Proposed transaction points to how cruise and resort partners can work together to expand visitor experiences and economic opportunity across the Caribbean

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, September 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The proposed investment by Royal Caribbean Group in Sandals Resorts is highlighting the potential for cruise and land-based tourism partners to work more closely together, creating broader opportunities for travelers, destinations, businesses and communities across the Caribbean.

Under the agreement announced yesterday, Royal Caribbean Group plans to acquire a 50% equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for approximately $3 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in early 2027, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.

Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) President Adam Ceserano described the proposed partnership as a visionary development for Caribbean tourism and an example of how collaboration across the wider vacation industry can create new opportunities for travelers, businesses, destinations and communities.

“This is the kind of forward-looking partnership that recognizes how people actually travel today,” said Ceserano. “Cruise and land-based vacations are not competing worlds. They are increasingly part of the same vacation ecosystem, and this announcement demonstrates the potential that exists when leading companies look beyond traditional industry boundaries and focus on creating more opportunities for the guest and greater value for destinations.”

The proposed partnership combines Royal Caribbean Group’s global vacation platform — which includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea — with Sandals and Beaches Resorts’ extensive all-inclusive resort portfolio and more than four decades of Caribbean hospitality experience.

For FCCA, the announcement also reinforces a broader message about the relationship between cruise tourism and the region’s land-based visitor economy. Travelers increasingly experience destinations in multiple ways and across multiple trips. A guest may combine a cruise with a pre- or post-cruise stay, return to a destination first discovered through cruising or choose different vacation experiences within the Caribbean over time.

Rather than viewing cruise and hotel tourism as separate sectors competing for the same traveler, Ceserano said greater collaboration can help expand the overall Caribbean vacation proposition.

“The opportunity is to grow the pie,” said Ceserano. “When cruise lines, resorts, destinations, attractions, restaurants, tour operators and other tourism partners work together, we can give travelers more reasons to experience the Caribbean, more reasons to return and more ways to engage with our destinations. That translates into greater economic opportunity across the tourism value chain while also creating meaningful benefits for Caribbean residents through jobs, stronger local businesses and more sustainable prosperity for communities throughout the region.”

The proposed Royal Caribbean Group-Sandals partnership is expected to support the continued expansion of Sandals and Beaches Resorts while broadening the range of vacation experiences available through Royal Caribbean Group’s growing portfolio.

FCCA congratulated Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts, and their respective teams for pursuing a partnership that could further connect major segments of the Caribbean tourism economy.

“The Caribbean is strongest when its tourism stakeholders recognize their shared interests and work together to grow demand, enhance the guest experience and create sustainable economic value,” said FCCA CEO Michele Paige. “We congratulate Jason, Adam and their teams on this bold vision and look forward to seeing the opportunities that may emerge from this partnership for travelers and for the Caribbean.”


About Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA)
Created in 1972, FCCA is a nonprofit trade organization representing mutual interests of the cruise industry and destinations’ private and public sectors. For more information, visit F-CCA.com and @FCCAupdates on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

Bevan Springer
Marketplace Excellence
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