Royal Caribbean to say goodbye to Majesty of the Seas
Call it the end of an era at Royal Caribbean.
The 22-ship company today announced that the last of its three Sovereign class vessels, Majesty of the Seas, will leave the fleet in 2016.
The 2,350-passenger ship will be transferred to Spanish line Pullmantur after a final sailing on April 29, 2016.
Unveiled between 1988 and 1992, Royal Caribbean's Sovereign class vessels were groundbreaking in their time and helped transform the cruise industry. Often called the first modern megaships, they were the largest cruise ships ever built at the time and featured the first multi-story atriums with glass elevators at sea and a then-revolutionary entire deck devoted to balcony cabins.
Over more than two decades, they introduced millions of people to cruising for the first time.
Over the years, the 74,077-ton Majesty and its sisters were eclipsed by ever-larger, more-amenity-filled megaships, and by today's standards they're considered almost small. At 225,282 tons, Royal Caribbean's four-year-old Allure of the Seas and sister Oasis of the Seas are more than three times larger.
Majesty's two sisters, Sovereign of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas, left the Royal Caribbean fleet in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Like Majesty, they were transferred to Pullmantur, which is owned by the same parent company as Royal Caribbean.
"Majesty of the Seas has created wonderful memories for millions of guests, and we expect this record of success to continue as she transitions to Pullmantur," Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman and CEO Richard Fain says in a statement accompanying today's announcement.
Majesty currently sails short, inexpensive three- and four-night cruises from Miami, which often draw first-time cruisers. The ship's itineraries feature stops in the Bahamas, including Royal Caribbean's private island of CocoCay. Royal Caribbean did not say which ship would replace Majesty on the runs.
The transfer of Majesty comes just days after the unveiling of Quantum of the Seas, a new class of vessel at Royal Caribbean that also is being described as groundbreaking in the industry. With 16 public decks and room for nearly 5,000 passengers, Quantum is the third largest cruise vessel ever built (behind Allure and Oasis) and boasts such unusual new features as a deck-top ride into the sky and a bar with robot bartenders.
At 168,666 tons, Quantum is more than twice the size of Majesty.
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