Royal Caribbean Releases South America, Southern Caribbean Itineraries

Royal Caribbean International has released its 2011-12 Southern Caribbean deployment and Mariner of the SeasSouth America circumnavigation cruises. Serenade of the Seas will sail its eighth consecutive season in the Southern Caribbean from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Adventure of the Seas also will return for winter 2011-12.

Vacationers can choose from two sailings in January 2011 aboard Mariner of the Seas, which circumnavigates the South American continent, or the Royal Caribbean Machu Picchu Adventure Cruisetour, which combines a sailing aboard Mariner of the Seas with a five-night escorted land tour itinerary.  In total, the three ships will offer 73 sailings on 19 itineraries that include 25 ports of call.

With Royal Caribbean’s Machu Picchu Adventure Cruisetour, guests can choose the January 16 sailing aboard Mariner of the Seas followed with the five-night land tour itinerary from Valparaiso, Chile, to cultural centers and major Incan archeological sites of Chile and Peru. The highlight of the land tour features a full day to explore Machu Picchu. Vacationers also can choose the pre-cruise land tour itinerary, followed by a grand South America odyssey to Brazil aboard Mariner of the Seas, sailing February 1. All Royal Caribbean cruisetours are escorted by a Tour Director who specializes in the region and includes guests’ transportation, hotel accommodations, certain activities and some meals for an exciting, stress-free vacation, where Royal Caribbean takes care of all the planning and reservations.

Mariner of the Seas’ guests also have a wide array of shore excursion options, at an additional charge, to take in the color and culture of South America’s most vibrant centers. In Peru, guests can rediscover the mysterious Lost City of the Incas. In Ushuaia, Argentina, guests can cruise Lapataia Bay and the Beagle Channel in the Tierra del Fuego National Park by catamaran to view a colony of Magellanic penguins. On one of the two days in Montevideo, Uruguay, guests can chose a visit to a Uruguayan gaucho ranch and enjoy a barbeque lunch.

Guests have a variety of Royal Caribbean shore excursion options to enhance their Southern Caribbean cruise as well, such as relaxing like a Rockefeller on the 150-acre, eco-friendly Carambola Resort at St. Croix  or enjoying Aruba's countryside from a four-seat SUV as guests make their way to De Palm Island for lunch, swimming and snorkeling.

Serenade of the Seas will offer a third consecutive year of seven-night roundtrip cruises to the Southern Caribbean from San Juan, beginning in April 2011. The ship will depart weekly on Sundays in the summer 2011 season and on Saturdays during the winter season. The two alternating summer itineraries will offer guests no repeating ports when booking two consecutive sailings, whereas the two alternating winter itineraries have St. Kitts in common. Vacationers also have the choice of a one-time eight-night and a six-night itinerary that will sail on May 7 and November 13, 2011, respectively.

Adventure of the Seas will begin its winter 2011-12 season in November, alternating two distinct seven-night itineraries that also will offer guests, booked on two consecutive sailings, no repeat calls at any port for a more comprehensive Southern Caribbean adventure. Two special holiday itineraries, an eight-night and a seven-night cruise, departing on December 18 and December 26, 2011, respectively, will feature onboard holiday celebrations and a shipwide New Year’s countdown party.  Vacationers also can choose a one-time, six-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, sailing on January 2, 2012. 

For its part, Mariner of the Seas will depart Los Angeles on January 16, 2011, on a 16-night repositioning itinerary to Valparaiso, Chile, followed by a 14-night itinerary to Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil, via Cape Horn and the southern tip of South America. The 14-night sailing features an overnight in the embarkation port of Valparaiso and then at Montevideo, Uruguay, before arriving in Santos, Brazil on February 15.

Guests on all three ships will enjoy Broadway-style entertainment by Royal Caribbean Productions, complimentary and Adventure Ocean kids and teen-only programs, an extensive menu of treatments to choose from in the Day Spa, and views from the top of Royal Caribbean’s rock-climbing wall. Voyager-class Adventure of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas are two of the world’s 10 largest and cruise ships, offering guests Royal Caribbean’s exclusive onboard amenities, including an ice-skating rink, inline-skating track, nine-hole mini-golf course, and the Royal Promenade, an interior boulevard flanked by boutiques, restaurants and lounges, where street dance parties and magical parades occur. Radiance-class Serenade of the Seas features a nine-deck atrium with a glass wall and glass elevators for unobstructed views of the sea and unfolding shoreline.

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