First Block Laid for Royal Caribbean’s Fifth Icon Class Ship

Royal Caribbean celebrated the keel laying for its fifth Icon class ship that will debut in 2028. Icon class ships are currently the largest cruise ships in the world at close to 250,000 gross tons in size.

The keel-laying for Icon 5 at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, marks the start of assembling the blocks to form the structure of the vessel.

During the keel-laying celebration, the first major building block of steel was placed in the dry dock at the shipyard where the ship will take shape over the next two years.

The keel forms the backbone of the ship along the bottom and center of its hull and provides the foundation for the ship’s construction.

To mark the milestone, Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku placed a layer of freshly minted coins beneath the steel block before it was lifted into position in a time-honored shipbuilding tradition sealing good fortune for the ship’s journey ahead.

Casimir Lindholm, CEO of Meyer Turku, gave the following statement:

“The start of construction for the fifth Icon Class ship reflects the strength of the long-term partnership between Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku. Building a series of ships allows us to continuously learn, improve, and innovate, and each new vessel benefits from the expertise gained throughout the program. Together with our partner network, we are proud to demonstrate the world-class shipbuilding capabilities developed in Turku and to help shape the future of cruise shipbuilding.”

Royal Caribbean currently has three Icon class ships in service with a fourth, Hero of the Seas, set to debut in 2027.

The world’s largest cruise line has a total of seven Icon class ships either in service or on order. A sixth will debut in 2029, followed by a seventh in 2030.

Royal Caribbean will give more details on Icon 5, including a name and features, at a later date.