| Huge ovation for all-singing RCI

OVATION of the Seas’ pending
arrival in Australia late next year
saw the cruise sales rulebook
thrown out the window, Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd regional
vice-president Gavin Smith said.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly at
the launch of Royal Caribbean’s
2016/17 season in Sydney this
week, Smith described Ovation’s
initial sell period as “remarkable”.
“Ordinarily our biggest selling
weeks are in January every year,
but this year it was in June. We
had our biggest sales week in the
history of the company in June.
“We’ve been overwhelmed
at the top-end of the ship with
suites and loft accommodation
is where a lot of the interest has
been. Aussies are really buying
into this product,” Smith added.
The 4,180-passenger Ovation is
the ship dominating the headlines
however is just one of five ships
in the Royal Caribbean fleet
which will call Australia home
over the 2016/17 year. Returning for its second year
will be Explorer of the Seas, sister
ship to Voyager of the Seas, and
the endearing Radiance of the
Seas – all home porting in Sydney.
Brisbane will also offer Legend
of the Seas, itself returning to the
Queensland city for a second year.
Celebrity Cruises has established
itself as the regular summer
home for Celebrity Solstice, which
will again be based in Sydney.
“We’ve got a lot to do for next
summer, but it’s hard not to get
caught up in the romance of the
‘Wow’ that’s going to come with
Ovation,” Smith told CW.
Agents at the season launch
were witness also to the many
talents of Vic district sales
manager Cameron Mannix, who
performed an encore of Pure
Imagination, slightly modified to
a more cruise-focused theme.
Smith is pictured above with
his RCI team in Adam Armstrong,
Cameron Mannix, Nicole Stojic
and Peter McCormack.