VIP seating during onboard entertainment productions. The Royal Suite Class will be available for sailings beginning May 2016 aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis and Quantum ships—Anthem of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, and Allure of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas, as well as Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, which debut in spring 2016. For more information, visit royalcaribbean.com/royalsuiteclass.
Just For Kids
Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s newest generation ship, debuting May 2016, will span 16 guest decks, carry 5,497 guests at double occupancy, contain 2,747 staterooms, and for the first time in Royal Caribbean’s history, feature Splashaway Bay, an aquatic adventure park for kids. The vessel will be the first of its kind in a new line of Oasis class ships, all of which boast seven “neighborhoods”—Central Park, the Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place, and Youth Zone.
At Splashaway Bay, small children and toddlers can splash around with their friends using sea creature water cannons, glide down winding slides, and swing on a multi-platform jungle-gym. Adults and older kids can get in on the action by taking a plunge on the 10-story-high Ultimate Abyss, as well as the Cyclone, the Typhoon and the Supercell waterslides. Harmony of the Seas’ inaugural 2016 season includes 7-night Western Mediterranean sailings in the summer and 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings in the fall. For more information, visit royalcaribbean.com/harmonyoftheseas.
