Royal confirmed last Thursday (31 October) the 4,960-passenger ship will replace its sister Freedom-class vessel, Independence of the Seas, which can carry 4,375-passengers, in the UK in 2026.
Liberty will operate a mix of two- to nine-night voyages from Southampton, with calls in the Norwegian Fjords, northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Speaking exclusively to TTG, Nolan said while Independence is a UK cruising favourite, he is looking forward to Liberty’s deployment.
“Liberty has an opportunity to put down a marker in the UK market,” said Nolan. “People have been on Independence and know its quality. Liberty is the same class of ship.
“We always have a very strong following for our ship in Southampton and I don’t see that being any different with Liberty.”
Nolan outlined how Royal’s cruise planners had “played around with the itinerary length” and “tried to make sure that each sailing maximises its content”.
Prices for a six-night Norwegian Adventure Cruise from Southampton on 10 October 2026 start from £623pp, with ports of call including Stavanger and Oslo, while a seven-night Spain and France cruise, departing on 3 October 2026 with calls in La Rochelle, Bilbao and La Coruna, leads in from £714pp.
Meanwhile, a two-night Weekend Getaway Cruise departing on 29 May is priced from £336pp.
’Liberty’s got everything – and more’
Nolan previously worked for InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide before joining Royal’s sister line Celebrity Cruises in 2016. He believes Royal passengers can easily switch their loyalty from Independence to Liberty.
“The InterContinental brand is great but then you’ve got others that are better for business and others that are good for leisure,” he explained. “Hotel brand loyalty is very similar to a cruise ship. You have a great experience on one and then you get familiar with the cruise line’s product offering.
“Liberty’s got everything Indy has got plus a few extra things. Everyone who loves Indy is going to love this ship.”
Royal kicked off 2024 with the launch of Icon of the Seas, which was described by Royal Caribbean Group’s president Jason Liberty as the “biggest, baddest ship on the planet”.
Despite much anticipation an Icon ship will soon be based in Europe, Nolan admitted the line isn’t ready to announce when exactly that will happen.
But he added: “I want to make sure we have the best fleet globally, but we want an Icon ship in our region. That’s something in progress. We don’t have a date yet but we will definitely have one in Europe in the next couple of years.
“The opportunity is there to bring it closer to home. We’ve got a great following out of the UK market in the Caribbean, but bringing Icon closer to these shores is a key strategy and one we will be pushing for.”
