Construction has begun on a new Royal Caribbean cruise ship that could set a new record for being big.
On Tuesday at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, the first piece of steel was cut for a new Royal Caribbean vessel that will become the fifth Icon Class ship. Perhaps it will assume the title of the biggest cruise ship in the world too.
Scheduled to debut in 2028, the as-yet-unnamed megaship will be another of the incredible Icon Class ships that set a new standard since the launch of Icon of the Seas in 2024.
Royal Caribbean doesn't share many details of a cruise ship this early in its development, but the official start of construction is an important milestone.
A ceremony was held at the shipyard attended by both Royal Caribbean Group executives, as well as the Meyer Turku organization, and the classification society.
What follows is two years of construction and a lot of attention for a new ship that is likely to introduce new features and other ways it will distinguish itself from its predecessors.
Meanwhile, we'll need to wait for this ship's name. Neither Icon 4 nor Icon 5 have names revealed yet.
How big this ship will be
There's no official word yet as to exactly how large this new cruise ship will be, but typically new ships within a class tend to edge out the previous ones in one way or another.
These are big ships with plenty to see and do onboard.
The Icon Class ships come in at 250,800 gross tons and will have 6 waterslides, more than 20 bars and lounges, the Royal Promenade, and the open-air Central Park lined with more than 30,500 real plants and restaurants.
Icon Class ships can handle 5,610 guests at double occupancy, but if you max it out, a little over 7,000 passengers can sail on them.
Those numbers may differ slightly depending on if new cabins are added, or if pools or other features get added.
Two cruise ships will launch first
The beginning of construction is important, but there's already another ship in the pipeline.
A fourth Icon Class ship has been under construction at the same shipyard for a while, and that ship will enter service next year.
But before Icon 4 starts sailing, the third Icon Class ship joins the fleet. Legend of the Seas will begin offering cruises this summer.
Royal Caribbean has another cruise ship coming in 2028
Icon 5 will be joined in 2028 by the seventh Oasis Class ship.
Neither ship has a name and we don't know yet which ship will launch first. Both are slated to launch in 2028.
This could be the last in the Oasis Class, with the first one debuting in 2009. Oasis Class ships are known for being really big as well.
There are swimming pools, water slides, rock climbing walls, surfing simulators, over 40 bars and lounges (plus dozens of restaurants) and even a miniature golf course, ice-skating rink and a basketball court.
The Icon Class ships are slightly larger than the Oasis Class, but their capacity is quite similar. Utopia of the Seas is 236,860 gross tons, compared to Star of the Seas at 250,800.
There could be orders for even more Icon Class ships
Royal Caribbean still holds options to build a 6th and 7th Icon Class ship.
These options are reserved slots at the shipyard that allows the cruise line more time to decide on placing an order without losing its place in line to be built.
If those options are exercised, it could mean new Icon Class ships beginning sailing in 2030 or beyond.
More cruise ships are rumored
If all of these new cruise ship plans aren't enough, there's actually talk of more on the horizon.
Royal Caribbean confirmed in September 2025 that it is working on "a new, game-changing class of ship beyond Icon." The ship will eventually be built at Meyer Turku.
And if the rumor mill is accurate, a new ship class will be announced at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France in the "coming weeks".
