With its namesake brand, Royal Caribbean International (RCL) has continually built the biggest cruise ships in the world. That's a strategy built around cruises where the ship is the destination.
On an Oasis-class ship (and soon on the new Icon-class) the destination really doesn't matter because passengers can spend their days exploring the massive ships which offer everything from water slides to ice skating.
Bigger ships, however, have their limits. You can't dock an Oasis-class ship at many ports and that limits the itineraries the cruise line can offer. Smaller ships often serve more as a means to an end -- it's a comfortable way to get where you're going.
Royal Caribbean has taken this to a luxury extreme with its boutique Silversea cruise line. Silversea offers much smaller luxury ships that can take passengers to pretty much every destination imaginable.
Now, the cruise line has agreed to add an ultra-luxury ship to the Silversea fleet.
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Royal Caribbean Gets a Deal on Something Fancy
Royal Caribbean has purchased the Endeavor, an ultra-luxury ship originally delivered to the now-bankrupt Crystal Cruises in 2021. The ship will be renamed Silver Endeavour when it officially joins the Royal Caribbean's Silversea Cruises’ fleet, this month.
At a price of $275 million, Royal Caribbean spent "significantly below the cost of construction," the company shared in a press release. The company, which financed the purchase on a 15-year term via an unsecured loan, said the "acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, cash flow and ROIC."
CEO Jason Liberty commented on the deal.
“With Endeavour, we are seeking to grow our world class fleet to meet the exceptional demand for ultra-luxury expedition cruising, while also enhancing our profitability profile and affirming Silversea’s position as the industry’s leading ultra-luxury and expedition cruise line,” said Liberty.
A Luxury Ship Built to Go Anywhere
“The expedition cruising industry is poised to resume accelerated growth driven by demand among high-end, affluent customers for travel to remote and hard-to-access destinations,” said Silversea CEO Roberto Martinoli. “This ship will be the fourth vessel to join Silversea’s fleet since 2020, which demonstrates our commitment to growth.”
Silver Endeavor will be luxurious even by Silversea standards.
"Silver Endeavour offers the highest standards in the industry in terms of space-per-guest ratio, and crew-to-guest ratio, as well as top-notch accommodations and public areas," the company shared. "The ship’s state-of-the-art expedition amenities offer guests some of the most immersive and luxury experiences available, including traveling with a fleet of zodiac boats for remote exploration."
“Delivering the best vacations in the world, responsibly, is Royal Caribbean Group’s purpose,” Liberty said. “While our acquisition only covers the physical vessel, we want all of our guests to know we go above and beyond to take care of them.”
This purchase also comes with very good news for Crystal Cruises customers who had booked trips on Endeavor as Royal Caribbean has decided to honor their deposits for use on any Royal Caribbean brand including Celebrity, Silversea, and the namesake cruise line.
"We believe those Crystal guests will receive back their deposits, but we want to give them added assurance," Liberty added.
If they don't get the money back from Crystal Cruises or other sources, "the Royal Caribbean Group will refund any amount paid on their new booking up to the amount of their lost deposits from Crystal."
“Delivering the best vacations in the world, responsibly, is Royal Caribbean Group’s purpose,” Liberty said. “While our acquisition only covers the physical vessel, we want all of our guests to know we go above and beyond to take care of them.”
