Royal Caribbean, the world’s largest cruise line, has announced that they have placed an order to add to their fleet of Icon class ships. Icon class are the largest cruise ships in the world at over 250,000 gross tons.
This order from Royal Caribbean for more new cruise ships includes a fourth Icon class ship that will enter service in 2027. The ship will be built by Meyer Turku.
Included in this news is an option for Royal Caribbean to add a fifth and sixth Icon class ships at a later date.
Royal Caribbean now has four new ships on order with an option to bring the total to six new cruise ships.
A second Icon class ship, Star of the Seas, will debut next year. A third and currently unnamed ship will debut a year later in 2026.
The cruise line also has another Oasis class ship scheduled to enter service in 2028.
Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, gave the following statement:
“Building on the incredible momentum and market response to the launch of Icon of the Seas and the excitement for its sister ship, Star of the Seas, coming in 2025, we’re thrilled to join with Meyer Turku once again to expand our roster of Icon Class ships and continue our future growth plans.
“Since its debut, Icon has changed the game in vacation experiences and exceeded our expectations in both guest satisfaction and financial performance.”
Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku, added:
“This order is an important milestone for the future of shipbuilding in the maritime network in Finland. With Icon of the Seas, our team, consisting of the shipyard and partners, have built an extraordinary ship in respect of naval architecture, energy efficiency and customer experience.
“This is yet another recognition of the professionalism of our personnel and of our leadership in the maritime industry’s innovation and green transition. The options underline the strong outlook of our order book.”
This agreement for more new cruise ships for Royal Caribbean is contingent upon customary conditions, including financing.
This new ship order is in addition to Royal Caribbean developing a new class of vessels, the Discovery class.
Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said that the cruise line is just getting started and they are developing new experiences for their guests.
Royal Caribbean is currently the world’s largest cruise line with 28 cruise ships in service.
