Royal Caribbean: Cruisers spend more when on Oasis of the Seas

[mercedes]

Royal Caribbean's much-ballyhooed, 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas is proving itself a winner for the line in more ways than one. 

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain says that in addition to commanding unusually high ticket prices, the world's largest cruise ship also is generating huge revenue from customers once they get on board.  

"On-board spending is handily above other ships," Fain told Wall Street analysts last week during a conference call to discuss fourth quarter earnings. "Clearly, the business model we have been espousing for (Oasis) is producing the hoped for results."

 Fain notes that the new Solstice Class ships at Royal Caribbean's sister line, Celebrity Cruises, also are generating higher on-board revenue as well as higher up-front ticket prices.

The 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice debuted in late 2008 and a sister ship, the Celebrity Equinox, arrived in mid- 2009. Three more Solstice Class ships are on order.

"These new (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity) ships are incrementally more expensive to build, but they are quantumly more profitable to operate," Fain says. "That combination generates better returns on our investment."

The new Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships are packed with more places where passengers can spend money such as extra-charge restaurants and stores, helping to boost on-board revenue.

Profitability isn't the only area where the new Oasis of the Seas is standing out. Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein told the Wall Street analysts last week that the two-month-old vessel already is getting some of the highest customer ratings in the line's fleet.

Goldstein says concerns over the ship's record size have proved unfounded.

"The ports have no issues handling the ship, and our pier check-in ratings at the fabulous new Terminal 18 in Port Everglades have been higher for Oasis than for any other ship in the fleet for every one of her sailings thus far," he notes.

The vessel, he says, "has exceeded our expectations."

[ametrinel]

Went on the Oasis last April. There are a lot of ways to spend you money if you so desire. But you can easily keep it manageable if you learn to say "no!"