Royal Caribbean adds 2014 Big Apple sailings

Royal Caribbean International has introduced new summer 2014 cruise vacations, sailing from the New York metropolitan area, Baltimore, and Port Canaveral and Port Everglades in Florida. Five- to nine-night itineraries are available to Bermuda, The Bahamas and the Caribbean, aboard Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has opened 67 sailings through August 2014 for bookings. In the Northeast US, vacationers can choose seven-night Bermuda or Bahamas itineraries aboard the newly revitalized Grandeur of the Seas, departing every Friday from Baltimore. For those who don’t want to wait and wish to experience Grandeur of the Seas during its inaugural year serving Baltimore, Royal Caribbean is offering up to $200 onboard credit for all May through December 2013 sailings. The onboard credit offer applies to all new individual bookings made by Feb. 28. Explorer of the Seas also will offer convenient cruise getaways for New York metropolitan area vacationers. The ship will alternate five-night Bermuda itineraries and nine-night Bermuda and Caribbean itineraries on Saturdays and Thursday, respectively, departing from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, N.J. Freedom of the Seas also will alternate seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, departing every Sunday from Port Canaveral along Florida’s Space Coast. Vacationers also can combine the best of land and sea into one vacation with a three- or four-night pre- or post-cruise stay at Universal Orlando Resorts. From Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, the world’s largest and most innovative ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will respectively sail Saturdays and Sundays and alternate seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Freedom of the Seas are among six Royal Caribbean ships that exclusively offer the DreamWorks Experience, featuring parades, themed activities and events based on DreamWorks Animation’s popular feature-film characters, including Po of “Kung Fu Panda;”Shrek, Fiona and Puss In Boots of “Shrek;”and Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, and the Penguins from “Madagascar.”Each ship also is equipped with a 3-D movie theatre playing the latest DreamWorks Animation films. (http://www.CruisingPower.com)