Royal Caribbean International’s president and chief executive is in a jubilant mood. We meet on the day the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finally lifts its cruise ship travel health notice – an advisory that has been in place for two years. Although the authority is still urging travellers to "make their own risk assessment" before taking a cruise, for Michael Bayley, the lifting of the health advice is a noteworthy “vote of confidence” in the sector.
“We take it as very positive,” he grins. “What the CDC has said is reflective of what we see in society – that Covid has now entered into its new phase. We all know people who’ve got the virus, who are vaccinated – they might have a sore throat for a day, or some sniffles but they’re fine. Thankfully, it finally seems we’re coming out of it [the Covid crisis]”.
Bayley’s relief is palpable. Few could have predicted it would take two years for the US to lift its health advice on cruising, and even now Royal Caribbean is not quite sailing at full capacity. Bayley admits frankly, it has been a “brutal” time – “it’s hard to believe what we’ve been through this past two years” – and he concedes the sector hasn’t emerged from the crisis quite as quickly as he had hoped.
“I think we would all like to be coming out of it faster, but our bookings have really rebounded from Omicron and we’ve got some ships now sailing at a hundred percent load factor. So you do get the feeling we’re coming out of it – it was great news from the CDC.”
He is also hopeful that all Royal ships will be sailing within the next month. “We have 26 ships and we’ve probably got between 20 and 24 operating now. But I would say by the time we get to some time in May, all 26 of our ships will be all operating.”
For Bayley that time can’t come quickly enough. He is full of praise for the UK and the speed at which the British government eased Covid restrictions – “I’ve got to take my hats off to the Brits for removing all of the restrictions earlier than everybody else, that’s been remarkably helpful.” He says it’s “still a little bumpy” in Europe with regards to different countries operating different restrictions but adds: “My sense is that in the coming weeks and months it will straighten itself out.”
But as one crisis eases, so another rears its terrifying head. And like other senior figures Bayley is quick to condemn the “terrible” situation in Ukraine.
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Royal Caribbean International currently has 500 Ukrainian employees and Bayley says the line has made a fund, worth around $2 million, available to help their families if needed.
“We’ve tried to be as flexible as we can in assisting them if they wanted to go home or travel or whatever they needed to do.” He admits Royal saw only a marginal increase in staff wanting to return home, but says members of staff have now started requesting financial support to help their families.
And what of the war’s longer-term impacts on the market – could the ongoing crisis could put off US guests from travelling to Europe, thereby triggering excess capacity in the line’s European based ships? “This year is such an untypical year anyway, as we all emerge from the Covid tragedy,” Bayley replies thoughtfully. “There’s nothing normal about this year. I don’t think there’s going to be a capacity issue for vacationers.
“I do think that the tragic events in Ukraine have a negative impact on travellers coming from the US which is totally understandable,” he acknowledges. “But what we have seen for our brand is that demand is very healthy. So I think we’ll continue to see healthy demand in what’s regarded as safer spaces.”
That demand will be all important as the line prepares to bring its newest Oasis-class vessel – also now the largest cruise ship in the world – to Europe for its maiden season from May. The 6,988-passenger Wonder of the Seas launched in March and will arrive in Europe to sail summer Barcelona and Rome itineraries from next month.
And in true Oasis-class form, it is “slightly heavier and a little bit longer” than its predecessor, Symphony of the Seas. “I don’t know why we’ve become strangely obsessed with this,” Bayley laughs, “but for some reason every new ship in that class, we always expand it a little bit so it always has the title of the largest, biggest cruise ship on the planet.”
