Royal Caribbean International, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a
cruise line brand founded in Norway and based in Miami, Florida in the United
States of America. As of May 2012, with 21 ships in service, it controls a 17
percent share of the world cruise market. All ships under the Royal Caribbean
International brand have had names ending in "of the Seas" since 1991. Sister
brands owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. are Celebrity Cruises, Azamara
Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF Croisières de France.
Night view of the headquarters in Miami, Florida Royal Caribbean
International was founded as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1968 by Anders
Wilhelmsen & Company, I.M. Skaugen & Company, and Gotaas Larsen,
Norwegian shipping companies. The newly created line put its first ship, the
Song of Norway, into service two years later. The next year, the line's capacity
was doubled with the addition of the Nordic Prince to the fleet. Continuing to
expand, the line added the Sun Viking in 1972. After four years of successful
operation, Royal Caribbean's Song of Norway became their first passenger ship to
be lengthened. This was accomplished via the insertion of an 85-foot (26 m)
section to the vessel's severed center. Following the success of this procedure,
Nordic Prince was stretched in 1980. Royal Caribbean finally received widespread
global recognition when in 1982 it launched the Song of America, over twice the
size of Sun Viking and at the time the third largest passenger vessel afloat
(after the Norway and the Queen Elizabeth 2).
Royal Caribbean innovated once again with its 1986 lease of a coastal
property in Haiti for use as a private destination for its guests. This
destination is now called Labadee. After a corporate restructuring in 1988, the
line launched Sovereign of the Seas, the largest passenger vessel afloat at the
time. Two years later, Nordic Empress and Viking Serenade entered service for
the line, continuing a rapid growth trend within the company. In the same year
Royal Caribbean purchased its second private destination, Little Stirrup Cay, an
island in theBahamas, which they rechristened "Coco Cay."
Monarch of the Seas, the second ship of the Sovereign class, entered
service the next year. The third ship of the Sovereign class, Majesty of the
Seas, was delivered one year later. With a large passenger capacity and a
growing market share, Royal Caribbean finally went public on the New York Stock
Exchange in 1993. Over the next two years the company experienced extreme
growth. A new corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida was completed, and the
Nordic Prince replaced by a new vessel, the Legend of the Seas.
The next year brought more growth. Two more Vision-class vessels entered
service, the Splendour of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas. Also in 1996, the
company finalized its contracts for 130,000-ton vessels with Aker Finnyards in
Finland. The trend of growth and change continued into 1997. The line's oldest
ship, Song of Norway, was sold, and two new Vision-class ships entered service
as Rhapsody of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas. The company also merged
with the Greek cruise line Celebrity Cruises and changed its name from "Royal
Caribbean Cruise Line" to "Royal Caribbean International." The next year marked
a transition to a more "strictly modern line", when the last of the company's
older vessels, Song of America and Sun Viking, were retired. In 1998,Vision of
the Seas came into service, the last of the Vision-class ships.
In 1999, the Voyager of the Seas, the line's newest and world's largest
cruise ship entered service with much attention from the news media. The next
two years saw the delivery of a second Voyager-class ship, Explorer of the Seas,
and the first of a new Radiance class of more environmentally friendly cruise
liners, Radiance of the Seas.
In 2000, Royal Caribbean debuted a series of land-and-sea based "cruise
tours" in Alaska, featuring glass-domed train cars to scenic destinations within
the state and Canada. Over the next two years, they introduced more cruise tours
to destinations throughout Europe.
2002 saw the debut of the Voyager-class Navigator of the Seas, as well as
the Radiance-class Brilliance of the Seas. Mariner of the Seas and Serenade of
the Seas, another pair of Voyager and Radiance-class ships, were introduced the
next year, and rock-climbing walls were made a feature of every Royal Caribbean
ship. A fourth Radiance-class ship, Jewel of the Seas, followed in 2004, and the
line's ship Nordic Empress was refurbished and re-christened as Empress of the
Seas, which was later sold to Pullmantur Cruises in 2008. In 2005, Enchantment
of the Seas underwent a massive refurbishment, cutting the ship in half and
adding a 74-foot (23 m) midsection.
Construction commenced on Freedom of the Seas, the line's newest ship, at
Aker Finnyards in 2005, and the vessel launched the next year as the largest
passenger vessel in the world. Freedom of the Seas' sister ship, Liberty of the
Seas, was launched in 2007, and Independence of the Seas was delivered in
2008.
An even larger class, the Oasis class, featuring Oasis of the Seas and
Allure of the Seas, was launched in 2009 and 2010, guaranteeing Royal Caribbean
the ship size lead for years to come. In December 2012, Royal Caribbean
announced that they had ordered a third Oasis-class cruise ship from STX France,
which would be larger than the previous ships in the class.
In February 2013, Royal Caribbean announced the first two ships of their
newest Quantum class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, which were
being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard. In May of that year, Royal
Caribbean announced that they had signed a contract for a third Quantum-class
ship for delivery in mid-2016. Each Royal Caribbean ship includes a top-of-ship
lounge called the Viking Crown Lounge offering sweeping panoramic views, onboard
rock climbing walls, bars, lounges, spas, gyms, a main dining room and
alternative dining venues. The line has a special kids and youth program.
Cruise Deals in Royal Caribbean International