MIAMI, Sept. 20, 2007 -- A Royal Caribbean International's newest interactive website, www.hungrysuitcase.com, aims to help vacationers pinpoint the perfect adventure that matches their personality.

The personality of the site, "Sammy the Suitcase", guides visitors through his "virtual home", brimming with items representing the three vacation styles of adventure, culture or relaxation. Visitors feed the hungry suitcase with volcanoes, hammocks, surf boards, fine wine, cheese, bicycles, bears, tuxedos and castles based on their travel preferences. The contents are evaluated by the "Vacation Fun-a-lyzer" which then delivers a personalized cruise vacation recommendation ... in song ... from Sammy.

"We're taking advantage of the latest online technology to help travelers choose and plan a cruise vacation in a highly interactive, entertaining and unique way," said William Hayden, director of relationship marketing, Royal Caribbean International. "The Hungry Suitcase website will be a great introductory tool for travelers who have never considered a cruise vacation; a fun way for families and friends to share in deciding on a cruise together; and perhaps help travelers find out their true vacation destination calling through Sammy's Vacation Fun-a-lyzer."

When CruiseSavvy tested the site on October 18, with the following observations...

Nice concept. It's great to help people think about what sort of vacation is right for them.

• Very limited recommendations. The site only suggests a very high level destination: Alaska, Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii or Mexico. An of course only on Royal Caribbean.
• Slow to load. The site uses Adobe Flash, and even on a high-speed line the first page took a few minutes to get functional. The "fun-a-lyzer" took several more.
• Kinda creepy. I'm not sure I want my vacation advice from a singing suitcase.
• Not much credibility. Singing suitcase aside, "recommendations" that boil down to one of five destinations on one cruise line don't really impress me.

That said, according to RCI, the site has received several awards including: Travel Industry Association's Odyssey Awards; New York Festivals' 2007 Finalist for Service Advertising; Favorite Website Awards' Site of the Month, June 2007; SXSW 2007 Web Awards - Winner in the Motion Graphics category; 2007 Webby Awards - Honoree for Travel Category; and iMedia Creative Showcase's Site of the Day, July, 24, 2007.