The unnamed vessel has entered hull assembly at Meyer Turku in Finland, extending an Icon Class pipeline that now reaches through 2030.
Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku project teams mark the keel-laying of the fifth Icon Class ship, which is scheduled to debut in 2028.
- Royal Caribbean has laid the keel for its fifth Icon Class ship at Meyer Turku in Turku, Finland.
- The unnamed vessel is scheduled to debut in 2028, with its name and onboard features still to be announced.
- Royal Caribbean says a sixth Icon Class ship is planned for 2029 and a seventh for 2030.
- The keel-laying follows the ship’s January 2026 steel-cutting milestone and moves the project into large-scale hull assembly.
(NEWS) TURKU, Finland, 2026-Sep-15 — /Travel PR News/ — Royal Caribbean’s next wave of Icon Class growth has moved from steel production into hull assembly, with the fifth ship in the series reaching its keel-laying milestone at Meyer Turku in Finland ahead of a planned 2028 debut.
The ceremony on 14 September placed the vessel’s first major steel block into the shipyard’s dry dock, marking the start of physical assembly of the hull. The ship remains unnamed, and Royal Caribbean says details of its onboard features and guest experience will be announced later.
The milestone follows the official Royal Caribbean announcement and a matching Meyer Turku update, both of which confirm that the ship is expected to take shape over the next two years.
A familiar shipbuilding tradition marks the next phase
As part of the keel-laying ceremony, Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku placed freshly minted coins beneath the steel block before it was lowered into position. The practice is a long-standing maritime tradition intended to bring good fortune to a vessel during construction and its future service.
The keel forms the structural backbone along the lower centre of a ship’s hull, making the event a visible transition from preparatory production work to large-scale assembly. Royal Caribbean had already marked the fifth Icon Class ship’s first steel-cutting milestone at Turku in January 2026.
The latest ceremony also comes just days after Hero of the Seas, the fourth Icon Class ship, floated for the first time at Meyer Turku. That vessel is due to begin service from Miami in August 2027, while the fifth ship is scheduled to follow in 2028.
Icon Class pipeline now stretches through 2030
Royal Caribbean’s current construction programme points to a sustained expansion of the Icon Class. After the unnamed fifth ship, the cruise line says a sixth vessel is planned for 2029 and a seventh for 2030.
The sequence builds on the class introduced by Icon of the Seas, followed by Star of the Seas and Legend of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has positioned the series around a mix of family attractions, resort-style spaces, entertainment, dining and high-capacity leisure facilities, although the company has not yet confirmed which specific concepts will appear on the fifth ship.
For the cruise market, the extended orderbook gives Royal Caribbean a multi-year pipeline of large new capacity while keeping Meyer Turku at the centre of its biggest shipbuilding programme. The Finnish yard says its orderbook now extends to 2030 and that Royal Caribbean remains one of its largest customers.
Turku remains central to Royal Caribbean’s newbuild strategy
Meyer Turku says series construction allows the shipyard and cruise line to apply lessons from earlier vessels to later ships, improving production while retaining the ability to introduce new designs and technology. Chief Executive Casimir Lindholm said the fifth ship reflects the strength of the long-term partnership between the two companies and the accumulated expertise of the Turku shipbuilding network.
The yard has built vessels in Turku for centuries and today specialises in large cruise ships and other complex vessels. Its latest company figures put 2025 revenue at EUR 2.1 billion, with more than 2,300 employees and an estimated 17% share of the global cruise-ship construction market.
Royal Caribbean has not yet disclosed the fifth Icon Class ship’s name, deployment or detailed guest features. Those announcements will determine how the 2028 vessel differs from its sister ships and where its additional capacity will enter the cruise market.
