Royal Caribbean is expanding its fleet of mega-ships, with plans to build three more Icon of the Seas-style ships.
The cruise line, which currently operates 68 ships, announced this week that it is partnering with Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku to build the additional Icon-style ships. The deal includes options for Royal Caribbean to order a fourth and fifth ship. In addition to other Royal Caribbean ships, Meyer Turku has built Icon of the seasthe world’s largest cruise ship, which made its maiden voyage in January.
A sister ship, called Star of the Seas, will sail from Cape Canaveral in summer 2025. The third Icon-class ship, which will launch in 2026, has not yet been named, according to Royal Caribbean Group.
Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said the company ordered the upcoming ships because of the enthusiastic response from customers to the Icon of the Seas, a ship so large it dwarfs The Titanic in size. The 250,800-ton ship can accommodate about 8,000 people and has dozens of restaurants, theme parks and “neighborhoods.”
“Building on the incredible momentum and market response to the launch of Icon of the Seas and the excitement surrounding her sister ship, Star of the Seas, arriving in 2025, we are thrilled to once again partner with Meyer Turku to expand our Icon-class lineup and continue our plans for future growth,” Liberty said in a statement about the partnership renewal. “Since her debut, Icon has changed the game for vacation experiences and exceeded our expectations for guest satisfaction and financial performance.”
“We are just getting started”
Royal Caribbean said Icon is just the beginning of a new trend in cruising.
“The Icon of the Seas is unlike anything the world has ever seen before, and we’re just getting started,” Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said in a statement. “We lead the vacation industry in developing new experiences for our guests to create lasting memories, and we continue to dream and evolve to offer more ways to relax and be excited.”
Although the cruise industry has been temporarily impacted by COVID-19, statistics show that cruising remains a popular way to vacation. In 2023, 31.7 million passengers took cruises, surpassing 2019’s record of 20.7 million passengers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) trade group. CLIA expects this trend to continue, predicting that the number of cruise passengers will reach 34.7 million by the end of 2024.
But while the Icon has proven popular with cruise passengers, it has drawn the ire of environmentalists, who say the increasingly larger sizes of cruise ships are not climate-friendly.
The world’s largest cruise ships are now twice as big as they were in 2020, according to a report by Transport and Environment. CO2 emissions from cruise ships are up nearly 20% in 2022 compared with 2019, according to the Brussels-based group campaigning for clean transport.
The Icon of the Seas features energy-efficient technology designed to reduce its carbon footprint, and Royal Caribbean has committed to introducing a net-zero emissions ship by 2035. But climate advocates say these advances aren’t enough to mitigate the ships’ pollution, and that their size and capacity prove the industry isn’t prioritizing sustainability.
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment on the sustainability of its ships.
