Royal Caribbean Buys 50% of Sandals Resorts: What It Means for Your Vacation (Chairman’s Day-One Briefing)

What Adam Stewart told 5,000 travel advisors on day one

This is the part you will not find in the press release. Stewart got on a live call with the advisor community the same afternoon the deal was announced, specifically to “correct some of the misinformation” from the leak the day before. The points that matter to guests:

• The brands do not change. “Sandals remains Sandals and Beaches remains Beaches.” He said this three separate times.
• No cruise-ship day passes. “There is no plan for cruise ship passengers to come to our hotels on day passes. That’s not the plan.” If you booked Sandals for the couples-only, all-inclusive bubble, that bubble stays.
• No Sandals cruise ship. “There are no plans to build a Sandals cruise ship or a Beaches cruise ship. That’s what Celebrity, Silversea and Royal do.”
• All 20 resorts are being upgraded. “Every one of those resorts is being upgraded currently or about to be,” with some renovations he called transformational, in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The three Jamaica resorts closed after Hurricane Melissa (Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Caribbean Cay, Sandals South Coast) come back as “brand new product.”
• New resorts, including outside the Caribbean. “There are new hotels, and some of them are gonna come quickly, and some of them are in new destinations.” He called the deal the foundation for going “beyond the four corners of the Caribbean” for the first time. More than $1 billion of already-announced projects: Beaches Exuma, Beaches Runaway Bay, Beaches Barbados, Sandals Royal Dunn’s River, and over-water bungalows in Montego Bay and Dunn’s River. He mentioned 7,000 new jobs for the new hotels.
• Loyalty programs will connect. The companies will “link up and connect synergistically things like loyalty programs.” No specifics yet on Sandals Select Rewards and Crown & Anchor.
• Same people. General managers, sales teams, and business development managers stay. “This is not a slash and burn. This is a growth platform.” Jeff Clarke remains CEO of Unique Vacations; Stewart, 45, remains Executive Chairman.
• Travel advisors stay central. “No one, to my knowledge, invests more and believes more in travel advisors. That will never change.”
• His one-line summary: “We’ve been talking Sandals 2.0. This is now Sandals 3.0.”

My read: the fear on social media today was “Royal is going to turn Sandals into a cruise-port day resort.” The chairman went out of his way to kill that idea on the record. The real story is capital for renovations and expansion, and eventually one loyalty ecosystem across the biggest cruise company and the biggest all-inclusive brand in the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean & Sandals deal: FAQ

Did Royal Caribbean buy Sandals Resorts?

Royal Caribbean Group agreed to buy a 50% stake in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for about $3 billion, announced September 23, 2026. It is a joint venture, not a full takeover: the Stewart family keeps the other 50%, and Adam Stewart remains Executive Chairman. The deal is expected to close in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

Will Sandals and Beaches Resorts change after the Royal Caribbean deal?

According to Adam Stewart's briefing to travel advisors on announcement day, no. His words: "Sandals remains Sandals and Beaches remains Beaches." The brands, general managers, sales teams, and business development managers all stay in place. What changes is capital: every one of the 20 resorts is being upgraded, and new resorts are coming, including outside the Caribbean.

Will cruise passengers get day passes to Sandals resorts?

No. Adam Stewart said directly: "There is no plan for cruise ship passengers to come to our hotels on day passes." Sandals stays adults-only, couples-only, and all-inclusive for registered guests.

Is there going to be a Sandals cruise ship?

No. Stewart said there are no plans to build a Sandals or Beaches cruise ship. Ships are what Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea do; Sandals stays a land-based all-inclusive company.

Does the deal affect my existing Sandals or Beaches reservation?

Nothing announced changes existing reservations, pricing, or the cancellation policy. The transaction does not even close until early 2027, and Sandals leadership described it as "business as usual." Bookings made through Pixie Vacations continue to be serviced by us, and we keep applying better offers to your room category if one comes out before final payment.

Will Sandals Select Rewards merge with Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society?

Not yet, but it is coming in some form. Stewart said the companies will "link up and connect synergistically things like loyalty programs." No details, timing, or point conversions have been announced. We will update this page when they are.

Can I book a Royal Caribbean cruise and a Sandals resort together?

You can today, through Pixie Vacations, as two bookings we coordinate for you: a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity sailing plus a Sandals or Beaches stay before or after. A single packaged cruise-and-resort product has not been announced. When it is, we will be able to book it.

Is Sandals becoming a public company?

No. Stewart was explicit: "Sandals is not becoming a public company. This is a partnership for which Royal, the public company, is investing into a private company." He also said it is an all-cash deal that puts no debt on Sandals.

Why did Sandals partner with Royal Caribbean?

Stewart said Sandals talked to private equity, sovereign wealth funds, and the biggest hotel companies before choosing Royal Caribbean, and picked it for capital, innovation, technology, and culture. He framed the deal as the foundation for taking Sandals beyond "the four corners of the Caribbean" for the first time in its 45-year history.

Should I still book Sandals through a travel agent?

Yes, and Sandals says so. Stewart told advisors: "No one, to my knowledge, invests more and believes more in travel advisors. That will never change." Booking through a Sandals Platinum Elite agency like Pixie Vacations costs you nothing extra, and you get price-drop protection, room-category advice from someone who has stayed at every property, and one phone number if anything goes wrong.