Blog entries

The Call of the Sea, Tells the Nation, Why Not.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:10:39 +0100

Thanks to a server crash, I'll repost this today.

A couple of years ago, Royal Caribbean International raised some eyebrows by ending their long running "Get Out There" and replacing it with "The Nation of Why Not." The "Nation" asked "Why," and did "Not" like the new marketing campaign. While a legitimate argument could be made for needing to replace a marketing program using an Iggy Pop song with questionable lyrics, how its successor was choose escapes me.

Th...

Days ticking away until Freedom of the Seas!

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:38:36 +0100

Slightly more than 200 days until I sail on Freedom of the Seas. The weather in the Cruise Capital of North Western Ohio is doing a lot to make those days seem much longer. I'm set to take my kids on a Disney cruise ahead of it, so some relief is coming. That cruise on the ...

Give me Freedom of the Seas, or give me.....

Nathan W.L. boyle — Fri, 06 May 2011 00:44:42 +0100

My internal debate concluded, and I have decided to cruise Royal Caribbean International again, this time on Freedom of the Seas. Oasis and Allure of the Seas have all the headlines, but my want is for a vacation. I will cruise Oasis or Allure at some point, but not this time.

I won't state the precise date, except that it will be in January 2012. I will likely report-in from the ship though. More on that at CruiseTravelGear.com as I work to determine what I'm g...

A decade and more of Voyager of the Seas.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

There are times that I find it hard to believe that it is over 12 years since Voyager of the Seas set sail. The amount of excitement the ship set into motion has yet to abate, even with the dour economy. By that, I mean simply that each new ship in Royal Caribbean'...

The planning for 2012 begins.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

If I have anything approaching a "traditional" time to take a cruise, it has been the first week after the new year. It is the lowest priced week of the year, and typically lets me stretch my dollars further. Plus, the older cruise crowd has gone home for the holiday season, the...

Who Goes There?

Nathan W.L. boyle — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:04:59 +0100

I've heard of environmental outreach by the cruise industry, but th...

Setting sail on a new and powerful Royal Caribbean Fan!

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:18:03 +0100

A work of love is never complete. So it is with RoyalCaribbeanFan.com. For years, dating all the way back to my first cruise on Sovereign of the Seas, I extended and enhanced my cruise experience by having a webpage.

Now, some 11...

Cruise Reviews at Cruise Aficionados

Nathan W.L. boyle — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:48:20 +0100

I'm pleased to say the testing of the new cruise review section at www.CruiseAficionados.com is coming along and should be online by the end of next week. Photos, reviews, chat, and forums, we should have it all shortly! Regards, Nathan

Today's Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Stock Price.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:37:12 +0100

RCL (Common Stock)

Last Trade:
$13.34

Change:
+1.08

% Change:
+8.81%

Volume:
2,236,625

Day's High:
13.39

Day's Low:
12.55

Previous Close:
12.26

Exchange:
NYS

Talk about this on the Royal Caribbean Fan message boards!

The Reason You Buy the Insurance and Today's Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Stock Price.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:04:55 +0100

I have never bought cruise insurance. I'll admit that up-front and directly. Each time I had taken a cruise, the offer came from my travel agent, and in turn I would decline. Granted, when I first cruised the wider cruising world was not yet as religious about advocating insurance. Personally, I lumped the products that were on the market into the same category as extended warranties on refrigerators and DVD players. I came very close to buying the insurance on my last two cruises, both w...

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Able to Gain Financing For New Building.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:45:04 +0100

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) secured funding for the last of the Solstice class ships due in 2012. This is notable because despite credit rating downgrades, a sour economy, it affirms that in the end the company and industry will still be around four years hence. Indeed, if my nearly constant listening to Bloomberg radio and the general economy is telling me anything, it is that we are seemingly close to the hard bottom of this rut. Much as there were endless talking-heads on TV sayi...

Happy Holidays!

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:01:35 +0100

I'll be taking the next couple of days off during the holiday, but will see everybody back here Friday the 26th! Until then, one last stock quote!

RCL (Common Stock)

Last Trade:
$12.58

Change:
-0.22

% Change:
-1.72%

Volume:
2,239,462

Day's High:
13.03

Day's Low:
12.44

Previous Close:
12.80

Exchange:
NYS

Talk about this on the Royal Caribbean Fan message boards!

Today's Stock Numbers for Royal Caribbean International (RCL) www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com

Nathan W.L. boyle — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:14:53 +0100

RCL (Common Stock)

Last Trade:
$12.54

Change:
+0.08

% Change:
+0.63%

Volume:
3,452,753

Day's High:
13.04

Day's Low:
12.15

Previous Close:
12.72

Exchange:
NYS

Talk about this on the Royal Caribbean Fan message boards!

Oasis of the Seas Sets Additional Inaugural Sailings! (RCL)

Nathan W.L. boyle — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:01:49 +0100

SeaTrade reported today that Royal Caribbean International (RCL) is adding a pair of sailings to the already announced inaugural schedule. A four night cruise on the Eastern Caribbean route departing December 1, with a seven day trip starting December 5 will trump the original inaugural set for the 12th. Passengers who already had booked on that cruise are going to be allowed to rebook for the earlier dates. Royal Caribbean will add between $200 and $300 per cabin if both earlier cruises ar...

Thursday's Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Stock Price.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:02:28 +0100

RCL (Common Stock)

Last Trade:
$12.18

Change:
+0.47

% Change:
+4.01%

Volume:
6,441,775

Day's High:
12.88

Day's Low:
11.16

Previous Close:
11.71

Exchange:
NYS

Talk about this on the Royal Caribbean Fan message boards!

Yesterday's Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Stock Price.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:19:46 +0100

RCL (Common Stock)

Last Trade:
$11.71

Change:
+0.99

% Change:
+9.24%

Volume:
3,978,177

Day's High:
11.87

Day's Low:
10.26

Previous Close:
10.72

Exchange:

NYS

Talk about this on the Royal Caribbean Fan message boards!

Port of Miami Tunnel Not Being Built, Today's Stocks.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:02:44 +0100

As some of you may have read in the last year or so, the Port of Miami was looking to build a massive tunnel to channel truck traffic from the cargo port away from downtown. The plan was not popular with the cruise industry, which feared construction hassle an delays for passengers. Experts debated if a tunnel was the best idea for dealing with traffic. Other experts debated if the idea would even work. And yet others argued it was simply a boondoggle for the tax payers. Whoever was right...

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Opens Offices in China, Oasis Details We'd Like to See, and ...

Nathan W.L. boyle — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:51:46 +0100

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) is about to open two new offices in Asia, and it continues to push hard into the market. The cities of Beijing and Guangzhou will host the new sales offices, which are aimed to boost sales for the growing list of itineraries in the Asian market. A couple of years ago, the idea that Royal Caribbean would be pushing so deeply into not only the European markets, but the Asian and near eastern markets would have drawn skeptical looks. However there is no ques...

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Throws Life Lines to the Travel Agents, Site Updates, And ...

Nathan W.L. boyle — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:46:03 +0100

Royal Caribbean is seeking to aid travel agents by boosting commissions and assisting with deposit amounts and such. The details are the kind of travel agent specific thing I actively avoid dragging into my posts. Suffice to say the aim is to both help travel agents bottom line and make bookings a bit easier to sell during exceptionally tough times. I read recently that the number of people conducting searches online for "discount cruises" is at an all-time high. When people worry about th...

Royal Caribbean International (RCL) Hires Brazil Lead, Opens New Port in Panama.

Nathan W.L. boyle — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:46:30 +0100

Royal Caribbean is to base the Enchantment of the Seas out of Colon, Panama, with itineraries that include stops at Cartagena, and Santa Marta in Colombia, as well as Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Enchantment of the Seas is a Vision class ship, and the most recent example of how Royal Caribbean has "expanded" an older ship. She is longer than the other five Vision class ships, with a slightly higher passenger capacity. She also was the first RCI ship to feature trampolines as an attraction. R...