China may be able to compete on price, but the long history Germany has building ships is still giving it an edge over emerging rivals.
2 months ago
Royal Caribbean is adamant that it is in China for the long haul, despite short-term pricing pressures. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the industry responds if capacity proves difficult to absorb.
Cruise lines have used technology to create experiences on ships that wow guests, but Royal Caribbean's new CIO makes a good point: Tech should also continue to evolve to make the cruise experience easier to navigate for passengers.
3 months ago
Royal Caribbean was a market leader in sending new capacity to China, and continues to up the ante by sending a second brand new ship.
4 months ago
Royal Caribbean has been in the "world's-largest-ship" business for several years now. We're curious to know what they will come up with next.
Kudos to Royal Caribbean for focusing on product over bragging rights — but it would have been helpful to know about this development when it happened.
The first quarter is a popular time for travelers to start planning spring break and summer travel. Based on TV spending estimates for the first quarter, it's clear that the top spending brands such as Southwest Airlines, Trivago.com and Royal Caribbean are bent on getting Americans enamored with the thought of summer vacations.
5 months ago
Curtailing discounts and driving more onboard spending is a key for any cruise line. Royal Caribbean is leading the way.
Anyone still worried about the importance of the Caribbean to cruise lines should be reassured by these results.
Travel companies that want to grow are rightly keeping a focus on China; 130 million outbound travelers can't be ignored.
6 months ago
We don't see a variation of Boaty McBoatface on the horizon for any Royal Caribbean ships, but the April 1 announcement did generate some attention — which was, of course, the whole point.
Travel to regions affected by terror might face a difficult recovery, but that fear doesn't seem to spill over to most major cruise line destinations.
