Keel laid for second Royal Caribbean Icon class cruise ship Star of the Seas 

Hull assembly of the second Icon class cruise ship for Royal Caribbean, Star of the Seas, has officially begun at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

Meyer Turku started the hull assembly of Star of the Seas on December 15th, with a traditional keel laying ceremony attended by Royal Caribbean and shipyard executives.

Star of the Seas is a sister ship to Icon of the Seas, launched earlier this year, and is intended to enter service in 2025 as the world’s largest cruise ship ever built at 225,000 gross tons.

As per tradition, a crane lowered a massive steel block to the bottom of the construction pool on trestles to signal the start of the ship’s hull assembly. 

Coins were placed under the steel block for good luck and protection. When the ship’s construction is complete, the coins will be retrieved and welded to the ship’s hull prior to her float out.

“Star of the Seas is very important for both the shipyard and the partner network: the 13,000 man-years spent on building the ship create employment and business in Varsinais-Suomi and, with the supply chains, significantly wider as well,” said Tim Meyer, CEO, Meyer Turku.

“Once the ship is complete, it will strengthen a completely new kind of cruise experience with the standards set by its sister ship Icon,” he added.

Star of the Seas is set to enter service in 2025, sailing week-long cruises from Port Canaveral and will boast many of the same amenities and features as her sister ship, although Royal Caribbean has not disclosed exactly what will be offered aboard.

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.