During Royal Caribbean Group’s recent third quarter 2024 earnings call, the company shared financial results that were better than expected. Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty stated, “Our exceptional third quarter results and increased full year expectation reflect the robust demand for our differentiated vacation experiences.” He also spoke to 2025 and beyond.
Some of the highlights for the future of the company spoken of on the call were its new build orders, the Texas market and its shoreside presence.
New Build Orders
Liberty said, “You certainly have seen all of our orders through 2027 and maybe even into 2028.” Those orders include three additional Icon-class ships, another Oasis-class ship, and a Celebrity ship. Additionally, there are two newbuilds for TUI Cruises.
Liberty continued, “We have lots of options that are available to us that we’ve secured. We operate a very large global footprint that we feel very confident about our ability to get yield growth and good yield growth on capacity growth over time.”
Texas Market
Looking to Galveston, Liberty stated the Texas market was larger than Florida but with half the penetration. To leverage that market, Royal Caribbean Group strategically opened a new state-of-the-art terminal in Galveston in 2022 and has plans to open Royal Beach Club Cozumel and Perfect Day Mexico in the near future.
Of Perfect Day Mexico, Liberty said, “Perfect Day Mexico is strategically located to deliver exceptional vacation experiences in both the Eastern and Western Caribbean, and supports our ambition that every guest on the Royal Caribbean brand will have a Perfect Day on their Caribbean itinerary. It also allows us to further grow the large and growing Gulf Coast area.”
Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley noted the cruise line would begin offering more short cruises out of Texas, Louisiana, North Florida and Tampa, and said, “And of course, we’ll be able to offer really an extraordinary short break from these ports to Perfect Day (Mexico) and Royal Beach Club Cozumel. So we think that’s really a huge competitive advantage. We opened up our brand-new terminal (in Galveston) just around when we came out of the pandemic, that’s been a huge success. It’s incredibly efficient, and it can handle the large Oasis- and Icon-class ships. So when you think about that class of ship operating on short product to Perfect Day Mexico and Royal Beach Club, we think we’ve really got a great product offering for our customers out of Texas and all of the Gulf ports.”
Shoreside Presence
The cruise line completed an extensive remodel of Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas in 2019, opened the Coco Beach Club in 2021, and welcomed its first guests to the adults-only Hideaway Beach in January 2024.
Construction began on Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in April 2024. The 17-acre island near the Nassau, Bahamas cruise port will be significantly different from the experience at Perfect Day at CocoCay. Guests will enjoy the perfect beach day while enjoying Bahamian hospitality and culture. The destination is expected to open in 2025.
As announced in March 2024, Royal Caribbean will open a new Royal Beach Club on the shores of Cozumel in 2026. Royal Beach Club Cozumel will be a luxury destination offering swim-up bars, private cabanas, snorkeling, kayaking, tequila tastings, cooking classes, and more.
In 2027, Royal Caribbean is expected to open its biggest private island destination ever in Mexico–Perfect Day Mexico. The destination will be located on the shores of Costa Maya and promises “locally inspired twists across the design, flavors, and spirit” of Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas. Some of the planned experiences include a waterpark with new rides, pools, beaches and diverse dining venues.