RCCL Pleased with Oasis, But Not Likely to Build More

Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas is a “gratifying success,’ but parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. probably won’t build more of the 225,000-ton ships after Allure of the Seas debuts in December. RCCL Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said Oasis is commanding “tremendous premiums’ and “onboard spending handily above other ships.’

During a conference call with analysts to announce fourth-quarter earnings, Fain said “Oasis was a special case, a special opportunity, and I think it would be probably less likely we would have more Oasis ships than the two we have.’ He also said the company is “looking forward to period of slower growth’ and that an order placed today wouldn’t come online until 2013.

Royal Caribbean International President Adam Goldstein said Oasis “exceeded our very high aspirations’ and already is the highest-rated ship in the fleet. “We do not face issues of crowds or lines onboard,’ he said. “In summary, we are exceptionally pleased.’

Booking volumes since September are showing a 30 percent year-over-year improvement. In line with our survey and preview, management indicated premium Europe and Alaska itineraries showing booking and pricing strength versus a year ago.

However, while booking volume for Caribbean itineraries is promising, pricing remains consistent with management’s expectations from a few months ago, so Caribbean may not have shown as much relative improvement. The areas of least strength are cruises based out of the West Coast and Northeast, especially Mexican Riviera departures from the West Coast.