Selling a cruise ship or a brand is less about generating cash and more about being strategic, according to Jason Liberty, chief financial officer, Royal Caribbean Group, speaking on the company’s business update call on Monday morning,

“So on the Azamara sale, really kind of through this whole process, we have really tried to be opportunistic and strategic and look at as we are today,” said Liberty. “And as we will come out of this, how do we want to prioritize, whether it’s how we’re investing, or how we’re supporting on our resource base.”

Liberty continued: “I think we need to remember that pre-pandemic, all of these ships generated quite a bit of cash flow.

“And so it needs to — for us, typically, the test on a ship is a little bit less — it’s a little bit less about the cash that we would receive. It’s more strategic on whether we think this ship ,whether it’s in its current state or through some moderate investment, is something that fits our brands. (Whether it will fit into another) brand within our organization or even with our joint ventures. And that’s kind of how we look at it, and I think we’ll remain opportunistic.”

After selling Azamara and its three ship fleet, scrapping the Pullmantur fleet and selling the Empress and Majesty of the Seas, will the company continue to look at options?

“it’s not about selling ships to get cash,” Liberty said. “It’s about whether or not when we look at the investment in the ship or where the ship fits within the fleet, whether or not it fits strategically within the brand or could fit in one of our other brands. So we continue to evaluate opportunities that come our way, but we don’t have any specific plans or a specific goal in mind here.”