Around the world, cruise lines are cutting the ribbon on extremely expensive new vessels—then keeping them ind
Normally, when a new ship wraps construction at a shipyard, it’s cause for a party, with executives in sharp suits and free-flowing Champagne. But when the sparkling 596-passenger ultraluxury ship Silver Moon joined Royal Caribbean Group’s elite Silversea Cruises brand in late October—the culmination of a $380 million, 20-month project—there was little pomp and circumstance. No media were on hand at the Italian shipyard to ooh and ahh over such exquisite design features as bespoke Lalique panels in the French restaurant and handcrafted Savoir beds in the top suites.
This time, even Royal Caribbean’s top brass bowed out of the celebration and teleconferenced from Miami. And the ship’s handover, in Ancona, Italy, came with a cringe. After all, Silver Moon has nowhere to go. With border restrictions and a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic freezing all kinds of travel, she may have to wait at least until spring to make her maiden voyage—and start turning any kind of profit.
“It’s very painful in many ways,” says Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “All this energy—whether it’s design, creating unique activities and venues—obviously you’re investing money as well, and you take delivery of the ship and you can’t do what you do best: delivering the best vacations in the world.”
Liberty isn’t alone in his frustration. At least 10 ships—ranging in cost from $75 million to near $1 billion—have wrapped construction amid the pandemic, representing an industry investment of more than $3.84 billion. Three additional vessels debuted at the beginning of the year. Most are stuck in holding patterns until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its counterparts around the world greenlight a return to cruising.