Royal Caribbean Orders Third Quantum Class Ship

 Notwithstanding a disastrous fire at sea earlier this week which left passengers and crew shaken, Royal Caribbean today ordered yet another megaship to take you cruising the oceans:

"Make that three Quantum class ships that are on the way at Royal Caribbean.

The line today announced it had signed a contract with Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard for a third vessel in the much-awaited new series that will begin debuting next year.

"We are encouraged by the very positive response we received from travel agents and consumers when we first announced some of the unprecedented offerings on Quantum class last month," Royal Caribbean president and CEO Adam Goldstein says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "The Quantum class will offer vacationers more unexpected activities in the most extraordinary spaces, and a third ship will offer even more opportunities for vacationers to experience Quantum cruising."

The as-yet-unnamed new ship will join the Royal Caribbean fleet in mid-2016, the line says. The first two vessels in the series, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, are scheduled to debut in fall 2014 and spring 2015, respectively.

As Royal Caribbean announced in April, the 4,180-passenger ships will have a number of innovative new features including giant mechanical arms that transports passengers high above the vessels in glass capsules.

The new order is subject to financing, the line says."

Source: USA Today

Drop In Fly-And-Flop Hurting Land Of The Flying Fish

Mullins Beach - May 2013

"Britons travelling long haul are beginning to forsake traditional seven-night beach holidays in favour of packing different experiences into one trip. That is the conclusion drawn by Hayes and Jarvis in its latest Long Haul Trend Report, which reveals that the destinations making waves in 2013 are ones which lend themselves to a combination of city, beach and culture or heritage tours."

"Sean Dowd, Hayes and Jarvis Head of Commercial, said “While off-the-peg beach packages are still popular – especially four and five-star All Inclusive ones, there is no doubting the steady decline in demand for traditional fly-and-flop beach holidays. In sharp contrast, our multi-centre trip bookings have doubled over the past two years because growing numbers of people are keen to see more of what a country – or a region of the world – has to offer when they travel further afield.  Multi-centre trips now account for over a third of our business and this growth trend is one which we expect to accelerate.”"

"The drop-off in demand experienced by the Maldives has been even more marked in the major Caribbean Islands, continuing a trend first noted by Hayes and Jarvis in its February Trend Report.  Barbados (-51%), and Antigua (-58%) have seen the biggest drops but their pain has been Tobago and the Dominican Republic’s gain..."

Read more: Holidaymakers pack more experiences into one trip as single centre stays decline in favour of multi-centres