In Memoriam: Arne Wilhelmsen, Founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) and a visionary of the modern cruise industry, died Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Palma, Spain. He was 90. 

Wilhelmsen was a constant influence on the company from its founding, serving more than three decades on the company's board of directors and working closely with the company's first CEO, the late Edwin Stephan.

"At a time when the rest of the world thought cruising was a niche use for old transatlantic liners, Arne was already seeing glimmers of the growth that was possible," said Richard Fain, RCL's chairman and CEO. "He had a vision of the modern cruise industry when the 'industry' might have been a dozen used ships, total."

Among Wilhelmsen’s key insight: Building new ships designed for cruising in warm weather. The industry did not grow from New York, the traditional transit hub; it came to Miami, helping the region itself grow as the public discovered an entirely new way to take a vacation.

Wilhelmsen saw the potential for cruising to become the fastest growing segment in a growing vacation industry. A believer in economies of scale, he once recalled, "My initial challenge was to convince my partners and management in Miami to build bigger and more efficient ships in order to grow the company."  The company now sails 61 ships—including the largest cruise ships in the world—calling on all seven continents.

Born on June 15, 1929, in Oslo, Norway, Wilhelmsen earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and worked as a chartering assistant for Norway's EB Lund & Co. and later as a shipbroker in New York. After joining the family business, Anders Wilhelmsen & Co AS, in 1954, he became its president in 1961. RCL was then founded in 1967.

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