Royal Caribbean to deploy 10 ships on Europe!
Ray Goldenberg
I received this press release from Royal Caribbean and thought it
would be of interest. This release gives more details than the blog
posting that was referenced earlier this month.
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Ray Goldenberg 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
Lighthouse Travel http://www.lighthousetravel.com
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Royal Caribbean to deploy 10 ships on Europe cruises and cruisetours
Royal Caribbean International today announced the cruise line’s 2011
Europe cruise and cruisetour season, the cruise line’s biggest ever
European deployment with 10 ships slated to sail Baltic and
Mediterranean waters. The 2011 European deployment will be an increase
from eight ships in 2010 and offer 109 unique itineraries, ranging
from three to 15 nights and visiting 27 countries and 78 ports. Two
ships, Liberty of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas,will sail their
maiden Europe seasons from Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain,
respectively. Independence of the Seas will continue its year-round
service from Southampton, U.K. and, with Liberty of the Seas, make two
Freedom-class ships to sail European waters as the largest and most
innovative cruise ships. Navigator of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas,
Adventure of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, and Splendour of the
Seas will sail a variety of Mediterranean itineraries, while Jewel of
the Seas and Vision of the Seas will ply the Baltic and North seas.
Most 2011 Royal Caribbean International Europe cruises and cruisetours
are now open for booking.
“Vacationers will have the widest selection of Europe’s largest and
most innovative cruise ships with Royal Caribbean in 2011,” said Betsy
O’Rourke, senior vice president of Marketing, Royal Caribbean
International. “With four classes of ships in the region, Royal
Caribbean is offering a 2011 Europe cruise lineup that will appeal to
a wide range of vacationers from couples seeking the romance of Europe
to multigenerational family vacations. And all of our guests receive
the Royal treatment from our friendly and engaging staff and crew.”
Vacationers also can choose a Royal Caribbean Europe cruisetour,
providing a more comprehensive vacation experience. A cruisetour
allows guests to choose from packages that combine a Europe cruise
aboard one of seven Royal Caribbean ships with a three-night Italian
Lakes and Venice, four-night Paris and London, four-night Madrid and
Barcelona, five-night Venice, Florence and Rome, or a four-night
Istanbul and Cappadocia land tour itinerary. Each land tour is
escorted by a Tour Director, and ground transfers, hotel reservations,
city tours and some meals are inclusive.
Guests can enhance their Europe cruise vacation with a panoply of
excursion options for an additional charge, including overland options
such as one featuring a comprehensive overview of the Holy Land with a
stay in Jerusalem on “Grand Overland,” and another which includes both
Cairo and Luxor and the Valley of the Kings on "Grand Egypt Tour."
Guests also can choose from a long roster of day excursions, from
visits to the ruins of Athens’ Acropolis on “Athens Sightseeing and
Acropolis,” trips that explore the craters of Italy’s Mt. Etna on
“Taste of Sicily: Mt. Etna & Taormina,” and an overview of Russia’s
St. Petersburg, visiting the famed Hermitage Museum, Catherine’s
Palace and Peterhof Palace on “The Grand St. Petersburg with
Hermitage.”
For its part, Liberty of the Seas will begin its very first Europe
season at Barcelona with nine short roundtrip sailings, four- and
five-night Western Mediterranean itineraries. Then, Liberty of the
Seas will offer a repeating seven-night Western Mediterranean
itinerary for the remainder of the season. Sister-ship Independence of
the Seas will offer year-round Europe itineraries for the second
consecutive year, beginning with alternating 14-night roundtrip
Eastern and Western Mediterranean sailings from Southampton, U.K. The
ship will then sail 11-night Canary Islands itineraries in autumn and
18-night Ultimate Mediterranean itineraries during the winter months.
Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas will be the only
vessels in Europe exclusively featuring amenities that have
revolutionized the cruise industry, such as the FlowRider surf
simulator, the H20 Zone water park, a boxing ring, cantilevered
whirlpools, and the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Presidential Family
Suite that sleeps up to 14. With eight restaurants and more than 15
bars and lounges, each of the two ships offer guests one-of-kind
vacation experiences found on no other ship in Europe.
In 2011, Voyager of the Seas will mark the first ever arrival of a
Voyager-class cruise ship to Venice and offer new seven-night
roundtrip itineraries from the City of Canals, opening for booking at
a later date. Sister-ship Adventure of the Seas will homeport for a
second year in Malaga, Spain, offering a seven-night Western
Mediterranean itinerary through early autumn, followed by six
five-night sailings alternating a Mediterranean with Canary Islands
itinerary. Navigator of the Seas, meanwhile, will offer a seven-night
roundtrip Eastern Mediterranean itinerary from Rome, which includes a
call at Chania (Souda), Greece, a new port for Royal Caribbean. All
three Voyager-class ships are equipped with ice-skating rinks, the
line’s iconic rock-climbing walls, nine-hole miniature golf courses,
and the Royal Promenade, a boulevard, lined with shops, restaurants,
bars and lounges running nearly the length of the ship.
Grandeur of the Seas will offer vacationers two brand-new alternating
seven-night itineraries, Western Mediterranean and Italian
Mediterranean, sailing roundtrip from Palma de Mallorca, a new
homeport for the cruise line. Brilliance of the Seas will return to
Barcelona on alternating 12-night roundtrip Mediterranean sailings,
which feature maiden calls at Italy’s Naples (Salerno) and Ravenna, a
new port offering more choices of tours to Milan and Florence.
From Istanbul, Turkey, Vision of the Seas will offer six roundtrip
sailings in autumn 2011 on new 10- and 11-night Holy Land itineraries.
Splendour of the Seas will be homeported at Rome (Civitavecchia) and
offer a variety of itineraries, including new 12-night roundtrip
Mediterranean Holy Land and Mediterranean Egypt cruises. The Egypt
itinerary features a two-day overnight call in Alexandria Egypt.
The 2011 summer Baltic season for Jewel of the Seas will offer
vacationers a range of 12-night roundtrip itineraries from Harwich,
England, to Scandinavia and Russia. Ports of call include Copenhagen;
Stockholm; Tallinn, Estonia; and an overnight at St. Petersburg,
Russia. Vision of the Seas, meanwhile, will offer a range of three- to
seven-night Baltic and Scandinavia itineraries sailing from
Copenhagen, Oslo, or Stockholm. On the June 11, 2011 sailing, Vision
of the Seas will make a maiden call at Liverpool, England.
Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 21 ships
currently in service and one under construction. The line also offers
unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and
Australia and New Zealand.
For more information, please contact your travel professional.