Report: Royal Caribbean Looks to Buy Caribbean’s Sandals Resorts
Royal Caribbean Group, which is one of the largest operators and highest-valued companies in the cruise industry, is reported to be negotiating to buy a hotel chain, Sandals, located in the Caribbean. The Financial Times reported that negotiations are underway and could be concluded in “the coming days.”
Sandals, which was established in 1981, is a privately-owned operator with 17 resorts under its brand name, as well as three family resorts, and two private destinations in the Bahamas and Panama. The company was developed as a luxury, couples-only concept, and today has locations in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, Curacao, and the Turks & Caicos. It started the family resort brand Beaches in 1997 and has locations in Jamaica and Turks & Caicos.
The company’s core concept was luxury, all-inclusive resorts, launched by developer Gordon “Butch” Stewart. The Financial Times reports the deal would value the business at more than $6 billion and give Royal Caribbean a majority stake in the company.
It sees the motivation as a move by the cruise giant to diversify and create opportunities to cross-sell. While a global company, Royal Caribbean continues to derive the majority of its revenue from North America and has a large presence in the Caribbean. Today it operates the contemporary brand, Royal Caribbean, premium brand, Celebrity Cruises, and luxury brand Silversea Cruises, and is a joint venture partner with TUI Group in Mein Schiff and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The company rebounded strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year lowered its growth forecasts, citing uncertainties in the U.S. economy and slowing demand in its European cruises. Analysts have also speculated that the Caribbean sector will be facing overcapacity due to the rapid construction of giant new cruise ships, which is being led by Royal Caribbean.
The cruise line was started in the late 1960s by a U.S. entrepreneur with the backing of Norwegian shipping companies. It has made two large acquisitions, buying Celebrity Cruises from the Chandris family and New York-based Overseas Shipholding Group in 1997 and, more recently, in 2018, buying the majority interest in luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises from Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. The company currently has 71 cruise ships in service with approximately 175,000 berths and 13 ships on order representing 43,230 berths for delivery between 2027 and 2032. Included in that is its expansion into river cruising under the Celebrity Cruises brand.
The Financial Times reports Sandals has been for sale several times, including initially being offered in 2019 as part of estate planning for founder Stewart. It was not sold, and Stewart died in 2021, starting a legal battle among his heirs. Sandals restarted the sale process in 2025 when it retained investment bankers.
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It reports that, under the terms of the deal, Royal Caribbean would acquire a majority stake, with certain members of the Stewart family retaining shares. It points out that the Silversea acquisition used a similar structure, and the company later bought out the remaining shares.
It would not be the first time the cruise industry has turned to hotels. In the 1980s, Carnival acquired the Cable Beach Resort in the Bahamas and developed it into the Crystal Palace Hotel and Casino in Nassau, Bahamas. Despite attempts at cross-selling and running packages from the cruise ships, it was a money loser sold in 1994. Several hotel brands tried investments in the early days of the modern cruise industry, and recently luxury hotel brands, including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Accor/Orient Express, and Aman, have launched ultra-luxury cruise ships as a brand extension.
