Royal Caribbean Stock

[EastTexans2]

I don't know if this question has been asked before.....

is Royal Caribbean stock a good investment?

[springtxbill]

If you do a lot of cruises the onboard credit greatly helps any short term losses that the stock may incur.:)

[TEXASMUNK]

some broekerage hosues have it on a BUY, some have it neutral, others sell.

 

It pays a dividend every qtr and the onboard credit is well worth it

[ginnyeck]

What kind of onboard credits do you get??? Would it be worth buying few shares just to get the credit???

[harry0]

You have to buy 100 shares to get a OBC. I would research it more. A $4000 investment is worth the time. I own it, I got in at $27 and have used the credit 7 times. I wish all my investments were this good. LOL

[Ephraim]

You need to own at least 100 shares of RCL. I have the details on my blog, but basically it depends on the length of the cruise.

 

$250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights.

$200 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 9 to 13 nights.

$100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6 to 8 nights.

$50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less.

 

The offer always has an expiry date, upon which they usually renew.

 

As all stock, prices go up and down. Best to buy when it's down and wait for it to go up, if you think that the numbers are good. Always do your own research when it comes to stock, never rely on anyone, including the opinions of major stock houses. They have already proven themselves unreliable and open to abuse.

 

That' being said... I own stock in both RCL and CCL. And both stocks seem to follow each other.

[In the Pink]

Lanie, we recently made to the decision to buy it. Not only do you get the OBC, but it has also paid a great dividend every quarter for quite a while. I don't normally want to own stock (I prefer mutual funds), but as a cruiser, this one makes a lot of sense.

[pepsicruiser]

In the Pink can you give me an idea when you got your last dividend. We purchased the stock last Sept. and don't remember seeing a dividend come in. I'm thinking Fidelity either reinvested it or just applied to our acct. Too bad its a holiday otherwise I'd call today. Thanks!

[Cruisin-Family]

Couldn't resist pitching in as a RCI stockholder:

 

- aging demographic (baby boomers) retiring earlier with more relative disposable income - a sweet spot for cruise and travel companies. Suggests promise for a long term play unless RCL makes significant business mistakes...

 

- RCL really do have beautiful ships and offer a good vacation value and the Freedom and Liberty not only have a marketing "sizzle," they deliver on the promise of a remarkable cruising experience

 

- As you observe on this board, a fiercely loyal group of repeat customers

 

- RCI has a relatively strong loyalty (Crown and Anchor) program that rewards their repeat cruisers

 

- Slowly integrating crossover benefits with other cruise brands in their fleet (EG Celebrity and Pullmantur)

 

- Still wish they were successful in purchasing Princess...

 

- Carnival now owns just about everything else in the mass market cruising segment, oligopolies usually survive and share the market historically, the question is can RCL gain share against them

 

- The onboard credit for being a shareholder is in addition to their dividends...

[In the Pink]

Pepsi I just purchased so I haven't received a dividend yet.... I was just talking about the history on the stock. I'll bet you probably are set up for re-investing.

[springtxbill]

Dividend was paid 29 Dec to holders of record of 22 Dec.:)

[QTBabyNurse]

I purchased 100 shares of this stock back in August when it was at $34.00 per share....I've since made $1000 on it (well, recently lost a little in the past few weeks when it fell for a bit)...but it has consistently done well since I've owned it. In addition to the dividends (which average about $60 per year), you do get the onboard credit when you cruise.

[negc]

Whether or not purchasing RCI stock is a good investment for you is something that only you and a professional financial advisor can determine. If, however, you cruise RCI frequently, and wish to take advantage of the OBCs that are available to owners of at least 100 shares of stock, you might consider purchasing it for that reason. Another dividend has been announced for March, and dividends have been paid continuously for a number of years.

Cruiseline stocks, as is the case with many stocks, can be very volatile and a probably not a good investment vehicle if you are only in it for the short-term, but if you intend to hold onto the stock for a lengthier period of time, and if you expect to cruise RCI frequently during that time, it can be a good strategy. I guess that I would say is that while I wouldn't risk my retirement nest egg on it, if I had around $4000 in discretionary, disposable income to spend, I'd consider it.:)