Royal Caribbean is the world’s largest cruise line with 26 ships in service and they currently have three more cruise ships under construction.
Royal Caribbean has four more cruise ships entering service over the next several years and three of those vessels are currently under construction at shipyards in Turku, Finland and Saint-Nazaire, France.
Last month, Royal Caribbean cut the first piece of steel on their second Icon class ship. The vessel is currently unnamed and scheduled to enter service in 2025. If keeping with the cruise line’s tradition of making sister ships slightly larger than previous ones, it will be the largest cruise ship ever built when she makes her debut.
The vessel is under construction at Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. The ship’s name, homeport, and itineraries have yet to be announced.
Also under construction at the same shipyard is Icon of the Seas. Icon of the Seas is the first of a new generation of cruise ships from Royal Caribbean and it is promising to be the ultimate family vacation. The cruise line stated that the ship will redefine cruise vacations for years to come.
Icon of the Seas will debut as the largest cruise ship in the world when she sets sail for the first time in early 2024.
The cruise ship will have over 40 food and beverage options with more than half of them being new concepts from Royal Caribbean.
It will be the first mainstream cruise ship to have escalators to move guests from one area of the ship to another with greater efficiency.
Icon of the Seas will have the largest swimming pool on any cruise ship and will also have the world’s first suspended pool at sea.
The cruise ship will have a new neighborhood just for families where they will be able to spend the entire day and will have a little of something for everyone.
A waterpark will be on the top deck that will have six waterslides including the tallest drop slide at sea.
Royal Caribbean is also adding more deck chairs and shade than ever before.
Icon of the Seas will have Royal Caribbean’s first infinite balcony staterooms. The ship will have a combination of traditional balcony and infinite balcony so guests can choose the perfect type of cabin for their needs.
Icon of the Seas will homeport at PortMiami. The ship will offer seven night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean leaving every Saturday starting on January 27, 2024. View Itineraries on Icon of the Seas
The third cruise ship that Royal Caribbean currently has under construction is Utopia of the Seas, the 6th and likely final Oasis class vessel.
The Oasis class from Royal Caribbean ushered in a new era of cruise vacations when they first debuted over a decade ago.
Utopia of the Seas is being built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It will be the first Oasis class ship powered by LNG and it will be the most environmentally friendly of the class.
Utopia of the Seas is scheduled to enter service in the spring of 2024. The cruise line has yet to give many details on this new ship. We do know that it will be slighter larger than Wonder of the Seas, the largest Oasis class ship.
However, we should know soon where the ship will homeport and itineraries that will be offered on the vessel.
Royal Caribbean also has one more ship on order, a third Icon class vessel. It will likely be another year before construction starts on the ship since it is not scheduled to debut until 2026.
If Royal Caribbean keeps all of the current ships in their fleet, in 2026 they will become the first cruise line to have 30 ocean cruise ships in service at one time.
