Arne Wilhelmsen, one of the founders of the cruise giant Royal Caribbean that flourished in the wake of the defunct Swedish America Line, died at the age of 90 on Saturday at his home in Palma, Mallorca.
It is evident from a press release from the cruise company, published on Easter morning.
Arne Wilhelmsen, born in Oslo on June 15, 1929, is stated there to be one of the founders of Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCC), which was founded in 1968, and a "visionary strategist" in the cruise industry with 30 years on RCC's board.
The shipowner's key insight is said to be to have ships specially built for cruises in warm climates instead of using old ocean liners. The company was founded in 1968, seven years before Svenska Amerika Linien announced that its cruise operations would cease.
The Swedish company's ships, including Kungsholm, departed from New York while Royal Caribbean is based in Miami.
Royal Caribbean's fleet currently consists of 61 ships if all brands in the group are included, and at the end of the year, orders had been placed for a further 17. In March, the group suspended all its cruises due to the coronavirus, but the goal is to resume the majority of operations on May 12.
Source: di.se
