Everyone loves a winner—and apparently Icon of the Seas is just that. In last month’s analyst call, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley reported that Icon’s load factor is running around 132%, meaning every cabin is full, often with three or four guests.

So it’s no surprise that in a bigger-is-better world, Royal Caribbean would be doubling—or even tripling—down on its ace in the hole. Today it did just that, announcing an agreement with Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku for a fourth Icon Class ship, due for delivery in 2027, plus options to build two more.

RCCL’s largest ship ever, Icon of the Seas launched in January 2024. A second Icon-class ship, Star of the Seas, already is on sale, scheduled to debut in August 2025, and an as-yet-unnamed third sister will join the fleet in 2026. (Also this year RCCL welcomed Utopia of the Seas, Silversea’s Silver Ray and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 7, and announced a seventh Oasis Class ship for 2028.)

“Icon of the Seas is unlike anything the world has seen before, and we’re just getting started,” Bayley said in today’s announcement. “We are leading the vacation industry in developing new experiences for our guests to create lifelong memories, and we continue dreaming and evolving to deliver more ways to chill and thrill.”

Even as some pooh-pooh the trend toward larger and larger ships (Icon carries 5,610 passengers, about 200 more than Oasis class), Icon and Star have been selling faster than any other ships in Royal Caribbean’s 50-year history.

Icon-class ships feature eight distinct neighborhoods; over 40 restaurants; 28 cabin types, including a three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse; and the biggest water park, the tallest drop slide, and the biggest swimming pool at sea. They also have the Royal Promenade and Central Park familiar from the Oasis-class ships, as well as new elements like the family-oriented Surfside neighborhood, plus two new top-deck recreation areas, Chill Island and Thrill Island. The aqua shows have moved to an AquaDome, a huge glass-enclosed space with a 50-foot waterfall, while the Royal Promenade adds the Pearl, a multi-sensory walkway. There is a dedicated suites-only neighborhood—and you can have your own private butler. (For more on the joys of butlers, see Finding Peace and Quiet – and a Great Butler – at Breathless Montego Bay.

Royal Caribbean has canceled excursions from Labadee, its private island in Haiti, but is keeping the island open.

“Out of respect to our local communities surrounding Labadee, Haiti, and to ensure our guest and crew safety, we’re temporarily adjusting our tour offerings,” RCCL told passengers.

Passengers on social media reported cancellation of jet skiing, kayaking and walking tours, as they were asked to remain within the resort at all times.

The cancellations follows days of violence in the country, where armed gangs roam the streets and Americans are being evacuated. The Department of State in July issued a Level 4 travel advisory (“do not travel,” the highest warning level) citing “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure,” and this morning sent in a Marine anti-terrorism unit to guard the US embassy in Port-au-Prince.

Travel advisors, meanwhile, are reporting minimal concern among clients, though some are not getting off the ship in Labadee and some are calling to express concerns about the Dominican Republic. The DR shares the island on which Haiti is located but has closed its border.

Many also mourn for the people of the island.

“I have a real heart for Haiti; I have helped missionaries and aid workers with flights in the past, and I have seen how they are helping the orphanages and people there,” said travel advisor Margie Lenau of Wonderland Family Vacations LLC in Grand Rapids, MI, who rued the earthquakes and hurricanes and political violence that have upended the island’s stability.  “The question we get most often is whether it’s okay to travel to the Dominican Republic. I tell my customers that Haiti and the Dominican are two very different countries, and there is a mountain range and some distance between them. So far Dominican has kept away from the violence.

”The world can be a dangerous place. With the cruise lines and with travel advisors, safety is always number one. It’s nice to know that cruise lines and tour operators are keeping track to keep travelers safe.”

Labadee, RCCL’s first private island, is 130 miles from Port-au-Prince. Independence of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas are scheduled to stop there in coming weeks.

*Editor Update 03/14/24*

As of now, RCCL has cancelled all stops to Labadee due to the current unrest in Haiti.

Michael Bayley, RCCL CEO, stated on Facebook “We have suspended calls into Labadee, Haiti for the next 7 days and will continue suspension on a rolling basis with 3 days advance notification to our guests sailing on itineraries impacted and changed as we monitor and evaluate the situation in Haiti.”

Don’t expect another Perfect Day at CocoCay or Labadee when Royal Caribbean opens its Bahamas beach club in early 2025. Those are destinations in their own right. (Indeed, CocoCay is the number one destination for Royal Caribbean guests).

Instead, the 17-acre Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island promises a new kind of experience—all-inclusive, fee-based, and upscale. Instead of ziplines and hot air balloons, the Club will focus on serenity, food and beverage, and great service.

In an interview at RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com today, senior vice president and chief product innovation officer Jay Schneider noted there will be a fee for access to the Club, whose focus points will be a beautiful beach and heated pools.

The price, as yet undetermined, will include a water taxi ride to the island; food, beverage and alcohol; beach chairs and umbrellas; and non-motorized activities, including swimming, snorkeling and kayaking.

When planning Royal Beach Club, the cruise company targeted Nassau as a port it often used, but it did not rate high satisfaction scores with guests. But “Nassau is a great place to go,” he said, and “we wanted to add a Royal level service to that destination.”

By 2027, the cruise line expects to bring 2.5 million visitors to Nassau. The plan is to build “multiple beach clubs around the world,” Schneider said.

Meanwhile, Vicki Freed, senior vice president of trade support and sales, told TRO that “the excitement to vacation with Royal Caribbean is at an all-time high and we’re thrilled to move forward with Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island. Royal Beach Club will be the ultimate beach day getaway that will forever change what is possible in a vacation destination.”

At the Seatrade Global conference in March, Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean Group’s VP of government relations, talked about the Bahamas project. “The port of Nassau is transcendent,” he said, with 40,000 visitors daily. The new project is a partnership that will be 49% owned by Bahamians, in keeping with the company’s goal of “bringing economic empowerment to the people who live in the communities we visit.”

One good thing about a week-long conference on a cruise ship is the opportunity to sit and chat about how we all got to where we are. I did that recently with the smart and businesslike folks who own Dream Vacations and CruiseOne franchises. And so I thought I’d share a few of the tales of how to succeed in business and how to just love what you do that I heard there.

Aboard Wonder of the Seas, between Puerto Rico and the Bahamas — It’s Day Five of the Wonder of the Seas’ maiden voyage sailing the Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale, with stops at San Juan and Nassau, Labadee and CocoCay. While only 60% full today, with a contingent of about 100 media and many Loyal to Royal repeat cruisers, at full capacity she can carry 6,988 total guests on 18 decks.

A big ship fan myself(and a small ship fan too!), I’m having a blast, but with the help of one onboard press conference, a Coffee Talk with Vicki Freed and an interview with SVP Jay Schneider, I’ve also learned a lot.

So here are a few things I think travel advisors might like to know when you go to sell the ship: Read the rest of this entry »