Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said that in 2028, the company expects significant benefits from the first complete operational year of Celebrity River.

During the company’s second quarter earnings call, Liberty said that the company will introduce Celebrity’s first river ships in 2027 and that will ramp up from two in 2027 to four ships in 2028.

Liberty said that the number of ships for river cruising is not just a reflection of the company getting comfortable operationally but having a very strong idea of all the different potential destinations, both in Europe and globally.

“We want to make sure that we can deliver these experiences to our guests, and we have to challenge ourselves not just because we can make some more money on it, but because we need to meet that demand for our guests who are looking to have that river experience,” Liberty added.

He added that Royal Caribbean feels good about the destination experience that Celebrity will offer, both on the ship and on land.

Liberty said his focus is currently on building up the company’s river ship fleet as soon as possible.

“I’m probably more focused on how we get it done faster. But our teams are being very thoughtful about that. It’s going to be a great vacation experience for our guests,” Liberty said.

“We’re pretty well baked with the ship design, which we are very confident will be a meaningful differentiator to what is currently available out there,” he added.

“And there’s a lot of space. This is a very underpenetrated marketplace, we think. There’s room for everybody to grow successfully, but we’re going to elevate this.”

Liberty said that another confidence driver is that the company has customers coming forward, wanting to be onboard as soon as possible.