Oasis 3 could differ from first two, UK "very important" for RCI -- Goldstein

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 21 November 2013 21 November 2013

The third Oasis class cruise ship of Royal Caribbean International (RCI), the contemporary market unit in the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, could differ from the two first units of the class as there is such a big gap between the entry into service of the second and the third unit, said Adam Goldstein, president of RCI.

The Oasis class of 226,000 gross ton ships, two of which have been built at STX Finland and a third one is on order at STX France, has been the most successful type of cruise ships, Goldstein told Cruise Business Online. For this reason, the company is eager to ensure that the third unit will repeat the success of the two earlier vessels.

Meanwhile, Anthem of the Seas that will be the second unit of the 167,800 gross ton Quantum class, will not differ from Quantum of the Seas, the first ship, in any significant way as there is bot enough time between the delivery of the two ships to incorporate major design changes. A third vessel, still unnamed, is also on order at Joseph L. Meyer Werft in Germany.

The deployment of the units of the Oasis and Quantum class ships remains undecided at this point in time, Goldstein said.

Moving on to the British market that will employ Anthem of the Seas upon its delivery in April 2015, Goldstein said that the UK is the second largest source market for RCI after the US and therefore "very important" for the company that has three ships based in British ports in the late spring, summer and autumn of each year.

 

Anthem of the Seas may stay in UK year around in future as RCCL invests in growing British business - Paul

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 21 November 2013 21 November 2013

Royal Caribbean International (RCI) may at some point retain Anthem of the Seas in the UK year round, although at this point there are no such plans, said Dominic Paul, vp international at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL), parent company of RCI. "We need to look at where the ship would be most popular and where it can obtain the bet yields," he told Cruise Business Review.

The RCCL group has invested heavily in the past several years to develop its business in the UK and it plans to continue to do so also in the future. Celebrity Cruises, the group's premium market brand, has performed well in the UK and Paul said it has found "a soft spot" in the heart of the British customers. The company operates Celebrity Eclipse and Celebrity Infinity from Southampton and Harwich, respectively, for most of each year.

As far as base ports are concerned, Paul said that Southampton as the principal turnaround port in the UK was a natural choice as the British home port of Anthem of the Seas, while Harwich that hosts one Royal Caribbean International and one Celebrity Cruises vessel, is convenient for passengers arriving from North America and a good base port for cruises heading north from the UK.

Looking further ahead, Paul said it is possible that ships of the RCCL group may sail from other turnaround ports in Britain as well,although at this point in time no decision has been made to post ships in other ports beyond Southampton and Harwich.