Royal Caribbean has invested $120 million in revitalizing a 15-year-old ship to cater to a new customer base: millennials.
The cruise company is betting that the younger generation desires shorter trips with more entertainment options. It’s offering four-night weekday and three-night weekend trips from either Orlando or Miami to the Bahamas. Aside from the usual restaurants and bars, this cruise ship includes a virtual reality bungee trampoline, two racer water slides, a glow-in-the-dark laser tag room, an escape room, and a surf simulator.
The ship, Mariner of the Seas, left from its home port of Miami for its first voyage on Monday.
The decision to invest in millennials is a change from sentiment expressed by Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley just a couple months ago. In April, Bayley told Business Insider that the company didn’t need to appeal to younger generations, because once they grow older, those customers will behave just like their parents.
“Once a millennial gets married and has kids, you become just another dad, like every other dad,” he said.
Now, with Mariner of the Seas, the company has made a complete turnaround from this statement. The updates aren’t just for millennials though. All kinds of customers, including this mother of two, are applauding the ship’s updates as they take to the seas.
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Ellie Rushing of the Sun Sentinel shared photos of the ship’s new “instagrammable” design.
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According to the Royal Caribbean website, tickets for weekend vacations aboard the Mariner of the Seas range from around $230 to $370, while the four-night getaways range from $200 to $750.