The cruise industry has come a long way since "The Love Boat" days, much to the delight of today's travelers.
Royal Caribbean International has been a catalyst for much of that change and continues to transform the passenger experience for the better. One of the ways it's doing that is by offering shorter voyages to the Caribbean that allow first-time guests and seasoned cruisers alike to experience more of what they want in less time and for less money.
"For somebody who's not sure about a cruise, it's a great way to kind of use them as training wheels. I can guarantee you that once someone does take a short cruise they're hooked," Royal Caribbean International's Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed said on the TravelPulse Podcast.
"We talked to consumers, our guests and prospects and asked 'what do you want in a vacation?' The one word that came back is choice. People wanted options. They wanted to be able to do a lot of things or as little as they chose to do. But they wanted to know they had the option of a variety of activities."
The completely reimagined Navigator of the Seas has arrived in Miami and will soon begin sailing three-night weekend and four-night weekday cruises to the Bahamas that include visits to the cruise line's highly anticipated private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Shorter cruises are also available on Royal Caribbean's other newly amplified ship, Mariner of the Seas. Both ships feature groundbreaking amenities such as the longest waterslide at sea, laser tag, escape rooms and even a bungee trampoline experience.
"There's always something for everybody. We're the only cruise line that has entertainment across four stages," added Freed. "It is a great way to test drive a cruise experience for someone who's just not sure if cruising is for them."
Passengers can break from or keep to their routine as much or little as they like.
"There are places to get food 24 hours a day and dining is much more flexible to accommodate today's consumer who doesn't want a regimented program," said Freed.
"Guests want to get away but also be connected. Our Wi-Fi is the fastest at sea and our guests love it because technology is important to them. You look at things like our sports bars and we have live feeds of all the major sporting events throughout the world."
Freed also points out that these shorter voyages are winning over the all-important millennial generation.
"Oftentimes what we'll find with millennials is they'll take a short cruise and then they'll take another short cruise and another because they don't want to spend too much time taking a vacation away from work but they like to take shorter and more frequent vacations."
For more information on Royal Caribbean International's short Caribbean cruises, contact your travel agent or visit their website here.
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