What Else We Learned About Royal Caribbean’s Grand Plan for Sandals this Week

The story of the year for travel advisors, and maybe for the industry in general, might be Royal’s deal to take a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts, bringing together two of the biggest names not just in the trade, but in travel in general. Travel advisors, agency executives, and consumers all have different opinions on what the combination may look like, and how it will impact them in the future.

A lot of advisors are still waiting on the exact details of the deal, and while there’s a lot more to come, Royal Caribbean Group’s third-quarter earnings this week can offer some more clues on what the partnership will offer.

Here is what we learned from Jason Liberty and the rest of the Royal Caribbean team this week:

Royal Wants to Capture 50% of Your Clients’ Vacation Wallet

Royal Caribbean Group estimates that across its cruise portfolio (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea), it currently captures between 20% and 25% of its guests’ annual vacation spend. Meanwhile, a big portion of those same clients are booking land-based Caribbean getaways. According to the executives, roughly 30% of Royal’s cruisers have stayed at an all-inclusive resort within the last two years.

By bringing Sandals and Beaches into its umbrella, Royal aims to bring that land-based Caribbean spend into its ecosystem and double its wallet share to 50%.

“About 30% of our guests have vacationed in a Caribbean all-inclusive resort in the last two years,” CEO Jason Liberty told analysts. “By adding all-inclusive resorts to our ecosystem, we expand our reach to roughly 50% of the vacation wallet.”

No Immediate Ship-to-Resort Blending (For Now)

When the partnership was first announced, trade speculation mounted over whether Royal might use its cruise ships to shuttle passengers directly to Sandals properties for overnights, shore excursions, or day passes. Liberty put those day-use rumors to rest, saying that each brand’s distinct identity and experience will remain intact.

“I know there’s been lots of questions that we’ve gotten about, are we going to show up at Sandals St. Vincent with a cruise ship and tender people into that beautiful resort?” Liberty said. “The answer to that is no. Sandals needs to be Sandals. Beaches needs to be Beaches.”

However, structured pre- and post-cruise land packages or linked land-and-sea itineraries aren’t entirely off the table.

“We will collectively be evaluating how we grow this business and also where there might be adjacencies or opportunities-pre-post, et cetera-with our other cruise brands,” Liberty added.

A Two-Way Loyalty Integration Is Coming

The core commercial driver for advisors as part of the deal might be a future loyalty integration. Royal plans to extend its loyalty framework—including Status Match, Points Choice, and Royal ONE—across the Sandals and Beaches portfolio, creating reciprocal rewards.

Royal reported that 40% of its cruisers are repeat loyalty members, and guests who cross-sail across multiple brands generate higher average daily rates than those who don’t. By allowing clients to earn and redeem loyalty perks across both cruise lines and all-inclusive resorts, Royal, and possibly the advisors booking it, gain a powerful tool to pitch repeat trips across different travel styles.

For example, an advisor could send a client on a multigenerational family trips on Royal Caribbean or to Beaches Resorts, and then send them on a romantic getaway with their partner to Sandals, or send them on Celebrity or Silversea, depending on spend or occasion. That’s all before Royal officially launches Celebrity River Cruises, which will create another opportunity for advisors.

Sandals Will Keep Expanding

The announced deal is not stopping any of Sandals’ previously-announced plans to grow in the Caribbean.

The deal includes access to more than 1,000 acres of undeveloped Caribbean beachfront property, much of it adjacent to current Sandals and Beaches locations. For right now, the plan is to use that property for three brand-new Beaches resorts, significant room expansions across existing properties, and greenfield developments across prime, hard-to-replicate Caribbean sites.

Official Closing Expected in Early 2027

While announced in September 2026, the transaction is expected to officially close late this year or in early 2027. CFO Naftali Holtz noted that financial contributions will be reported on a one-quarter lag, with full commercial and backend integrations-such as revenue management, digital booking tools, and unified loyalty perks-rolling out progressively post-close, so no timetable yet on when advisors will start getting benefits in the loyalty programs or on their bookings.