The expansion of Royal Caribbean's highly successful Icon Class cruise ships continues with construction of its fourth ship underway.
A keel-laying ceremony was held earlier today at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The first building block was placed in the dry dock where the ship will take shape.
This marks the official start of construction, and it's as much a celebration as it is a milestone.
The cruise ship is on track to debut sometime in 2027.
Icon 4
There's no name for this ship yet, and we don't know what will make it different from the the other three ships in the class.
Icon 4 follows up on Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, both of which are cruising now. Legend of the Seas is the third Icon Class ship, and will start cruising in August 2026.
The reason a new Icon Class ship stands out is because of how impressive these cruise ships have become in the short period of time since their debut.
Meyer Turku CEO Casimir Lindholm spoke at the event, "Icon 4 is a very significant ship for both the shipyard and the entire partner network. With this ship, Meyer Turku is further strengthening its position as one of the world's leading cruise ship builders."
"Each luxury cruise ship of this size creates 13,000 person-years of employment, and we are constantly looking for new shipbuilders to join our team at various stages from design to implementation."
What does keel laying mean?
The ship's keel is the first block, and it is maritime tradition to commemorate this phase of a new ship construction.
Another maritime tradition is to place the "lucky coins", which represent the shipyard and cruise line.
For Icon 4's ceremony, coins were placed under the first steel block to bring good fortune and protection to the vessel.
Two ships at once
Construction of Icon 4 has now officially commenced while the third Icon Class ship is still under construction nearby.
Known as Legend of the Seas, this ship was put into water for the first time a few weeks ago at the end of August.
Having two cruise ships under construction at the same time is good business. It allows Royal Caribbean to keep the flow of new ships, and attention for them, at the forefront of attention.
The same thing happened when Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas were being built.
What will Royal Caribbean name Icon 4?
While there's no word what the new ship will be named, there's plenty of speculation among cruise fans!
Royal Caribbean trademarks ship names with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, most of which never get used.
Examples of recent trademarks Royal Caribbean have made include:
- Happy of the Seas
- Fun of the Seas
- Idol of the Seas
- Love of the Seas
- Splendor of the Seas
- Nova of the Seas
- Titan of the Seas
- Sun of the Seas
- Marquee of the Seas
- Hero of the Seas
- Fantasia of the Seas
It's important to note there haven't been any recent ship name registrations, with the last batch coming in 2023.
For what it's worth, Legend of the Seas had her keel laid on October 11, 2024 and the name was revealed February 18, 2025. So perhaps we need to wait an additional 4 months before we know Icon 4's name.
What's next for Icon 4?
The fourth Icon class ship won't launch until 2027 and you can't book cruises yet for it.
Construction of the ship will continue for many months, with the ship's steel infrastructure being assembled to form the vessel.
The ship's keel is the first block, and other blocks will be joined together until the ship's primary structure is assembled. Then more of the ship's features are added in, such as cabins, interior structures, and paneling.
The next milestone is to float it out, where its dry dock is filled with water to ensure it can float.
After that, Icon 4 will continue construction work until it's ready for sea trials. This is when the ship actually sails into the ocean under its own power to test all of its systems. This is usually the last major step before delivery to the cruise line.
Royal Caribbean will reveal the ship's name, home port, and sailings, and other important details in the months to come.
