Royal Caribbean Group announced that it has received court approval to purchase the ultra-luxury cruise ship Endeavour. The former Crystal Cruises ship built in 2021, will be renamed Silver Endeavor and will join the RCG subsidiary Silversea Cruises.

The purchase price for the ship was $275 million, well below the construction cost. The vessel was fully financed through a 15-year unsecured loan, guaranteed by the German export credit agency, Euler Hermes, with no amortization payments for the first two years. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, cash flow and ROIC.

"With Endeavor, we seek to grow our world-class fleet to meet the exceptional demand for ultra-luxury expedition cruises, while improving our profitability profile and reaffirming Silversea's position as the industry's leading ultra-luxury and expedition cruise line," said Jason Liberty, President and CEO director, Royal Caribbean Group.

Built to PC6 polar class specifications, the ship can handle all of Silversea's current expedition plans and is designed specifically to take passengers to the world's most remote destinations, including both Polar Regions.

"The expedition cruise industry is poised to continue its rapid growth driven by demand among high-end, affluent customers for travel to remote and hard-to-reach destinations," said Roberto Martinoli, president and CEO of Silversea Cruises. "This vessel will be the fourth vessel to join Silversea's fleet from 2020, demonstrating our commitment to growth."

Silver Endeavor offers the highest industry standards in terms of space-per-guest and crew-to-guest ratios, as well as superior accommodation and public areas. The ship's state-of-the-art expedition facilities offer guests some of the most immersive and luxurious experiences available, including traveling with a fleet of Zodiac boats for remote exploration.

"Responsibly providing the best vacations in the world is the purpose of the Royal Caribbean Group," said Liberty. "Although our acquisition only covers the physical ship, we want all of our guests to know that we go above and beyond to take care of them."

As part of the ongoing RCL Cares program, Royal Caribbean Group will protect the deposits of guests originally booked on Crystal Endeavor and make a new booking for one of the Group's global brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.

"We believe those Crystal guests will get their deposits back, but we want to give them some extra reassurance," Liberty added.

To the extent that Cristal Endeavor guests do not receive their deposits back from Cristal or other sources, Royal Caribbean Group will refund any amount paid on their new reservation up to the number of forfeited deposits from Cristal. Full offer terms will be available on each brand's website shortly.

Silver Endeavor is scheduled to begin operations in the winter of 2022/2023, and will spend its inaugural season in Antarctica from November 2022.