Royal Caribbean Group

In 1969, hospitality entrepreneur Ed Stephan and three Norwegian ship owners, Sigurd Skaugen, Anders Wilhelmsen and Gotaas Larsen, created a cruise line to sail the Caribbean, Royal Caribbean. Its first ship, Song of Norway, set out on her maiden voyage from Miami on November 7, 1970.⁠[1]

In April 1993, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. sold 10 million shares of common stock in its initial public offering at $18 per share, listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RCL. Gross proceeds were $180 million and net proceeds to the company $168 million, to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. After the offering, the former owners, Wilhelmsen and the Pritzker family, each held 41%.⁠[2]

In July 1997, the company acquired all of the outstanding stock of Celebrity for $515.0 million, paid with $245.0 million in cash and 7,448,276 shares of its common stock. Celebrity Cruises then operated five cruise ships with a total capacity of about 8,200 berths.⁠[3]

On July 21, 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Royal Caribbean would plead guilty to 21 felony counts and pay a record $18 million criminal fine for polluting U.S. waters. The company admitted routinely dumping waste oil, deliberately discharging hazardous chemicals and submitting falsified records to the Coast Guard. With a $9 million fine from 1998 guilty pleas, combined fines reached $27 million.⁠[4]

On November 14, 2006, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. completed its purchase of Pullmantur S.A., a Madrid-based cruise and tour operator, with closing documents signed in Madrid that day. The company had agreed in August with Pullmantur’s shareholders to buy all of its capital stock and received regulatory approval in October.⁠[5]

The Group acquired 50% of TUI Cruises in 2007.⁠[1]

On December 1, 2014, S&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that compiles and licenses benchmark indices including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2012 by combining McGraw-Hill’s S&P index business with the Dow Jones Indexes business held by a joint venture of CME Group and Dow Jones, and it is now the index business division of S&P Global, which holds about 73% of the interest.Open the full entry announced that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. would replace Bemis Company Inc. in the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry effective after the close of trading on Thursday, December 4, in the GICS Consumer Discretionary sector and the Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines sub-industry.⁠[6]

On July 31, 2018, Royal Caribbean announced that it had completed the acquisition of a 66.7% stake in Silversea Cruises, in a deal that valued Silversea at an enterprise value of about $2 billion. Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio retained a 33.3% stake and remained Silversea’s executive chairman. After the deal, the company’s fleet numbered 59 ships, with 15 more on order.⁠[7]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company voluntarily suspended cruise operations from March 13, 2020. Total revenues for 2020 were about $2.2 billion, down from about $11.0 billion in 2019, and the US GAAP net loss was about $5.8 billion, compared with net income of about $1.9 billion in 2019. Results included charges related to the reorganization of Pullmantur S.A.⁠[8]

On July 30, 2020, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced Royal Caribbean Group as its corporate name and updated its crown and anchor logo, placing it inside a circle at all times. Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain said, “The name is simpler, fresher and more modern.”⁠[9]

On March 19, 2021, the company completed the sale of the Azamara brand to private equity firm Sycamore PartnersSycamore PartnersSycamore Partners is a private equity firm headquartered in New York, United States, founded by Stefan Kaluzny in 2011. It focuses on consumer, distribution, and retail-related investments and has acquired companies including Talbots, The Jones Group, Belk, and Staples; in August 2025, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, it completed the take-private acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance.Open the full entry for $201 million in cash, including Azamara’s three-ship fleet and related intellectual property.⁠[10]

On November 9, 2021, the company announced that Richard D. Fain, chief executive for more than 33 years, would step down as CEO on January 3, 2022, and be succeeded by Jason Liberty, while remaining Chair of the Board. Liberty joined the company in 2005 and held several financial, strategic and operational roles before becoming CFO in 2013.⁠[11]

Havana Docks Corporation sued Royal Caribbean Group, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. A district court found the four liable in 2022. On October 22, 2024, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Havana Docks’ property interest had expired at the time of the alleged trafficking and reversed the judgments for conduct from 2016 to 2019.⁠[12]

On May 21, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 8–1 to set aside the appeals court’s decision in the case, which involved combined judgments of $440 million against the four cruise companies. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion, and Justice Elena Kagan dissented.⁠[13]

On June 6, 2025, the company announced that Fain, chairman since 1988, would step down as chairman in the fourth quarter of 2025 and remain a director, and that Jason Liberty, president and CEO since January 3, 2022, had been elected to become chairman and CEO in the fourth quarter of 2025. John Brock assumed the role of independent lead director.⁠[14]

As of December 31, 2025, the combined fleet of the company and its partner brands was 69 ships with about 179,720 berths, and the company had about 108,000 employees.⁠[15]

On January 29, 2026, the company released results for fiscal 2025: total revenues of $17.9 billion (2024: $16.5 billion), US GAAP net income of about $4.3 billion (2024: about $2.9 billion), diluted earnings per share of $15.61 (2024: $10.94), and 9,446,010 guests carried (2024: 8,564,272).⁠[16]