RCCL Named Best Overall Cruise Line

[Jason]

'Travel Weekly' Awards Join Line's Impressive List of Honors for 2003

MIAMI, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- "Travel Weekly" magazine has

named Royal Caribbean International Best Overall Cruise Line in the

publication's First Annual Readers Choice Awards. The awards competition,

which surveyed more than 2,200 travel professionals, also gave the line top

honors in the Best Cruise Line: America and Best Cruise Line: Caribbean

categories.

The "Travel Weekly" awards join an impressive list of honors garnered by

Royal Caribbean for 2003. In total, Royal Caribbean was recognized by travel

agents, journalists and travelers alike for excellence in the areas of ship

design, family cruising, entertainment, dining, travel agent support,

technology and loyalty programs.

"We are extremely pleased to be recognized in such a wide range of

categories, reflecting our commitment to providing outstanding vacations,"

said Adam Goldstein, executive vice president, Brand Operations, for Royal

Caribbean International. "We place a great deal of importance on each element

of the cruise experience. It is rewarding to see those efforts acknowledged by

both industry experts and travelers."

The following is a selection of awards recently received by the company:

-- Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas won Best Large Ship Design in

"Conde Nast Traveler's" 2004 Cruise Poll: The World's Best Cruise Ship Awards.

The line's Radiance-class ships offer an elegant, yacht-like design, with a

wide variety of entertainment, dining and activity options.

-- Royal Caribbean was named Best Family Cruise in "Forbes.com's" World's

Best Cruises 2003. The cruise line's complimentary, year-round Adventure Ocean

Youth Program is recognized as one of the industry's leading youth programs.

-- In "Recommend Magazine's" Seventh Annual Readers' Choice Awards, more

than 1,000 travel agents recognized the line for having the Best Large Ship,

as well as Best Onboard Entertainment and Best Food. The cruise line also

received top honors for overall best Travel Agent Support.

-- Readers of "Porthole Cruise Magazine," a leading cruise magazine for

both first-time and loyal cruise vacationers, named Royal Caribbean as the

leader in three categories in the Fifth Annual Reader's Choice Awards: Best

Caribbean Itineraries, Best Eco-Friendly Cruise Line, and Best Computer

Facilities.

-- Editors at "CruiseReport.com" awarded Royal Caribbean the Best at Sea

award for Best Loyalty Program for the cruise line's Crown & Anchor program;

Best Alternate Dining for its specialty steakhouse restaurant, Chops Grille;

Best Lido Buffet for the Windjammer Cafe; Best Theater for Serenade of the

Seas' rain-forest-inspired Tropical Theater; and Best Activities.

An international cruise brand, Royal Caribbean also has earned top honors

in multiple European awards competitions. For the second year in a row,

"Travel Trade Gazette's" survey of 9,500 U.K. travel agents named Royal

Caribbean the Best Fly/Cruise Company. In addition, the UK "Guardian/Observer"

and "Irish Independent Travel News" (ITTN) named Royal Caribbean Best Cruise

Line 2003. The company also was named Best Cruise Line 2003 in the Grand

Travel Award Norway, Grand Travel Award Sweden, Danish Travel Award, and

Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Award competitions.

Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand currently with 18

ships in service and two more under construction or on firm order. The company

also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe. For

additional information about the cruise line, please visit the company's web

site at http://www.royalcaribbean.com or call 800-327-6700.

[DaCruzNut]

The cruise experience is comprised of a large number of factors, all of which are subjected to personal taste. I do not believe that there can be any single line that could be considered the “best,†for any one individual.

I, personally, find that the food on Celebrity far outshines all the others, with the exception of Princess, which is only a modest step behind. On the opposite side, I rate Royal Caribbean’s food among the bottom three (RCCI, Costa & Hal). Yet others would put these in reverse order.

It’s akin to having a friend rave about a new restaurant, and recommending it, highly. Or, perhaps, a movie which he saw that he can’t stop raving about. So, you set off for the restaurant, the following Saturday night, and then catch the flick, only to be totally disappointed by both.

Try to match two people’s taste in food quality and taste; production shows; nightclub acts; multiple daytime activities; age and temperment of fellow passengers; and on, and on… You will not get a consensus.

Another consideration is the actuality that all of these factors vary, not only from one cruise line to another, but to various ships within each line. I have sailed on several lines multiple times and have noticed this difference often.

Luckily, there are still a number of cruise lines, each one run very differently (despite ownership) to keep us all happy…

[PEB]

I have to agree with DaCruzNut. I believe there is no such thing as one best cruise line. There may be one best cruise line for a particular person or one that a person prefers but to say one line is rated the overall best line doesn't add up to me. I have been on 5 different cruise lines so far and hope to do more. I have found good and bad on all 5 cruise lines. I have found one that I prefer but I can see why others may enjoy the other lines.

I will still decide what I feel is the best line for me and not worry about a poll taken by a magazine or any other type media says.

I do hope to try Royal Caribbean someday but from what I have read and the pictures I have seen I am in no hurry to try them.

[Guest]

Hi!!!!!! It's like the way they do a movie review and pan it to a point they practically tell you not to see it, and you go see it and you "love it". "To each it's own", but it's nice to know that on the one cruise I went on it was so highly rated and I thought it was "GREAT. But the next time I will probably try another line to compare." Alice Underground--------- RCL ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS 1/04