Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's Customers Performance

The majority of cruise guests are sourced from North America, which represented approximately 55.7% of global cruise guests in 2014. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 3.3%.

Europe

Cruise guests sourced from Europe represented approximately 29.7% of global cruise guests. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 4.2%.

Asia/Pacific

In addition to expected industry growth in North America and Europe, we expect the Asia/Pacific region to demonstrate an even higher growth rate in the near term, although it will continue to represent a relatively small sector compared to North America and Europe. Based on industry data, cruise guests sourced from the Asia/Pacific region represented approximately 8.5% of global cruise guests. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 16.4%.

We place a strong focus on identifying the needs of our guests and creating product features that our customers value. We are focused on targeting high-value guests by better understanding consumer data and insights and creating communication strategies that best resonate with our target audiences.

We interact with customers across all touch points and seek to identify underlying needs for which guests are willing to pay a premium. We rely on various programs prior to, during and after a cruise vacation aimed at increasing our ticket prices, onboard revenues and occupancy. We have strategically invested in a number of projects onboard our ships, including the implementation of new onboard revenue initiatives that we believe drive profitability and improve the guest experience.

We also increase brand awareness across all of our brands through travel agencies, which generate the majority of our bookings. We are committed to this very important distribution channel by continuing to focus the travel agents on the unique qualities of each of our brands.

We sell and market our global brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, to guests outside of the United States and Canada through our offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, Singapore, China, Brazil, Australia and Mexico. We believe that having a local presence in these markets provides us with the ability to react more quickly to local market conditions and better understand our consumer base in each market. We further extend our geographic reach with a network of 38 independent international representatives located throughout the world covering 115 countries. Historically, our focus has been to primarily source guests for our global brands from North America. We also continue to expand our focus on selling and marketing our cruise brands to guests in countries outside of North America by tailoring itineraries and onboard product offerings to the cultural characteristics and preferences of our international guests. In addition, we explore opportunities that may arise to acquire or develop brands tailored to specific markets.

In an effort to penetrate untapped markets, diversify our consumer base and respond to changing economic and geopolitical market conditions, we continue to seek opportunities to optimally deploy ships to new and stronger markets and itineraries throughout the world. The portability of our ships allows us to readily deploy our ships to meet demand within our existing cruise markets. We make deployment decisions generally 12 to 18 months in advance, with the goal of optimizing the overall profitability of our portfolio. Additionally, the infrastructure investments we have made to create a flexible global sourcing model has made our brands relevant in a number of markets around the world, which allows us to be opportunistic and source the highest yielding guests for our itineraries.

Our ships offer a wide selection of itineraries that call on approximately 480 destinations in 113 countries, spanning all seven continents. We are focused on obtaining the best possible long-term shareholder returns by operating in established markets while growing our presence in developing markets. New capacity allows us to expand into new markets and itineraries. Our brands have expanded their mix of itineraries while strengthening our ability to further penetrate the Asian, Australian, Caribbean, and Latin American markets. Additionally, in order to capitalize on the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere and mitigate the impact of the winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, our brands have focused on deployment in Australia and Latin America during that period.

In an effort to secure desirable berthing facilities for our ships, and to provide new or enhanced cruise destinations for our guests, we actively assist or invest in the development or enhancement of certain port facilities and infrastructure, including mixed-use commercial properties, located in strategic ports of call. Generally, we collaborate with local, private or governmental entities by providing management and/or financial assistance and often enter into long-term port usage arrangements. Our participation in these efforts is generally accomplished via investments with the relevant government authority and/or various other strategic partnerships established to develop and/or operate the port facilities, by providing direct development and management expertise or in certain limited circumstances, by providing direct or indirect financial support. In exchange for our involvement, we generally secure preferential berthing rights for our ships.

The majority of cruise guests are sourced from North America, which represented approximately 55.7% of global cruise guests in 2014. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 3.3%.

Europe

Cruise guests sourced from Europe represented approximately 29.7% of global cruise guests. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 4.2%.

Asia/Pacific

In addition to expected industry growth in North America and Europe, we expect the Asia/Pacific region to demonstrate an even higher growth rate in the near term, although it will continue to represent a relatively small sector compared to North America and Europe. Based on industry data, cruise guests sourced from the Asia/Pacific region represented approximately 8.5% of global cruise guests. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 16.4%.

We place a strong focus on identifying the needs of our guests and creating product features that our customers value. We are focused on targeting high-value guests by better understanding consumer data and insights and creating communication strategies that best resonate with our target audiences.

We interact with customers across all touch points and seek to identify underlying needs for which guests are willing to pay a premium. We rely on various programs prior to, during and after a cruise vacation aimed at increasing our ticket prices, onboard revenues and occupancy. We have strategically invested in a number of projects onboard our ships, including the implementation of new onboard revenue initiatives that we believe drive profitability and improve the guest experience.

We also increase brand awareness across all of our brands through travel agencies, which generate the majority of our bookings. We are committed to this very important distribution channel by continuing to focus the travel agents on the unique qualities of each of our brands.

We sell and market our global brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, to guests outside of the United States and Canada through our offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, Singapore, China, Brazil, Australia and Mexico. We believe that having a local presence in these markets provides us with the ability to react more quickly to local market conditions and better understand our consumer base in each market. We further extend our geographic reach with a network of 38 independent international representatives located throughout the world covering 115 countries. Historically, our focus has been to primarily source guests for our global brands from North America. We also continue to expand our focus on selling and marketing our cruise brands to guests in countries outside of North America by tailoring itineraries and onboard product offerings to the cultural characteristics and preferences of our international guests. In addition, we explore opportunities that may arise to acquire or develop brands tailored to specific markets.

In an effort to penetrate untapped markets, diversify our consumer base and respond to changing economic and geopolitical market conditions, we continue to seek opportunities to optimally deploy ships to new and stronger markets and itineraries throughout the world. The portability of our ships allows us to readily deploy our ships to meet demand within our existing cruise markets. We make deployment decisions generally 12 to 18 months in advance, with the goal of optimizing the overall profitability of our portfolio. Additionally, the infrastructure investments we have made to create a flexible global sourcing model has made our brands relevant in a number of markets around the world, which allows us to be opportunistic and source the highest yielding guests for our itineraries.

Our ships offer a wide selection of itineraries that call on approximately 480 destinations in 113 countries, spanning all seven continents. We are focused on obtaining the best possible long-term shareholder returns by operating in established markets while growing our presence in developing markets. New capacity allows us to expand into new markets and itineraries. Our brands have expanded their mix of itineraries while strengthening our ability to further penetrate the Asian, Australian, Caribbean, and Latin American markets. Additionally, in order to capitalize on the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere and mitigate the impact of the winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, our brands have focused on deployment in Australia and Latin America during that period.

In an effort to secure desirable berthing facilities for our ships, and to provide new or enhanced cruise destinations for our guests, we actively assist or invest in the development or enhancement of certain port facilities and infrastructure, including mixed-use commercial properties, located in strategic ports of call. Generally, we collaborate with local, private or governmental entities by providing management and/or financial assistance and often enter into long-term port usage arrangements. Our participation in these efforts is generally accomplished via investments with the relevant government authority and/or various other strategic partnerships established to develop and/or operate the port facilities, by providing direct development and management expertise or in certain limited circumstances, by providing direct or indirect financial support. In exchange for our involvement, we generally secure preferential berthing rights for our ships.