Royal Caribbean has placed an order for a new megaship, and laid the groundwork for its next generation of cruise ships.
In a press release today, Royal Caribbean Group said it placed an order for a fifth Icon Class ship, and added an option for a 7th ship.
The Icon Class ships are the biggest in the world, measuring an 250,800 gross registered tons and can carry a maximum of 7,600 passengers. There are 28 different stateroom categories.
The deal was signed with Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, where all the other Icon Class ships have been built.
Icon 5 will be delivered sometime in 2028.
Prior to today's announcement, there were options for a fifth and sixth ship in the Icon Class. Going forward, they have options for a 6th and 7th ship.
Shop options are essentially reserved slots at the shipyard, that buy the cruise line time to decide if they want to actually build it while not losing their place in line, so to speak.
Discovery Class?
Included in today's announcement is the closest Royal Caribbean has come to officially announcing its long rumored Discovery Class ships.
"This multi-year agreement strengthens Royal Caribbean Group's relationship with Meyer Turku, one of the world's largest and most modern shipyards specializing in cruise ships, and readies Royal Caribbean Group for a new, game-changing class of ship beyond Icon."
To date, Royal Caribbean hasn't announced any new ship classes beyond the Icon Class. However, it's strongly hinted at a new ship class to come.
Known as the Discovery Class, it's group of new ships that is in the design phase where the company is dreaming up possibilities.
Earlier this summer, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service, Vicki Freed, talked about the plans.
"The Discovery Project is our next new class of ships, following the Icon of the Seas, and the Star of the Seas, and the Legend the Seas. And we're in the design process now."
"We meet on a regular basis with the architects, with the designers...the ops team and the hotel operations, food and beverage. And so it is a top secret design at this point."
She then went on to say, "It's an exciting project. It'll be a new class of ship.
"In true Royal Caribbean style, it will be special, it will be innovative. And I think it'll be something that'll be a home run from the beginning."
A long-term agreement for more ships
Royal Caribbean's announcement is significant because it secures a deal to build ships at Meyer Turku into the 2030s.
The new timeline for ship deliveries looks like this:
- Legend of the Seas: 2026
- Icon 4: 2027
- Icon 5: 2028
- Oasis 7: 2028
In a statement, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said, "As we continue to reimagine the future of vacations, we are excited to continue collaborating with Meyer Turku to grow the Icon Class - a first-of-its-kind series that delivers exceptional vacation experiences - and position us to usher in a new era of innovation that will disrupt the vacation sector through 2036."
It's an interesting quote since officially the orderbook goes through 2028, but he mentions 2036. That very well could be the timeline for delivering the first batch of Discovery Class ships.
Royal Caribbean is in the midst of a building blitz that combines new ships and destinations.
Not only do they have orders for new ships, but they're also expanding their land presence with new private beach clubs and experiences.
There are plans in place to open a beach club in Nassau, Bahamas later this year, followed by a beach club in Cozumel, Mexico next year.
Then there's the massive Perfect Day Mexico opening that will add a second Perfect Day experience to the Caribbean portfolio.
After that, they'll shift to the Pacific and open a new experience in Vanuatu to offer more for Australian and New Zealand itineraries.
Of course, there are possible other projects on the horizon too to match their rumored ship ambitions.
