Royal Caribbean

Image courtesy Glamox

New Product: Robust, Stylish Marine Luminaires

Glamox launched new range of energy-efficient indoor lighting for vessels and offshore installations, with an eye on style.The AL40 LED range of indoor luminaires is specially designed to light the interior of vessels and offshore installations. The luminaires are designed to provide comfortable and glare-free lighting for locations where crew and passengers spend a lot of time. This includes offices, cabin corridors, staircases, crew cabins, control rooms, and the bridge. On an offshore rig…

Logo: Cruise Ship Interiors Expo

Cruise Interior Expo Draws Leaders

Cruise Ship Interiors Expo, a focused event dedicated exclusively to interior design, architecture, and outfitting for the cruise industry,  announced its first conference session to kick off the inaugural two-day event. Professionals at the forefront of the industry will share their expertise in ‘Cruise Industry Outlook: Leaders Debate’, on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.This conference session will focus on the newbuild order book, discussing how shipyards can respond to capacity issues, challenges around recruiting staff, economical concerns, and growth in the expedition market.

“ ... the best expedition vessel ever built ... ” 
Nikolaos Doulis, Senior Vice President, New Buildings, Lindblad Expeditions, and the model of National Geographic Endurance at the tank testing facility, sporting Ulstein’s signature ‘XBox’. Photo: Lindblad Expeditions

"The best expedition cruise ship ever"

A cruise industry veteran of more than 25 years, Nikolaos Doulis, Lindblad Expeditions’ SVP, New Buildings, discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the build plan for “the best expedition cruise ship ever built.”Born in Greece to a seafaring family, Nikolaos Doulis was destined for a maritime career. His father was a ship captain and eventually a ship owner, and to support the family business he wanted his son to have an engineering education. So at the age of 14, Doulis started spending more time in and around ships…

Photo: RCL/Almaco

ALMACO: New Crew Cabins for RCI Mega Cruis Ships

Press Release -- ALMACO’s Modernization team sailed onboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas to perform turnkey deliveries of 17 new crew cabins on deck 2. The scope of work for each of the ships involved the dismantling of the existing crew-dedicated Windjammer, the assembly of the 17 new cabins, new corridors, and the electrical and piping works in line with the physical changes. "The team faced several technical and scheduling challenges with back-to-back projects that had practically overlapping timelines," explained Tommi Virta, Project Manager.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group Accused of Pirating

Former Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Colin Veitch has filed suit against Richard Branson for $300 million claiming that Virgin essentially stole his ideas and business plans to enter the lucrative luxury cruise industry by building a pair of state-of-the-art ships capable of carrying 4,200 passengers each. Veitch claims he planned the start-up operation, lined up financing to build the first ship and worked out a tentative commitment with a German shipyard, according to an article by Curt Anderson, legal affairs writer for the Associated Press. Veitch was CEO of Norwegian from 2000 to 2008.

'Harmony of the Seas' to be World's Largest Cruise Ship

Royal Caribbean International will outdo itself again when it launches MV Harmony of the Seas in April 2016 which shall officially become the world’s largest cruise ship. The line says the third vessel in its Oasis class series, to be called Harmony of the Seas, will measure 227,000 tons, eclipsing its two record-size sisters by more than 1,700 tons. Royal Caribbean confirmed that a cruise ship it has on order for delivery in 2016 will be the largest ever built. The 16-deck-high cruise ship will hold a record 5,479 passengers at double occupancy, nearly 100 more than the two earlier Oasis class vessels, the line says.

The 167,800 gt Quantum of the Seas. (Photo: RCL)

Great Ships of 2014: Quantum of the Seas

Meyer Werft delivered the latest in a long line of cruise ships that grow ever larger and more spectacular in their outfit, final finish and performance. The 167,800-gt cruise ship Quantum of the Seas was built for and delivered to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (Miami). This is the first ship of the Quantum class. It features highly energy-efficient systems, optimized hydrodynamics, heat recovery, an effective underwater paint coating, a state-of-the-art exhaust gas treatment plant (hybrid scrubber) as well as energy-saving LED lighting systems.

Photo: MEYER WERFT

Cruise Shipping: RCL's 'Quantum of the Seas' Delivered

MEYER WERFT delivered the 167,800-gt cruise ship Quantum of the Seas to the U.S. cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. yesterday in Bremerhaven. According to the builder, the first ship of the Quantum class sets new standards in terms of eco-friendliness, featuring highly energy-efficient systems, optimized hydrodynamics, heat recovery, an effective underwater paint coating, a state-of-the-art exhaust gas treatment plant (hybrid scrubber) as well as energy-saving LED lighting systems. The ship can accommodate 4,180 guests in 2,090 cabins, and is staffed by a crew of approximately 1,550.

Richard Simonian, president, maritime solutions, Harris CapRock Communications

Maritime Communication: A Bold New Shape and Direction

Richard Simonian is the President of Maritime Solutions, a business unit within Harris CapRock Communications. MR picked his brain for insights on the shape and direction of maritime comms. We understand that you recently unveiled your Advanced VSAT solutions at Satellite 2014. Can you give us a brief on exactly what this is? The problem increasingly being faced by ship and rig operators is that their communication needs are dynamic, yet the traditional buying approach is static. They have had two choices.

Photo courtesy of RCCL

Quantum of the Seas to Embark on World Tour in 2015

World Travelers will not need to trek out to New York City to catch Quantum of the Seas, the most anticipated cruise ship to-date. The ship will come to them. Royal Caribbean International has announced the details of the Quantum Global Odyssey, a 53-night epic journey, departing May 2, 2015, from the New York-metropolitan area to its new home in Shanghai (Baoshan), China. Quantum of the Seas will take its never-before-seen-at-sea experience globally to savvy vacationers after the ship’s inaugural winter season in New York from Nov. 2014 through Apr. 2015.

Royal Caribbean to Host World Cup Party at Sea

Royal Caribbean International announced a partnership with Coca-Cola to bring the most prestigious soccer competition in the world to its fleet with The Coca-Cola Party at Sea celebrating the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The cruise line will host the official Coca-Cola Party at Sea complete with broadcast of the games at the official watch party hosted by Coca-Cola and complete with samba dancers. This summer, there simply will be no better place, outside of Brazil, to watch, to cheer, to celebrate this sport spectacle. Soccer is a…

Allure of the Seas, Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Announces Winter 2015-16 Schedule

Four of the Regions Largest and Most Innovative Cruise Ships to Sail from Port Everglades and Port Canaveral. The cruise line has announced that Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas will sail the Caribbean from convenient Florida homeports for the winter 2015-16 season, which are now open for sale. Sister-ships Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas will offer vacationers still-matched Caribbean cruises in the 2015-16 winter season. Both ships will homeport at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Registration Open for SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference

The producers of the SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference have announced that online registration is now open. Following a successful inaugural conference in 2012, the 2013 event will take place October 22-24 at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel in Stamford, Conn. It will bring together senior executives from shipowners, ship managers, classification societies, regulatory bodies, consultancies and suppliers to address the pressing issues facing fleet operators in the current business climate. The confirmed keynote speakers for the conference are Anthony Chiarello…

SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference Update

Early Bird Pricing Extended for SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference; More than 30 Industry Experts to Address Challenges and Solutions for Reducing Costs and Enhancing Efficiency in Ship Operations. The organizers of the SHIPPINGInsight 2012 Fleet Optimization Conference in Stamford, Conn., have extended the deadline for Early Bird registration until Sept. 21st. The $995 Early Bird registration represents a savings of $400 off the full onsite conference fee of $1,395. Taking place at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel Oct.