Travel industry policies toward Cuba have not transitioned smoothly from Point A to Point B over the last three years, and the upcoming Trump administration fine print will likely change things anew.
Higher-than-expected cruise passenger counts are good news for an industry that saw much slower growth just a few years ago. A lack of high-profile disasters has been helpful, and cruise lines are getting better at promoting themselves and expanding into new markets.
As cruise executives often say, having ships all over the world means some areas boom while others struggle. At the moment, China-Korea tensions are hurting Royal Caribbean's business in Asia, but other regions are strong.
The "world's largest cruise ship" title gets a lot of attention from cruisers, and Royal Caribbean knows it can pretty much apply the term to any of its Oasis-class ships. More important than a title is the experience, and the cruise line seems to have found the right mix of features to get passengers on board.