Life & love in the middle of the sea

Shipboard romance is not only a reel thing. It’s real. After all, cruising is a romantic experience, what with the open sea providing the backdrop for romance.

It’s very easy to fall in love in the middle of the sea. And when you think of a cruise that guarantees adventure and relaxation — and everything that comes in between, including celebrating life and love — you actually think of Royal Caribbean cruises.

“Royal Caribbean is the world’s largest cruise brand,” begins Sean Treacy, managing director of the cruise ship company in the Asia Pacific. He is based in Singapore.

“We have offices throughout Asia — in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong — even in Sydney. As a truly global brand, we’ve got cruises in the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Asia, Australia, and even in Dubai,” he says.

Sean reveals that Phuket remains a very popular cruising destination among honeymooners. “It is a very romantic destination,” says Sean, who was in Manila recently.

“If you have the budget for it, go for the Eastern Mediterranean cruise, in Greece, for example. It’s a destination definitely best seen while on a ship. You sail out of Venice on Rhapsody of the Seas. There’s nothing more romantic than going by St. Martin’s Square on a ship to sail by right downtown Venice,” Sean says.

Sean mentions Rhapsody of the Seas (one of the 24 luxury ships of Royal Caribbean) and he transports me back to my experience of falling in love in the middle of the Malacca Strait sometime in 2007 on the same cruise liner.  Instantaneously, the aroma of the Angus steak of the Edelweiss restaurant on Deck 5 whets my palate again. The experience of working out in the gym on Deck 10 with the vastness of the azure sea as my view replays in my mind. And the exhilarating feeling of my first rock-climbing experience on the topmost deck of Rhapsody of the Seas in the middle of Malacca Strait is still tops in my extreme sport feat.

“There’s so much to do onboard that you’ll never get bored,” says Sean, adding that the Rhapsody of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean ship that sailed in Asia in 2007. It was also the biggest ship that time with a capacity of 2,000 passengers. (This year, Royal Caribbean marks its 10th anniversary of operations in Asia.)

“Now we have ships that are more than double the size (of Rhapsody of the Seas). We have the Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas sailing in Asia. Those are the largest ships in Asia on any cruise brand,” says Sean. He adds that the Ovation of the Seas, sailing from Japan and China, will dock in Subic next year.

He says the largest ships in the world are owned by Royal Caribbean: Oasis, Allure and Harmony. “We have a fourth ship of the same class launching next year called Symphony. In that ship there’s an aqua theater. It also has diving shows and real Broadway musicals like Cats,” he says. Each of those ships, he says, weighs 230,000 tons and can carry 6,000 passengers.

The Asian market

Royal Caribbean has been in Asia for 10 years now. According to Sean, the Asian market “is our fastest growing market and is now our second largest in the world.”

“Asia is a significant market. Of our 24 ships, we have six ships in Asia Pacific. When we started 10 years ago on the Rhapsody of the Seas, we did six cruises and we generated about a little less than 15,000 passengers. Today, we have over a million passengers sailing out of Asia Pacific between China, Australia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia. You can see the growth from 15,000 to over a million in just 10 years,” he says.

The Philippine market, Sean adds, has been growing a double-digit pace over those 10 years. Filipinos account for the 5,000 to 10,000 passengers of Royal Caribbean every year.

“And I think, we are only scratching the surface,” Sean says. He is mandated to intensify the presence of Royal Caribbean in the Asia Pacific region.

Asia is a peculiar market, according to Sean. “There are a lot of similarities among all cruisers around the world in a sense that people are looking to relax, have a good time and see new destinations or try new things. What I would say is different in Southeast Asia is the proliferation of the multi-generational travel. More than anywhere else in the world, we see more Asian families traveling with the grandparents, parents and the kids. That’s not the case in the US or Europe. We think what draws them is that cruising offers something for everyone in the family. We have great programs for kids. We have activities that keep them busy all day. We’ve got bumper cars, surf simulators. We have a theme disco and rock climbing. We even have a zip line. So, kids are happy. Parents get to rest and the grandparents get to enjoy the sea views, the spa. Everybody has a relaxing time and then they all come to a wonderful dinner at the end of the day. You only have to pack and unpack once so it’s a very relaxing holiday. The parents aren’t lugging baggage around from one destination to the next. The multi-generational travel is the trend we see more prevalent in Southeast Asia than in other markets.”

But Asian cruisers, he notes, like shorter holidays. The average cruise length in Europe and the US is between seven and 10 nights while in Asia, it’s four nights. “But Asians are more frequent cruisers. We’d like to see in the future Asian people taking longer cruises and we do see some of that. In their first cruise they’ll try three nights or four nights first in Asia and then they might go to Europe or Alaska for seven nights the next time.”

The most affordable Royal Caribbean cruise is the $210/person-cruise for three nights. It includes all the meals, transportation expenses to the port of calls, entertainment like Broadway-like shows. Of course, the plane fare going to the point of origin of the ship is shouldered by the passenger.

Sean adds the most expensive cruise experience in Asia can be had at any Quantum class with a two-floor Royal Suite that can go up to $19,000 for a one-week duration of the cruise. That package comes with a “genie,” also known as a butler who will do possible magic for very whim of the guest.

So, what is your wish?

Mine could be a shipboard romance. But that’s another story.

(For more information, call 892-2701 to 03, e-mail rylcaribbean@arpanair.com.ph or visit www.royalcaribbean.com/home.do.)

(For your new beginnings, e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)