For a comprehensive history of the cruise industry, readers might pick up the book “Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes, and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires” by Krisstoffer A. Garin. In that text, Richard Fain, chairman and former CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, features heavily.
Now, for a behind-the-scenes view of cruising written by the executive himself, travel agents and their clients can turn to “Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success,” which was just released.
Fain has been a pivotal figure in the world of cruising — across his three decades in the industry, he has lead teams at Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and, most recently, Silversea. All the while, he has maintained a jovial sense of humor (which readers will sense throughout the book) and great admiration for all the supporting players around him.
“I hope the book reflects a little of my appreciation to people like yourself, the travel advisor community, our guests and our crew members,” he said. “It's all about people, the people, the people.”
After an advance read, I have a greater understanding of Royal Caribbean’s ETDBW approach — or “easy to do business with," which feels especially important from a travel advisor perspective. Any industry player curious about how Royal’s innovative Muster 2.0 began, or how Project Excalibur reduced the pier-side check-in process from 75 minutes to only 10, will want “Delivering the Wow” in their library. Of course, many other topics are covered.
Here’s what else Fain had to say in conversation with TravelAge West.
Richard Fain has spent more than 30 years in the cruise industry, and his new book digs into his experiences.
Credit: 2025 Royal Caribbean GroupIn an ever-changing cruise world, how do you balance nostalgia and innovation?
That really comes down to the culture.
You do something well and think, 'That's still going well. Why would we change it?' We faced that explicitly a few times — first with Sovereign of the Seas, which was so new, and again when we wanted larger staterooms.
The concern was, ‘Will we obsolete our older ships?’ To which we said, ‘Perhaps, but it's better to obsolete ourselves than to have somebody else obsolete us.'
Navigation is towards your North Star — you don't expect to reach it, as it's thousands of light years away, but you want to be constantly moving in that direction. That’s what innovation is all about.
Navigation is towards your North Star — you don't expect to reach it, as it's thousands of light years away, but you want to be constantly moving in that direction. That’s what innovation is all about.
Speaking of innovation, what do you think about hoteliers entering the cruise market?
I feel the same way I did when Disney Cruise Line first came into the market, and everybody said, 'Is that new competition?'
The beauty of our business is not just competing to be the best cruise line — we want to be the best vacation alternative.
When Disney came in, they added a trivial amount to the supply of ships, but by bringing their past guests into it, [they] dramatically expanded demand, increasing who our target market is.
So, we welcome hotel chains for the same reason: they expose millions of people to the cruise industry while adding thousands of berths.
Do you think there's still an opportunity to dramatically grow the cruise segment?
One phrase that [my CEO successor] Jason [Liberty] coined is, ‘Instead of providing a vacation of a lifetime, we want to provide a lifetime of vacations.’
The cruise industry remains an infinitely small part of the vacation market. It's growing, as it should, but we've got a long way to go.
Do you think bigger ships are the only way forward, or is there a future for smaller ones, too?
One size does not fit all — and that’s a strength of the Royal Caribbean Group.
I'm proud of the 7,500 guests on Icon of the Seas or Star of the Seas, and I’m just as proud of the 100 on Silver Origin or Celebrity Flora [in the Galapagos] and the 140 on Silver Endeavour [heading to Antarctica and beyond]. And now I can't wait until Celebrity River Cruises launches.
Innovation isn't just to make things bigger, it’s to make things better.
Why is now the best time for Celebrity River Cruises to emerge?
Our [ocean] cruisers overlap demographically river cruisers, so it expands the ecosystem — ways to take a Royal Caribbean Group vacation.
For 30 years we’ve consistently expanded our offerings, and I think we’ll continue to see that over the next 30.
Historically, how have travel agents been important to Royal Caribbean?
I talk a fair bit about our travel advisors and how important they have been to our growth, from my first introduction to the cruise industry until today and into the future.
Our travel advisors [have] been key to our success, and I think they will continue to be so. People care about [their] vacation — it's a big investment, not just the money, but the time. If the travel advisor can make that vacation better, they've more than earned their compensation. That was true then, and it continues to be true today.
The cruise we offer today is different than the cruise we offered 10-20 years ago, and so is what advisors provide — technology, AI and expanding knowledge.
The cruise we offer today is different than the cruise we offered 10-20 years ago, and so is what advisors provide — technology, AI and expanding knowledge. Advisors have done a very good job focusing on how they deliver their ‘wow’ — using their expertise to make the cruise better and more precisely targeted to each client.
Why do you think cruise travel specifically is so resilient after devastating world events?
We've taken so many blows, and the industry’s resilience shows what a great vacation cruising is. It offers tremendous value and some of the highest satisfaction rates you see of any vacation.
People return from vacations saying they had a great time — but people who return from a cruise are obnoxious about it. You have to peel them off the ceiling. ‘It was so good — you don't understand how good it was,’ they say.
When you provide that level of enjoyment at a price that's hard to beat, it's no surprise that we're resilient. It would be surprising if we weren’t.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about the industry as a whole?
Cruising is a wonderful experience. I am blessed to have been part of it — and to work with the kind of people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. That’s a privilege almost nobody enjoys.
