Royal Caribbean Group (RCL)

Company Profile: Royal Caribbean Group (RCL)

If you picture a cruise operator as a mature business that just fills ships and collects fares, Royal Caribbean Group is writing a different story. Behind the familiar Royal Caribbean International brand, the company is executing what management calls the “Perfecta” program — a large bet on premiumizing the vacation-at-sea experience through next-generation ships, proprietary private destinations, and even an entirely new business category: river cruising.

At the front of that strategy sits the Icon-class series — the largest cruise ships in the world. The third ship in the series, Legend of the Seas, is due for delivery in Q2 2026 and will sail Europe first before moving to the US market. Two additional units, Icon VI and Icon VII, have just been ordered — a signal that management is confident in the returns on this ship class despite the very high build cost.

Business Segments / Brands

Management

Jason Liberty has led the company as Chairman & CEO since January 2022. Under his leadership, RCL not only recovered from the depths of COVID-19 but returned with more aggressive growth momentum than pre-pandemic — including a targeted 20% adjusted EPS CAGR from 2024 to 2027 under the Perfecta program, and a high-teens ROIC target by 2027.

Recent Corporate Actions

• Legend of the Seas — third Icon-class ship, delivering Q2 2026, sailing Europe first then the US
• Perfect Day Mexico (Costa Maya) — this private-destination project, planned at roughly 2x the size of Perfect Day CocoCay, was rejected by Mexico's SEMARNAT (environment ministry) over impact on mangroves, coral reefs and the Mesoamerican Reef System. Mexico's government has signaled openness to discussing an alternate site — the project isn't dead, just delayed
• Dividend hiked ~50% — from $1.00/share (paid January 2026) to $1.50/share (paid April 2026)
• New $2B buyback — following completion of the prior $1B program (3.5M shares retired); $1.9B returned to shareholders since July 2024

Shariah Compliance Status: NON-COMPLIANT

This matters for Mahersaham readers: RCL is confirmed NON-COMPLIANT with Shariah screens (per Zoya reference data). Two main reasons:

• Interest-based ship financing debt (riba) — cruise ships are extremely expensive capital assets (each Icon-class ship can run well over $2 billion), and RCL finances this construction through large-scale conventional, interest-bearing debt (total company debt now around $21 billion)
• Onboard revenue from alcohol and casinos — onboard alcohol sales and casino/gambling operations are a material revenue stream in the cruise-line business model, and this directly disqualifies the company from Shariah screens

We state this neutrally — not to pass judgment on the company, but so Muslim Malaysian investors can make an informed decision. RCL is an excellent business-execution case study, but it is not suitable for a Shariah-compliant portfolio.

This section is being refreshed with the latest figures. Please check back soon.

This section is being refreshed with the latest figures. Please check back soon.