There have been many posts from loyal guests who are unhappy about our decision to move Mariner of the Seas out of Los Angeles next January. We truly wish we could justify the ship remaining in LA, but we are unable to do so. Many of the comments have focused on how much people value the ship being there and/or the ship being routinely full. There is no question that there are tens of thousands of loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers who live in the Western U.S. and cruise on Mariner of the Seas. And yes, she does normally go out full. Unfortunately, it is possible for both of these observations to be true and yet the ship does not perform at an acceptable level to be able to remain in California. Throughout the industry, ships normally go out full. The critical question is at what price? Royal Caribbean has tried multiple ships over multiple decades at various lengths of cruises in California. We may very well try again in the future as we would love to be back on the West Coast. But for now we are unable to generate acceptable levels of performance for Mariner of the Seas. We are obligated to our shareholders to deploy her where she can earn superior returns.
Adam Goldstein, President and CEO Royal Caribbean International