While the line’s president and chief executive Michael Bayley said he thought the strategy was “interesting” and that he hoped it would succeed, he ruled out a similar move for any of RCI’s current or future ships.
“It’s just not what we are going to be doing,” he told TTG. “We are multigenerational, very diverse - we try to make everyone happy.”
“The Solarium [for passengers over 16] has always been quasi adult-only, although kids do go in there and they tend to be relatively well behaved. So we have spaces for adults to have some sanity away from the kids but we’re not going to go into the adults-only market.
“From about mid-20s to early 30s through till late 40s and early 50s the big market tends to be family.
“Peak summer when the weather is better and everybody wants to travel is also when all the kids are out of school. So it’s an interesting idea and I wish them a lot of luck with it. I hope they succeed with the idea.”
Speaking onboard Symphony of the Seas during a media preview sailing, Bayley said he was “interested to see" which products would be competing against the ship "of this magnitude and quality". "But we wish them all a lot of luck,” he said.
He added that Virgin Voyages entering the cruise sector with a trio of ships was “fantastic” for the industry.
“[I remember when] Disney came into the cruise market we were its competitor but we were enthusiastic.
"It doesn’t hurt to grow the space and anyone who wants to enter the market with innovation and new ideas and new product and experiences, I think is wonderful,” he said.
