Cruise pioneer marks 50 years of operations
Conceived in the 1960s, just as the modern cruise industry was beginning to take shape in Miami, Royal Caribbean International has grown to become the world’s second largest cruise company. November 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the line’s first cruise, one which laid the foundations for its modern fleet of enormous amusementladen mega-ships.
Like many of the 1960s cruise lines, Royal Caribbean owes much of its success to a young, visionary entrepreneur, who saw the potential in the cruise business. Edwin Stephan, born in the American Midwest, headed to Miami in the 1950s, where he started his career in the hotel business. He was first exposed to the emerging cruise industry when managing a hotel near the port, and soon became the general manager of one of the early cruise lines. Despite losing his first cruise ship, the 1927-built Yarmouth Castle, in a tragic fire at sea in which 90 people were killed, Stephan was soon managing another startup cruise line called Commodore Cruise Line.
From these early experiences he formulated a unique vision for a new cruise line. He wanted purpose-built cruise ships that would be efficient to operate and offer
