ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL
Royal Caribbean International (RCI) was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was established in 1968 as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) by three Norwegian shipping companies, Anders Willhelmsen, I.M. Hauge and Goodaas Larsen.
The concept was simple; “To create a new line based on ships tailor-made for cruising the warm waters of the Caribbean”.
RCCL first ship the Song Of Norway entered service in 1970 followed by Nordic Prince in 1971 and Sun Viking in 1972. In 1978 Song Of Norway was the first passenger ship in the world to be stretched.
The company became a succsess and in 1982 the brand new Song Of America entered service as, then, the 3rd largest vessel afloat. The vision of building large and impressive had begun.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s RCCL continued to grow fast. Royal Caribbean merged with Admiral Cruises in 1988. The Admiral`s cruise ship Stardancer became Viking Serenade and the newbuild, Future Seas, was named Nordic Empress. In 1994 RCCL went public on the New York Stock exhange.
By 1998, the company had launched the Sovereign class of ships. The Sovereign, Monarch and Majesty Of The Seas, the company`s first mega ships. The beautiful ships of light, so called for their large amount of windows, Vision class with the ships Legend, Splendour, Vision, Enchantment, Grandeur and Rapsody Of The Seas. The Vision class of ships was the first ships to have the Viking Crown Lounge set atop their atrium instead of incorporated into the funnel as on previously ships.
Royal Caribbean had in 1997 expanded their cruise areas to Europe and Far East. The same year Royal Caribbean merged with the sofisticated Celebrity cruises. By owning Celebrity RCCL could offer both a mainstream and a more upscale cruise products.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line also changed its name to Royal Caribbean International (RCI) in 1997 to reflect their global expansion.
RCI had always built big and had visions to created “wow” factors and inovating ships. The biggest WOW factor came in 1999 with the launch of the new class of ship, Voyager Class, and the Voyager Of The Seas, Explorer Of The Seas, Navigator Of The Seas, Mariner Of The Seas and Adventure Of The Seas. The Voyager class of ships was the first cruise ships to exeed 142 000 tons and contains many first ever features like rock climbing wall, ice skating rink and a 4 deck high boulevard lined with shops and cafes called the Royal Promenade.
The Radiance class of ships, Radiance, Brilliance,Jewel and Serenade Of The Seas, entered service between 2001 – 2004. With this class of ships RCI did not for the first time build bigger but beautiful and sophisticated. The Radiance class of ships are characterised by their sleek super-yacht design and expansive glass exteriors.
Because bigger is better RCI launched the first of the Freedom class of ships in 2006 with the Freedom Of The Seas, Liberty Of The Seas followed in 2007 and the Independence Of The Seas in 2008. The Freedom class ships are enlarged versions of the Voyager class with an incredible 160 00 tons. Their inovations range from a Flow Rider, H2O Zone and whirlpools cantilevered over the sides of the ships.
The biggest and most inovative RCI ships will be see the light of day in 2009 when the ultimate mega ship Oasis Of The Seas will be launched followed a year later by the Allure Of The Seas. These floating cities can carry 5400 passengers and meassure 220 000 tons.
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