Will Royal Caribbean's new Icon Class cruise ships be the largest in the world?

When Royal Caribbean announced plans for a new class of cruise ship, they provided very few details, but becoming the new biggest cruise ship in the world wasn't part of the announcement.

It now looks like perhaps the Icon Class ships will be larger, according to recent comments made by a Royal Caribbean executive this week.

Travel Weekly is reporting the newly promoted Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Sean Treacy, indicated Icon of the Seas will be larger than the Oasis class cruise ships.

The days of Royal Caribbean cruise ships sailing at reduced capacity are limited.

It's no secret that the cruise industry is moving back towards normalcy with getting more ships back into service and more passengers onboard.

The only question cruise ship passengers had was when would full capacity return, and it looks like sooner than later this summer.

At last week's earnings call with investors, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley said most ships should be back to full capacity again.

"And as we head towards Memorial Day weekend," Mr. Bayley explained to a Wall Street analyst during the call. "We're going to see significant percentage of our ship sailing at 100% and greater."

As the number of Omicron cases has begun to decrease worldwide, the cruise industry is looking at updating regulations, including those that apply to its crew members.

Martina, a Royal Caribbean crew member onboard the Serenade of the Seas has provided an update on her YouTube channel regarding crew shore leave, vaccination requirements and quarantine rules.

A relaxation of crew rules, especially as it relates to onshore visits, is good news for crew members who have faced restrictions during the pandemic.

Martina has been providing updates from the Serenade of the Seas, as its sails from its current homeport of Tampa. The ship takes on fuel, food and mail in Tampa before it voyages out to pick up and transfer crew members in Cozumel, Roatan and Belize.   

While Royal Caribbean has been able to get most of its cruise ships back into service, it has had to cancel a few sailings due to Covid-19.

The good news is the cruise industry is still able to sail and operate its ships with arguably the most comprehensive health protocols of any private business.  However, canceled cruises are still happening in select cases.

In order to keep you up to date with which ships and dates have been canceled, here is a list of the Royal Caribbean cancellations in 2022.

Keep in mind things change a lot, and this list will be updated as quickly as possible.

Cancelled cruises in 2022