Over three thousand bush fire volunteer firefighters and their families sent up a cheer at Sydney’s Circular Quay last weekend as Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas tied up to take them on the first of a series of complimentary cruise to say thanks.
The first volunteers gave their verdict here.
Now the line has announced a third free cruise for bush fire volunteers – the second leaves this weekend – after over 12,000 applied online and wrote 150 words on why volunteering was important to get cabins.
“We didn’t want to disappoint,” said the line’s Australian MD, Gavin Smith. “We were overwhelmed by the response. It was impossible not to be touched by what happened over the summer – and we just wanted to say thank you.”
At 3,500 passengers a sailing, few will now miss out on a complimentary four days aboard the line’s newest ship, with an amazing array of 50 entertainment and 16 food options.
Spectrum of the Seas, making her maiden call to Sydney, has a surfing pool, Skypad virtual reality platform, Ripcord flying experience, bumper cars, rock climbing, robot barmen, and a huge variety of dining experiences and shows.
The free itineraries will consist of sea days allowing plenty of time to enjoy the facilities, and there were many with young children boarding tonight eager put this ship through its paces.
Spectrum of the Seas has sailed in Northern Asia. Mr Smith reassured the crew had been away from Asia for well over 14 days, and had been painstakingly checked for any symptoms of coronavirus.
“Cruising is one of the safest forms of travel,” he maintained.
Mr Smith also revealed that Royal Caribbean was considering extending the season of at least one of its ships – including Spectrum of the Seas.
Of the ships currently sailing in Australia, Ovation of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas are off to Alaska at the end of the season. But Voyager of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas are both scheduled for Asia – which has had its season seriously curtailed because of the effects of coronavirus.
“It’s a global phenomena and these are extraordinary times,” said Mr Smith, adding that he was considering his options of an extension every day.
“I think there’s a possibility,” he told Cruise Passenger.
Demand is holding up among Australians, with Easter and school holidays strongly booked and calls to the line slowing only by two or three percent.
“Further out, bookings have slowed as people wait and see,” Mr Smith said. “But we didn’t get a Christmas holiday and there is a lot of pent up demand.”
Newly refurbished Voyager of the Seas would be a strong contender to stay in Australia at the end of the season and continue on into the winter. She can get into more smaller ports than Spectrum, and has fewer cabins to fill.
Princess Cruises has already announced Sapphire Princess will extend the Australian season. The vessel’s new itineraries went on sail on Thursday – and demand was so strong the line’s website crashed.
Mr Smith said Royal Caribbean was unlikely to discount heavily, and would instead consider sailing with fewer passengers.
“Cruise lines have to be careful and responsible about what they do with ships available at short notice,” he said.
“We have a pricing structure that’s important to the profitability of the industry, so flooding the market with a whole lot of inventory in the winter needs to be done with great care.”
Honida Beram from Cruising with Honey interviewed those on the quayside last Saturday.
Among them was 18-year-old Andrew from the Central Coast of Sydney who has been volunteering for one year.
“This is my first time on a cruise, and it feels really good to be spending time with my family after spending so much time travelling around NSW. This cruise is a chance to get back together with my them.”
Another first responder Gary from Deepwater, Queensland said the cruise was a nice way to be rewarded.
“Last year was the worst for Queensland. I’ve been volunteering for four years, and this was the worst. Having the fire go over the truck [we were in] was a terrible moment.”
For Joe from the Central Coast, who is taking his daughter Maddison with him on the cruise, he believes this experience will be an opportunity for other firefighters to revitalise.
“These fires were bigger than we could ever imagine, we just couldn’t put them out. This cruise is a chance for us all to come together and get our energy back.”
Blake, who travelled to Sydney with his mother Corrine and younger brothers from Albury, said he was very grateful to Royal Caribbean. Blake helped fight a number of fires, including a blaze at Green Valley.
“We really appreciate this, this is awesome.”
As a 32-year volunteer veteran, Mark from the Northern Beaches RFS said he doesn’t see himself as a ‘hero.’
“In all my years, I’ve never seen anything to this scale. Members from my brigade fought fires as far as the Blue Mountain and Mt Kosciusko, everyone was exhausted.
“This cruise was so unexpected. I’ve never experienced anything like the public support that we are getting.
“I don’t think Australians are comfortable with the term hero, we seem to be very modest. This is something I do, I enjoy getting out there and the comaraderie with my friends.”
Thank you
From Marine rescue Batemans bay
We have just returned from the third and final Thank You cruise aboard the Spectrum of the Seas. There are no words that show our appreciation enough to Royal Caribbean for their generosity. The ship is amazing and it is beautiful. No expense spared on the volunteers with all of us given balcony staterooms, and world class entertainment. And what must be emphasised too are the most amazing, customer focussed staff. From the moment we stepped aboard to the moment we reluctantly disembarked, we were treated like royalty. Thank you, Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas, led by an awesome Captain Charles with a great sense of humour. We shall remember this wonderful journey and also send you the best of luck and good wishes to all the crew at this awful and difficult time. It goes without saying too, best wishes and once again, heartfelt and sincere thanks to Royal Caribbean.
I can not thank Royal Caribbean Internation for their generosity. We have just returned to Tasmania from the first cruise. It was an amazing experience. Everything was wonderful. A big thank you to the Company and the ship staff who made the cruise so wonderful.
Thank you to everyone at Royal Caribbean for this amazing opportunity. We have just returned from the 1st ‘Thank You’ cruise – it was AWESOME. My husband and son was among the first respondents to the Walwa-Cudgewa fire on 30/31 December, as well as the surrounding area of Corryong. We are extremely grateful and humbled by the actions of Royal Caribbean. Their generosity is mind blowing!
This family of first time cruisers will choose Royal Caribbean in future. Thank you again.
Hi everyone,
I’m just back from the first Thank You cruise and we had the best time. The chance to sit back and relax, now that the fires are finished, to share the trauma of the season and the fun of the trip with like-minded people was amazing.
Thank you to Royal Caribbean for their incredible generosity and for supporting the recovery of the firefighters who are moving on from the worst fire season most of us have ever experienced. This trip is going to save lives.
Cheers,
Trev.
Hi all,
We’ve just received the following message from Royal Caribbean.
“Royal Caribbean is excited to invite volunteers, who missed out on the two earlier cruises, the chance to be awarded a four night coastal cruise holiday. The third sailing onboard the superliner, Spectrum of The Seas, departs Sydney on Friday March 13, 2020.”
You can submit your applications here: http://www.aroyalthankyou.com/
Would like to apply for 3rd cruise as missed deadline for first 2, how can we do this please?
Hi all,
Please direct any enquiries on this fantastic initiative to Royal Caribbean. They have set up a dedicated website at https://www.aroyalthankyou.com/
Thanks
Hello is it possible to apply for third cruise as I missed deadline for first two.thanks
Hi there I have been trying to contact you as me and my husband are ment to be going this but have email yous 5 days ago about our 2 year old come but still have no reply we would just like to know so if we can’t go you can let another couple go
Please let me know when you can or give me a contact number that is connected
Thank you for your time
How do we apply for the third cruise as I miss out on applying for the first two because of family issues
Great news. We went on the ovation to New Zealand recently. Fantastic ship. Wonderful thing to do for the firefighters and everyone else who helped through this terrible weather. Royal Caribbean rocks big time.
Hello
How do we register for the third cruise for the First Responders.
Unfortunately we missed the cut off last time.
Thank you
Hello, could you please advise how we can register for the third cruise. My husband’s dad passed away last Monday and I missed the cut off time unfortunately.
I am a first responder, Queensland and New South Wales.
This is the response of the application page for a few days.
A Royal Thank You.
Thanks for stopping by. We are currently busy processing First Responder Volunteers submissions. Please come back from 5pm today to see if you are a successful entrant. Successful entrants will also be contacted via email, don’t forget to keep an eye on your spam folder.
Stay tuned…
Any questions, check out our FAQs.
What a wonderful gesture on the part of RCL. My children have sailed with RCL previously and have been very vocal in their praise. We have decided to give them a go and are booked on your repositioning cruise on 19/04/2020. How soon would you be announcing your extension of the Australian season? How would it affect the cruise that we are booked on. Personally, I don’t mind as we are pretty anxious about the current situation.
Well that is lovely of RCL to do this. Very kind. I just wish that RCL would be as kind to us paying passengers, Mr Gavin Smith, and tell us what our proposed itinerary is for our cruise to the South Pacific on 7/4/20. And to at least offer us a credit to sail at a later date rather than taking us to ports we didnt want to go to. Very disappointing, especially as we have cruised with them 4 times before. !!
Hi
Wanting to apply for the third cruise as we were unable to go on the other two.
How can I apply?
we’ve asked about this – Royal Caribbean say you need to look at this site: https://www.aroyalthankyou.com/
Good luck!
Hi,
Is it possible to apply for the third cruise for first responders?
Thanks