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Cruise News for the Corporate Travel Professional

june 2010 Edition

Worldwide host's Seminar at Sea  on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas for group of its European & UK Clients.

Worldwide recently hosted a group of our European and UK clients on a four night cruise on the Adventure of the Seas departing from Barcelona. First of all I would like to mention that this was my first time to embark and disembark a ship in Barcelona versus visiting Barcelona as a port of call. I must admit I was extremely impressed with the facilities and the ease and speed of the embarkation and disembarkation process. A great way to start a cruise.

None of our guests had seen a Voyager Class, which the Adventure is, or Freedom Class ship before. All agreed that this ship really has the wow factor!

If you have never seen one of these ships the first thing you see is the Royal Promenade which is about three football fields long with a 3 deck level Atrium. The various “store” fronts for the numerous bars, eateries and shops is truly impressive and unlike any other cruise line or series of cruise ships.

This particular cruise was a four night cruise that stopped in Toulon and with an overnight in Ibiza. As one might expect it was a bit of a party cruise with the night life of Ibiza being a real winner. Royal Caribbean also offers 5 night cruises that operate in April, May and June from Barcelona those itineraries are; Barcelona, Cannes, Livorno (Florence), Rome, at sea, Barcelona or Barcelona, Nice, Sardinia, Sicily, at sea, Barcelona. In October and November they offer 5 night cruises from Malaga, at sea, Tenerife, Madeira, at sea, Malaga or Malaga, at sea, Corsica, Nice, at sea, Malaga. These 5 night cruises offer a great short cruise program that can be combined with a pre or post hotel stays to make a longer program if desired or needed to make flights work.

While most people think incentives are the best way to use a cruise ship the Voyager and Freedom Class ships offer the best meeting space at sea, very much along the lines of a hotel. These ships should serious be considered for meetings of up to 400 guests. Keep in mind that on these ships meeting space is free, a/v equipment is free, coffee and afternoon breaks are free and that you can reserve the space for as many times as you wish. Conference facilities are out of the main flow of the ship so you participants can stay focused on the business at hand.

On the fun side of things the Adventure of the Seas and all of the Voyager and Freedom Class ship so many options to do that 4 or 5 nights just might be too short of a time to be on these ships. Of course there is a new bar or lounge for every day of the week to explore but for the more active folks there are even more activities. Rock climbing wall, mini golf, a golf simulator, a full size basketball court, inline skating, ice skating (that’s right ice skating), a very well equipped gym, spa, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, jogging track and even a 19^th Hole Bar to relax after a hard day of play. On the Freedom Class ships add a flowrider (a surf simulator) to the list of toys that you can use on exclusive basis as a fantastic team building or ego destroying addition to your onboard programming.

This particular group really enjoyed the entertainment and made comments such as, "you would pay good money to see the production shows and the Ice Show". The production shows are as high tech as you get with good performers, costuming and staging and they are free. The Ice Show is incredible and still amazes me how they do such a good show on the size of the ice they are working with. How about your clients logo on the ice during the show for a private performance? These ships offer red hot discos, live jazz, piano bars and just about everything else you can think of in the way music. Again there is something for everyone and the ship is alive until the wee hours of the morning.

The main dining rooms on these ships offer areas for group seating that feels almost private and actually some private dining areas depending on the group size. Our group particularly liked dining in Portofino (Italian specialty restaurant at an additional charge) and the comments where that the food and the service was as good as it gets. For a touch of real “Americana Dining” try the retro Johnny Rockets a touch of the 60s and 70s at sea. These are but three of the numerous dining venues on these ships.

We highly recommend that you consider one these ships for meetings or incentive groups. Of course Royal Caribbean also offers 7 night Med cruises but if you are looking for a short cruise or a budget cruise these 4 and 5 nights might just fit the bill.

Contributed by Steve Bloss - June 2010

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