Royal Caribbean is crowdsourcing names for its next new cruise ship.
Earlier this year, Royal Caribbean revealed long-rumored plans to build a new class of cruise ship that is slightly smaller than its current megaships.
Known as the Discovery Class, the first of these will debut in 2029 with two ships confirmed, and options for four additional ships.
Select past cruisers received an email survey this week that asks them questions about this new class, including ship name suggestions.
Here's what the survey included.
Getting feedback about what people want on these new ships
Royal Caribbean Blog reader Stelli from La Floating Adventures, sent us a screenshot of these questions.
"Royal Caribbean Group recently announced a new class of ships called Discovery Class, designed to mark a new era of vacation experiences visiting the most sought after destinations around the world."
"Based on what you just read, what stands out to you most about this new ship class?"
Email surveys are a powerful tool for Royal Caribbean to collect data from its customers, and the latest survey was focused on the Discovery Class ships.
The cruise line research team spends time getting lots of feedback from guests, including in targeted surveys.
The "most sought after destinations around the world" statement seems to reinforce the idea these new ships are going to sail to places beyond simply the Caribbean.
Exotic destinations, such as Alaska, Asia, and Europe, are where executives have said the Discovery Class will head.
"Discovery Class is a class for Royal Caribbean. It is a class by its name that will go to Asia, it will go to Alaska, it will go to European itineraries," he said during a question and answer event last week.
"That ship will be specifically designed for those types of more exotic experiences."
Royal Caribbean wants ideas for ship names
Another question in the survey asked guests to name the ships.
"Imagine you got to name the first ship in Discovery Class! What are some names you would love to see for this very first ship? Tell us up to 5 names in the space below."
Typically, Royal Caribbean will name the first ship in a class after the class name. Subsequent ships in the class sometimes have a name that relates to the original name, but not always.
Mr. Bayley recently explained they used to pay for a research company to generate a list of ship names based on analytical data, but that's changed recently.
"Some years ago, we just said, why don't we just, you know, make our own list," he recalled.
"We got a huge number of suggestions from, from our guests... We get names sent to us all the time, and we literally keep a list of names."
From those names, cruise line executives pick out the best ones and try to come to a consensus on the best one.
"We go through this process of either deciding which is the best name and/or doing more research to validate it. And then, and then we go through a process of getting everybody to agree."
Royal Caribbean asked what they expect from the name
If the Shakespearean quote, "What's in a name?" rings true, it certainly does for cruise ships.
The next question asked what guests expect from the ship name.
"Thinking about Royal Caribbean ships more generally, what (if anything) do you expect from the name of the first ship in a new class?"
This question speaks to the legacy of ship names and how branding plays into choosing one name over another.
A ship name will be in use for at least 30 years, so it's got to evoke the right feeling.
What's important to a ship name
The final question asked guests to rank in order of importance factors that go into a ship name.
"Which of the following, if any, matter to you when it comes to the name of a Discovery Class ship?"
- Something entirely new/different
- Connection to exploration or discovery
- Sense of adventure
- Sense of scale or grandeur
- Innovation or new experiences
- Continuity with past ship naming styles
- Connection to destinations or travel
Like the previous question, this is about getting a better understanding of what people expect from a Royal Caribbean ship's name.
Ship names are as much about branding as they are about distinguishing one from another.
Strong ship names like "Icon of the Seas" signify something being special and different from the rest. It not only is easy to remember, but it likely stands out.
The first Discovery Class ship arrives in 2029
The first Discovery Class ship will be built in the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France.
It will be ready in the fourth quarter of 2029 for delivery, and be the first new ship class since the Icon Class.
According to Royal Caribbean Group's form 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the new ship will have an approximate passenger count (berths) of 4,300.
That's about 1,300 passengers less than the Icon Class ships.
