Top Cruise Companies: Royal Caribbean International
Top Cruise Companies: Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also known by its former name Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, is
a cruise line brand founded in Norway and based in Miami, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1968
in Norway, and has been organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. since
1997. It is one of the largest cruise lines in the world; in 2018, Royal Caribbean International controlled
19.2% of the worldwide cruise market by passengers and 14.0% by revenue.[3] It also operates many of the
world's largest ships; as of May 2018, the line operates twenty-five ships, including the four largest ships in
the world, and has six additional ships on order.
NUMBER OF LOCATION : 3
AREAS SERVED: Alaska and the Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Europe,Canada
3. CELEBRITY CRUISES
FOUNDED : 1988
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Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 as a subsidiary of the Greece-based Chandris Group to operate
upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda. Chandris had been involved in cruise traffic since the 1960s, and during the late
1980s the company operated in the United States market under the brand name Chandris Cruises. Chandris Fantasy
Cruises targeted the lower end of the cruise passenger market, with fleets consisting of second-hand ocean liners.
Celebrity Cruises came into existence when, in April 1988, Home Lines, at the time one of the world's leading
premium cruise lines, was sold to Holland America Line. Home Lines' ships had held two of the five contracts
offered by the Government of Bermuda to cruise lines, giving the ships priority berthing arrangement and
unlimited access of sail to the islands in exchange for the ships sailing to Bermuda between April and October each
year. Although these contracts were highly valued, Holland America Line decided to withdraw the former Home
Lines ships from this service, leaving an opening for two new ships to gain access. Chandris wanted to acquire the
contracts, but the Government of Bermuda was only willing to award them to upmarket cruise lines, which
Chandris Fantasy Cruises was not. Celebrity's signature logo is an "Χ" displayed on the funnel of Celebrity ships,
and is the Greek letter chi, for "Chandris".
5. COSTA CRUISES
FOUNDED : 1854
HEADQUARTERS : Genoa, Italy
CEO : Michael Thamm
PARENT : Carnival Corporation & plc
Costa Cruises is an Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy, owned by Carnival Corporation & plc.
Founded in 1854, the company originally operated cargo ships, in order to carry olive oils and textiles from
Sardinia to Liguria. In 1924 the company passed to founder's sons (Federico, Eugenio and Enrico) that started
commercial activities, buying the ship Ravenna. Commercial activities continued until the introduction of
passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America. The company later
converted its entire fleet to full-time cruising, and as an independent company became one of the largest cruise
operators in Europe. Acquired by Carnival Corporation in 2000, Costa Cruises is now one of ten brands
operated by Carnival and accounts for approximately 16% of its revenue.