While quite successful in many of these areas, other ventures pale when compared with the Royal Caribbean story. How it all began has become part of modern cruising folklore: Ed Stephan’s vision of purpose-built Caribbean cruise ships, which combine Nordic maritime expertise and seamanship with America n/Continental marketing and catering knowledge, created a quality product for the middle-class American vacationer.
“We were contacted by the Fearnley shipbroker, Harald Jakhelln, who also happens to be related to my wife, Lise. Although we had no prior experience with passenger ships, Stephan’s arguments soon won us over. It didn’t take Gjert and me long to decide,” Wilhelmsen explained, in a 1997 interview with Cruise Industry News.
Later developments certainly proved the decision was right. Wilhelmsen continued, “Royal Caribbean was an instant and lasting success the ships were full from the first sailing; we hardly needed to advertise.”
The 40 days in 1988, when Royal Caribbean’s future was a stake, brought forth some of Wilhelmsen’s strong qualification: an analytical mind, a determined will and a vision into the future. “Rather than giving in on Carnival’s generous offer,” Wilhelmsen stated. “I decided to find a new partner, financially capable and willing to invest in more mega-ships.”
Later events confirmed his views. Revenues from the Monarch and the Majesty of the Seas had soon covered the entire purchase price from Skaugen and GotaasLarsen, and the six Vision ships have further strengthened Royal Caribbean ‘s position.
Read More: Successful Respected, from the 1997 Summer edition of the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine.
“I always wanted bigger ships,” said Arne Wilhelmsen as the Voyager of the Seas was entering service for Royal Caribbean International (RCl), in a 1999 interview with Cruise Industry News.
“I have had a strong belief in the industry ever since the beginning and always believed the big ships were the future,” Wilhelmsen said, noting that management does not always share his vision.
When the Sovereign was being introduced, Wilhelmsen’s two partners decided to sell out to Carnival Cruise Lines. It was only Wilhelmsen’s first right of refusal that prevented Royal Caribbean from becoming a Carnival subsidiary. Wilhelmsen refused to sell. In a few frantic weeks he came up with new partners, including the Pritzer family, and acquired full ownership of the cruise line.
Read More: The Bigger, The Better, from the 1999-2000 Winter edition of the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine.
“My initial perception of the industry was that it had great potential being the fastest growing segment in a growing vacation industry in which the cruise market constituted a very small part of the total,” Arne Wilhelmsen, one of the cofounders of Royal Caribbean Cruises, told Cruise Industry News for an interview in 2015.
Wilhelmsen, who served on the board of Royal Caribbean until 2003, said that the main drivers of the industry’s growth was the development of Miami as a modern cruise port and the building of modern vessels tailor-made for the Caribbean trade.
“At the time, there were some forwardlooking people in Miami who believed very strongly in the potential development of cruising in the Caribbean. One was Ed Stephan, a young hotel executive with a small cruise operation, who came to us in Oslo with a proposal. The other was Admiral Stevens, the port director of Miami, who had plans to develop Miami as a major cruise port.”
“Our initial concept was very simple,” Wilhelmsen continued. “Three vessels – two on 14-day and one on seven-day itineraries with two sailings every Saturday, which was easy to communicate to travel agents.”
Royal Caribbean also chartered Boeing 747 planes with 460 seats, which gave it the lowest seat cost between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami, which allowed the cruise line to tap the lucrative California travel market.
Read More: Next Sensible Growth, from the 2015 Spring edition of the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine.
