Another record-setter? Royal Caribbean orders world’s largest cruise ship
Another huge new one Royal Caribbean The train is on its way. Maybe three.
The world’s largest cruise line on Tuesday placed an order for the fourth ship in its new Icon Class line — the world’s largest cruise ships.
Under the order, Royal Caribbean also has an option to build two more ships in the series with Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku, which could be built at a later date.
The deal with Meyer Turku calls for the fourth Icon-class ship to be completed and ready for sea by 2027.
Meyer Turku has built the first ship in the Icon Class series — the much-hyped vessel is just seven months old. Symbol of the Sea. It is also building the second ship in the series, Star of the Sea. That ship is expected to enter service in 2025.
A third, as-yet-unnamed Icon-class ship is also on order from the Meyer Turku shipyard for delivery to Royal Caribbean in 2026.
“Following the incredible momentum and market response to the launch of Icon of the Seas and the excitement surrounding our sister ship Star of the Seas, which will debut in 2025, we are thrilled to once again partner with Meyer Turku to expand our Icon-class portfolio and continue our future growth plans,” Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Related: The Complete Guide to Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean Group is the parent company of Royal Caribbean as well as Celebrity Cruise And Silversea Cruise.
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“Since its launch, Icon has been a game changer in the holiday experience and has exceeded our expectations in both customer satisfaction and financial performance,” Liberty added.
World’s largest cruise ship?
Royal Caribbean hasn’t said how big its new Icon Class ships will be. But the company has a history of building bigger and bigger ships as it launches new ships.
Each ship in the line’s seven-ship Oasis Class series, which is still in the pipeline, is at least slightly larger than its predecessor. The Oasis Class ships were the world’s largest ships until the Icon of the Seas debuted.
At 248,663 gross tons, Icon of the Seas is currently the largest ship in the cruise world. It is nearly 6% larger than the largest ship at sea when it debuted in January. That ship, Royal Caribbean Wonders of the seahas a total tonnage of 235,600 tons.
Related: Each Royal Caribbean ship is ranked from largest to smallest.
Icon of the Seas, notably, can carry up to 7,600 passengers — a new record for a passenger ship. That’s about 7 percent more than the maximum capacity of the largest ships ever built.
With a crew of 2,350, the ship could sometimes carry nearly 10,000 people — a new all-time record for a single ship.
The larger passenger capacity is partly due to the ship’s increased focus on family travel. Icon of the Seas is built with more cabins, with bunk beds to accommodate families with multiple children. It also has more family-friendly amenities. This includes a new outdoor “neighborhood” called Surfside that’s specifically for families with young children.
Royal Caribbean did not disclose on Tuesday what features the new Icon Class ship on order will have, but it is likely to be similar to the Icon of the Seas with a few new features, which is common for ships built in the same series.
In a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts, Royal Caribbean executives said Icon of the Seas has enjoyed record occupancy levels since its debut.
Related: Icon of the Seas: You Won’t Believe How Crowded the World’s Largest Ship Is
Royal Caribbean is just the latest cruise line to order huge new ships in recent months as the cruise industry booms. Cruise giant Carnival has ordered three new large ships just last month. Norwegian Cruise Line’s parent company ordered four large ships for that brand in April as well as four ships for sister brands Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises.
Disney Cruise Line has also had a strong bookings campaign, with a inform four ships of the news just this month on top of several other new ships it already on order.
With Tuesday’s order, Royal Caribbean now has four ships on order — three Icon-class ships and one Oasis-class ship.
Currently, the company operates 28 ships, divided into seven different classes.
Related: Royal Caribbean’s 7 Ship Types Explained
Royal Caribbean executives have also hinted that the brand may order a new series of smaller ships in the near future
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