Grease is the Word on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas & Independence of the Seas

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John won’t be making an appearance, but the beloved teenage musical set at Rydell High is heading to Royal Caribbean International. The cruise line that features fully licensed, Tony Award-winning Broadway productions has announced that Broadway’s hit musical Grease will take the stage on board Harmony of the Seas, the most anticipated addition to the fleet yet, sailing across Europe as of May 2016, and Independence of the Seas, which returns to her homeport in Southampton, England for the summer. The all-new stage production, specially adapted by Royal Caribbean Productions, will boast a soundtrack of favorites such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Born to Hand-Jive,” “Beauty School Dropout” and more.

“Grease is a show that speaks to families of all ages and is sure to get guests out of their seats, singing and dancing, which is why we made the unprecedented decision to have it debut on Harmony and premiere it onboard Independence immediately, starting in July,” said Nick Weir, Vice President, Entertainment, Royal Caribbean International. “As the first cruise line to bring Broadway performances onboard its ships, it’s only fitting that we would also be the first to bring Grease to the hospitality industry.”*

In Grease, Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town, and Danny Zuko, the school’s coolest greaser, have a secret summertime romance—but when they return to school, everything is different. Sandy attempts to navigate tricky Rydell High School social waters and catch Danny’s attention again, but Danny is chiefly concerned with maintaining his tough-guy reputation. In the end, the Pink Ladies help Sandy figure out how to win back the leader of the T-Birds.

As part of Royal Caribbean’s award-winning Broadway offerings, guests of the cruise line can take in performances featuring the greatest hits of legendary rock group Queen with We Will Rock You on Anthem of the Seas; the storytelling of ABBA’s timeless songs in MAMMA MIA! on Allure of the Seas; one of the world’s most beloved musicals CATS on Oasis of the Seas; the toe-tapping disco beats of Saturday Night Fever on Liberty of the Seas, and now, Grease on Harmony of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.

*On a personal note, I’ve already seen Grease on a cruise ship—it was in 1992 aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Seaward on a Western Caribbean sailing. Maybe it wasn’t a “fully licensed” show? No matter, it was fast paced and fun. That’s just a bit of trivia, as is the fact that Rydell High was named to honor my good friend Bobby Rydell.