Royal Caribbean's third Icon Class ship will have its very own Chief Dog Officer: Skipper.
Earlier this month, Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean's President and CEO, announced that the then-unnamed puppy had been born.
Within hours, Bayley's Facebook post had over 400 comments with cruise fans weighing in on what the cruise line should name the soon-to-be Chief Dog Officer of Legend of the Seas.
Some of the ideas include nautical-inspired names like Anchor and Schooner. Others, such as Norway, paid tribute to Royal Caribbean's history and private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
(Credit: Michael Bayley/Facebook)
In the end, Bayley revealed the winning name in a playful post alongside an AI image of himself, the recently born puppy, and Rover and Sailor, the respective Chief Dog Officers of Icon and Star of the Seas.
"ChatGPT A.I. with my true loves! Rover, Sailor, and baby Skipper! Thank you to all who suggested some wonderful names for our growing group of Chief Dog Officers. After an exhaustive process, our distinguished panel (🤪me) chose Skipper," Bayley shared on Facebook.
Skipper was mentioned a few times in the previous comment section by fans, including Amy Sue, Diane Cushman, Maria Jodoin, Bridgette Hope Spence, Amanda Davis, and Christy Collins.
Read more: New puppy born that will live on Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship
With the name now official, cruisers can look forward to Skipper following in the previous "paw" prints of the other Chief Dog Officers.
Icon of the Seas was the first ship to feature a full-time Chief Dog Officer
Icon of the Seas is record-breaking in more ways than one. While the massive mega-ship broke records as the world’s largest cruise ship and for having the largest waterpark at sea, the vessel was also the first in the fleet to introduce a Chief Dog Officer.
Rover, an adorable Golden Retriever, made history as Royal Caribbean’s first-ever Chief Dog Officer when Icon debuted in January 2024. She lives on the ship full-time with her handler (talk about a dream job!) and became a celebrity before the ship even set sail.
The following year, Royal Caribbean welcomed Sailor aboard Star of the Seas, continuing the trend of having a "family dog" on its family-focused cruise ships.
Read more: Royal Caribbean will have a dog that lives on Star of the Seas
With Rover joining the Icon of the Seas' crew around six months old, Skipper will likely follow a similar time frame. This will give Royal Caribbean ample time to properly train her and help her develop her much-needed sea legs.
If this is true, based on Sailor's birthday, she won't embark on Legend of the Seas until around August 2026, after the ship's maiden voyages in July. This, however, is just speculation; Royal Caribbean has not confirmed anything about when Skipper may make Legend her full-time home — other than that she will definitely be on board while the Icon Class ship is in Europe.
Legend of the Seas' maiden voyage is scheduled for July 2026
Legend of the Seas is the next highly-anticipated Icon Class ship. While the bones are nearly identical to the other two vessels, what makes Legend so special is that she's the first Icon Class ship to offer European cruises.
When Legend debuts in July 2026, she'll sail on a series of round-trip voyages from Barcelona, Spain, and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy. Then, she'll move to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the winter season before returning to Europe in May 2027.
Combining a sailing on an Icon Class ship with bucket-list destinations like Marseille, France; Naples, Italy; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, gives travelers the chance to pair Royal Caribbean’s newest, most groundbreaking hardware with some of the Mediterranean’s most iconic destinations.
Read more: Royal Caribbean adds an even earlier first sailing on Legend of the Seas
