The Great Debate

Royal Caribbean’s new Genesis class ship will launch in October 2009. And with this new behemoth of a ship comes a vast array of questions. “Where will it dock?” and “Will it be too congested” are two of the top contenders. Considering the massive increase in the size of these ships (with the Freedom class measuring 154,000 tons to the Genesis class ships with a record breaking 220,000 tons), these questions definitely hold some weight.
Royal Caribbean has announced that both of the new ships will reside in Port Everglades, requiring one of the terminals to be remodeled to accommodate this influx of passengers. And who’s going to pay for this remodel? You guessed it! All future passengers will pay a surcharge of $5.70 when they arrive and leave. This is on top of the $9.95 port user charge that every passenger currently pays.
Is it fair? I guess that depends on how you look at it. This editor is a huge fan of Royal Caribbean’s city like ships, so I’m happy to pay the fee to travel on what will be the largest ship in the world. In the grand scheme of things, it just means I’ll skip those last two poolside Bahama Mama’s. But what about those of you that are skeptical? Is the fee worth it? Will you even like traveling with 5,000+ of your closest friends?
This is one of those crucial moments where you must reflect on what you value from a cruise vacation. Ask yourself the question “What is my favorite part of a cruise?” If your answer was a small ship atmosphere, with numerous intimate lounges and extremely personalized service, well then this class of ships may not be for you. But if onboard activities, fun atmosphere or sultry Caribbean ports came to mind, then these ships just might be your cup of tea.
One major task that Royal Caribbean will face is how they will manage this huge increase in passengers onboard. Dining arrangements and tender services are going to require a major overhaul as well as embarkation and disembarkation procedures. It will be interesting to see how they plan to serve 5,000 prime rib dinners in the typical 4 hour period allotted for dining. My guess? They’ll introduce multiple dining times and several dinning rooms along with multiple tender areas around the ship. Or follow in NCL’s footsteps and have open seating and allow passengers to choose times for disembarkation. This is also where the new surcharge comes in to play. $11.40 seems like a small price to pay for a more efficient embarkation terminal and system. Royal Caribbean’s plans are not yet published, but we’ll keep you posted as information becomes available. As for me, put my name on the passenger list! I know where I’ll be cruising in 2009.

Happy Sailing!
Michelle