LIKE SHIPS IN THE DAY 

The two largest cruise ships based in Australasia meet for the first time in New Zealand

Sydney, 21 November 2013 - 6,005 cruise passengers, 1,176 cruise staff and two cities – for the first time, the two largest cruise ships based in Australasia this summer have docked together during sailings in New Zealand.  Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Solstice met twice this week in Tauranga and Wellington, bringing with them more than 6000 passengers to the two cities.

To mark the occasion, the crews of each ship challenged each other to a series of sports games in Tauranga on Monday 18 November – from classic beach cricket, ‘shoe-put’ (an improvised shot put with shoes) and even a bit of footy - with local crowds coming out to join in on the action. Celebrity Solstice is one of the only ships in the world to have a half an acre of fresh lawn on its top deck – so the winning crew may have taken advantage to practice beforehand. 

Donations were collected from passengers, crew and spectators for the survivors of the Haiyan typhoon; with a gold coin fundraising appeal, to accompany Royal Caribbean International’s humanitarian relief pledge of $US1 million to the Philippines following the disaster.

Celebrity Solstice is currently on a 12-night sailing from Auckland to Sydney – stopping in Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and the Sounds, before heading across to Australia. Voyager of the Seas is on a 14-night cruise roundtrip from Sydney, calling at New Caledonia, Fiji, and New Zealand. 

#InstaFilmFest

Royal Caribbean International is hosting the world’s first Instagram film festival. Everyone is invited to capture their “WOW moments” in 15 seconds of video footage and upload to Instagram via the hashtag #InstaFilmFest to go into the draw to have their film screened at a special VIP event and to win a cruise to the South Pacific.* 

*For full competition terms and conditions, visit: instafilmfestival.com.au 

For more details, visit the InstaFilmFest microsite:   instafilmfestival.com.au  For additional media materials, visit:    newsboost.com/newsroom/rcl-cruises-ltd  

RCL Cruises Ltd Australia commenced operation in December 2008 as the Australian arm of global cruise holiday company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The company offers three cruise brands in Australia & New Zealand: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. In the 2012-13 cruise season, Royal Caribbean International was the largest cruise operator in Sydney, with three ships sailing in the region: Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.  This is in addition to two Celebrity Cruises ships, Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Millennium. 

Information supplied by : Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruise Line.

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