Royal Caribbean Group has announced plans to acquire the ultra-luxury cruise ship Endeavor after court approval. The purchase price was $275 million, significantly below the cost of construction.
Originally delivered to Crystal Cruises in 2021, the ship will be renamed Silver Endeavour when it officially joins the fleet of the Group’s wholly owned subsidiary Silversea Cruises later this month [July].
Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said: “With Endeavour, we are seeking to grow our world class fleet to meet the exceptional demand for ultra-luxury expedition cruising, while also enhancing our profitability profile and affirming Silversea’s position as the industry’s leading ultra-luxury and expedition cruise line.”
The vessel was fully financed through a 15-year unsecured term loan, guaranteed by the German export credit agency Euler Hermes. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, cash flow and ROIC.
Silver Endeavour is scheduled to begin service in winter 2022/2023, spending its inaugural season in Antarctica starting in November 2022.
The ship can operate all of Silversea’s current expedition itineraries and is designed specifically to take travellers to the world’s most remote destinations, including both polar regions.
Silversea Cruises President and CEO Roberto Martinoli said: “The expedition cruising industry is poised to resume accelerated growth driven by demand among high-end, affluent customers for travel to remote and hard-to-access destinations.
“This ship will be the fourth vessel to join Silversea’s fleet since 2020, which demonstrates our commitment to growth.”
The Royal Caribbean Group purpose
Silver Endeavour offers the highest standards in the industry in terms of space-per-guest ratio, and crew-to-guest ratio, as well as top-notch accommodation and public areas.
The ship’s state-of-the-art expedition amenities offer guests some of the most immersive and luxury experiences available, including traveling with a fleet of zodiac boats for remote exploration.
“Delivering the best vacations in the world, responsibly, is Royal Caribbean Group’s purpose,” Liberty said.
“While our acquisition only covers the physical vessel, we want all of our guests to know we go above and beyond to take care of them.”
As part of the ongoing RCL Cares program, Royal Caribbean Group will protect the deposits of guests who were originally booked on Crystal Endeavor and make a new booking on one of the Group’s global brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.
“We believe those Crystal guests will receive back their deposits, but we want to give them added assurance,” Liberty added.
The Royal Caribbean Group will refund any amount paid on their new booking up to the amount of their lost deposits from Crystal, to the extent the Crystal Endeavor guests do not receive their deposits back from Crystal or other sources. Complete terms of the offer will be provided on each brand’s website soon.