Royal Caribbean to base cruise ship in England year-round

[mercedes]

Industry giant Royal Caribbean will base a cruise ship in England year-round -- a first for the company -- starting in 2010.

The 3,600-passenger Independence of the Seas -- currently the world's largest cruise ship --already has spent one summer sailing out of Southampton, England after its debut last year. And it's scheduled to spend another season sailing out of the port town starting Saturday. But today the line announced the ship will remain in the city permanently starting with the summer of 2010.

The expanded presence comes in the wake of a strong response to the earlier cruises out of the city. The cruises have been marketed heavily at the British market -- part of the line's strategy of being a global brand with appeal to customers from around the world.

“Royal Caribbean International is committed to continuing to grow its presence in the British and Irish markets," says Royal Caribbean executive Robin Shaw. The year-round deployment "means that we firmly cement our position as one of the leading players in the UK cruise industry.”

Royal Caribbean first based a ship in Southampton for a summer in 2005 when it assigned the 2,076-passenger Legend of the Seas to the port town for several months. The Legend returned to the port for the summer of 2006, followed in 2007 by the bigger, 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean says its plans for Independence during the winter of 2010/11 include 11- to 18-night cruises that will go as far as Italy and the Balearic Islands.

Independence will be the second Royal Caribbean ship based in Europe year-round. In 2008, the line deployed Brilliance of the Seas year-round in the Mediterranean based out of Barcelona.