The Royal Comeback

If there’s a surefire way of measuring Royal Caribbean International’s commitment to the comeback of the cruise industry, one could simply look at the numbers.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said that the cruise line has gone from spending 10% of its usual marketing budget in the first part of the year to “as we now move into this fourth quarter, we are now investing in our marketing at a rate that we’ve never invested before in the history of our company.”

Bolstered by the fact that RCI now has 18 ships up and operating globally, more than 500,000 passengers have embarked on cruises with the company since operations resumed. Although the figures are lower than the 5.5 to 6 million annual guests typically on board during a pre-pandemic year, and lower than its goal of reaching one million guests by the end of year, Bayley is still optimistic.

For the full story, check out the latest issue of TRAVEL COURIER.