As part of IMEX America 2024, we were able to speak with Francisco Robleto, Corporate Sales Manager for the Southeast Territory for Royal Caribbean.
What is Royal Caribbean's MICE structure?
We have 28 ships, and at least 23 have a meeting area that covers three or four rooms. In addition, there are 16 ships that have a 4,000 square foot conference room that can accommodate up to 400 people and can also be separated into various smaller spaces as needed.
All conference rooms have a monitor where you can make presentations and that is one of the things that planners have to remember. At Royal Caribbean we have rooms where you can have meetings and there is no rental charge for that space. Also included for larger groups of 1,000 or 800 people are different areas such as the theater where you can receive up to 1,400 people without having to pay for the theater, you only pay the fees for the technicians.
What is the minimum and maximum number of groups that can be accommodated?
The maximum is 400 for meetings. But if a conference room is needed, the maximum without having to rent the entire boat is 2000 or 2100 people.
In Voyager class, Freedom class or Oasis class, which are the different classes of ships, there is a theatre and also a B studio, which is where ice skating takes place. That is, 1,400 people can fit into the theatre and up to approximately 700 in the other room.
And what we can do is, for example, have the presentation in the theater and then show it in the other room, so that 2,000 people can attend that same session. However, on Royal Caribbean's new ship, Icon of the Seas, there is space for up to 7,000.
What is the smallest room you have?
The smallest a group can have is eight cabins for 16 people, but it can also be for 50 or 100. We have different group sizes, even in recent years they have rented up to two boats at the same time, because if they have 10 thousand people they need two cruise ships floating at the same time.
What destinations does Royal Caribbean serve?
Many people think that we only go to the Caribbean, but we also have trips to Alaska, which is one of the most sought-after destinations for incentives, and we travel to Europe. We normally have between five to six ships in the summer that travel to Europe; Barcelona, Athens, Italy and England, which normally do cruises of five to nine nights. We also travel from Australia and Asia, from Singapore and Shanghai.
What are the itineraries like?
We have all the possibilities, especially for those groups that cannot travel for seven nights. There are three or four night options, leaving mainly from Florida, Los Angeles or New York.
What do groups request the most?
Caribbean is number one, but then they definitely choose between Europe and Alaska. We have five or six ships each year leaving from Europe, and in Alaska we usually have three or four leaving from Seattle or Vancouver. There are many options from these different destinations.
The season in Alaska and Europe is the same, it is in the summer from May to October. While we travel to the Caribbean all year round, as well as to Asia. And in Australia the high season is from November to April.
How long has Royal Caribbean been involved in the MICE segment?
We have been traveling for many years on vacation, but work in the corporate segment, if I remember correctly, began in 2009 or 2010, when we saw that there was a great need for a department that focused only on that market. It started with five or six workers and today we are a team of 45 people who are dedicated to corporate groups and incentives.
What are the key benefits a company should consider when taking their group to Royal Caribbean?
Normally a boat will always have many benefits, but one of them is being sure of what you are going to pay and what this includes. There are no minimums for food and if the group is used to having Wi-Fi or all drinks included, we have those options for that. In addition, not only is the offer of destinations that we have a plus point, but also the diverse options with very interesting ingredients that generate experiences.
On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the entertainment we have on the ships, because when you are in a hotel you have to take all the people to a place to see a show, that is, you have to plan transportation, pay for the event and return them back to the hotel. All of that is already included in Royal Caribbean, where we have different theater and skating shows. In the Oasis class, for example, we have the Aqua Theater Show.
We must emphasize to the client, especially the meeting planner, that they do not have to think about entertainment, because that is already included.