Royal Caribbean International has announced the cruise line’s 2011-12 Southern Caribbean deployment and Mariner of the Seas’ South 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. Guests also can choose from two sailings in January 2011 aboard Mariner of the Seas, which combined, circumnavigate the South American continent. Alternatively,  Royal Caribbean International’s Machu Picchu Adventure Cruisetour 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 distinct itineraries that include 25 unique ports of call.  Bookings for these 2011-12 sailings are now open.

“These cruises and the South America cruisetour land package offer guests a memorable family holiday,” said Betsy O’Rourke, senior vice president of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International.  “Adventure of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas offer exclusive onboard amenities and entertainment options for every member of the family.”       

Adventurers can choose the 16 January 2011 sailing aboard Mariner of the Seas followed by the five-night land tour itinerary from Valparaiso, Chile, to cultural centres and the major Incan archeological sites of Chile and Peru. The highlight of the land tour features a full day to explore Machu Picchu. Guests also can choose the pre-cruise land tour itinerary, followed by a grand South America odyssey to Brazil aboard Mariner of the Seas, sailing 1 February 2011.  All Royal Caribbean cruisetours are escorted by a Tour Director who specialises in the region and includes guests’ transportation, hotel accommodations, certain activities and some meals.

In Peru Mariner of the Seas’ guests can rediscover the mysterious Lost City of the Incas on “Cuzco & Machu Picchu Adventure.” 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 “Penguin Rookery Navigation.” On one of the two days in Montevideo, Uruguay, guests can choose a visit to a Uruguayan gaucho ranch and enjoy a barbeque lunch on “Day at the Estancia.”

Guests have a variety of exciting Royal Caribbean International shore excursion options to enhance their Southern Caribbean cruise, such as relaxing like a Rockefeller on the 150-acre, eco-friendly Carambola Resort at St. Croix on “Carambola Beach Break,” or enjoying Aruba’s countryside from a four-seat SUV as guests make their way to De Palm Island for lunch, swimming and snorkeling on “Jeep Off-Road Adventure.” To get the blood pumping, guests can take on “Antigua Canopy & Challenge,” a unique eco-tour with 21 unforgettable journey-elements through the island’s lush rainforest. 

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.  Serenade of the Seas 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.  Travellers also have the choice of a one-time eight-night and a six-night itinerary that will sail on 7 May and 13 November 2011.

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 18 December and 26 December 2011 will feature onboard holiday celebrations and a shipwide New Year’s countdown party.  Guests also can choose a one-time, six-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, sailing on 2 January 2012.

For its part, Mariner of the Seas will depart Los Angeles on 16 January 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 15 February.

Guests on all three ships will enjoy Broadway entertainment by Royal Caribbean International Productions, complimentary and award-winning Adventure Ocean kids and teen-only programmes, an extensive menu of rejuvenating spa treatments to choose from in the Day Spa, and spectacular views from the top of Royal Caribbean’s iconic rock-climbing wall. Voyager-class Adventure of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas offer guests exclusive activities such as 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.