Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2001 Annual Report Download - page 7

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 5
LOOKING RADIANT
By launching four beautiful new ships in 2001 – an unprecedented 9,250 new berths in a single year – the company
positioned itself to further capitalize on rising demand for cruise vacations. We introduced the third distinctly new,
innovative class of ships in as many years with the glass-sheathed Radiance of the Seas. Each of Royal Caribbean International’s
four Radiance-class ships (Brilliance of the Seas will arrive in 2002) will offer guests more than twice as many balconied state-
rooms as any of the six Vision-class ships built between 1995 and 1998. By 2004, some 35 percent of the staterooms for
Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises will have balconies. This trend exemplifies our ongoing product improvement
that is attracting and keeping customers.
Radiance of the Seas also brought the first smokeless gas-turbine engines to Royal Caribbean International, one year after
Celebrity Cruises began outfitting its Millennium-class ships with this environmentally friendly technology. We also are
gratified that other cruise lines have followed, using gas turbines on at least a partial basis. (A summary of our 2001 environ-
mental programs and initiatives is presented elsewhere in this Annual Report.)
You might say the Millennium class made a double-curtsy in 2001 with debuts by Infinity and Summit.A fourth sister,
Constellation, will arrive in May for European itineraries. In just two years, Celebrity Cruises will have doubled its capacity to
16,350 berths – almost all of the berths created since 1995.The Millennium class features the largest penthouse and spa facilities
at sea, as well as specialty restaurants with artifacts evoking a bygone era. These include carved-walnut panels from Olympic,
identical twin to Titanic, and a prominent statue and gold-lacquered murals from Normandie, the most notable ship of the 1930s.
Amenities such as these, combined with what is widely regarded as some of the finest dining in the cruise industry, are reasons
that guests of Celebrity Cruises are extremely loyal. We are refining our marketing efforts in 2002 to target these and other
discerning cruisers.
COVERING THE CARIBBEAN
For the first time, we made it possible to visit every corner of the Caribbean, from Cozumel to Curacao, on our hugely successful
Voyager-class ships. Newcomer Adventure of the Seas, the third of five 142,000-ton marvels, began southern Caribbean
itineraries from San Juan in November. Miami-based Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas continued their western and
eastern Caribbean routes. These revolutionary ships are generating the highest per diems in the fleet.
We are continually expanding our cruise offerings to populous markets within driving distance of several U.S. ports. First-time
endeavors along the Gulf Coast were well-received in 2001. Rhapsody of the Seas began a rotation from three different ports in
the Gulf of Mexico – Galveston, Tampa and New Orleans – and will adopt Galveston as a year-round base this April. For the
first time, Celebrity’s Zenith wintered in Tampa and Horizon in Miami. In November 2002, the Gulf lineup also will include
We are now clearly seeing a recovery in demand
with a corresponding abatement of the widespread price
discounting of 2001. Looking forward, we are
encouraged by the current booking and pricing trends.