Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2010 Annual Report Download - page 16

PART I
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD. 13
Royal Caribbean International’s communication strat-
egies, which include social media and networking
channels, its website www.royalcaribbean.com and
traditional media channels, target adults and families
who are vacation enthusiasts interested in exploring
new destinations and seeking new experiences. These
strategies are also designed to attract first-time cruis-
ers to the cruise vacation industry and to the Royal
Caribbean International brand as well as past guests.
In order to attract the experienced cruiser who is
seeking new experiences as well as first-time cruisers,
Royal Caribbean International provides multiple choices
to guests through a wide array of itineraries, accom-
modations, dining options, onboard activities and
shore excursions. The hallmarks of the brand include
friendly and engaging service, state-of-the-art ships,
family programs, entertainment, health and fitness
and energizing onboard and shoreside activities
designed for guests of all ages.
We increase brand awareness and market penetration
of our Celebrity Cruises brand through consumer and
trade strategies designed to broaden the recognition
of its high quality cruise vacations and drive loyalty
and brand preference. We do so by emphasizing the
four core pillars of the brand: well-appointed ships,
personalized service, fine dining and engaging onboard
activities. Celebrity Cruises’ communications target
experienced cruisers as well as affluent vacationers
who may have not yet cruised who seek upscale
experiences and appreciate a high staff-to-guest ratio,
luxurious accommodations, fine dining and spa ser-
vices. Celebrity Cruises retains repeat guests with
exclusive benefits for its Captain’s Club members.
Celebrity Cruises engages with past and potential
guests through its website www.celebritycruises.com,
and communicates with consumers through social
media channels, as well as through a variety of tradi-
tional media channels.
We increase awareness and market penetration for
Azamara Club Cruises with several marketing cam-
paigns and through other channels. Azamara Club
Cruises’ marketing mix includes extensive online mar-
keting, print advertising in key travel magazines, trade
advertising, as well as extensive collaboration with
up-market travel agents in such areas as training and
road shows. Azamara Club Cruises has developed
relationships with key boutique agencies and luxury
consortiums and works in collaboration with interna-
tional offices and international representatives. The
brand has also developed a microsite featuring a blog
with the goal of establishing a solid and ongoing social
media platform to further increase awareness, as well
as providing internet activities to support the travel
trade and customers.
We increase brand awareness and market penetration
of our Pullmantur brand primarily through advertising
campaigns targeted to Spanish and Portuguese-
speaking guests in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
All customer-facing crewmembers speak Spanish
and on certain itineraries Portuguese, and onboard
activities, services, shore excursions and menu offer-
ings are designed to suit the preferences of these
target markets.
We continue to increase the awareness and market
penetration of our CDF Croisières de France brand
through trade education, public relations and direct
communications, designed to target the contemporary
segment of the French cruise market. CDF Croisières de
France’s communications emphasizes that its cruise
product is tailored specifically to French-speaking
guests. All customer-facing crewmembers speak
French, and the onboard activities and menu offerings
are designed to suit their target guests’ preferences.
In addition, we also increase brand awareness across
all of our brands through travel agencies who gener-
ate the majority of our bookings. We are committed
to further developing and strengthening this very
important distribution channel by facilitating their
focus on the unique qualities of each of our brands.
Fleet Development, Maintenance and Innovation
We currently have signed agreements with a shipyard
providing for the construction of two new state-of-
the-art Solstice-class cruise ships scheduled to enter
service in the third quarter of 2011 and the fourth
quarter of 2012. These additions are expected to result
in an increase in our passenger capacity by approxi-
mately 5,850 berths by December 31, 2012, or approxi-
mately 6.3% as compared to our capacity as of
December 31, 2010. We continuously evaluate oppor-
tunities to order new ships, purchase existing ships or
sell ships in our current fleet.
The acquisition of our remaining Solstice-class ships
along with our maintenance programs and revitaliza-
tions on our existing fleet allows us to incorporate our
latest signature innovations, continue to attract new
and repeat guests and expand into growing interna-
tional markets and provides us with the flexibility to
deploy our ships among our brand portfolio. Our
Solstice and Oasis-class ships incorporate new inno-
vations and allow us to capture cost savings through
their scale and fuel efficiencies. The design of these
ships allows for a greater percentage of staterooms
with verandas and outside staterooms which provide
for premium pricing.
In support of our maintenance programs, we own a
40% interest in a ship repair and maintenance facility,
Grand Bahamas Shipyard Ltd., which is the largest
cruise ship dry-dock repair facility in the world and
is located in Freeport, Grand Bahamas. We utilize
this facility, among other ship repair facilities, for our