Let us be honest for a moment if we may.  After seven days at sea, there is nothing more jarring than the disembarkation chaos and discomfort. Following a week of tightly choreographed comfort and pampering, you find yourself perched atop baggage in a public space, or worse, dockside, waiting for customs to work its way through 3000 of your closest friends.  And since the Department of Homeland security found a way to add ten layers of useless bureaucratic non-sense, matters are only worse.

The almost traditional departure day morass is being tackled by Royal Caribbean.  As noted by SeaTrade, an industry newsletter, website, and convention sponsor, the new efforts will seek to end a low point in the cruise experience.  For the rare bird that has chance to cruise back-to-back, some previews of the next cruise are afforded.  However, of interest to most cruisers, will be extended use of one’s cabin, constant updates on ship-board TV, lounges in operation, and especially a kids lounge which should prove of immeasurable use to parents.

Meanwhile, today’s RCL stock quote:

New to www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com?  Visit our growing community and enjoy the first Royal Carribean  only community out there!

Royal Caribbean International announced today that they are discontinuing their stock dividend, presently about $0.15 per share, to realize a savings of $125,000,000 per year.  The company emphasized that this is a pro-active step being taken to aid in building security in an unsure period of economic turmoil.  The press released emphasized that they have not experienced anything with regard to bookings, which would alter their expected performance during the coming year.

A lot could be read into this, but it seems fair to consider the move wise given the times.

Visit the press released here.

Join our Royal Caribbean community to discuss or read more about other Royal Caribbean International news and notes.  Visit www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com

Royal Caribbean and children’s cable TV network Nickelodeon are going to continue and expand their Nickelodeon Family Cruise program, which completed its first trip just this month.  With more details and booking information at  http://www.nickfamilycruise.com you will be able to select from travel on Mariner of the Seas or Freedom of the seas, giving cruisers a choice of which coast to set sail from.  Odds are the cost of gas and the growing hassle of air travel will trigger a growing number of bi-coastal events and ship positioning.

Seeing this on RSS or our mirror sites?  Visit us at www.CruiseAficionados.com or www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com and be a part of our community!

Oasis of the Seas deck plans emerge online.

We are at a point in the construction and marketing of Oasis of the Seas, where details such as deck plans are cropping up online. This is only natural of course. And the first real insight into the historic new ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet reveals a number of things which should give fans of the line reason to be happy.

Linked at https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Oasis_Deck_Plans.pdf the partial deck plans show much we had not yet known in full detail.

There will indeed by a Windjammer, though it is now know as “Windjammer Marketplace.” This makes sense, because from the launch of Voyager, the single theme, informal dinning area has been divided into several areas. The “marketplace” theme fits the kiosks and variety the area provides.

There will be a Viking Crown Lounge, to the relief of those who have hoped this signature feature would not be lost to additional cabin space.

There will be a main dinning room, still three decks high. Further, given that Oasis of the Seas will be wider than any ship before her, the size may be much greater than what is seen on even the Voyager family.

Evidence suggests, in conjunction with several aerial photos on the net, that there will between two and four pools on the sun decks. Large spaces on the deck, opening to areas below, combined with a lack of cabins shown in the plans, would indicate pool space.

There is a lot of space forward, where the theater area is known to be located, and likely the location of the Casino Royale, which has not been revealed yet. Likewise, an enlarged ice rink is on tap for the Oasis, but the public space around it, is not yet being detailed. Likely this will change next week, for the online reveal. Royal Caribbean Fan will host a live chat later in the evening, to discuss the reveal.

Visit the photo gallery at Royal Caribbean Fan.

***

Viewing this by RSS, or on one of our mirror blogs? Join us at www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com and become part of our community!

Oasis’ next reveal to be online!

If you register at http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/ZiffDavisEnterprise/VTS/08-26-08/Website/home.htm

you’ll be able to join the rest of the world and discover what the next big detail of Royal Caribbeans big new ship will be!

Love Bird to Christen the Ruby Princess.

I would have say “christen the Princess Ruby Princess,” but that would have been a bit over the top. If you follow American prime-time reality TV, you might have heard of the show “The Bachelor.” Its follow-up, the Bachelorette produced a marriage, and that seems enough to warrant being Godparents to a cruise ship. Lest you think I am being sarcastic or knocking the choice, think again. The cruise line that gave us The Love Boat is only fittingly touching on a old and well worn theme. The Love Boat was campy, but its hard not to think of it when going on a cruise. The christening will take place November 6, at Port Everglades.

A sign of things to come?

A large travel clearinghouse has chartered the Celebrity Solstice for two days, at the end of the pre-inaugural series, and just before revenue service begins. Cruise lines already use the weeks after a ship is operational, to hold a series of cruises for crew training and publicity building. I took such a cruise on Liberty of the Seas this past year. A ships “maiden” voyage is often a high priced affair, much sought after by the general public. It makes one wonder if we are seeing the start of private, pre-maiden voyage sailings becoming a more common event. In the case of this charter, the cruise is a two day affair. Too short to be of much serious demand to most vacation cruisers. It is however of interest to people who want to experience a ship before the rest of the world does. To my mind, if such charters become open to any and all people, they ruin what remains of the value in traveling on a maiden voyage. Or even later cruises in the early months of a ships operation.

Reading this by RSS? Google Groups? Blogger? Visit us at http://www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com http://www.CruiseAficionados.com http://www.CelebrityCruiseFans.com and http://www.CruiseTravelGear.com