Case Assignment Royal Caribbean 
a. Describe Royal Caribbean’s business. How important are international operations for the company?
At the end of the 1960’s, Wilhelmsen and Stephan came up with the profitable idea that the wealthy residents of Florida will consider paying top dollar amounts to cruise to the Caribbean Islands as a great alternative for a week or weekend getaway. After proposing this idea to Norwegian entrepreneurs, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, was born.
Forty five years and forty ships later, based out of Miami Florida, Royal Caribbean is the second largest cruise line in the world, behind frontrunner Carnival. RCCL operates its ships under the brand names Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises, and Croisières de France.These fleets are competing in the maturing oligopolistic and consolidated cruise industry with destinations across the globe, including: Asia, Hawaii, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Baltics, South America, and the Caribbean.
RCCL business can be broken-down into two profitable areas; Revenue Management which involves the income that originates from booking a cabin, and Onboard Revenue constituted by non-included areas where guests spend additional dollars such as bar, onboard casino, internet services, spa treatments, gift shop, photo, shore excursions, port shopping among others. As the cruise capacity has multiplied and cruise fares have dropped, Royal Caribbean and all the major cruise lines have started to increasingly focus on onboard spending as a significant source of revenue.
At the end of 2007, the Unites States started to experience a recession phase that extended over the next eighteen months. During this economic crisis, Royal Caribbean suffered a significant drop in mostly every revenue area, which impacted enormously their stocks in the public market. Consequently, the company realized that they needed to expand their international operations abroad since this challenging situation was driven by their
At the end of the 1960’s, Wilhelmsen and Stephan came up with the profitable idea that the wealthy residents of Florida will consider paying top dollar amounts to cruise to the Caribbean Islands as a great alternative for a week or weekend getaway. After proposing this idea to Norwegian entrepreneurs, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, was born.
Forty five years and forty ships later, based out of Miami Florida, Royal Caribbean is the second largest cruise line in the world, behind frontrunner Carnival. RCCL operates its ships under the brand names Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises, and Croisières de France.These fleets are competing in the maturing oligopolistic and consolidated cruise industry with destinations across the globe, including: Asia, Hawaii, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Baltics, South America, and the Caribbean.
RCCL business can be broken-down into two profitable areas; Revenue Management which involves the income that originates from booking a cabin, and Onboard Revenue constituted by non-included areas where guests spend additional dollars such as bar, onboard casino, internet services, spa treatments, gift shop, photo, shore excursions, port shopping among others. As the cruise capacity has multiplied and cruise fares have dropped, Royal Caribbean and all the major cruise lines have started to increasingly focus on onboard spending as a significant source of revenue.
At the end of 2007, the Unites States started to experience a recession phase that extended over the next eighteen months. During this economic crisis, Royal Caribbean suffered a significant drop in mostly every revenue area, which impacted enormously their stocks in the public market. Consequently, the company realized that they needed to expand their international operations abroad since this challenging situation was driven by their