And that’s a wrap – Royal Caribbean’s last cruise for the season
By Cruising With Honey - 13:18
Royal Caribbean
Yes, I like Piña Coladas and drinking lots of champagne.
However, before the Royal Caribbean end-of-cruising-season party on Saturday night, I’d never had this creamy, pineapple-y, coconut-ty concoction before. Now I am suffering withdrawals - and I place all the blame on Adam Armstrong.
You see, if he wasn’t so bloody good at his job as Royal Caribbean Cruises Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, there wouldn’t have been cause to celebrate, and no fancy party to bade Explorer of the Seas goodbye and NO enticing cocktails to consume and become addicted to.
On a serious note, I was super excited to attend the party which marked the conclusion of RCL Cruises’ record breaking summer cruise season in Australia and New Zealand. There was a general “We did it” buzz in the room and all the guests looked great in their ‘tropical resort wear’. Flower leis adorned necks and wrists and I got the chance to meet to some wonderful people.
From across the room I spotted Adam, the man of the night. Every one wanted to chat to him and get a photo – or maybe that was just me (please see exhibit A of me looking like a deranged muppet standing next to a very handsome Adam).
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| Exhibit A |
We had a really pleasant conversation and he was a bit surprised I hadn’t cruised on a RCL cruise as yet.
“Well I was at the media launch for Ovation and invited to a super fun family day on Voyager – so I have stepped aboard and had a look around. I’m looking at possibly a Christmas cruise, but for a family of five, I know the family rooms go pretty fast...”
“You know the Christmas cruises are nearly full, they sell out very quickly,” he advised me.
And my heart broke a little, thinking I’d missed the boat, yet again.
As the sun began to set, the colour of the sky transformed from a perfect periwinkle blue to a glorious backdrop of hues that resembled a neapolitan box of icecream that was slowly melting. Between mouthfuls of tasty tidbits and slurps of Veuve Cliquot – and about one zillion selfies and Facebook Livesteams - I kept one eye on the majestic Explorer, eagerly anticipating her departure.
Earlier when chatting with Adam, we could clearly see the passengers aboard – who were on the final voyage Seattle - going through muster, but as sun set and the inky darkness enveloped Circular Quay, the city lights dazzled against the night.
The Explorer was sparkling on the harbour and her deck lights illuminated her beauty. She was beckoning me – and I felt compelled to jump off the second storey bar and swim across yelling, “wait for me!” But alas, the ropes were let loose and she was ready to depart shortly.
Usually when a ship’s horn sounds, I get a feeling of great excitement, but when the Explorer’s blare echoed across the quay, I heard a mournful goodbye instead.
Until next season, Adieu
Facts and Figures of RCL AUSTRALIA RECORD BREAKING SUMMER
• Seven ships carried more than 300,000 guests and injected $200 million into the local economy in passenger spend alone.
• The company’s three brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, based an unprecedented seven ships in the region – 15 percent of the global fleet – including two new ships; Ovation of the Seas, and the boutique, freshly revitalised Azamara Journey.
• Launched a brand new cruise port in Wollongong
• Identical sister ships Explorer of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, known as the South Pacific sisters, made their mark with dedicated sailings all season to the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.
• Australia’s favourite and highest rated cruise ship*, Celebrity Solstice, sailed her fifth consecutive local season, fresh from a stunning makeover.
• RCL bid farewell to Legend of the Seas. She was the first Royal Caribbean ship to visit Australia back in 1999 and after two successful seasons serving as RCLS’s first Queensland-based ship, she left the fleet in March for Thomson Cruises in the UK.
• The upcoming 2017/18 season will see six RCL ships return, including the ground-breaking Ovation of the Seas for a longer second season, along with South Pacific sisters Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Celebrity Solstice and Azamara Journey. Next summer will also see the introduction of a number of new cruise ports for the company, with Azamara Journey set to arrive via the west coast of Australia, calling to Exmouth, Bunbury, Albany, Esperance and Kangaroo Island for the first time.
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