Texas will soon be home to cowboys, barbecue, and one of the world's biggest cruise ships.
Royal Caribbean announced it will redeploy Icon of the Seas to Galveston, Texas in August 2027.
Measuring 250,800 tons, Icon of the Seas is a groundbreaking vessel that captured the imagination of the public. When every cabin is maxed out, over 10,000 people can sail on the ship when you add in crew members.
Unveiled in 2024, Icon of the Seas is about the same size as sister megaship Star of the Seas. When Icon debuted, it introduced 14 specific innovations just for that ship, including destination elevators, an entire waterpark, AI powered customer support and much more.
Beginning in August 2027, Icon will sail alternating 6- and 8-night cruises to the Western Caribbean. But big things are planned later when the cruise line's new mega destination Perfect Day Mexico opens in late 2027.
Perfect Day Mexico is set to debut in late 2027. Royal Caribbean will announce the exact opening date in 2026.
Perfect Day Mexico is expected to be a vacationer's dream that is aimed at opening up a bonanza of renewed interest in cruises to Mexico.
It's not much of a surprise given how popular cruises from Texas have become recently, with bigger ships shifting to be based in Galveston. Plus, its proximity to Perfect Day Mexico allows Royal Caribbean to instantly enhance what has become a familiar set of cruise ports.
Icon's move to Galveston is one of many ship deployments also announced this week. Here's a breakdown of what Royal Caribbean has planned.
Icon of the Seas sailing from Galveston beginning August 2027
Royal Caribbean will reposition Icon of the Seas from Miami, Florida to Galveston with a 9-night cruise.
The sailing will visit the Southern Caribbean before heading to its new homeport of Galveston.
Once there, Icon of the Seas will offer 6-, 7-, and 8-night cruises. the 8-night cruises will visit Perfect Day at CocoCay too.
The new sailings from Galveston are available to book immediately, and are available through April 2028.
The Texas cruise boom
Royal Caribbean has systematically positioned itself to take advantage of more people wanting to cruise from Galveston.
In 2022, they opened a brand new $125 million cruise terminal so that the port could handle the biggest cruise ships in the world.
Then they moved Allure of the Seas to Galveston, which was the biggest ship to ever sail from the port at the time of her debut.
Other cruise lines quickly took notice and adjusted their plans to match. Carnival invested $53 million to upgrade their terminal so that Carnival Jubilee could sail from there.
Just this week MSC opened a $156 million terminal that it will share with Norwegian. MSC Seascape departed on its first voyage earlier this week from the new terminal.
Royal Caribbean hinted strongly bringing an Icon Class ship to Texas
It wasn't a very well kept secret that Royal Caribbean had ambitions to homeport one of its Icon Class ships in Galveston.
As recently as September, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about the idea during the President's Cruise, "I wouldn't be surprised if some big announcement came to Galveston. I'm not saying we're putting an Icon Class there. But if I was a gambling man...."
Prior to that, in August Mr. Bayley answered a question from a travel agent about an Icon ship in Galveston, "We're not going to answer that question. But I can tell you it's coming, baby."
It's one of many hints and teases over the past few years that have pointed to an Icon ship shift. The only question was when and which of the ships would do it.
A big ship with Royal Caribbean's latest and greatest features
If you want to know why Icon of the Seas is such a big deal, look no further than all the amazing things that are onboard.
Icon encompasses 20 decks, has seven pools, and six waterslides that make up an entire waterpark.
It is divided up into 8 neighborhoods, meant to make it simple to get around the ship and know where you are at any time.
There are over 2,800 staterooms on Icon of the Seas, as well as over 40 bars and restaurants onboard. You can dine at an eight-course meal in a supper club, take the family out for hibachi, or enjoy five different food halls.
On select evenings, there are performances of the Wizard of Oz show in the Royal Theater, plus incredible feats of athleticism and dance in the Aquadome.
In all, the ship has 20 passenger decks. It is 1,198 feet long and 213 feet wide.
More ships released from Texas, California, and New York
In addition to the Icon of the Seas news, Royal Caribbean also shared new deployments for 2027-2028.
Joining Icon in Galveston will be Symphony of the Seas. Symphony will offer short 5-night cruises as well as 7- or 8-night cruises down to the Western Caribbean.
Liberty of the Seas will also sail from Galveston to offer shorter cruises to Mexico.
Oasis of the Seas and Independence of the Seas will sail from Bayonne, New Jersey and offer cruises to Bermuda, The Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean and Canada.
Odyssey of the Seas returns to Bayonne for the winter season to offer 7-12 night cruises down to the Caribbean and Bahamas.
On the west coast, Ovation of the Seas will sail short 3- and 4-night cruises from Los Angeles and Navigator of the Seas is back in LA to offer 7-night Mexican Riviera cruises.
