Royal Caribbean International celebrated the initial stages of construction for the next Icon-class cruise ship yesterday, even while Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship the world will have ever seen, is still under construction.
The ceremonial “cutting of the steel” marks the start of a building process which will not be complete for another couple of years.
The traditional steel-cutting ceremony was attended by the Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku teams dedicated to building the second Icon Class ship. The occasion marked the official start of the construction process.
Following this event there will be several key decisions in design and construction spanning months and involving thousands of experts in their field.
The second Icon-class ship with the cruise line will be built in the same ship yard as her sister Icon of the Seas, which when completed will be the largest cruise ship in the world at around 250,800 gross tons in volume.
Related: Full list of every Royal Caribbean cruise ship in service.
Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland is the same shipyard in several other Royal Caribbean cruise ships have been built as well, including Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Freedom of the Seas.
The new ship which has not yet been named is set to launch in 2025, following the debut of Icon of the Seas in January 2024.
The line has already hinted at possibly letting the public name this 2nd ship. Royal Caribbean posted a poll on social media with four possible choices for its next ship: Star of the Seas, Idol of the Seas, Love of the Seas, and Queen of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean already has the largest cruise ships in the world with the latest Oasis-class Wonder of the Seas sailing weekly to the Caribbean. The company’s new Icon-class vessels are about 7% larger and are packed with new innovations never before seen at sea.
The buzz around the announcement of Icon of the Seas has already caused demand for bookings to go through the roof. After the last earnings call the company stated that Icon has been a big driver for recent bookings.
Check prices on Icon of the Seas cruises here.
The 7,600 maximum capacity Icon-class ships will have two more decks than Oasis-class vessels and have a real focus on families being able to vacation together. The line just released information about one of the 8 neighborhoods called the Surfside Neighborhood.
In addition to some of the neighborhoods cruisers are accustomed to on Oasis class ships, Icon will be adding a few more neighborhoods like Thrill Island, Chill Island, The Hideaway, the Aquadome, and Surfside.
With this second Icon-class ship beginning construction we still don’t have many details about it. The company will trickle out information little by little as the building process continues, and we will keep our readers informed about any coming developments.
