FORT LAUDERDALE — The portfolios of sibling brands Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International will look very different in just a couple of years, as one enters the river cruise market and the other grows its private destination offerings.
And for both, this transformational stage is still just the tipping point of growth and innovation, said the cruise lines' presidents at CruiseWorld here on Thursday.
Royal Caribbean's private island focus
When asked what the boldest idea that Royal Caribbean is currently betting on, CEO Michael Bayley said the cruise line's future is full of innovative ideas still in development.
"I would say over 50% of my time is not about now, it's about designing and being involved with different teams and creating new product for the future," he said. "We literally have some crazy ideas. And what's amazing about some really crazy ideas is that many times those ideas go through that creative process, and they actually create a new, innovative product."
Its latest project to be made public is the Royal Beach Club Santorini, its first European private destination, which it announced last week. Bayley called Santorini "probably the No. 1 desired destination in the Mediterranean in terms of interest."
The cruise line will have the opportunity to develop sailings that exclusively visit multiple ports with its private destinations, but it will also continue to offer sailings for cruisers looking for other experiences, Bayley said.
Celebrity hits the rivers in Europe
Celebrity Cruises, meanwhile, is bursting into the river cruise space and being fully embraced thus far in the process.
It is planning for more river ships than just the 10 on order, and while she declined to share how many more are coming, president Laura Hodges Bethge said to expect that news in the coming months.
"We wouldn't stop at 10 if we wanted to be a major player," Hodges Bethge said.
The river product's first priority-access bookings sold out in just six minutes, she said, and the majority of interest was from previous Royal Caribbean Group customers. In January, the cruise line will announce pre- and post-cruise offerings and information about excursions, she said.
Royal Caribbean Group decided to enter the river market because it wanted to innovate it and offer an opportunity to keep its customers within the brand portfolio while they sail rivers, Hodges Bethge said.
Don't give up if you have a client who isn't booked yet, she told the advisors in the room, since cancellations will inevitably happen.
"Just keep checking back because a cabin here or there will ultimately pop up," she said.