Royal Caribbean Group is a global cruise holding company and one of the biggest travel companies in the world.
It owns several major cruise brands and has also invested in other related ventures.
At the moment it controls Royal Caribbean International (one of the largest and most popular cruise lines in the world), Celebrity Cruises (which targets a premium clientele), and Silversea Cruises (an ultra-luxury cruise line).
And also has a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which are cruise lines based in Germany
As you probably know Royal Caribbean Group is also publicly traded and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol RCL. But what are the benefits for passengers who hold shares in it?
Let’s go over the benefits and see if it is worth buying shares if you are a frequent cruiser.
Can I get a discount if I am a shareholder of Royal Caribbean?
Let’s start right away with one of the questions you ask me most often. When I mentioned on Facebook that I owned shares in Royal Caribbean many people asked me if there are any shareholder discounts.
Actually no, you don’t have any discount on cruise booking. You pay the same price as other passengers.
The only benefit you receive is a credit that you can spend on board. Pay attention, though, because to receive the benefit you must own at least 100 RCL shares.
If you do the math, it is quite a big investment. When I am writing this article a share of Royal Caribbean is priced at about $150. That means you have to spend about $15,000 on it in order to get some benefit on your cruises.
The credits that you can claim are:
- $50 onboard credit per cabin on short sailings (5 nights or fewer).
- $100 onboard credit per cabin on medium sailings (6 to 13 nights).
- $250 onboard credit per cabin on long sailings (14 nights or more).
Is it worth it?
As you can see is not much. I don’t think it is worth buying the shares if your intent is solely to take advantage of this benefit, especially if you do not travel much.
Another thing to note is that you can claim the same benefit with Celebrity Cruises but you can’t claim it with the other cruise lines in the group like Silversea or TUI.
UPDATE 2024: Royal Caribbean has confirmed that now the benefit also applies to Silverseas cruises as specified on the investors’ page.
How can I claim it?
If you travel a lot and think it might be worth it for you, or you think it is a good investment in the stock market, applying for the benefit is quite simple.
The only thing you have to know is that it’s not an automatic thing but you have to apply for it before you depart.
Royal Caribbean suggests doing that at least 3 weeks prior to sailing.
You must send a form with your name, address, email, confirmation number, ship, and sailing date.
You can do it here for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and here for Silversea Cruises.
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