Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas is drawing closer to its debut in August 2025 by starting sea trials.
The company's second Icon Class ship departed the shipyard in Finland on Monday to begin tests. The vessel has been under construction at Meyer Turku shipyard.
"Star of the Seas departed our shipyard early Monday morning to begin her sea trials. We wish her and her crew sunny skies and smooth sailing!" is what the shipyard posted on Facebook.
This is an important milestone in the construction of any new ship.
The first real test
Think of sea trials like putting a car through its paces. It's a necessary step to ensure all of its systems work the way they should, while putting stress on the vessel itself.
While a lot of work can be done while the ship is docked, certain navigation and technical systems need to be tested in real world situations.
Sea trials are the final step of a ship's construction prior to being delivered to the cruise line. It ensures the vessel is functionally ready before officially joining the fleet.
Onboard the ship, there will be a combination of shipyard employees and crew members.
Icon of the Seas had two sets of sea trials, but Icon was the first in the class. Typically subsequent ships in the same class usually have one sea trial. No word yet if Star will have one or two sets of sea trials.
Less than three months until her maiden voyage
Star of the Seas will have her first cruise with paying passengers in August.
Her first cruise has been moved up a few times with a series of showcase sailings being added.
Technically, her official maiden voyage is a 7-night cruise on August 31, 2025. However, there is a 3-night cruise on August 20, followed by two four-night preview sailings.
Star of the Seas will join Icon as being the two biggest cruise ships in the world, and a ship that size has lots to do.
You'll find the world’s largest waterpark at sea that has six water slides, and it's designed to be like a floating resort with different pools and over 40 ways to dine, drink and be entertained onboard.
The ship weighs in at an estimated 248,663 tons and measures close to 1,200 feet long. It also holds about 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members
"Icon will be the best family vacation in the world," said Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer.
There are 20 decks across the ship, featuring eight neighborhoods that help divide up the ship into distinct areas.
Icon has been a commercial and critical hit, and now Royal Caribbean wants to repeat that success with Star.
The Star of the Seas will set sail from Port Canaveral on 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations all year round, where passengers can visit popular tropical destinations like the Bahamas, Mexico, St. Maarten and Honduras, as well as Royal Caribbean's private island, CocoCay.
