Royal Caribbean to name second Icon-class ship Star of the Seas amid record demand

Royal Caribbean has revealed the name of its second Icon-class cruise ship as Star of the Seas, getting ahead of record demand following the release of itineraries for her sister ship Icon of the Seas.

Icon of the Seas is the first vessel in the new class and will debut in 2024, while Star of the Seas will debut next year.

Cruise lines typically leave the name reveal for the year before a new cruise ship’s debut but have Royal Caribbean have introduced Star of the Seas early amid rampant demand.

“The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas,” said Michael Bayley, President & CEO, Royal Caribbean International.

When Icon of the Seas was introduced in October last year, Royal Caribbean had its single largest booking day and highest volume booking week in history, prompting the cruise line to release 2025/26 itineraries for Icon of the Seas early, along with Star of the Seas’ debut season.

Royal Caribbean said more details on the ship’s features and deployment will follow soon, but as a sister ship to Icon of the Seas she’s likely to feature many of the same features and amenities.

Icon of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ship to date, and the largest passenger ship in the world, with an on-board theme park, waterpark, 40 restaurants and bars, seven pools, and five new distinct ‘neighbourhoods’.

This new class of ships is similar to the Oasis-class, but even bigger at 250,000 gross tons, with a beach retreat, resort escape, theme park, kids’ facilities and more dining venues and bars than ever before at sea.

They also carry more passengers: 5,100 at double occupancy and as many as 7,600 when all berths are full.

Icon of the Seas features eight distinct neighbourhoods, with three of the most popular aboard the Oasis-class having been carried over.

These include Central Park, the Royal Promenade and the Suite Neighbourhood, Royal Caribbean’s ship-within-a-ship luxury enclave. Royal Caribbean hasn’t announced the neighbourhoods aboard Star of the Seas, but it’s likely she’ll have a similar setup.