We have our first hint how big Royal Caribbean's new Discovery Class cruise ships will be.
The cruise line announced in January that it will build a new kind of cruise ship, but provided very little detail about it.
What we do know is Royal Caribbean had been planning the Discovery Class as a replacement for its smaller, aging ships, but the exact size was a mystery.
While Royal Caribbean hasn't made any further official announcements regarding anything about these new ships, their filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission provides a glimpse of what we can expect.
A big ship that isn't as big as others
According to Royal Caribbean Group's form 10-Q filing with the SEC, we now know the passenger count for the Discovery Class ships.
Because Royal Caribbean Group is a publicly traded company and new cruise ships are financed and are quite expensive, they have to disclose certain details to investors. It outlines their debt commitments, so investors can get a better sense of the company's financial state.
In their filings, Royal Caribbean Group lists two unnamed Discovery Class ships on the order books at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard with an approximate passenger count (berths) of 4,300.
This appears to be the ship's double occupancy limit, as the other berths listed for unbuilt Icon and Oasis Class ships reflect their respective double occupancy limit, as opposed to the maximum limit.
Legend of the Seas is listed at approximately 5,600 on the SEC filing. We already know that ship's exact limit is 5,610, but it could go up to 7,600 when you add in every possible third, fourth, or fifth passenger into a cabin.
Where Discovery Class fits
To put this in perspective, the passenger count makes this ship have roughly the same capacity as a Quantum Class ship.
For comparison:
- Icon Class ships carry over 5,600 passengers at double occupancy
- Oasis Class ships accommodate around 5,400 passengers
- Quantum Class ships come in closer to 4,100 passengers
- Freedom Class ships carry roughly 3,900 passengers
Odyssey of the Seas, which launched in 2021, accommodates 4,198 guests at double occupancy and up to 5,510 at maximum capacity.
Freedom of the Seas is a bit smaller, with a passenger capacity of 3,926 guests at double occupancy and up to 4,515 at maximum capacity.
The filing also says the first ship will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2029. Keep in mind delivery date and first sailing aren't the same thing.
When a new cruise ship is delivered, it means it's construction is complete. But the ship still needs to be furnished, incorporate crew members, and generally prepare the ship.
When Icon of the Seas debuted, it went to Spain for a few weeks to provision the ship, before heading to Puerto Rico to load up all the crew members. There were then a series of preview sailings leading up to the inaugural voyage.
The first ship in any class will always require more prep time.
When the second Discovery Class ship launches, it will be ready in the second quarter of 2032.
This filing doesn't tell the whole story
One thing to keep in mind is filings with the SEC are estimates, and it's not the total picture of what this ship will be.
When the Icon Class first was announced, Royal Caribbean didn't market it as the new biggest ship in the world. In fact, SEC filings made it seem to be larger than a Quantum Class but smaller than an Oasis Class.
However, the design of the ship later revealed a different reality.
Moreover, we still don't have any indication on what a Discovery Class ship would look like, or other key features.
The one thing this SEC filing does confirm is that it won't be a very small ship by Royal Caribbean standards.
In 2024, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty talked about how its smaller vessels are becoming outdated.
"We're looking at smaller ships that will replace some of those older ships," Liberty said, touching on the cruise line's next project.
That lead some to assume the Discovery Class could be roughly the same size or capacity as an aging Vision Class ship, which are approaching 30 years in age.
What we still don’t know
While the new SEC filing tells us more than we knew before, there are still many unanswered questions for these new ships.
Royal Caribbean has not yet confirmed:
- Gross tonnage
- Ship length or design specifics
- Onboard features or neighborhood concepts
- Launch timeline beyond initial order announcements
The company has only said that Discovery Class will be a new platform, suggesting it won't simply be a scaled-down version of existing ships.
