Info And Rumors About RCI's Genesis Project

I just read a good editorial article on Travelpage.com about RCI's "Genesis" ship and their history of building bigger more innovative ships. It's got some good info about the rumors and facts surrounding the upcoming ship. I thought I'd share it. I especially like the concept of balcony cabins overlooking the rumored "Central Park" area. One thing I've always thought would have been cool would be balconies on the Promenade cabins on the Voyager and Freedom class ships. I think that would have given the Promenade a nice Mardi Gras type of feel especially on nights with a parade.

The original article can be found here.

Here it is:

Let There be Light

Although our CruiseTalk online forum contains much factual information, we are not above participating in wild speculation and unfounded rumour on occasion. Most recently we have had a number of very enthusiastic discussions focusing on Royal Caribbean International's new build project code named 'Genesis'.

It is not surprising that this ship has generated so much excitement given that Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has been at the cutting edge of ship design for nearly four decades. Not only have they repeatedly brought us innovative ships, they have repeatedly brought us the worlds biggest cruise ships.

RCI were the first to bring us many nautical innovations, such the circular 'Viking Crown Lounge' mounted on the funnel of 'Song of Norway' (1970). The lounge is said to have based on the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. The "lounge on the funnel" quickly became the RCI hallmark.

In 1988 'Sovereign of the seas' (73,000gt approx) became the world's largest cruise ship and offered passengers a unique multi-decked 'Centrum'. In 1999 'Voyager' of the Seas' (137,000gt approx) broke through all the boundaries. She was truly one of the first 'floating resorts', complete with a rock climbing wall, an ice-rink and the 'Royal Promenade' (a street running along the centre of the ship). In 2006, 'Freedom of the Seas' (154, 000gt approx) once again became the world's largest cruise ship and introduced the cruising public to the flow -rider (surf simulator), cantilevered whirlpools and on board Water Park.

While much of the 'Genesis' project is still cloaked in secrecy, here are some of the available facts: The construction of 'Genesis' has already started at the Aker yards in Oslo, Norway and the ship will be delivered in the autumn of 2009. She will be the worlds biggest cruise ship by far at 220,000gt, and at a $1.24 billion, she will also be the worlds most expensive. She will hold up to 6,400 passengers.

Now let's just pause for a moment and contemplate this: Genesis will be more than twice as large (in terns of gross tonnage/internal volume) as many other 'big' cruise ships which are often in the 90,000gt range. She will accommodate more guests than many hotels and her theatre must surely be bigger than many on Broadway. Her dining rooms will accommodate more people than almost any land based restaurants. You will not need a deck plan to get around this leviathan; you will need a 'Satellite-Navigation' unit.

I'm sure that a degree of Testosterone must fuel the creation of such a large ship, with RCI's CEO Richard Fain, effectively saying to Carnival's CEO, Micky Arison "Mine is bigger than yours". However a growing global appetite for cruising combined with the economies of scale that big ships bring, make such an expensive project a sound investment

RCI have announced that we can expect many innovative features on Genesis, but most of the details about what to expect are still under wraps. We have seen an official artist rendition of 'Genesis' but it does not really give too much away. In fact it does not look so much different in profile from existing RCI vessels. Some of the features we expect to see include: a 'Studio B' type ice-rink and 'Royal Promenade' similar to those found on board the 'Voyager' and 'Freedom' class vessels.

Some of the other features that are not much more than rumour and speculation include: a glass roof above the 'Royal Promenade' that might even be retractable so that it can be opened to the sky on sunny days? If true, this would overcome the main weakness of all the previous 'Royal Promenades' which do not have any natural light and hence any connection with the sea. I can't resist a Biblical reference: "Let there be Light".

It has been said that 'Genesis' will have a 'board-walk' (possibly aft and open air) and something called 'Central Park' which may be located above the royal Promenade? I assume that the latter will not actually be 843 acres of real grass, lakes and trees, but who knows? Maybe some Astroturf is more likely? It has been suggested that 'Central park' may well be open to the air or at least have a glass roof? There has also been talk of many new cabin designs, including balcony cabins overlooking 'Central park'. I'm particularly interested in the dining arrangements on board Genesis. RCI's existing fleet all have a very traditional dining system. They always have one large main dining room that certainly provides a 'wow' factor, where passengers dine during two sittings. In addition there is buffet dining and some smaller alternative venues.

In complete contrast the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has their 'Freestyle' system, with their new builds each having at least a dozen dining rooms. This allows passenger to dine when they like (within core hours) and sit with who they like. Although 'Freestyle' is not without it problems (high demand at peak times) it does make the RCI system look limited and old fashioned, on paper anyway.

Personally I love RCI's breathtakingly impressive big dining rooms, which can be up to three decks high. They are some of the most attractive afloat. However I wonder if just one main dining room is still practical on a ship as big as Genesis, with her 6,400 passengers? Even Princess's 'Grand' class, have three main dining rooms, with passengers being permanently assigned to one. Maybe Genesis will be the first RCI design to have multiple dining rooms? Maybe not?

Whatever the finer details turn out to be, RCI are once again pushing the envelope with the 'Genesis' project. Granted it has not even been built yet, but it is already a very exciting ship and will almost certainly be a market leader. Carnival Corporation may well lead the way in terms of profit and brand coverage, but RCI win in terms of amazing state-of-the-art vessels. I can hardly wait to see as the various design elements and facilities are revealed.

Malcolm Oliver

Royal Caribbean and NCL Add Fuel Surcharge

Well, so much for Royal Caribbean being the only line to not have added a fuel surcharge in response to the rising fuel costs in recent years as stated in my last post. It will be a charge of $5 per person, per day for sailings on or after February 1, 2008.

NCL has also decided to add a surcharge of $7 per person, per day for the first and second passengers in a cabin and $3 per person, per day for any additional passengers in the cabin. Their charge will apply to bookings made on or after December 1, 2007.

Cruise Lines Adding Fuel Surcharge

You knew it was bound to happen. Several cruise lines recently announced that they will be adding a fuel surcharge to the cost of their cruises. The last time this occurred was in 2005 - 2006. This time around, Regent Seven Seas Cruises was the first North American line to implement a $7.50 charge per person, per day for 2008 cruises. Carnival Corporation has also implemented a $5.00 per person, per day charge on it's Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and Seabourn lines. This charge applies to all new and existing bookings departing on or after February 1, 2008. Carnival's charge applies to only the first and second passengers in a cabin and will not exceed $70 per cruise.

Surprisingly, Carnival decided not to extend this charge to it's European branded lines. Only us North Americans will be lucky enough to pay more.

Royal Caribbean has stated that they will be discussing the possibility of a fuel surcharge, but over the last eight years they are the only major cruise line to have not added a fuel surcharge in response to rising fuel costs.