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NEW FACILITIES
Like many with growing families, we found ourselves in need
of larger quarters this year. We recently announced plans to significantly
expand our facilities in Wichita, and expect to create some 400 new jobs
there. Closer to home, we are planning on additional supplemental office
space to accommodate expected growth in our operations.
Our newest ship also got a new home this year. Fourteen hours before
Voyager of the Seas sailed into Miami, we officially opened a new,
state-of-the-art cruise terminal at the Port of Miami-Dade. When fully
completed, the new terminal will greatly speed the comings and goings
of up to 10,000 guests a day. We will continue to prioritize port-development
initiatives as the needs of our ships and guests evolve.
Without a doubt, our growth in fleet size, aided by a steady increase
in ships' speeds, has opened a world of opportunity for us in deploying
our fleet. Celebrity Cruises entered the European cruise market for the
first time this year, joining sister brand Royal Caribbean International
for a successful summer of sailings, despite the Kosovo conflict. We also
announced plans to begin dedicated South American itineraries, starting
in November 2000. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International embarked on
longer itineraries to Europe, Asia and Australia, and recently added Africa.
It also more than doubled its popular shorter sailings, offering three
weeks of two-, three- and four-night cruises from Seattle, beginning in
May 2000, and year-round three- and four-night trips from Port Canaveral,
also starting in May 2000. Clearly, we are well-prepared for the rising
tide of cruise vacationing.
Close to two million guests vacationed with Royal Caribbean International
and Celebrity Cruises this year - one of every three cruisers in the North
American market.
NEW SERVICES
We continue to invest heavily in information technology (IT) to support
our corporate infrastructure and guest and travel-trade relations. We
now have fully automated our pierside embarkation process, shaving valuable
minutes off guests' check-in and boarding procedures. We also have begun
installing interactive television in guests' staterooms, enabling them
to shop for shore excursions, select a dinner wine and keep tabs on their
onboard activities. Another innovation, royal caribbean onlineSM,
allows guests unprecedented access to the Internet and their e-mail.
A new Customer Service Center capitalizes on our IT investment on land,
using cutting-edge technology to help travel agents resolve booking and
billing issues before guests sail. Not yet five months old, the
center is already receiving top marks from our travel-agency partners.
Displaying a connectivity of a different sort altogether, hundreds of
employees worldwide participated in dozens of corporate G.I.V.E. (Get
Involved Volunteer Everywhere) projects, honoring a tradition of community
service begun nearly three decades ago. One notable project, which involved
crews on all 17 ships, was a holiday toy drive for children's charities
from Bali to the Barbados. Another was a cultural exchange program pairing
100 children with crew members in Juneau, Alaska.
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