Liberty of the Seas recently left the Port of Miami headed for Grand Bahama Island and her significant dry-dock that will underscore what we mean by the Royal Advantage. This is a historic event in the sense that we are going to enhance the offering of a ship that is not even four years old and very much still at the forefront of the industry. Why? Because we created possibilities with our Oasis-class that we can and will bring to Freedom-class beginning with Liberty of the Seas this week.
We have already promoted the new features and Lisa Bauer and others will describe the dry-dock and its aftermath in more detail. I simply want to emphasize that this dry-dock commences a program of revitalization that will keep our fleet preeminent in the cruise industry. Next up after Liberty is a similar body of work on Freedom of the Seas in March. Later in the year we will refresh Radiance of the Seas and then Splendour of the Seas. Although no decisions about further revitalizations have been made as of yet, we certainly hope to enhance the Royal Advantage on other ships in the fleet in the future.
Click here to see photos of Liberty of the Seas in dry-dock: Liberty of the Seas Revitalization Album
Note: Last week we found out that Royal Caribbean International won a Cheers Beverage Excellence 2011 Award for Best Chain Hotel Beverage Program. Our Beverage team, under the direction of Frank Weber, VP Food & Beverage, and Bob Midyette, Director, Fleet Beverage Operations, is justifiably proud to have won this prestigious award. Our competition includes all land based hotel groups in the U.S. and abroad, e.g., Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, MGM, Ritz Carlton, Conrad, etc., plus of course all cruise lines. Well done!
It’s wonderful that RCL keeps updating their older ships. Even though they are already spectacular. Can’t wait to see what is being done from here on out.
Also contratulations to the Beverage Team on their award.
Hello Jackie, we are happy to hear you like our updates and thanks so much for your congratulations! We are so proud of our team for being recognized as the best in their class.
We are going on the Liberty 2/27/11, I am sure we will not be disappointed. My husband and I were lucky to be on the Oasis and the Monarch in December. We loved the Oasis, thought we would be disappointed on the Monarch but the ship and service were excellent. Every ship in the fleet provides a unique and memorable experience.
The Freedom class ships is our favorite size ships and now with all the new innovations , our Liberty cruise will be outstanding.
We are sure you will not be disappointed with our revitalizations either, Alex. Thank you very much for your feedback and we hope you have a wonderful time onboard Liberty of the Seas. We can’t wait to see you in February.
Looking forward to sailing on the Liberty February 27, 2011! Who will be the Cruise Director on the sailing? They are all awesome!
We can’t wait to have you onboard, Darlene! The cruise director onboard Liberty of the Seas for your cruise will be Mike Szwajkowski. Thanks for your comment and have a great cruise!
We will be sailing on Liberty on February 5, 2011 are the changes being made right now,, and what will the changes be???
Hello William, the changes to the Liberty of the Seas just went underway. You can find out all about what is being revitalized here: http://bit.ly/eVYkM5
When will the jEWEL of the seas be refurbished??
Hello Marcia, we have not made any plans to revitalize our other ships just yet, but we would love to bring the Royal Advantage to the rest of the fleet in the near future. Stay tuned to the blog here for the latest updates.
The Explorer of the Seas really needs to be done. We sailed on her when she was new and have been on her many times since. She is showing a lot of wear. She is a great ship just needs to updated. I hope soon,.
Hi Gail, it is great to hear that you’ve enjoyed cruising onboard Explorer of the Seas, we agree that she is a great ship. We don’t currently have revitalization plans for her, however we appreciate your feedback and will be sure to pass it along. In the meantime, please know Ship revitalizations are only one component of our Royal Advantage. The Royal Advantage provides our guests with the best, most innovative ships, experiences, destinations and personalized service.
Why is it that the Explorer of of the seas is ten years old and no plans to redo the ship when the liberty and freedom are newer and have been upgraded.
Thank you for voicing your concerns, Frank. We have plans for Explorer of the Seas to be enhanced in 2014-15. Please check here for all enhancement information.
When Explorer goes in for refurbishment will you be bringing another ship to replace it for the time during the refurbishment?
Do you have any idea as to what ship it will be?
Hi, Frank. Please stay tuned over the next few months for additional details on deployment for summer 2014 and winter 2014-15.
Would like to see a nice band that plays for ball room dancers. That was lacking on our last cruise before dry -dock. A floor that you can move on, not a two by four size.
Thanks for the great feedback and suggestions, Floyd. We’ll take your suggestions into consideration as we are looking to make the best cruising experience for each of our guests.
It’s great to see that Royal Caribbean is now adding enhancements to the other ships that are now on the Oasis and Allure. I saled the Oasis last year and am sailing on Allure in May and would only recommend these ships because of all of the attractions. Now that the renovations are being done for the smaller ships, it makes it possible to sail those ships with all of the amenities I am getting used to,
We are glad to hear, Sandra. These enhancements certainly will take the Freedom-class to another level similar to Allure and Oasis. We take pride in the Royal Advantage and hope to advance it towards each ship in our fleet.
I and 11 family members are scheduled to sail 4/2012. On Fr4eedom I hope it will be back by then
The Freedom of the Seas will be done with plenty of time to spare for your cruise in April of 2012, Fred, so no need to worry. We hope that you and your family have a great time onboard with us.
Adam: My family and I are sailing on the Radiance June 10, 2011. Will the Royal Revitalization have taken place by then on her?
Hi Janice, the Radiance of the Seas will be revitalized in the Summer of 2011, you can click here to find out all of the enhancements she will be going through. We hope you have a wonderful time onboard this June!
Adam,I am excited to tell you the great news!
I am once again taking a cruise this year,this time a momentus occasion! My Parents will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary on the Oasis of the Seas this coming February!!
We’ve had 2 more weddings,and we’ve had more reasons to celebrate! and what a better way to say “Celebrate!” than with the Great Staff,Crew and not to mention the passengers of Oasis of the Seas.
We are so excited about the new Ship,and hopefully next time around we’ll be aboard the Alure of the Seas.
That is great news, Matthew! Congratulations to your parents, we hope that they have a wonderful time onboard for their 50th anniversary! We are sure you will fall in love with Allure, but until then Oasis of the Seas is definitely a great ship to celebrate such a momentous occasion. We can’t wait to have you all onboard with us again!
Adam,
We were on the Oasis, Navigator & the Monarch the last three months. Great times on all three.
Are we going to revitilze/renovate the Monarch? One of our favorites.
Hi Joel. We are so happy you have had such a great time onboard all three of those wonderful ships in the past 3 months. Monarch of the Seas is a great ship, and though we have not made any plans to revitalize her just yet, we certainly would love to give her the Royal Advantage. Stay tuned to the blog here for any updates we have.
I have 12 days left to go for my first cruise, I’m looking forward to the Royal Caribbean treatment to revitalize me!
Already looking for my next cruise.
Congratulations, Gary! We can’t wait to have you onboard. We’re sure the WOW experience will definitely revitalize you. Which ship will you be sailing on?
I’ll be sailing on the 13th February aboard The Independence of the seas.
(Can’t wait)
That is a fabulous time to sail on a magnificent ship, Gary. We can’t wait to have you onboard.
When will Freedom of the Seas refurbish their cabins and replace mattresses? I hear a lot about revitalization but does this include cabins?
Hello, Rose. You can find a list of all of the exciting enhancements onboard Freedom of the Seas you here. We hope this helps!
We love RCCL. We are booked on Freedom of the Seas and are looking forward to new changes. Curious as to whether the dining menus will ever change on RCCL. We have been sailing with RCCL since 1998 and the menu, although we enjoy it…has mainly been cut back and no new items have been added….would love to see a new variety.
Hi, Duane. Thanks so much for your suggestion and we will be sure to pass that along to the proper department. As we continue to grow, we are very grateful of our guests’ feedback to help making the best possible cruising experience.
We just booked a cruise on the Liberty for December, 2011. It was exciting to read about the renovations. I sailed with RCL for the first time on Enchantment in 2008. While researching for our upcoming cruise, no one else was really considered. RCL made a lasting impression. See you in December!
I can’t seem to get a direct answer to a question. When was the last time Freedom of the Seas changed out their mattresses? Very important to have a comfortable bed. If the mattresses have not been changed since her first voyage , they certainly would not be comfortable. DIRECT ANSWER PLEASE
Hello, We went to Serenade and Independence a few years ago and we were very satisfy about ht eship conditions.
Then we went on Grand Princess and realised how it could be bad to be in a ship that really needs to be refresh.
So my question:
My wife and myself want to cruise again with RCI but we are not sure about the Jewel of the Seas because I saw that it was supoosed to be docked in 2011 then 2012 but didn’t. And the next refurbishment is set on 2016.
So it’s a real concern for us to be again (as per our “bad” experience with Princess) in a Ship that is not in really good condition.
So, our question is:
Shouls we choose another RCI ship to avoid a deception (I don’t refer to the service, food, etc but about the ship conditions). Wa are looking for Jan 2014 trip.
Thank you
Regards Alain
Hi Alain, all of our ships are taken care of and cleaned before, after and during each cruise. We take pride in providing a clean and sanitary ship environment that should satisfy your needs. We hope to see you onboad Jewel of the Seas this January.