Cruises

Royal Caribbean Orders Third Ship in New Icon Class

By Adam Leposa Jul 2, 2019 9:20am

Royal Caribbean has signed an agreement with shipbuilder Meyer Turku for a third Icon-class ship, slated for delivery in 2025. The first two ships in the Icon class are scheduled to be delivered in 2022 and 2024.

In a written statement Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said that the Icon class will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will reduce the ships’ carbon footprints and boost energy efficiency.

Other than the fact that it will be powered by liquefied natural gas, design details for the new Icon class of ship, which has been in development since at least 2017, are still largely under wraps. Over the past few years Royal Caribbean has been focused on building up its destination product with the launch of the Perfect Day Island Collection. The first of these private island destinations, Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas, made its debut this summer to positive reviews from travel advisors. Eventually, plans call for this destination collection to expand worldwide.

Royal Caribbean has also been investing $900 million in a fleetwide revitalization project, bringing a number of new amenities and updates to the line’s Oasis-, Voyager- and Freedom-class ships. The latest ship to undergo these enhancements, the Voyager of the Seas, is scheduled to sail in the South Pacific this fall.

In terms of new ships, construction on Oasis-class ship number five officially kicked off this April, with delivery slated for 2021. The line also has a sixth Oasis-class ship on order, contingent on financing, with delivery scheduled for 2023. Also on tap is a new Quantum Ultra-class ship, the Odyssey of the Seas, which is set to sail in fall 2020 in the United States.

The order for the third Icon-class ship announced today is contingent on financing, Royal Caribbean said.

Royal Caribbean Orders Third Ship in New Icon Class

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