Exclusive: New book charts Royal Caribbean's record rise
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Delivering the WOW: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success by Richard Fain is out Oct. 21. Photo: Courtesy of Richard Fain and Fast Company Press
Royal Caribbean Group's record-breaking ships are driving a cruising comeback — its stock has jumped 400% in five years and it's now worth more than Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines combined.
The big picture: Longtime leader Richard Fain, who served as CEO for 33 years and is the current board chairman, says the company's secret isn't size, ships, or marketing — it's insatiability, a built-in drive to never be satisfied.
- In his new book "Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success" — shared exclusively with Axios and out Tuesday — Fain traces that philosophy back to a 40-day showdown in 1988, when Carnival tried to buy Royal Caribbean.
- "Delivering the Wow" is part leadership playbook and part cruise-industry retrospective, mixing behind-the-scenes stories from Fain's time at the helm.
How Royal Caribbean grew stronger after COVID
Why it matters: Fain argues that insatiability — the edge that defines Royal Caribbean's culture — helped turn it from a $550 million cruise line into a $90 billion global travel powerhouse with more than 100,000 employees worldwide.
- "It's now worth more than any airline, any hotel company," Fain said, adding that "it's probably the most valuable business in the tourism industry."
Zoom in: Fain says the company's people-first culture shows up everywhere — in how it builds ships, develops talent and makes decisions.
- "Of course, we have good training programs," he writes, "but enthusiasm can't be taught; insatiability can't be taught. One absorbs that through working with people who know and live the culture."
- He says that belief drives an approach of intentional leadership — one that prizes alignment over consensus, encouraging fierce debate but unified execution.
State of play: The mix of restless ambition and long-term focus, he told Axios, helped Royal Caribbean steer through COVID-19 — and come out stronger, despite not sailing for 16 months.
- "We refused to focus on how to survive," Fain told Axios. "Everything was about how we would emerge strong."
Royal Caribbean megaships and global cruise empire
The intrigue: Royal Caribbean's fleet includes the world's largest cruise ships, part of a three-brand empire built on the company's goal to keep improving.
- The company's Royal Caribbean International line sails megaships like Icon of the Seas and the new Star of the Seas — 1,200-foot, 249,000-ton floating cities that carry nearly 10,000 passengers and crew.
- Its sister lines, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, target premium and luxury travelers, extending the brand's reach across the global vacation market.
What's next: Fain, 78, who lives in the Miami area, plans to step down as chairman later this year but will remain on the board.
- The next Icon-class ships are under construction, Celebrity Xcel sets sail in November, and the company is expanding its Perfect Day private-island portfolio — all part of the long-term vision to "wow" guests and employees alike.
The bottom line: Fain's advice for leaders — and the company's guiding principle — is "good enough isn't good enough."
