Northstar

20 | www.travelweekly-asia.com CRUISE Spectrum of the Seas may call Shanghai home but Royal Caribbean's latest cruise experience is not necessarily "built for China". "We're not in the habit of building our ships for specific markets. While the ship has the Asian guest in mind, our first responsibility as a brand is to create a product that's consistent with our standards, before tweaking, say, 10% of what we call the guest-facing areas such as dining and entertainment," said Gavin Smith, senior vice president international for Royal Caribbean at the ship's maiden call celebration in Singapore on May 21. With a cool price tag of US$1.25 billion, Spectrum of the Seas is the costliest ship in Asia and the first of the new Quantum Ultra class. Asian sensibilities come in the form of new dance and music production Silk Road; a single main dining room; and more Asian food and beverage options including Sichuan Red, Leaf & Bean featuring Chinese teas and desserts, as well as Wonderland by Dadong, an Asian-Fusion twist on the original whimsical concept. Family people welcomed Beyond that, the vessel offers a boatload of innovations such as virtual-reality bungee jumping, glow- in-the-dark laser tag and a duplex "Ultimate Family suite" complete with an in-room slide. Perfect for its core segment: families. Everything from the ship's orientation to the colour of its spaces is designed so that cruisers of all ages feel at home in their own nook. More "adultish" features are concentrated at the front of the ship – think Solarium (a canopied space with lounge areas and swimming pools), gym and healthy fare – with attractions for the more adventurous – including the FlowRider surf simulator, the SkyPad VR bungee trampoline and experience and the North Star observation capsule – flushed to the back. Brightly coloured animals such as pandas, dinosaurs and bears jazz up the rock-climbing wall, a popular Royal Caribbean experience. While families in general are their core target, Royal Caribbean is hoping to be more attractive to parents with children under six (millennials in their 30s), whose holiday plans are not restricted to the 12-16 weeks window when Royal Caribbean's latest vessel — the region's biggest and most expensive yet — may be homeported in Shanghai but it's styled for a global audience. By Lee Xin Hui school holidays take place, said Royal Caribbean's Smith. 2019: A double Quantum year In May, Spectrum of the Seas kicked off its inaugural Singapore season with three sold-out sailings of three to nine nights to Penang, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Hong Kong. According to Angie Stephen, ANGIE'S AGENT TIP FOR SELLING SPECTRUM OF THE SEAS "Charter out the suite enclave which houses 40 suites and can take up to 120 guests. The 'ship within a ship' keycard access-only neighbourhood offers exclusive dining rooms, lounges, a private sundeck and a Genie butler service, making it a great option for special family milestones or corporate events with higher- end clientele." Asia's Largest Ship Appeals To A Broad 'Spectrum' managing director, Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, Spectrum's sold-out sailings are an early signal of a strong booking season for sister ship, Quantum of the Seas, which is scheduled to return to its Singapore homeport in November for 34 sailings through April 2020 and another extended season of 40 sailings next October. This marks a "Double Quantum Year" for RCCL in the region and underscores the company's confidence in Asia Pacific's thriving cruise industry, with Singapore playing a major role as a cruise hub. "We were very pleased once we saw that Singapore Tourism Board's inbound growth numbers matched up against ours. In fact, we are growing year-on-year at a higher percentage than most countries in terms of their inbound tourism figures; this is very encouraging. Besides Singapore, India continues to be fast growing, as is China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia," said Stephen. And with Spectrum of the Seas based in Shanghai from June, Stephen believes the Japanese itineraries will offer added appeal, as the ship is likely to be the only one docking in Tokyo during the 2020 Summer Olympics period. FAST FACTS ON SPECTRUM OF THE SEAS SOURCE: ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL

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