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Sea ViewsFrom President and CEO, Adam Goldstein

Kristin Chenoweth Takes on a New Starring Role!

Announcing the godmother for a beautiful new Royal Caribbean cruise ship is always a big deal. For the introduction of Quantum of the Seas, our goal is to involve our godmother in an unprecedented manner thereby creating a WOW in and of itself. We are very excited about this and we hope our loyal readers share in our enthusiasm. I have asked Lisa Bauer to give some color commentary on our recent announcement. Get ready for 20 months of WOW. And that’s before Quantum is even delivered!

-Adam

During the telecast for the 2013 Academy Awards our TV commercial answered the question, “Who is Royal Caribbean’s next big star”.

We were very excited to let everyone know that Kristin Chenoweth will take on the role of godmother to our newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, which is set to debut in the fall of 2014.

The role of the godmother for a ship is very special. Not only does a godmother christen or name the ship and serve as a guiding spirit, but she also plays a key role in the festivities of the naming ceremony and provides a blessing on the ship for the guests and crew and all who sail on her.

The godmothers of Royal Caribbean cruise ships have had a wide variety of backgrounds including Olympic athletes, humanitarians and ordinary women with extraordinary achievements. Oasis of the Seas had seven godmothers – one for each neighborhood!

When we talked about Quantum of the Seas, and how we wanted everything about her to be a quantum leap forward, we decided that the godmother would take on a greater role than we have done in the past when we announced the godmother within a few weeks of the official ship’s naming. In this case we announced Kristin as the godmother well in advance so she could introduce the ship’s features over the next 20 months.

Royal Caribbean is a brand that has been recognized for world-class entertainment and we thought Kristin was the ideal embodiment of this key signature of our brand. Kristin is widely known for her effortless transitions between stage, music, television and film and is an Emmy and Tony award winning actress. Royal Caribbean was the first cruise line to introduce Broadway shows onboard and it seemed natural to look to one of the entertainment industries’ best to join our brand.

I remember in 2003 when I first saw Kristin in the Broadway show, Wicked, when she played Glinda the Good Witch. I was so WOWed by her and since then I’ve seen her in everything from The West Wing to Glee and The Good Wife. Most recently I attended the American Country Awards in Las Vegas and Kristin was co-hosting the show.

KristinChenowethQuantumoftheSeas

When Adam and I met with Kristin to present our idea of the role of godmother to Quantum of the Seas, the meeting only reinforced our decision. We were very impressed by her sense of humor and warmth and felt that she was a natural fit for us. On a purely personal note, I also love the fact that Kristin is as passionate about dogs as I am!

Kristin Chenoweth will play a very important role as Royal Caribbean begins to showcase more about Quantum of the Seas and all I can say is you need to Prepare to be WOWed!

-Lisa Bauer

Royal Caribbean: Delivering the WOW in 2013

While most people were getting ready for the holiday season, at Royal Caribbean International we were all busy finalizing our new global marketing platform. I know it sounds like a really tough job, because first we had to spend a week on Allure of the Seas shooting all the footage for the TV commercials and the photography for the print ads. It was great to be onboard and work with our amazing crew to get everything accomplished.

In fact, the crew and the onboard experience is really what inspired the new campaign. We wanted to convey that “WOW” feeling we hear time and time again from our guests – either when one of our crew has done something to “Deliver the WOW”, or the natural expression our guests have when they walk into the Royal Promenade on Oasis or see an ice show or zip line or see their first Broadway Show or experience the FlowRider, or interact with one of the DreamWorks characters. These are all things that collectively can ONLY be found on Royal Caribbean.

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Owning the Guest Experience: How Royal Caribbean Plans to Continue to go Above and Beyond

Last week was a very special week across the Royal Caribbean fleet. From Asia to Panama, Australiato South America and from the UKto the Caribbean, more than 25,000 crew members on twenty-two ships personally pledged to “Answer It Royally” for our guests.

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Splendour of the Seas: Now with more WOW’s than Ever!

The “New” Splendour

I’m just returning from visiting Splendour of the Seas in Brazil, and really struggling with how much of the new “WOW’s on Splendour to share. Honestly, I think we should keep them as a surprise, because they are in the true spirit of our innovation and focus on unique guest experiences. However, Adam was insisting that we share some of the magic, so I will focus on two major transformations.

The Viking Crown has been iconic for our brand on all our ships. In the spirit of the Royal Advantage and continual reinvention, we saw the opportunity to transform this space into a multi-venue experience still featuring the signature Viking Crown views. We also hear from our guests that they would like more specialty restaurant choices, so we saw this as a perfect way to combine two elements, so the new Viking Crown now features Chops Grille, our signature Steakhouse, and Izumi, our Asian Bistro. We even have our signature Chef Travis Kamiyama onboard opening Izumi contributing to the culinary offering.

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An Enormous Undertaking: Refurbishing Splendour of the Seas

Greetings from Splendour of the Seas!

This week I had the opportunity to visit Splendour of the Seas while she was in dry dock in Cadiz, Spain. It actually felt more like being at a yard for a new build than at a refurbishment. In almost all public areas, the ship was stripped down to the steel. This picture of the pool deck showing the tremendous amounts of debris is a good gauge of the amount of “deconstruction” that had to take place before the new venues and revitalizations could take place. The team had 450 containers of garbage! We underestimated the amount of materials that would be taken off the ship, and the containers were smaller than we usually use, so this put us a little behind schedule at the beginning.

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Radiance of the Seas’ New Unofficial Nickname: “Dining of the Seas!”

Recently I had the opportunity to join Radiance of the Seas in Alaska for an Anchored in Excellence visit, as well as to see the results of the recent dry dock. The transformation in a number of the venues is unbelievable. Perhaps the biggest examples are the addition of the Quill & Compass, an authentic English pub offering an extensive selection of imported beers and ales, along with the variety of all the new dining venues. I was only onboard for three days, so it took a lot of effort to “sample” all of the experiences. It was a high caloric visit needless to say.

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Revitalization Efforts Are in Full Swing Despite Minor Delays

The Radiance Dry Dock is in full swing. I joined the ship in Victoria to see how the progress was going, as well as to help host a press trip to share the scope of the revitalization work being completed onboard. In addition to our guests from the US and Canadian media, we also had the pleasure of having Barry Penner, the Attorney General of British Columbia, join us at the yard for a full tour and meeting to discuss the economic impact that the cruise industry has on the local economy. Royal Caribbean contributed significantly to the local economy, both in terms of dollars spent in the yard, as well as providing jobs for local contractors.

Overall it has been a very positive experience. The ship yard in Victoria has been outstanding to work with, and has been given top praises by Captain Claus and the New Build team. The biggest challenge we’ve faced so far was running into a Canadian holiday so we had some challenges with customs approvals. This put us behind our plan by about 8%, but we’ve managed to cut the timeline to being 3% behind and the team is confident we can catch up this week.

The biggest comment from everyone was the scope of the revitalization. When walking around Radiance, it had the same feel as when we do our walk-arounds for new builds. There was plywood in all of the elevators, all the carpet is completely covered, and the noise from drills, saws, and hammers resounded everywhere. Several of the areas have complete structural changes, such as the new addition of the pub, so it really is a major revitalization effort.

While part of the team was focused on the actual construction, crew training and orientation was taking place to share all the new venues and services that Radiance will offer. We also had several events and shore excursions for the crew while in Victoria so they could experience the island when they weren’t working. We had about 750 of the crew of almost 800 that stayed onboard during the dry dock.

Our fleet Executive Chef Marco was there as well, and the culinary team was practicing with the menus for the new restaurants. I’m heading back to Radiance this week to see the progress and Chef Marco has promised that the meatballs and lasagna for Giovanni’s will be ready for taste testing when I return. More on that next week!

Liberty of the Seas and Saturday Night Fever Dazzle

Although I had just written my “LB from LB” update after visiting Liberty of the Seas post dry dock, I traveled to Barcelona this week to sail with her again. I don’t want to get accused of playing favorites with the ships, but I promised the entertainment team I would be onboard when we premiered our latest Broadway Show, Saturday Night Fever the Musical. I also wanted to see how Liberty and the team onboard did after her first embark in Barcelona, as this is her inaugural season in Europe.

The guest reaction to SNF (That’s how we refer to Saturday Night Fever internally) was nothing short of amazing. The first song started and the guests were already clapping and totally into the show. The audience participation continued through the one hour and twenty minute long show, and culminated in a six minute finale that had the guests on their feet the entire time singing, dancing and clapping wildly. The cast is incredibly talented, in fact, the lead “Tony” actually just came from playing the lead in Grease on the West End in London. The caliber of the cast is unbelievable, because not only do they have to be great singers, but the level of dancing is also highly complex. I know I am biased, but this is the best show we have done yet. I don’t want to spoil too much, so everyone will have to sail on Liberty to experience this special show.

As I did my incognito walk around, I always enjoy watching the guest reaction to our product. This sailing was 4 nights and over 2,300 guests were Spanish. This is more than three times the usual amount of guests on this itinerary. It was very interesting to see what a great asset the digital signs were for our non English speaking guests. These signs are in five languages, and they were used extensively by our guests and got rave reviews. I stood behind a number of guests and asked if I could help them with anything and they said no, that they loved the signs and got the information they needed.

Captain Charles Tiege invited me to dine at the Captain’s table, and it was truly a reflection of the global nature of our brand. We had a number of our most frequent cruisers at the table, and it included couples from Texas, Germany, Canada, and two couples from Spain. As we introduced ourselves around the table, it was interesting to hear the Spanish guests say this was their 43rd cruise, and the German guests had just returned from Allure.

I’m headed home today and sailing on Majesty of the Seas this weekend for a Make a Wish Board retreat and also our Anchored in Excellence program, so I will be sure to update everyone on what is happening on Majesty next week!

Freedom of the Seas Reaches New Heights with the Royal Advantage

Captain Bill and I just completed our Anchored in Excellence (AIE) visit to Freedom of the Seas. Freedom just came out of dry dock on Sunday, March 27th, so we wanted to see the result of how everything looked and was operating. One of the other objectives on our AIE visit was to see what else we could be doing to support the ship with any key operational challenges they were facing.

We boarded the ship in Port Canaveral, there we found some definite challenges with the check in process and the security screening. I was very concerned by the security processes and lack of customer service. When something like this happens that is part of another division, we reach out the department head and raise the issue, then we get together to discuss the situation or challenge. In this case, I immediately raised the issue to Gary Bald, our SVP of Safety, Security, Medical and Public Health, and we will be jointly reviewing our fleet wide security screening standards and expectations. We have a Shoreside Executive Committee that is comprised of all the department heads that support the operation and it is great to be able to reach out and receive the support to address whatever issues we have cross functionally.

Once onboard, we did a full ship tour to see the new venues. Our guests were already enjoying the new outdoor screens. They were watching the NCAA Tournament and having a great time. Because our guests have been enjoying the outdoor screens so much, we’ve decided to add them to Radiance and Splendour later in the year as well.

I was doing my full walk around and ran into two guests that were looking for the screening room. I walked them over and showed them where it was, and they asked me how I knew where it was since it wasn’t on our signage or the new digital signage. I laughed and said I should know where it is because I work here, and thanked them profusely for the feedback that we had indeed neglected to list the screening room in our signage and our new digital screens. Guest feedback is always appreciated and it helps us become our best!

While onboard, we also had the opportunity to try the new Chops Grille menu. I heard lots of great commentary from the guests on the new menu additions, and I personally loved the new goat cheese soufflé and the red velvet cake. I didn’t think it would have been possible to find a better dessert than the Mississippi Mud Pie in Chops, but somehow Chef Josef came up with the Red Velvet Cake and it is amazing. I actually think he was inspired by the Cupcake Cupboard because the Red Velvet cupcakes continue to be the top seller, which is closely followed by the Turtle Cupcake. By the way, the new Cupcake Cupboard on Freedom was greatly received by the guests and we sold out of cupcakes the first day!

We met with the division heads, and updated everyone on our key areas of focus for 2011 and then they brought areas to light where we can provide more support. An area that surfaced was our new pervasive Wi-Fi. While the entire ship now has pervasive Wi-Fi, we are still limited by the number of users that can be on the system at one time. When we encounter an issue like this, we bring it back to Miami and meet with our IT team to address and then solve the issue. We get great support from Bill Martin and his team who have already begun working on a solution so the ship will be able to take full advantage of the enhanced Wi-Fi coverage.

On Freedom, we are adding a Britto Gallery like we have on Allure of the Seas. It is right on the Royal Promenade and I believe it will be very popular with our guests.

Overall it was a great visit. The crew is very proud of what they have accomplished in dry dock, and are also very excited about the new areas and programming. Freedom was already an amazing ship, and with these new additions under the Royal Advantage program, she offers even more now than ever.

Find out which Splendid Ship Won Ship of the Year in South America!

Captain Bill and I are just wrapping up a considerable schedule of ship visits to Splendour of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. It was a great opportunity to see how all three ships were doing in South America.

Prior to joining Splendour in Buenos Aires, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with Captain Zini (Allure) and his wife Anja. They were great tour guides and Buenos Aires is an amazing city. As Adam will attest because he always teases me, I am quite the food critic when it comes to steak. I definitely had the best steak I’ve ever had in Buenos Aires – every meal was a great experience.

The ship visits were a great opportunity to see a full immersion product come to life. Portuguese is the primary language spoken onboard, and the entertainment and dining are reflective of the local culture. There is a great atmosphere onboard, and the pool deck is the central gathering spot with lots of music, dancing and even a poolside barbeque. We also have a large number of Brazilian crew members and they do an amazing job and are very engaging and really deliver our signature GOLD Anchor service.

The timing was great to start with Splendour, as we were able to announce to the crew that Splendour was Ship of the Year! It was also good timing because we were able to review all the exciting plans for her extensive revitalization in November of this year. We had our colleagues from the New Build department and architects join us for this leg of Anchored in Excellence (AIE) so we could confirm all the locations of the new venues and ensure we finalized all our plans. Splendour will have an extensive 28 day dry dock in November, and the revitalization scope includes everything from fully refurbished staterooms, to the addition of 124 balconies, Giovanni’s Table, Izumi, a Park Café, and Pervasive Wifi, a Diamond Club, a nursery, an upgraded Concierge lounge and an outdoor Movie Screen.

Mariner was making her way around the Horn and had the opportunity to do a few extra sailings in South America during Carnaval. This was definitely an experience! Mariner is getting ready for her transatlantic crossing for her first ever European season. There is a great spirit onboard as the crew is really looking forward to visiting new ports.

The final leg of our AIE experience was a visit to Vision of the Seas. The ship is doing great, and is currently the number one performing ship in our fleet. It was great to see the Captain, Srecko Ban, who learned to speak Spanish during his time on Enchantment, also learning Portuguese now. The guests loved it!

About Adam

Adam Goldstein, President and CEO Royal Caribbean International

Adam is a father and a Phillies fan. He's got a mean table tennis serve.

Adam Goldstein, the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, has been answering it Royally since 1988. In 1998, Advertising Age named Adam one of their “Marketing 100,” the magazine's annual roundup of the best and brightest American and international marketing minds.

Goldstein graduated with honors from Princeton University, majoring in public policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He also has a law degree from Harvard and an MBA with distinction from INSEAD, the European business school in Fontainebleau, France. Adam and his wife have two children and live in Miami, Fla.

Lisa Bauer

Executive Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing

Lisa Bauer is Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing overseeing Royal Caribbean International's global Marketing and Revenue Management as well the company's Sales & Marketing Offices and International Representatives around the world, which represents three of the company's brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Lisa's blog posts have provided a behind the scenes look into new product developments including dining, entertainment and much more. Lisa is a huge animal lover, and has several cats and dogs, including a chocolate lab puppy named Coco Chanel and two rescue cats, Dolce & Gabbana.

John Weis

Associate Vice President, Guest Port Experience Royal Caribbean International

John Weis, Associate Vice President of Guest Port Experience manages our two private beach getaways CocoCay, Bahamas and Labadee, Haiti, all shore excursions world wide and was involved with the Clinton Global Initiative. His past blog posts have shared the latest on our work with rebuilding Haiti and offers ways for our guests to get involved. John is married and has two children, a boy and the girl. He is an avid diver and boater and has lived in South Florida for the past 35 years.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo

Executive Vice President of Operations, Guest Port Experience Royal Caribbean International

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is Executive Vice President of Operations for Royal Caribbean International overseeing Hotel Operations, Marine Operations, Land Operations, Entertainment and Activities, and Food and Beverage Operations. Lisa has held a variety of roles since joining Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. in 1985 and last served as Celebrity Cruises' Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, where she played a vital role in shaping extraordinary guest experiences for the brand and was instrumental in the delivery of the line's Solstice-Class of ships. In 2001, Travel Agent magazine named Lisa one of the "Most Powerful Women in Travel." Lisa is an avid and passionate (American) football fan and has named two of her puppies (she has 5) after her favorite team's quarterback.