Royal Caribbean is expanding its fleet of mega ships and plans to build three more ships in the style of the Icon of the Seas.
The cruise line, which currently operates 68 ships, announced this week that it is working with Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku to build the additional Icon-style ships. The contract includes options for Royal Caribbean to order fourth and fifth ships. In addition to other Royal Caribbean ships, Meyer Turku built Icon of the seasthe largest cruise ship in the world, which completed its maiden voyage in January.
A sister ship called Star of the Seas will set sail from Cape Canaveral in the summer of 2025. The third ship in the Icon class, which is scheduled to be launched in 2026, does not yet have a name, according to the Royal Caribbean Group.
Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said the company attributed the order for the future ships to enthusiastic customer response to Icon of the Seas, a ship so large that it The Titanic large. The 250,800-ton ship can accommodate around 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 anticipation of her sister ship Star of the Seas entering service in 2025, we are excited to partner with Meyer Turku again to expand our roster of Icon-class ships and continue our future growth plans,” Liberty said in a statement about the renewed partnership. “Since its debut, Icon has changed the game for vacation experiences and exceeded our expectations in both guest satisfaction and financial performance.”
“We are just getting started”
Royal Caribbean said Icon is just the beginning of a new trend in the cruise industry.
“Icon of the Seas is unlike anything the world has seen before, and we’re just getting started,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, in a statement. “We’re leading the vacation industry in creating new experiences for our guests that will last a lifetime, and we’re continuing to dream and evolve to offer more ways to relax and thrill.”
Although the cruise industry has been temporarily hit hard by COVID-19, statistics show that cruising continues to be a popular form of vacation. According to industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 31.7 million passengers took cruises in 2023, surpassing the record of 20.7 million passengers set in 2019. 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 Icon has enjoyed popularity among cruise passengers, it has drawn the ire of environmentalists who believe that ever-larger cruise ships are not climate-friendly.
The world’s largest cruise ships are now twice the size they were in 2020, according to a report by Transport and Environment. CO2 emissions from cruise ships were almost 20% higher in 2022 than in 2019, found the Brussels-based group that promotes clean transport.
Icon of the Seas features energy-efficient technologies designed to reduce its carbon footprint, and Royal Caribbean has committed to introducing a net-zero emissions ship by 2035. But climate activists say these advances are not enough to reduce pollution from these ships, and that their sheer size and capacity are evidence that the industry is not prioritizing sustainability.
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment on the sustainability of its ships.
