Major kudos and hearty thanks to our first Crown & Anchor Society members to achieve the 300 cruise credit level. They will deliver this Wow to us in the next few weeks! Gerald and Grete met and got married on Royal Caribbean on the way to their 300 cruise credits. (Super)Mario is also joining the very exclusive 300-credit club. Incredible.
I flew from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Tampa on Saturday morning and was on a Southwest flight that happened to coincide with our guests flying home from Oasis of the Seas. Before the advent of social media I could have remained incognito if I wanted to. But not now in the era of blogs and streaming video baked into eDocs and so on. Before I got a quarter of the way through the security line I was discovered. Fortunately, everyone had very nice things to say about their cruise. Still it must have been puzzling to other passengers to have our guests taking pictures with me in the security line. It is always a privilege to be the recipient of such gratitude and a constant reminder of the importance of vacations to the quality of people’s lives.
You might not expect to hear about other cruise lines in this blog, but I do want to pass along that our sister brand, Azamara Club Cruises, has been making exciting changes to its product offering and now includes many more elements in the ticket price. With two 694 guest ships, a very high staff to guest ratio and a real focus on delivering interesting destinations more in-depth, Azamara obviously offers a different experience from that of Royal Caribbean International. But there can still be an overlap between the two brands. Adults who travel as couples on longer itineraries on Azamara may also sail with Royal Caribbean as part of a multigenerational family vacation. We are enjoying our working relationship with Larry Pimentel, Edie Bornstein and the Azamara (they would say Azamazing) team and look forward to having more guests sail on both brands.
Did I tell you that our chocolate breakfast on Oasis of the Seas recently attracted 1,200 guests? As some of you know, Lisa Bauer and I sampled the menu in our test kitchen. How is one supposed to choose between Chocolate Waffles with Caramel-Banana Topping and Chocolate Pancakes with Whipped Cream? Well, we didn’t choose, and I think it took about 10 days for the chocolate rush to wear off.
Finally, many of my colleagues are suddenly seized with the desire to guest blog. The way things are going I may struggle to get a word in edgewise. When I hear the topics it’s hard to argue. There are just so many interesting things going on and I want to give my team the opportunity to talk about them. But it’s still my blog so I can pull rank at least once per week.
Wow 300 cruises. Congrats to Gerald and Grete. I am lucky that I have met Mario and many sailings.
And here I thought my friend Sandie had alot at 85.
Well thanks for giving me a goal Adam. I gotta go and book some more cruises for 2011 and 2012 so I can get to next tier.
Rhodium – 100 cruise credits
Emerald – 200 cruise credits
Ruby – 300 +
Can’t wait till I get to 100…And of course Adam you have me hooked on RCCL
Arvids, thank you for your good wishes to Gerald and Grete, it truly is an exciting accomplishment. We also want to give a big congratulation to your friend Sandie, for reaching 85 cruise credits. We’re glad to hear that we’ll be having you onboard again. Please keep us updated when you’ve reached your 100 cruise credit goal.
I remember when RCL used to have the chocolate buffet at midnight!! I never imagined it for BREAKFAST!! Sounds delicious!
Thanks for the blog – the information about Royal and her sister cruiselines is very enjoyable. I hope one day to try Azamara but until then I look forward to each and every cruise on Royal and are planning to try Celebrity out of Charleston next year. It will be wonderful to drive to a port on day of departure.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all 7 of my Royal Caribbean cruises. We were looking forward to an anniversary cruise next year out of South Florida and are somewhat dissappointed at the changes in offerings. I hope new ships will soon be added so we have choices other than Oasis or Allure, as wonderful as they are, I was looking forward to the Adventure Class or Freedom class of ships for our adventure.
Cherry, we’re glad that you enjoy our cruise line so much, and we appreciate your feedback. We’ll take your suggestion about expanding our offerings from Florida into consideration for future itineraries, and we hope to see you onboard again soon.
Dear Adam,
Thank you for your congratulatory message.
Writing this onboard Majesty, today in Nassau.
I’m totally ecstatic in reaching this milestone
the week of June 6 on Liberty of the Seas.
It will be extremely gratifying to be able to
share this special moment with my Liberty crew family !!
And remember, “I’M JUST GETTING STARTED” !!!
Best regards,
Mario Salcedo
(Super Mario)
Super Mario, thank you so much for your comment. It’s a wonderful achievement and we are amazed at your accomplishment. Thanks again for your loyalty with Royal Caribbean and we can’t wait to hear about your next exciting milestone.
Dear Mr Goldstein, I have just had the pleasure of a 7 night cruise on the Freedom of the Seas may 9th-16th, 2010. Myself, my wife, 2 grandmoms, and my 3 year old twins went sailing. I had serious trepidation about cruising with twin toddlers but I am here to tell you that Your staff made it an easy and fun family vacation to remember. The Adventure Ocean crew was great. My wife and I usually cruise on another “luxury” brand cruiseline but I can tell you I have never had better service than from my servers at table 439 6pm seating. Dennis, the head waiter, got “big hugs” from both my kids every night. They literally ran into his arms whenever they saw him in the dining room. Rashit our main waiter and his assistant Brayan were firstly professional but also genuinely a pleasure to meet. It’s not easy doing fine dining wait service when one of your tables has toddler twins. They made it fun. My sincere thanks to them and the rest of your staff for the best vacation I have had in years. Hope they read this also. If you ever have need of a family for a testimonial on RCCL cruising just let me know
PS Booking the Oct 17th 2010 Freedom of the Seas trip next week. Can I request the same wait staff
)
Well,Mario..
You made it. Congratulations. Enjoy the roses and champagne….Saw a picture of your “plaza and office on Flickr.com. On to more cruises.
Best regards,
Kathy (Sunshine)
Congratulations Mario!
I hope your 300th cruise will be as exciting as your first.
I will be with you in spirit on the Liberty this week.
Bon Voyage!
Dotsie