New cruise ships and destinations are coming to a Royal Caribbean cruise near you between now and 2025.

Change is continuous at Royal Caribbean, and the next few years are looking to be monumental for the cruise line, with brand new ships, private island expansions, and exciting itineraries.

From time to time, Royal Caribbean reveals its long term plans to give customers a glimpse of what is coming next. There are not usually a ton of details shared until Royal Caribbean is ready to pull back the curtain more, as the nature of cruise ship development is that some decisions are changed or purposefully left undecided until closer to launch.

Here is a project by project look at everything new and coming soon to Royal Caribbean.

Icon of the Seas

The next new cruise ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet will be Icon of the Seas, which is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Icon of the Seas will be a game changer for the cruise industry and will be the biggest cruise ship in the world when she launches.

Icon of the Seas will be the first ship in Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class, and will be followed by two additional Icon Class ships. The ship will be powered by LNG (liquified natural gas) and include environmentally friendly applications that will reduce carbon footprint.

Related: Icon of the Seas: Itinerary, features, and more

The ship will be split into eight separate neighborhoods, each of which offers its own set of amenities, activities, and dining options:

• AquaDome, an indoor AquaTheater in a multipurpose space with wraparound ocean views and dining venues
• Central Park, an open-air park in the middle of the ship
• Chill Island, the ship’s pool deck, which features a swim-up bar, infinity edge pool, and an adults-only retreat named Cloud 17
• Thrill Island, home to the Category 6 waterpark and other adrenaline-filled activities
• Surfside, an outdoor neighborhood dedicated to young families, with a splash area, kid-friendly restaurants, a carousel, and an arcade
• The Hideaway, a neighborhood with a beach club atmosphere in the ship’s aft, which features a suspended infinity pool and bar
• Suite Neighborhood, an exclusive suites-only area with a sun deck, Coastal Kitchen restaurant, and casual Mediterranean restaurant
• Royal Promenade, an indoor thoroughfare with bars, lounges, dining venues, and shops 

The ship will have a maximum capacity of around 7,600 passengers and will be 250,800 gross tons in size. Icon of the Seas will be homeported in Miami with her first revenue sailing on January 27, 2024.

Utopia of the Seas

The sixth ship in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class has begun construction and is expected to launch in 2024.

Like Icon of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas will be powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), the first Oasis Class ship to do so. By using LNG power and the addition of further environmentally friendly applications onboard, Utopia of the Seas will reduce emissions and boost its energy efficiency.

As Utopia of the Seas is an Oasis Class ship, she will likely share a similar layout to other Oasis Class ships, offering venues and amenities like the AquaTheater, Central Park, Ultimate Abyss, and more.

As Wonder of the Seas had quite a few differences compared to other Oasis Class ships, it’s unclear yet whether Utopia of the Seas will share these same features.

Related: Wonder of the Seas vs other Oasis Class ships

More cruise ships

While Royal Caribbean currently has orders in place for three Icon Class cruise ships and Utopia of the Seas, the coming years may see more orders placed for new cruise ships.

At an event for the delivery of the new Celebrity Beyond, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said the company is considering ordering new ships for its three brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.

No information has been shared on what these cruise ship orders will be, so it’s unknown whether the additional cruise ship orders will be for additional ships in Royal Caribbean’s existing ship classes or for a brand new ship class altogether.

The second Icon Class ship began construction in February 2023.

Hideaway Beach at Perfect Day at CocoCay

Hideaway Beach, an adults-only area of Perfect Day at CocoCay, is currently under construction and set to open in late 2023. The island’s capacity is predicted to increase by 3,000 guests following the completion of Hideaway Beach.

Related: Guide to Hideaway Beach adults-only beach at CocoCay

The beach is located to the west of the island’s pier, adjacent to CocoCay’s Thrill Waterpark. The western side of the island is still undeveloped aside from storage and housing for some crew members, so this is the first project to expand Perfect Day at CocoCay on that side of the island.

Royal Beach Club

Royal Caribbean's Royal Beach Club will open in Nassau in 2025. This 17-acre club will feature a private beach atmosphere with cabanas, beach bars, a food hall, and several pools.

Island-style barbecues, live music, and local artisans will be found at the beach club as well. Activities at the club will include snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, parasailing, inflatable water slides, and more.

Related: Royal Caribbean beach club in Nassau will open in 2025

The Royal Beach Club will not be a complimentary island stop for all passengers like Perfect Day at CocoCay. Instead, it can be expected that passengers will reserve the Royal Beach Club as a shore excursion for an additional fee.

Perfect Day at Lelepa

Despite delays due to the pandemic, plans are still underway for Royal Caribbean’s newest private destination, Perfect Day at Lelepa. The private destination will be located in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu on the small, uninhabited island of Lelepa.

While Perfect Day at CocoCay features amenities like waterslides and a wave pool, Perfect Day at Lelepa will provide a more tranquil, traditional beach day for visitors. In addition, it will be the world’s first private cruise destination to achieve carbon neutrality, and all energy consumed on the island will be generated from renewable resources.

Related: First look at Perfect Day at Lelepa

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley explained how Perfect Day at Lelepa will focus on showcasing the island’s natural beauty and diverse local culture.

“We believe our destinations should be sustainably designed. That idea goes beyond simply protecting the ecological features of Lelepa and includes showing respect for the people and traditions that make this a special place.”

Perfect Day at Lelepa will handle fewer passengers than Perfect Day at CocoCay. Approximately 3 million passengers visit CocoCay each year, whereas Perfect Day at Lelepa is estimated to accommodate around 800,000 visitors per year.

There is no set opening date for Perfect Day at Lelepa, although it is expected to open within the next few years.

Panama canal cruises

In 2021, Royal Caribbean began sailing from the port of Los Angeles for the first time in over ten years, with Navigator of the Seas offering cruises to the Mexican Riviera.

Royal Caribbean continued to expand its itinerary options by announcing itineraries that depart from either Colón, Panama or Cartagena, Colombia. The sailings will be 6 or 7-nights on Rhapsody of the Seas between December 2023 and April 2024.

One of the biggest advantages of these sailings is the opportunity to traverse the Panama Canal, which had usually only been reserved for Royal Caribbean’s longer repositioning cruises. Plus, the itineraries feature lesser-visited ports like Quepos and Puntarenas in Costa Rica and Cartagena in Colombia.

Royal Caribbean Blog is offering a Panama Canal group cruise from March 16-24, 2024 for those interested in sailing around the Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal.

Projects on hold or abandoned

The public is at the mercy of Royal Caribbean to give updates on projects, or for there to be statements made as a matter of public record, to get a sense of any progress.

Many projects were announced before 2020 that are at best on hold, or perhaps even canceled. These are projects and ideas Royal Caribbean announced at one time, but there has not been an update in quite some time.

The Royal Amplified program, which upgrades Oasis, Freedom, and Voyager Class ships, has been on hold since the start of the pandemic. Ships like Allure of the Seas, which was due for amplification in 2020, do not have any enhancements scheduled.

In addition, the Royal Beach Club in Antigua, which was originally supposed to be finished by 2021, appears to be on hold, and no information has been released about the project since 2020.

Likewise, there have not been any new updates on a Perfect Day makeover for Labadee.

Could you be sailing on Titan of the Seas? Or perhaps a new Monarch of the Seas?

Royal Caribbean registered 9 new cruise ship names recently, which could be used for a new cruise ship.

The registrations were made between June 10 and June 11 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Here are all the new names trademarked:

• Nova of the Seas
• Splendor of the Seas
• Star of the Seas
• Monarch of the Seas
• Titan of the Seas
• Majesty of the Seas
• Sun of the Seas
• Marquee of the Seas
• Hero of the Seas

Three of the names are names of former Royal Caribbean cruise ships: Splendor, Majesty, and Monarch of the Seas.

Majesty and Monarch are the names of two former Sovereign Class cruise ships that were sold off during the pandemic. Monarch was scrapped and Majesty's fate remains unclear.

Read more: A last look at Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas

Splendor (spelled previously as Splendour) was a Vision class cruise ship, which is now sailing for Marella Cruises. 

Royal Caribbean had also registered Splendor of the Seas back in December 2021.

To date, Royal Caribbean hasn't ever re-used the name of a former ship, although it did once bring back a ship to the fleet and restore its name (Empress of the Seas).

What do these ship names mean?

Before you start planning your Nova of the Seas cruise, keep in mind Royal Caribbean often trademarks a bunch of names together while it figures out which one it will use.

Quite often they register a few names together before deciding on which they may use. Not only does it give them flexibility in choosing a name, but it keeps the public from knowing a new ship's name before they are ready to announce it.

Think of this list as the finalists in a naming competition. In short, it's better to have more names than you need to ensure no one takes up a name later.

What's your prediction?

Now is your chance to show us how much you (think you) know! Share your predictions what these trademarks will be used for the name of a new ship in the future!

It's almost the weekend, and I've got a new report to share of various Royal Caribbean updates.

Between the major announcements, there are a good amount of smaller updates that occur every week, so this is a quick round-up of Royal Caribbean news from this week.

Many thanks to the RoyalCaribbeanBlog community for helping spot what has changed.

If you ever have a news tip, feel free to email it to [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future update!

Utopia of the Seas construction begins

As we reported earlier this week, construction formally began on Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas.

Among other changes, Utopia will be the first Oasis Class ship powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas) when she launches. Royal Caribbean believes LNG is the cleanest fossil fuel available to cruise ships today and additional environmentally friendly applications on board Utopia will boost energy efficiencies and further reduce emissions overall.

In addition to Utopia, Icon of the Seas will also be powered by LNG when she launches a year earlier in fall 2023.

Utopia of the Seas is expected to launch in Spring 2024.

Royal Caribbean considering ordering more new cruise ships

Speaking at the Celebrity Beyond delivery event in France, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty indicated ordering additional new cruise ships is something they are considering.

Travel Weekly reports Mr. Liberty said Royal Caribbean Group is considering ordering new ships for all three brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises & Silversea.

New ship orders would be placed "as soon as business is back to normal pre-Covid levels, which is not far out."

"It could be later this year, or next year, but we have ships still on order through to 2026, so we have a little time."

Currently Royal Caribbean has orders in place for Utopia of the Seas and three Icon Class cruise ships.

Hideaway Beach construction update

I have a new photo update of the progress being made on the Perfect Day at CocoCay expansion, which will add a new adults-only beach.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Steve Cohen snapped photos of the Hideaway Beach construction from onboard Independence of he Seas.

Hideaway Beach could open mid to late 2023.

Royal Caribbean Group's legal team was busy this week with a variety of new trademarks that sound like it could be names for new venues on its cruise ships.

Trademark registrations may not end up being used by the cruise line, but it does provide insight into what may be currently planned.

Four new trademarks have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week:

Vue Bar

On October 23, a trademark was made for "Vue Bar" under the category of "cruise ship services".

Cask & Clipper

Another registration made on October 23 is for the "Cask & Clipper", which is filed under two categories:

• Cruise ship services
• Restaurant and bar services

Royal Caribbean's English-style pubs on its cruise ships tend to have names that combine two words in a similar style to Cask & Clipper.

Wonder Playscape

The trademark filing for "Wonder Playscape" sounds a lot like the name of a new play area on Wonder of the Seas cruise ship.

Wonder of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's fifth Oasis Class cruise ship, which is set to debut in 2022 and sail from China.

The description for Wonder Playscape says, "Entertainment services in the nature of children's dry playscape attractions".

The trademark might correlate to a series of renderings for a newly imagined concept for families that popped up online. Or it could be something completely unrelated.

Cantina Fresca

The last trademark filing was made for something called "Cantina Fresca" and is described as "restaurant and bar services".

The name infers a Mexican inspired venue, of which Royal Caribbean has targeted this particular cuisine in the past with Sabor Modern Mexican and El Loco Fresh.

What do these trademarks mean?

Trademark applications are usually quite vague and do not indicate exactly how the cruise line will utilize them, if at all.

In fact, a lot of trademarks never get used for many reasons.

It is also worth noting these registrations are filed on behalf of the Royal Caribbean Group, which means they could be intended for a subsidiary cruise line that is not Royal Caribbean International.

Read more: Who owns Royal Caribbean?

Royal Caribbean has two cruise ships under construction set to debut in the next few years, Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. With new ships comes new opportunities to potentially introduce new venues that will help market a ship and differentiate it from other vessels.

In addition, the Icon Class cruise ships are also on the horizon in the next few years.

Royal Caribbean has trademarked the name Metropolis of the Seas, which could possibly be used as a name of a future cruise ship.

The cruise line registered the trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on October 1, 2018.

Royal Caribbean trademarked three other possible cruise ship names in September. In addition, Apex of the Seas was registered in 2017 and is still a live trademark.

Royal Caribbean currently has four unnamed ships on order, in addition to Spectrum of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has trademarked three new ship names that could be the names of new cruise ships in the future.

The cruise line registered Eon of the Seas, Gallant of the Seas and Phenom of the Seas via the United States Patent and Trademark Office last week.

It is worth noting that Royal Caribbean has registered other cruise ship names that it never ended up using for actual ships. Joy of the Seas and Apex of the Seas were registered back in 2017 and have yet to be used.

Royal Caribbean currently has four unnamed ships on order, in addition to Spectrum of the Seas.

Tip of the hat to Lloyd Marchand for alerting us to this news.

Royal Caribbean filed two new trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for what appears to be cruise ship names.

Royal Caribbean filed for new trademarks on Apex of the Seas and Joy of the Seas on June 27, 2017.

Royal Caribbean had registered both trademarks in September 2014, but the trademarks were abandoned on September 14, 2015.

The registration comes just days after Royal Caribbean registered for a similar trademark for Spectrum of the Seas.  The cruise line has not made any announcements of its intentions for these trademarks, if any. Royal Caribbean currently has six ships on order and/or under construction, although two of the ships already have names associated with them (Symphony of the Seas and Icon of the Seas).

Royal Caribbean has filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for "Spectrum of the Seas", which could be the name of a new cruise ship that is currently under construction.

Royal Caribbean filed the trademark application on June 24, 2017 and it is currently active.

This is not the first time Royal Caribbean had applied for a trademark on Spectrum of the Seas. Back in September 2014, Royal Caribbean trademarked it, along with 4 other names.  The trademark for Spectrum of the Seas was abandoned on September 14, 2015, and now the cruise line has re-filed for the same trademark.

It remains to be seen which ship, if any, will bear the name Spectrum of the Seas. Royal Caribbean currently has six ships on order and/or under construction, although two of the ships already have names associated with them (Symphony of the Seas and Icon of the Seas).

Thanks to Lloyd Marchand for alerting us to the filing.

What do you think of the name? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Designing and building the world’s largest cruise ships is no small feat for Royal Caribbean’s Newbuild team. Creative collaboration between the team’s designers, architects, shipbuilders and executives is the key to building industry-leading vessels. Often spanning six or seven time zones, the team is brought together by a shared passion. They’ve built a rapport that allows them to feed off of each other, making innovation the norm. And when the most talented minds in the cruising industry come together, the result is ships that others only dream about.

Royal Caribbean has filed to trademark three new cruise ship names this week, with two of them not associated with any ship yet.

On January 21, 2017, Royal Caribbean filed trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the following names:

• Symphony of the Seas
• Sunrise of the Seas
• Valhalla of the Seas

We reported on Royal Caribbean registering Symphony of the Seas, which is rumored to be the name of its fourth Oasis class ship, but the other two names are yet to be tied to any rumors. 

There are currently six Royal Caribbean ships on order, with two of them tied to rumors of what its name will be (Symphony of the Seas and Icon of the Seas). That leaves four ships without any indication what they might be called. Royal Caribbean has not officially announced the name for any of these ships yet.