Royal Caribbean International (RCI), previously known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the largest cruise line by revenue and second largest by passengers counts. In 2018, Royal Caribbean International controlled 19.2% of the worldwide cruise market by passengers and 14.0% by revenue. As of January 2022, the line operates 26 ships and has four additional ships on order.
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1997. Celebrity's signature logo is an "Χ" displayed on the funnel of Celebrity ships, and is the Greek letter chi, for "Chandris".
Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of January 2021, Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. They hold a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, also the now-defunct Pullmantur Cruises and CDF Croisières de France.
TUI Group is a German leisure, travel and tourism company. TUI is an acronym for Touristik Union International. TUI AG was known as Preussag AG until 1997 when the company changed its activities from mining to tourism. It is headquartered in Hanover, Germany.
Marella Explorer is a Century-class cruise ship owned and operated by Marella Cruises. Before joining TUI she cruised as MV Galaxy with Celebrity Cruises, and later as Mein Schiff with TUI Cruises. She was laid down at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on 25 May 1995, was launched in May 1996, and was delivered to Celebrity Cruises on 10 October 1996. She entered service on 21 December 1996.
MS Monarch was the second of three Sovereign-class cruise ships owned by Royal Caribbean International. Beginning on April 1, 2013, Monarch was operated by RCCL's Pullmantur Cruises, before being sold for scrap in 2020 following Pullmantur's closure. The ship was built in 1991 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Empress is a cruise ship owned by Cordelia Cruises, an Indian cruise line. She is the sole ship of her class. She entered service with then-Royal Caribbean International in 1990, transferred to Pullmantur Cruises in 2008, and then returned to Royal Caribbean International in 2016. In December 2020, she was retired from the Royal Caribbean fleet and sold to Cordelia Cruises.
The MV Horizon was a cruise ship that sailed from 1990-2020, and was the first new build for Celebrity Cruises. She was sent for scrapping in Aliaga in 2022.
Carnival Pride is a Spirit-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was laid down on March 30, 2000, launched on March 29, 2001 and completed and delivered to Carnival on December 12, 2001. She was christened by American scientist and astronaut Tamara Jernigan in Port Canaveral, Florida, on January 7, 2002.
MS Sovereign was one of three large cruise ships of the Sovereign class operated by Pullmantur Cruises and formerly by Royal Caribbean International. When she was completed in 1987, Sovereign of the Seas was the world's largest passenger ship. On 24 June 2020 Sovereign arrived and was beached at Aliağa, Turkey, where she was dismantled.
Pullmantur Cruises was a cruise line headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. In 2006, Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by U.S.-based Royal Caribbean Group, but Royal Caribbean later sold a 51% stake in the cruise line to Spain-based investment firm Springwater Capital, retaining a 49% stake.
MS Celestyal Olympia is a cruise ship owned by the Cyprus-based Celestyal Cruises, formerly Louis Cruise Lines. In April 2012 she was named Louis Olympia after operating as the Thomson Destiny for Thomson Cruises. She was built in 1982 at Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as MS Song of America. Between 1999 and 2004 she sailed for Sun Cruises as MS Sunbird. She was previously under charter to the United Kingdom-based Thomson Cruises until April 2012 as the MS Thomson Destiny. She has since sailed for Louis Cruises as MS Louis Olympia, and as MS Celestyal Olympia since 2014.
Marella Cruises is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia.
MS Island Escape was a cruise ship originally built as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia in 1981.
Blue Sapphire is a cruise ship owned and operated by ANEX Tour. She was originally built in 1981 by Bremer Vulkan of Germany for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises as Europa. In 1999, Europa was sold to Star Cruises and she was renamed SuperStar Europe and a year later, Superstar Aries. In 2004, she was sold to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Holiday Dream. In May 2008, she was transferred to the fleet of CDF Croisières de France and renamed Bleu de France. In November 2010, she was sold to Saga Cruises, but retained on charter by CDF for a further 12 months. Following an extensive refit in Italy from November 2011 to March 2012, the vessel was renamed Saga Sapphire. Most recently, she was sold to ANEX Tour in June 2020 and renamed Blue Sapphire, scheduled for an official debut in 2021.
CDF Croisières de France was a cruise line that catered to the French cruise market, with French as the primary language used on board. CDF was a subsidiary of Pullmantur Cruises, and offered cruises to the Mediterranean operating from mid-March until November. Most CDF cruises were all inclusive. in many, but not all cases, the price included airfare. However, cruises could be purchased without airfare as well. CDF ceased operations in 2017.
TUI Airways Limited is the British arm of the TUI Airline group, which is owned and operated by the TUI Group. They offer scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
MS Nautica is a cruise ship, built for Renaissance Cruises as part of their R class. Nautica is now owned and operated by Oceania Cruises, where she is part of their Regatta Class. She was built in 2000 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, for Renaissance Cruises as MS R Five. Between 2002 and 2004 she sailed for Pullmantur Cruises before entering service with her current owners in 2005.
Premier Cruises was a cruise line holding company formed in the early 1990s that focused on the family cruise market as well as on developing cruise operations in new geographic markets. The company's business focus was to acquire older cruise vessels, refurbish these vessels in order to offer "traditional cruise experiences", operate the vessels in geographic areas, such as Europe and south/Central America.
TUI Cruises is a cruise line based in Germany. It was formed in 2007 as a joint venture between the German tourism company TUI AG and the American cruise line operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., both of whom hold a 50% stake in the company. The company started operations in 2009 and competes with AIDA Cruises for the German market. It targets German-speaking customers who opt for a premium cruise experience. The onboard product, including food, entertainment and amenities, is custom-tailored for German tastes and German is the main language used onboard its ships.
