Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group (formally Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd) is an American global cruise company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, USA. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd was formed in 1997 when Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, (founded in 1968) was merged with the recently purchased Celebrity Cruises, (founded in 1988).
The decision was made to keep the two cruise line brands separate following the merger, as a result Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was rebranded Royal Caribbean International (RCI) with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd established as the new parent company of both Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and Celebrity Cruises.
In 2007, wishing to diversify its operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd established Azamara Club Cruises. In January 2021, the Royal Caribbean Group announced that it would sell Azamara Club Cruises to Sycamore Partners in the first quarter of 2021, the sale was completed in March 2021.
On 14 June 2018, the group purchased a majority stake in Silversea for approximately $1 billion. In July 2020, the group acquired the remaining shares of Silversea in exchange for 5.2 million shares of Royal Caribbean Group stock.
Today the company is the world’s second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of January 2021, the Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. They also hold a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and the now-defunct Pullmantur Cruises (liquidated in July 2021) and CDF Croisières de France (ceased operations in 2017).
