Overview
Royal Caribbean International is the second largest of the major cruise companies, and rightfully so. The brand has long shifted from being just another growing cruise line in the 1980s to one of the most innovative by the mid-2010s. Surfing and skydiving simulators, bumper cars, ice skating rinks, observation pods, and unique theater designs such as the Aquatheater and Two70 all combine to make Royal Caribbean a leader in technology and innovation in the industry as a whole.
History
In 1988, the company was reorganized as part of their acquisition by new ownership. At the time, the brand and their assets were worth a combined $800,000,000, but plans for future development would quickly overshadow that figure.
By the mid-1990s, Royal Caribbean was quickly expanding their fleet. On 30 April 1993, as part of a 'megabrand' strategy and guided by their charismatic Chairman and CEO, Richard Fain, the cruise line went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Of the $1,100,000,000 cruise line, the public then owned 16% of the company, Fain held 2%, and Anders Wilhelm Sen & Company and the Pritzker family each retained 41% of the company they had owned before the IPO.