February 12, 2004 -- What's funner than fun? With Carnival Cruise Lines owning the copyright on the term "Fun Ship," we'll have to come up with something new for Royal Caribbean's recent crop of vessels, which mix excitement, beautiful design, and a healthy dose of cool-appeal.
You've seen the ads: healthy thirty- and forty-somethings kayaking through crystal water, hiking on a glacier, or climbing up a sheer rock face, then sipping wine on deck as the sun goes down.
The thing is, it isn't all just hype: Somehow, Royal Caribbean has managed to turn the "overfed, newly wed, almost dead" cruise stereotype on its ear, and revved up a more youthful product that delivers fun, humor, a touch of class, and a bit of "feel the burn" active excitement, all without charging an arm and a leg.
The line's newest ships, Serenade of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas, are archetypes of this theme. Mariner is part of the line's Voyager Class, the ships that made waves four years ago when Voyager of the Seas snagged the "world's biggest ship" title and introduced such unprecedented features as onboard ice-skating rinks and rock-climbing walls.
"The rock-climbing wall has become even more of an icon than we ever expected it to," said president and CEO Jack Williams during a recent shipboard press conference. But the line was quick to capitalize on the hype, retrofitting them onto its older ships and installing them on all of its subsequent newbuilds, including Serenade, the latest of the line's beautiful Radiance Class.
Like sister ships Radiance of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas, the new 90,090-ton, 2,110-passenger Serenade was conceived as a somewhat more traditional vessel than the city-at-sea Voyagers, with a sleek seagoing profile outside, a more nautical look and feel inside, and acres of windows to bring the two together. The ship's public areas flow outward from a central nine-deck atrium whose port side is all glass, with glass elevators lofting you skyward from deck 4's Lobby Bar all the way to the Viking Crown entertainment lounge on deck 13.
Beyond rock-climbing, other active options include miniature golf and virtual golf, basketball, spinning classes in the gym, and semi-active options like air hockey in the noisy Ocean Arcade and gyroscope-stabilized pool tables in the woody Billiards Room. By day, laying-around options include the pool deck and the Bali-inspired, adults-only Solarium, a relaxing space built around a small, calm pool, a waterfall, tropical foliage, and antique Balinese artwork. Kids and teens luck out, too: The waterslide snaking around deck 12 is just for them, as are the Adventure Ocean kids' center and a teen lounge call "Fuel."
All of Royal Caribbean's last eight ships have had elegant dining rooms, and Serenade's is no exception, with a globe-lighted ceiling supported by silk-draped pillars, all presided over by painter Frank Troia's beautiful, impressionist "Gala Suite," depicting formally dressed couples dancing amid floating globes of light. At the other end of the room is a long staircase, about which Royal Caribbean's surprisingly romance-minded chairman Richard Fain commented, "There are certain experiences everyone should have in their lives, and entering a formal restaurant down a grand staircase is one of them."
Mariner of the Seas, the fifth and final of RCI's 142,000-ton Voyager Class ships, comes along just as those vessels lose their world-record-size title to Cunard's 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2, but the difference between the two is much more than just 8,000 gross tons. While QM2 was designed to be a super-elegant ocean liner mixing tradition with contemporary amenities, the Voyager ships were designed from the get-go to be revolutionary.
Not everyone was convinced it would work. "We lost a lot of sleep when we were getting ready to introduce that ship," says Royal Caribbean president Jack Williams. "We wondered if it would be accepted in the market." It was -- big-time. Though competitors initially dismissed the Voyager concept as a novelty, in fact it's proven to be the most recognized product Royal Caribbean has ever introduced.
"It's had such an impact," says Williams. "Travel agents tell us that people come in every week saying, 'We want to sail on that rock-climbing ship.'"
Mariner continues the Voyager ships' "active lifestyle" theme with extra-large gym and aerobics facilities and a huge outdoor sports deck, site of the famous rock wall as well as a full-length basketball court, in-line skating track, miniature golf course and golf simulator, and jogging track. Down on Deck 3, the "Studio B" ice rink has open-skating sessions throughout the week as well as elaborate ice shows featuring costumed skaters, aerialists, and a mini Zamboni ice-grooming machine that occasionally gets in on the act, tricked out like a steam train.
In the evenings, a roving quartet of "Krooze Komics" perform impromptu acrobatics and juggling and generally clowns around in the Royal Promenade, the football-field-long indoor Main Street that's one of the Voyager ships' most distinctive features. The clowns also teach juggling on deck at least once per cruise and present informal talks on clown history and archetypes, makeup application, and tricks of the trade. Did you know clown shoes are stuffed with horsehair to keep their shape (it doesn't rot when it gets wet) and that the best clown wigs are made of yak hair (because it's durable)? True.
But Mariner isn't all clowning around. Midway down the promenade, the woody, rustic-looking Vintages Wine Bar was created in collaboration with the Mondavi, Beringer Blass, and Niebaum-Coppola wineries and showcases more than sixty wines, available by the half-glass, glass, bottle, or in special "wine flight" tasting menus. Prices are reasonable and guests can taste any variety before ordering. Classes in wine appreciation are held throughout the week. This is RCI's second Vintages, having introduced the idea previously on 2002's Navigator of the Seas. Those with more of a beer palate can head for the top deck's 19th Hole sports bar. The jazz club next door tends toward a contemporary jazz feel, but if you're lucky you'll also catch the house Big Band performing swing standards on the promenade during your cruise.
Serenade of the Seas sails 7-night southern Caribbean cruises through April, when she repositions to Vancouver for weeklong Alaska cruises. Per-person rates for weeklong southern Caribbean itineraries are currently starting around $600. Mariner of the Seas sails alternating 7-night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries year-round from Port Canaveral, Florida. Prices currently start below $700 per person.
For more information, visit your favorite online consolidator or contact Royal Caribbean online at www.royalcaribbean.com or by phoning 800/398-9819.
Do you have a comment or a question about this article? Just click over to our Cruise Message Boards to share your opinions. It's free and easy, plus your message could be published in our next Newsletter.