• Parents are encouraged to share videos of their kids' reactions to their upcoming holiday, for the chance to redeem up to £10k*
• Taps into the trend for social media 'reveal videos' where parents go to great lengths to capture their child's surprises on camera

Royal Caribbean International has revolutionised how people can pay for their holidays, by accepting 'payment via excitement' – meaning that one lucky family has the chance to bag a free cruise holiday worth up to £10,000*.

Instead of dishing out hard earned cash this dreary January, the kids of the lucky winning family will also be offered a 'job of a lifetime' by becoming the newly appointed 'SEA-E-Os' (Chief Excitement Officers) at Royal Caribbean. 

To enter, the world's largest cruise line - that has a fleet of 26 incredible ships and visits more than 260 destinations in 72 countries on six continents - is simply asking families from the UK and Ireland to share their kids' excitement when told they are going on a Royal Caribbean holiday. And, depending on their reactions, families who have booked a Royal Caribbean cruise can redeem the total cost as well as their flights and transfers – worth up to an impressive £10,000.

Inspired by the online trend of 'reveal videos' – where families go to great lengths to surprise their children with thrilling news – the holiday brand is encouraging its guests to creatively capture exciting, endearing clips of them telling their children about their forthcoming Royal Caribbean holiday.

Parents need to film footage of their children's reactions to their upcoming trip – and upload the video to Instagram (e.g. Instagram stories and/or Instagram TV) or Facebook tagging @RoyalCaribbeanUK with #PayByExcitement, or @MyRoyal with #PayByExcitement on Twitter. Entries are now open until 23.59hrs GMT on 11 February 2020. One family will receive the cost of their holiday back in full, as soon as the announcement of the most heart-warming clips has been made.

In addition to a free holiday, Royal Caribbean will also appoint the winning child/children the coveted title of the 'SEA-E-O' (Chief Excitement Officer). The child/children will keep hold of this title for 12 months and be able to report back to the company on levels of excitement that they found whilst onboard – from plummeting down the biggest waterslides at sea, to hanging ten on the FlowRider surf simulator – the winning family will share all of their thoughts and suggestions directly to Royal Caribbean boss Ben Bouldin, at the end of their trip.

Six runners-up will be gifted with an onboard speciality dining package for the whole family, enabling them to enjoy multiple specialty restaurants every night of their sailing. Whether they choose to take a flavour-filled journey to the exotic Far East at Izumi or find their element amongst the elaborate main courses at Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine, they will be able to enjoy world class complimentary cruise dining plus classic and avant-garde speciality dining onboard. All with mouth-watering selections for the foodie and for those who have special diets.  

A panel of judges will include Royal Caribbean's louder-than-life Cruise Director, Ricky Matthews, 9-year-old Caleb and his 8-year-old brother Blake Miller from Glasgow - who both feature in online 'reveal' videos. The brothers' mum Natalie Miller will also help select the best 'reveal' video that will allow one family to recoup the cost of their holiday and pay by excitement, instead.

Ben Bouldin, Royal Caribbean International's EMEA Vice President of Salessaid: “It will be a tall order to become our new SEA-E-O (Chief Excitement Officer), and only the most excitable people should put their hat in the ring. We're looking forward to converting excitement into holiday currency by throwing in a complimentary family holiday and speciality meals on the house, based on the most brilliant responses.

“We know how excited children get when told they're going on a family holiday, especially when the holiday includes fun-inducing activities like sliding down Daredevil's Peak, the tallest slide at sea at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island in The Bahamas, or testing their skydiving skills or channelling their inner surfer on FlowRider, the first surf simulator at sea. We hope our quest will help brighten up everyone's January with some heart-warming reactions. I can't wait to hear from the winning family after their trip on how they found their levels of excitement to be whilst onboard, too!”

Notes to Editors:

*Full T&Cs can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BGu4QjRZhfTbXORsczHNYdYH6e6a8Wi7 

*Based on an average family of four, including flights, hotels and transfers.

High res image assets can be downloaded: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BGu4QjRZhfTbXORsczHNYdYH6e6a8Wi7 

To contact the Royal Caribbean Office, please call +447970907633 or email royalcaribbean@wcommunications.co.uk. 

About Royal Caribbean:
Royal Caribbean International is the world's largest global cruise line, delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel featuring the latest technology and guest experiences for today's adventurous holidaymakers. The cruise line continues to revolutionise holidays with itineraries to more than 260 destinations in 72 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean's highly anticipated Perfect Day Island Collection including the first private island in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

UK consumers and travel agents think we're doing great things… in 2018, Royal Caribbean won over 30 national and international awards including "Best in Cruise" in the Sun Travel Awards, "Best Cruise Line for Entertainment" and "Best Cruise Line for Suites" in the Cruise Critic UK Editor's Picks, and “Best Mainstream Cruise Company” in the Globe Travel Awards.

The cruise line sails 26 of the world's most innovative cruise ships to the most popular destinations in Bermuda and the Caribbean, Europe, Canada and New England, Alaska, South America, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand.

Media can stay up-to-date by following @MyRoyalUK on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com.

For additional information or to make reservations, guests can visit www.royalcaribbean.co.uk or call 0344 493 4005, or call their travel agent. Travel professionals can visit myclubroyal.co.uk