Construction Has Officially Begun on Royal Caribbean’s Fifth Icon Class Ship
Royal Caribbean has officially begun construction on its fifth Icon class ship, marking a milestone that underlines just how committed the world’s most valuable cruise company is to the class that redefined what a cruise ship could be.
The keel-laying ceremony took place at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland — the same yard responsible for constructing all of Royal Caribbean’s Icon class vessels to date.
The event marks the formal start of the ship’s structural assembly, with the first major steel block placed in the dry dock where the vessel will take shape over the coming two years ahead of a planned 2028 debut.
What a Keel Laying Actually Means
For anyone unfamiliar with the shipbuilding process, a keel laying is a genuinely significant milestone — not just a ceremonial one. The keel forms the structural spine of the ship, running along the bottom and center of the hull and providing the foundation upon which every other element of the vessel is built.
Placing the first block is the moment a ship stops being a set of plans and starts being a physical object that will one day carry thousands of passengers across the ocean.
In keeping with centuries of maritime tradition, Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku marked the moment by placing a layer of freshly minted coins beneath the steel block before it was lowered into position — a custom that dates back to ancient shipbuilding and is said to bring good fortune to the vessel and everyone who sails aboard her.
What We Know About Icon 5
The details available at this stage are deliberately limited — Royal Caribbean has confirmed it will release more information, including the ship’s name and onboard features, at a later date. What we do know:
The ship will be Royal Caribbean’s fifth Icon class vessel, following Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, and the upcoming Hero of the Seas which debuts in 2027. Icon 5 is currently scheduled to debut in 2028.
Like its predecessors, it will come in at close to 250,000 gross tons — the largest class of cruise ships ever built. The specific amenities, neighborhoods, dining venues, and entertainment concepts that will differentiate Icon 5 from its four sisters have not yet been announced.
What Meyer Turku’s CEO Said
Casimir Lindholm, CEO of Meyer Turku, used the occasion to reflect on what building a series of ships of this scale — five and counting from the same yard — has meant for the shipbuilding program as a whole.
“The start of construction for the fifth Icon class ship reflects the strength of the long-term partnership between Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku,” Lindholm said. “Building a series of ships allows us to continuously learn, improve, and innovate, and each new vessel benefits from the expertise gained throughout the program. Together with our partner network, we are proud to demonstrate the world-class shipbuilding capabilities developed in Turku and to help shape the future of cruise shipbuilding.”
The language about continuous learning and improvement is notable. Each Icon class ship has introduced refinements over its predecessor — subtle and not-so-subtle changes that reflect feedback from passengers and operational experience accumulated across previous sailings. Icon 5 will be the beneficiary of everything learned across four ships before it.
Seven Icon Class Ships in Total
The keel laying puts into sharp relief just how extraordinary Royal Caribbean’s commitment to this single class of ships has become. At the time of writing, the company has three Icon class ships in active service — Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, and the recently debuted Legend of the Seas. Hero of the Seas follows in 2027. Icon 5 in 2028. A sixth in 2029. A seventh in 2030.
Seven ships. One class. All built at the same Finnish shipyard. Each one among the largest cruise ships ever constructed.
When Icon of the Seas debuted in January 2024 and immediately became the most talked-about ship in the world, the question the cruise industry asked was whether the concept was a one-off spectacle or the beginning of something larger. The answer, now confirmed through seven confirmed vessels spanning seven years of deliveries, is definitively the latter.
What Comes Next
With the keel now laid, Icon 5 will spend the next two years taking shape in the dry dock at Papenburg — steel blocks assembled, hull formed, interior spaces constructed, systems installed, and eventually the ship floated out for sea trials before delivery to Royal Caribbean ahead of her 2028 debut season.
A name will be announced at some point during that process, as will the features that will distinguish her from the four Icon class ships that preceded her. Based on how Royal Caribbean has approached previous announcements in this class, expect the name reveal to generate significant anticipation — and expect the feature list to include at least a handful of concepts that haven’t appeared on any of her sisters.
For now, the coins are under the keel. The construction has begun. And somewhere in Finland, the world’s next largest cruise ship is starting to take shape.
