Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997.
Based in Miami, Florida, it is the largest cruise line by revenue and second largest by passenger counts. As of 2025, Royal Caribbean International controlled 27.0% of the worldwide cruise market by passengers and 24.8% by revenue.[1]
As of, the line operated 29 ships, with additional vessels on order.
History
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was founded in 1968 by three Norwegian shipping companies: Anders Wilhelmsen & Company, I.M. Skaugen & Company, and Gotaas Larsen. The newly created line put its first ship, Song of Norway, into service two years later. A year later, the line added Nordic Prince to the fleet and in 1972 it added Sun Viking. In 1978, Song of Norway became Royal Caribbean's first passenger ship to be lengthened. This was accomplished by inserting an 85 ft section. Following the success of this work, Nordic Prince was also stretched in 1980. During the stretching of both ships, their sterns were modified to create more open space. In 1982, Royal Caribbean launched Song of America.
In 1986, Royal Caribbean leased a coastal property in Labadie, Haiti, to be used as a private destination for its guests, renamed as Labadee.[2] After a corporate restructuring in 1988, the line launched Sovereign of the Seas, the largest passenger vessel afloat at the time.[3] That same year, Royal Caribbean also merged with Admiral Cruises.[4] Two years later in 1990, Nordic Empress and Viking Serenade entered service and Royal Caribbean purchased a second private destination, Little Stirrup Cay, an island in the Bahamas, which they branded as CocoCay.[4]
The second and third Sovereign-class cruise ships Monarch of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas were delivered in 1991 and 1992 respectively.
Royal Caribbean went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1993.
Reorganization and renaming
In 1997, it merged with the Greek cruise line Celebrity Cruises and changed its name from Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to Royal Caribbean International. At the same time, Royal Caribbean Group was formed as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to serve as a holding company that owned both Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.
In 2000, Royal Caribbean operated a series of land-and-sea-based "cruise tours" in Alaska, featuring glass-domed train cars to scenic destinations within the state and Canada. Over the next two years, they also introduced cruise tours to destinations throughout Europe.[5]
The larger Oasis class, featuring Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, launched in 2009 and 2010. In December 2012, Royal Caribbean announced that they had ordered a third Oasis-class cruise ship from STX France, which would be larger than the previous ships in the class.[6]
Private resorts
Royal Caribbean operates two privately owned resorts that are used as stops on some Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. They are Labadee, a resort on the northern coast of Haiti, and CocoCay, a private island in the Berry Islands region of the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean will establish the Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas in December 2025.[23]
The company is planning to open additional private resorts in Cozumel[24] and Costa Maya[25] in Mexico and on Lelepa Island, Vanuatu in the South Pacific.[26]
Fleet
Current fleet
Since Sovereign of the Seas entered service in 1987, all subsequent Royal Caribbean ships have names ending with the phrase "of the Seas".
Vision class
The Vision class consists of three pairs of sister ships. Legend and Splendour, built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire, France have a gross tonnage of approximately 70,000. Grandeur and Enchantment were built at Kvaerner Masa-Yards, Helsinki, Finland and had an original tonnage of approximately. The final pair, Rhapsody and Vision were also built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, and have a tonnage of. In 2005, a 74 ft midsection was added to Enchantment of the Seas, bringing its tonnage to over. All ships of this class feature over 2 acre of glass. Royal Caribbean sold both Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas to Marella Cruises. Splendour of the Seas last sailed for Royal Caribbean on 4 April 2016, and the final Legend of the Seas sailing for Royal Caribbean left port on 13 March 2017.
Ports of call
Royal Caribbean operates internationally and has many ports of call.
International ports
U.S. Ports
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Awards
Travel awards include:
Sustainability
In 2015, Royal Caribbean committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs for all of its lines by 2025.[157]
Controversies
Cruise line operators have been criticized for using their large economic impact to cut deals over ship-generated waste with home ports, ports of call, and agencies.[158]
Norovirus outbreaks
In January 2014, an outbreak of norovirus aboard Explorer of the Seas sickened 689 of 4,237 passengers and crew (16.3%), causing the ship to return to port two days early.[159][160] The outbreak was reported as one of the largest cruise ship illness incidents in two decades.[161] Royal Caribbean offered all passengers aboard that cruise a 50% refund of their cruise fare, an additional 50% (plus 10% for each day sick passengers were quarantined) of their cruise fare as a credit towards another cruise, and reimbursed extra travel expenses for guests returning home early.[162]
See also
- PortMiami
- Tourism in Florida (Miami)
- Private island
- Royal Caribbean Group
External links
References
- 2025 Worldwide Cruise Line Market Share Cruise Market Watch, retrieved 10 May 2025^
- Dave says. Cruise Travel Guide | Labadee Haiti, an Oasis of the Seas port of call | Cruise Accommodations Planeteyetraveler.com, 26 November 2009, retrieved 10 December 2011^
- Sovereign Of The Seas Cruise Ship Will Make Big Waves In Caribbean Travel Notebook