| RCL’s third Australian birthday

TODAY Royal Caribbean’s local Australian
office is celebrating its third birthday, having
first opened its doors on 08 Dec 2008.
“Our first three years operating Down Under
have certainly been a whirlwind – and also some
of the most exciting that Australia’s cruise
industry has seen,” said Adam Armstrong,
commercial manager, RCL Cruises Australia.
Looking back over the past 1,095 days in
Australia, Armstrong said the company had
received a “warm welcome” from guests and
trade partners alike, which has been reflected
in sell-out Rhapsody seasons and the
introduction of new to ships to the region,
such as the newly arrived Celebrity Century.
This year alone RCL tripled its Aussie vessels
from one ship to three, with 130,000 guests
expected to cruise local waters.
This momentum is not expected to slow, with
Armstrong saying that passenger numbers will
balloon to around 200,000 in 2012-13 when
five RCL ships will cruise down under.