The Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, drew as much criticism as excitement when Royal Caribbean launched it earlier this year, but the ship has been a hit among cruise goers. Now the cruise line is adding to its fleet of megaships.
The company already has two Icon Class ships on order — Star of the Seas, which will be launched in 2025, and a third ship that has not yet been named but will be delivered in 2026. It now has plans to order a fourth ship, set for a 2027 launch, with options for a fifth and sixth. The new ships build on the market response to Icon of the Seas, said Jason Liberty, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group, announcing the agreement to build the new ships.
“Since its debut, Icon has exceeded our expectations in both guest satisfaction and financial performance,” Mr. Liberty said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 250,800-ton ship, which can carry nearly 8,000 people, has eight “neighborhoods” packed with amenities that include a 55-foot waterfall, six water slides and more than 40 restaurants, bars and entertainment venues.
Royal Caribbean’s announcement comes as the cruise industry reports record demand, attracting new customers with attractively priced packages that often include food, beverages and activities. In 2023, cruise travel exceeded 2019 levels by 107 percent, with 31.7 million passengers. This year, that number is expected to reach 34.7 million, according to Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s trade group.
Responding to the demand, Royal Caribbean launched four new ships this year and has seven more on order. Other major cruise lines, like Carnival, Norwegian and MSC, are also launching next-generation vessels through 2027. The trend has drawn criticism from environmental groups, who warn that the number and scale of the ships undermine the industry’s commitment to a more sustainable future.
The world’s largest cruise ships are now twice as big as they were in 2000, according to a report by Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based advocacy group for clean transport and energy. If vessels continue to grow at their current rate, the biggest ships in 2025 will be eight times larger than the Titanic, with a capacity to carry nearly 11,000 passengers, the report found.
“Today’s cruisezillas make the Titanic look like a small fishing boat. How much bigger can these giants get?” said Inesa Ulichina, the sustainable shipping officer at Transport and Environment. “The cruise business is the fastest growing tourism sector and its emissions are quickly getting out of control.”
Based on the current fleets of its member lines, CLIA said, there is a strong balance of cruise ship sizes. Many cruise lines argue that their larger vessels are being built more efficiently in line with their sustainability goals, with features to make them compatible with cleaner fuel sources like methanol.
The Icon of the Seas has several features designed to minimize the ship’s carbon footprint, including a waste management system that converts onboard waste into energy and an advanced purification system that is designed to treat all wastewater onboard.
“Achieving net zero is not something any one company can do alone,” Mr. Liberty said, speaking last month at a Decarbonization Summit hosted by Royal Caribbean Group and the not-for-profit Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. “It requires collective problem solving, creative thinking, and a willingness to have tough conversations.”
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