Royal Caribbean Enters Luxury Market

Every year Royal Caribbean Cruises makes big announcements; the launch of their newest vessels from Symphony of the Seas to the Celebrity Edge, large scale revitalizations or the Perfect Day Island Collection, which is a series of private island destinations around the world. While these are all exciting, I think the most intriguing news to come out of RCCL this year has been their agreement to purchase majority ownership of Silversea Cruises.
In June, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio, majority owner of Silversea Cruises, announced that Royal Caribbean would acquire a 66.7% stake in Silversea Cruises. I think the announcement came as a surprise to most of us in the industry for multiple reasons.
Luxury cruising has been a hot topic for the last few years. With the other major cruise conglomerates owning luxury brands, it seemed only a matter of time before Royal Caribbean entered the luxury market . Carnival Corporation owns Seabourn Cruises. NCLH owns Prestige which has two luxury brands, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania, and Genting, owns Crystal Cruises. It’s a logical strategic move for Royal Caribbean.
Silversea Cruises was founded in 1994 and has always been privately owned.

For years, I have heard of investment companies and cruise lines looking to expand their reach into the luxury marketplace. Silversea Cruises is always a candidate, but they weren’t for sale. Maybe it was just having the right partner at the right price and at the right time. The reported purchase price of the equity being acquired is approximately $1 billion.
For me, the question is how will Royal Caribbean’s new ownership change the way Silversea does business? It is reported that executive control for Silversea will remain in Monaco. Royal Caribbean is a publicly traded company with a very corporate culture. Will there be any shared services moving forward? It would make sense. I am certain it will be a process and only time will tell.
In the meantime, I am keeping my eye on MSC. With an aggressive growth plan already, will they be the next big player to enter the luxury market?