Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain has highlighted the work the company has done since the pandemic. According to him, by November 2021 the group’s subsidiaries will have carried over one million cruise passengers since the restart.

“We wanted to show in a tangible way how safe and healthy cruising is. We’re doing that today – not by theory, not by prediction, but by actual operations … We’ve carried over half a million guests and only have 41 cases amongst those 500,000 people,” Fain said in his latest video address.

“We have always said that there will be cases aboard the ships, just as there are cases onshore. But because of our protocols, there haven’t been any big outbreaks, and the few cases we have seen have been managed quickly and effectively,” he added.

According to Fain, two-thirds of Royal Caribbean’s capacity is already operating.

“We are all seeing, and we’ll continue to see, a terrific track record during this period. Bookings for 2022 demonstrate that there is pent-up demand … Our focus is, therefore, on 2022, not the remaining months of 2021. Obviously, we don’t like giving up on any period, but we are more determined to do well in 2022 and 2023, even if that means accepting short-term hits this year,” he said.

Fain said key to Royal Caribbean’s success in 2022 will be a strong wave period.

“To have a good wave, we need to show that we go into wave with a solid and stable operation. That means by December we want stability, none of the confusion and endless changes that we have been experiencing and that are so frustrating,” he noted.

Fain said that by the end of 2021, Royal Caribbean wants virtually all of its ships to be operating and “operating seamlessly” in their core markets.

“We’re stepping up on marketing to prepare for wave period … We’re excited about the way forward and confident that the darkest days of behind this, as we set our sights on a strong wave and a powerful 2022,” he concluded.