Royal Caribbean orders $1.24B cruise ship

By John Pain, AP Business Writer

MIAMI --Royal Caribbean International on Monday ordered the world's largest and most expensive cruise ship, a $1.24 billion vessel that will hold up to 6,400 passengers. It's the latest step in the industry trend of supersizing ships, which delight many passengers but are too crowded for other guests.

The ship, dubbed Project Genesis, will be 220,000 gross registered tons when it is delivered to the world's second-largest cruise operator in fall 2009 by Oslo, Norway-based shipbuilder Aker Yards. Gross registered tons is a standard way to measure a ship's size and is a unit of volume equal to about 100 cubic feet.

The ship will weigh about 100,000 tons based on displacement -- a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier comes in at about 97,000 tons.

Aker said its contract price of 900 million euros -- about $1 billion -- would be "the most valuable ship ever ordered in the history of commercial shipbuilding." The $1.24 billion figure includes all expenses for the ship, "from forks and knives and sheets to artwork and everything else," said Harri Kulovaara, the Miami-based cruise line's executive vice president of maritime operations.

Aker said the contract is contingent on final approval of financing and the ship will be built at one of its Finnish yards. The cruise line, a unit of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has an option for a second ship.

"Project Genesis truly is a remarkable ship. Its bold design, daring innovations and technological advancements will delight our existing cruisers and help us draw in new ones," Richard Fain, the parent company's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Royal Caribbean International remains top choice for families. Family vacations are more popular than ever
According to a Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown study of consumers who traveled with children ages 6-17 in the last year, 96 percent of parents feel that travel is an enriching and important experience for children.
As family vacations continue to increase, Royal Caribbean is continuing to enhance their programs to meet the demands of vacationing families.
"Our youth guests numbers have increased by 80 percent over the past decade," said Adam Goldstein, senior vice president of Total Guest Satisfaction, Royal Caribbean International.
"Because more families are sailing aboard Royal Caribbean, we're committed to providing exciting and rewarding vacation and entertainment options that are unrivalled anywhere on land or sea."

From Adventure Science, which enables children to participate in 13 science experiments including "Wacky Water Workshop," "Staggering Through the Stars" and "Forensic Fun Laboratory," to the Adventure Art program, that teaches children about art around the world such as Gyotaku (art of Japanese fish painting) and Mexican silver trinkets, the "edutainment," or educational entertainment, of Adventure Ocean blends seamlessly into the cruise vacation experience.

Recent fleet-wide enhancements to the Adventure Ocean program include:

Opening Adventure Ocean 30 minutes before departure of all morning shore excursions, which allows parents the flexibility to choose whether to take their children on a shore excursion or enjoy the day with adult family members and friends.

Adding a fifth age group for guests from ages 15-17.

Developing a new group for children ages 12 - 14, Navigators, separate from the Voyagers, ages 9 - 11 years.

Creating the Adventure Ocean Computer Center, with age-appropriate software and staff-guided tutorials on all current and pending Voyager-class and Radiance-class ships.

Eliminating the $4 charge for child services while ships are in port from noon until sailing.

Extending the teen program hours past 2:00 a.m.

Providing an Adventure Ocean Potion card, which allows children up to 18 years of age to enjoy 12 of their favorite non-alcoholic drinks, including "mocktails", which are available in the teen nightclubs, at a cost of $24.95, affording a considerable savings.

Other enhancements recently introduced include an expanded Adventure Ocean dining program, allowing young guests to eat dinner on several nights in the most popular dining areas with their favorite youth staff and new friends from Adventure Ocean.
Last year, Royal Caribbean International also set sail with the family-friendly "Orlando Experience," a seven-night, cruise-and-land vacation package between The Bahamas and Orlando, in partnership with Universal OrlandoSM Theme Parks and Resorts.