Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2004 Annual Report Download - page 4

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Dear Fellow Shareholders:
It feels great to come off of a year of record
results in 2004 and continue to ride that wave of
momentum into a buoyant 2005. Weended the
year with net income of $474.7 million and a
robust 59 percent increase in earnings per share.
Other milestones achieved in 2004 are equally
noteworthy:
•Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity
Cruises served 3.4 million guests, up from
3.0 million in 2003.
• Occupancy reached 105.7%, up from 103.2%
in 2003, reaching a historic high.
• Driven by a 10.3% increase in capacity and
arecord increase in yields of 9.2%, rev-
enues climbed 20.4% to $4.6 billion.
• Our improved profitability helped reduce net
debt-to-capital ratio from 56.4% at year-end
2003 to 51.5%.
The strength of the Royal Caribbean International
and Celebrity Cruises brands, as well as our
innovative marketing programs, have resulted in
an exceptionally strong demand environment.
We have seen the booking curve return to pre-
9/11 levels, and consumer characteristics are
the strongest we can remember.
2ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
Chairman’s Letter
Richard D. Fain
Chairman and CEO