- Royal Caribbean has laid the keel for its fifth Icon-class ship
- The ceremony took place at Meyer Turku in Finland
- The ship debuts in 2028
- The sixth and seventh ships follow in 2029 and 2030
- A framework agreement secures capacity through 2036
Royal Caribbean has celebrated the start of physical construction of its fifth Icon-class ship with a keel-laying ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. The ship is set to debut in 2028. The vessel will deliver a combination of a beach retreat, resort escape and theme park adventures.
During the keel-laying celebration, the first major building block of steel was placed in the drydock where the ship will take shape over the next two years. Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku placed a layer of freshly minted coins beneath the steel block before it was lifted into position in a shipbuilding tradition sealing good fortune for the ship’s journey ahead. The ceremony followed the float out of the fourth ship in the series, the Hero of the Seas, at the shipyard.
The sixth Icon-class ship is set to follow in 2029 and the seventh in 2030. The order forms part of a framework agreement with Meyer Turku that secures access to shipbuilding capacity through 2036. More details about the fifth ship, including its name and additional features, will be revealed in the coming months.
Casimir Lindholm shared “The start of construction for the fifth Icon Class ship reflects the strength of the long-term partnership between Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku.”
