One of the worst kept secrets in the cruise industry was revealed Wednesday as Royal Caribbean International announced that the oldest two ships in its fleet, the Empress and Majesty of the Seas, were sold to a new owner in Asia.

Not only were they the oldest ships in the fleet, but they were relatively smaller too.

The 1990-built Empress at 1,840 passengers and the 1992-built Majesty at 2,354 guests, were well below the 2020 fleet average of approximately 3,268 berths for the brand at 100 percent double occupancy, according to the Global Cruise Ship Index by Cruise Industry News.

The average fleet age, in 2020, according to the Global Cruise Ship Index, was 15.2 years for Royal Caribbean International.

With both ships leaving the fleet, but prior to the debut of the new 4,200-guest Odyssey of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s average ship size jumps to 3,375 guests, and the fleet gets younger, with an average age of just 14 years.

Of note, the company’s growth will be flat in 2021, the new Odyssey, at 4,200 berths, reflects the capacity of both the Majesty and the Empress.

The new ship, as well, should command a higher ticket price, better onboard spending, and be more efficient to operate.