Articles tagged “royal caribbean”

Royal Caribbean Cruises wants to be a bigger player in the luxury and expedition cruise space. One surefire way to do that, now that it owns a majority stake in Silversea: build more ships.

It's not often these days that a cruise company singles out China as a highlight; the market has been too volatile. But for Royal Caribbean Cruises, China was one of several positive pieces that added up to an unexpectedly good quarter.

It's probably good news that the first move Royal Caribbean made after closing its majority stake in Silversea was announcing improvements to its fleet. We'll be curious to see what those upgrades include — and how the experience changes for passengers.

Cruise lines are confident that people will fill the ships they order, and shipbuilding yards are packed with business for years to come. Will Wall Street shake off its worries that demand won't keep up?

No one doubts that Cuba will continue to grow as a cruise destination. The question is how that growth will be managed — and whether the island can cope with the influx of additional daily visitors.

As we've said repeatedly: Everyone wants a piece of tours and activities, but not everyone can be successful. Royal Caribbean Cruises tried something different for a cruise company with GoBe, but the space was crowded.

Cruise lines are constantly trying to come out with more impressive bells and whistles, even when the type of ship has been around for years. Consumers appear to be responding, so don't expect the game to change.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has a lot of new ships coming, which will let the cruise operator charge higher prices and attract fresh interest. But as the global cruise industry continues to add capacity, analysts wonder if demand can keep up with the building boom.

While Americans lost some of the ability to explore Cuba on their own due to restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, cruise ships are offering organized trips approved by the U.S. government. That seems to be working out well for operators, who are eager to increase their presence in the destination.

China has been full of ups and downs as the cruise industry has grown its presence in the market. Identifying the cause of the downs — and taking steps to manage the factors that can be controlled — should help operators find stability.