Royal Carribean Cruise Line

A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain, and a hospitality staff headed by the equivalent of a hotel manager.

Among cruise lines, some are direct descendants of the traditional passenger shipping lines, while others were founded from the 1960s on specifically for cruising. The business is extremely volatile; the ships are massive capital expenditures with ruinous operating costs, and a slight dip in bookings can easily put a company out of business. Cruise lines frequently sell, renovate, or simply rename their ships just to keep up with travel trends.

A wave of failures and consolidation in the 1990s has led to many lines existing only as "brands" within larger corporations, much as a single automobile company produces several makes of cars. Brands exist partly because of repeat customer loyalty, and also to offer different levels of quality and service. For instance, Carnival Corporation owns both Carnival Cruise Lines, whose former image were vessels that had a reputation as "party ships" for younger travellers, but have become large, modern, and extremely elegant, yet still profitable, and Holland America Line, whose ships cultivate an image of classic elegance.

Currently the five largest cruise line operators in the world are Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Carnival Corporation & plc, Star Cruises, MSC Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a Norwegian / American company based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & PLC. As of March 2009, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. fully owns five cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisières de France, plus has a 50% stake in TUI Cruises. Previously Royal Caribbean Cruises also owned 50% of Island Cruises, but this was sold to TUI Travel PLC in October 2008.