As Oasis of the Seas nears completion mere feet away, Royal Caribbean International (RCL) laid the keel for her sister, the Allure of the Seas in Turku, Finland.  She will match her sister at 220,000 gross registered tons, be home ported out of Port Everglades, and generally be the envy of passengers on nearby ships!  Allure of the Seas is due to enter revenue service in 2010, likely in or around December.

Meanwhile, in the land of shrimps and barbies, kangaroos and The Wiggles, Royal Caribbean is opening a new  support office in Sydney.  Anchoring Royal Caribbean’s itineraries will be the venerable Rhapsody of the Seas, one of the six ship Vision class.  For the Royal Caribbean Fan who has wanted to see the great “down under,” New Zealand, or even the south pacific islands, the continued opportunities a highly appealing.

Today’s stock performance:

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Royal Caribbean International announced the arrival of Independence of the Seas at her new Port Everglades home.  The third unit in the Freedom class ships, a follow-on to the revolutionary Voyager class, has been ported in Europe during her initial months of operation.  She will take on an alternating schedule of 6 night eastern and 8 night western Caribbean “milk-runs.”  Eastern Caribbean ports include San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and Labadee.  Western Caribbean ports will be Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico and Cozumel, Mexico.

Rumors flew about that Indy might not be the last Freedom class built.  It was thought that maybe RCI would build a fourth unit between the first and second Oasis class, maybe to buy time to fully incorporate any changes needed to Allure of the Seas.  That obviously can not happen, with most steel having been cut for Allure.  With STX/Akers’ Turku yard having been building Voyager family ships since 1998, the logic of building a fourth Freedom may lay in ensuring no break in the relationship between it and Royal Caribbean.

The Freedom class, for those who are unaware, is a longer, upgraded design based on the Voyager class.  Having been on most of the ships in both class’, I can say it is a distinct refinement of the industry changing Voyager.  This in no way is intended to say there is anything wrong with Voyager class.  Indeed, where Royal Caribbean has always excelled is in making leaps from one class to the next smoothly.  The success of Freedom class, is that it expands the passenger base, yet feels more open and less crowded than.

A fourth unit might make Wall Street analysts freak out, yet it is clear from the new “Nation of Why Not” marketing campaign, that the post Vision class ships are going to be the focal point of Royal Caribbean’s branding.  It is a clear advantage an exclusive hold on ships which are changing the public’s idea of what a cruise should offer.  It is equally clear 2009 and beyond will be all about taking that fact and beating rivals over the head with it.

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The record shattering and industry rocking Oasis of the Seas will sail her first year with captains Bill Wright and Tor Olsen in command.  If that means they’ll have to add bunk beds to the masters quarters I don’t know.  However it is fair to say the ship will be in two sets of good hands.  As you might expect with such a new type of ship as Oasis, having two experienced masters take her out, learn her real-world traits, is sound planning from an operational standpoint.  This was done with the launch of Freedom of the Seas, and as has been noted, Captain Wright was part of that inaugural season as well.  Bill Wright is somebody you may have heard of, known as “the American.”  He is a rarity of sorts, in that he is an American master in an industry dominated by Europeans.  He has risen to Senior VP in charge of Maritime Operations.  Tor Olsen has been with the line since the late 1980s.

How long the two-master setup continues is not known, but it isn’t likely a long-term idea.  With Allure of the Seas due a year behind her sister, odds are that one or both masters will find themselves involved with that ship as well.  To say nothing of training additional officers to relieve those serving the first months of Oasis’ run.

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