Could Royal Caribbean be letting the general public pick the name for its next cruise ship?
The selection of a cruise ship name is usually an internal process that executives undertake in order to determine the optimal name based on a variety of criteria, but Royal Caribbean may be opening it up in this case.
The cruise line posted on social media an invitation to choose between four names for its next Icon Class cruise ship.
The choices are:
- Star of the Seas
- Idol of the Seas
- Love of the Seas
- Queen of the Seas
There's even a voting poll on Twitter, along with an informal reaction poll on Facebook.
We want to hear from you! Which is your favorite for our second Icon Class ship? pic.twitter.com/DcLyDg26sW
— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) January 14, 2023
For what it's worth, the only name that is trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Royal Caribbean is Star of the Seas, which the cruise line registered on June 14, 2022.
In searching the trademark database, there are no entries for the other three names. That may or may not mean anything.
Trademark registrations are not necessarily indicative of what the company may or may not do.
Read more: 8 things Royal Caribbean trademarked but never did anything with
Of course, the polls on social media may not be a binding choice in which name the cruise line will use. If nothing else, exposing possible names for the ship to the public is a rare occurrence.
Icon of the Seas, the first in the class, is under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Her first sailing is scheduled for January 27, 2024.
The company has orders in place for two more Icon Class ships. The other two Icon Class ships will be in service by 2026.
In speaking with Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider in November 2022, he indicated the name for the third Icon Class ship is set, but the second ship was still in the air.
"I'm still taking ideas on Icon two and Icon three. I feel really confident in the name we have for Icon three, it's actually two that we're still working on."
Picking a ship name
Picking a cruise ship name is no simple task, and Royal Caribbean often juggles dozens of names before settling on one.
Royal Caribbean will commonly register many trademarks for new cruise ship names with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As an example, in December 2021, the company registered 24 new cruise ship names.
Why so many?
Part of the process is not only reserving names they intend to use, but also names they know they will not use. Because trademarks are a matter of public record, from a competitive advantage standpoint, they'll include other names to prevent tipping their hand in which direction they'll go.
