For a long time, people pictured cruise ships as filled with older people, and in the 1970s and '80s that was accurate. Before Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) made cruising a family activity, the average cruiser was middle-aged or older.
On today's modern ships, however, Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival offer fun for all ages. The newest ships offer more than just kids' clubs; they have water slides, amusement-park-level rides, escape rooms, ice skating and more.
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Royal Caribbean and Carnival, not to mention Walt Disney (DIS), have opened cruising to all ages. That's quite intentional, as each new ship from all three cruise lines has added more all-ages features and pushed the boundaries for what's possible on a cruise ship.
Now, Royal Caribbean has made a surprising decision with its newest ship. The cruise line has said that Utopia of the Seas, its latest Oasis-Class ship, will sail three- and four-day itineraries with a stop at the cruise line's Perfect Day at Coco Cay private Island. The move is effective when Utopia begins welcoming passengers, in July 2024. Generally, new ships have sailed weeklong itineraries.
Utopia will be the first new Royal Caribbean ship to offer four-day (Monday-Friday) and three-day (Friday-Monday) sailings when it opens its first season sailing from Port Canaveral, Fla.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Royal Caribbean Wants New Cruisers
Traditionally, Royal Caribbean has set three- and four-day sailings out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral using its midsized Freedom- and Voyager-Class ships. These aren't small; they were once the world's biggest ships and they were the perfect size for shorter trips.
Independence of the Seas, for example, currently sails those short itineraries out of Port Canaveral. That ship has three sit-down specialty restaurants, a sports bar and an ice rink, among other features. You can experience the whole ship in three to four days without becoming bored of any area.
Starting in November, however, Royal Caribbean will move Allure of the Seas, an Oasis-Class ship, to Port Canaveral to sail three- and four-day itineraries. That will be the first time a member of the world's largest class of ship will regularly schedule those short sailings. That will lead into Utopia taking over that slot when it begins sailing in July 2024.
An Oasis-Class ship is overkill for a three- to four-day sailing. You can't experience everything on a ship that large in so few days -- but that may be the point. Royal Caribbean wants to put its best foot forward for new customers in order to get them to come back for more.
"In the first quarter, the percentage of guests who were either new to brand or new to cruise surpassed 2019 levels by a wide margin," Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty said during his company's first-quarter-earnings call.
Bringing some of those new customers on Allure, and then Utopia, is Royal Caribbean making an effort to wow first-time cruisers.
Spending three or four days on either of those ships will expose people to features like the outdoor Central Park and Boardwalk and, the company hopes, leave them wanting more.
Royal Caribbean Leverages Its Value
At a time when people want experiences but are also watching every dollar, cruising offers more value than most traditional land-based family vacations. That might drive people who don't consider cruising an option to look into it.
"Cruising remains an exceptional value proposition," Liberty said. "I would actually say it's too attractive of a value proposition, which is allowing us to outperform broader leisure travel as we seek to close the gap to land-based vacations and drive better revenue and happy customers."
Using Allure and then Utopia for short sailings will enable new cruisers to experience the best the cruise line has to offer for a relatively low cost (cruises are priced by the night).
“With the variety of dining, bars, pools, entertainment, and thrills that make Oasis Class ships revolutionary and the experiences to match on our private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, we’ve combined the best of the best to create the world’s biggest weekend for everyone," Royal Caribbean International Chief Executive Michael Bayley said in a news release.
Utopia of the Seas will offer five pools, more than 20 dining options, the longest dry slide at sea, a 10-story zipline, a FlowRider surf simulator, and more than 20 different bars and entertainment spots as well as two casinos.
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