On April 27, Royal Caribbean International announced on its website that it had confirmed an order for its sixth and seventh Icon-class luxury cruise ships at Meyer Turku in Finland, a subsidiary of the German Meyer Group, with deliveries scheduled for 2029 and 2030 respectively.
Royal Caribbean stated that the two new ships are part of a long-term framework agreement with Meyer Turku, which ensures that Meyer Turku will reserve shipbuilding slots for the company through 2036. The order for Ship No. 7 is subject to customary conditions, including financing.
The Icon-class cruise ship is approximately 365 meters long and 50 meters wide, with a gross tonnage of 250,000. It features 20 decks and 2,805 cabins, and can accommodate 5,610 passengers based on double occupancy. If all cabins are fully occupied, the ship can carry up to 7,600 passengers, in addition to a crew of 2,350.
This cruise ship will be equipped with an air lubrication system to reduce hull friction; robotic hull cleaners that remove debris and biofouling while the ship is docked to prevent increased drag; shore power connections; and a pioneering waste heat recovery system capable of converting waste heat into up to 3 megawatts of additional energy, among other features.
Over the course of more than 30 years of collaboration, Meyer Turku has built 25 cruise ships for Royal Caribbean and has been awarded contracts for seven Icon-class ships.
The 250,000-gross-ton Icon-class cruise ships are the largest luxury cruise ships ever built by Meyer Turku. Although the shipbuilder and the shipowner have not disclosed the construction cost of this class, industry insiders estimate that the cost per ship could reach as high as $2 billion. Based on this calculation, the total value of the two latest orders is approximately $4 billion; meanwhile, the seven Icon-class cruise ships contracted by Meyer Turku have a combined value of as much as $14 billion.
To date, Meyer Turku has delivered two Icon-class cruise ships to Royal Caribbean. The first, “Icon of the Seas” (248,663 gross tons), entered service in January 2024, and the second, “Star of the Seas” (248,663 gross tons), entered service in August 2025.
The third “Legend of the Seas” cruise ship, built by Meyer Turku, was launched in August 2025 and is scheduled to make its maiden voyage in the Western Mediterranean in July 2026; the fourth ship, “Hero of the Seas,” had its keel laid in September 2025 and is scheduled for delivery in 2027; the fifth Icon-class cruise ship is scheduled for delivery in 2028.
According to its official website, Meyer Turku was founded in 1737 and has a history spanning 289 years. Today, it has become one of the world’s largest and most advanced shipyards for large cruise ships and passenger vessels. Over the years, the shipyard has built more than 1,300 vessels for shipowners around the world. Meyer Turku is owned by the German Meyer family. In addition to Meyer Turku in Finland, the Meyer Group also owns two other shipyards: Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, and Neptun Werft in Rostock.