The purpose of this report is to analyze the cruise ship company Royal Caribbean International as a whole and establish the key success factors with a focus on their cruise ship “Symphony of The Seas”.

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A Market Analysis for
Royal Caribbean International
“Symphony of The Seas”
Jose Nolasco Ferrari
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
Sunday, September 1, 2019

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to analyze the cruise ship company Royal Caribbean
International as a whole and establish the key success factors with a focus on their cruise ship
“Symphony of The Seas”. This analysis will establish that Royal Caribbean International is one
of the most successful cruise ship company in the world, what makes this possible, their
strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for Royal Caribbean to improve. Royal
Caribbean International is driven by numerous success factors that enable it to generate millions
of dollars in revenue each year. Applying key success factors such as the ability to generate
revenue from onboard sources, partnering with travel agencies and applying industry trends
onboard.

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OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this analysis is to point out the company's pros and cons. Finally,
giving recommendations that might help Royal Caribbean increase their revenue, brand
awareness and reputation.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The information used for this analysis was gathered using external research from various
internet websites and Royals Caribbean’s “Online Press Center”. All the information used for
this analysis is from 2018 to the current year, financial and infographics information was current
on the day it was sourced.
RESEARCH AND KEY FINDINGS
Royal Caribbean International was founded in 1968 by three Norwegian shipping
companies. Royal Caribbean cruises feature unique onboard entertainment and industry-
acclaimed activities that make passengers have a unique experience onboard. Royal Caribbean
has been voted as “Best Cruise Line Overall” for 12 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly
Readers Choice Awards (Royal Caribbean, 2019).

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("Royal Caribbean Cruises", 2019)
The cruise line has built its reputation on providing the most innovative and unique cruise
vacations. In 2017, Royal Caribbean launched their biggest and high-end technology cruise ship
“Symphony of The Seas”, a 6,680 passengers cruise ship considered to be the biggest cruise ship
in the world (Matousek, 2019).
Symphony of The Seas is 1,188 feet long and over 215 feet wide, it has a large variety of
food and entertainment onboard, this includes 22 restaurant, 42 bars and lounges, rock climbing,
theaters, multi-story waterslides, surf simulators, and an 82 feet long zip line.
In 2018, the company generated 28.1% of its revenue from selling onboard services such
as meals and drinks. Royals Caribbean’s 2018 annual report stated that a $125.3 million increase
was due to their “Revenue enhancing initiatives” that included shore excursions, restaurant sales,
beverage packages, and telecommunication services. (Gollan, 2018) mentions that “Symphony
of The Seas” is 30% more efficient than other Royal Caribbean cruises due to onboard
improvements such as new generation propellers, LED lightning and onboard activities that only
consume 30% of the energy needed.

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("Royal Caribbean Cruises", 2019)
Royal Caribbean has a wide market environment that targets a vast range of passenger’s
demographics. The company’s target market includes all age ranges but according to (CLIN,
2019) people from 25 to 55 years old is the age group that is most likely to go on a cruise. Their
region target markets includes, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, China, Brazil and more (Royal
Caribbean, 2019), Due to the company’s large ships, this makes it difficult to navigate the
Mediterranean (U.S.News, 2019). Royal Caribbean focuses mostly on lifestyles of a typical
family with its main region focus on North America. The company has positioned itself as a
“family fun” vacation that includes all sorts of entertainment and activities (Royal Caribbean,
2019).
CONCLUSIONS
When combining the Royal Caribbean’s financials and markets reputation, we can see that the
company is doing a great job according to (U.S.News, 2019). Considered one of the best cruise

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company in the world (Bloom, 2019), Royal Caribbean can do better in the following categories:
Social media presence and investing in Europe. Recommendations for the company to improve
in these areas are mentioned above. If these recommendations are implemented into Royal
Caribbean’s business plan, the company might have an increase in revenue and continue growing
in the industry.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the research and conclusions, it is recommended that Royal Caribbean increase
their social media presence and increase their investments in other countries such as Europe.
Social platforms help a business connect with costumers, increase awareness about your brand,
and boost your leads and sales (Schmid, 2018). Also, social media provides a way for companies
to connect and build a relationship with their clients before and after their cruise vacation.

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REFERENCES
(2019). Retrieved 1 September 2019, from https://travel.usnews.com/cruises/best-cruise-lines-
for-the-money/
(2019). Cruise Ship: How They Make Money | Jeremy Kisner. Retrieved 1 September 2019,
from https://www.jeremykisner.com/cruise-ship-industry
About Us | Royal Caribbean Press Center. (2019). Retrieved 1 September 2019, from
https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/about/
Cruising Home. (2019). Retrieved 2 September 2019, from https://cruising.org/
Reader’s Choice 2018: Travel Weekly. (2019). Retrieved 1 September 2019, from
https://www.travelweekly.com/Readers-Choice-2018
Why Social Media Is Important for Business Marketing | Marketing Insider Group. (2019).
Retrieved 1 September 2019, from https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-
marketing/why- social-media-is-important-for-business-marketing
The 20 Best Cruises to Take In 2019. (2019). Retrieved 1 September 2019, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/01/31/the-20-best-cruises-to-take-in-
2019/#8f885cf51d94
The Pros and Cons of Cruising in Europe by Rick Steves. (2019). Retrieved 2 September 2019,
from https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/cruise-europe-pros-cons
IMAGES
Royal Caribbean Cruises. (2019). Retrieved 2 September 2019, from
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/?country=USA