Finland’s shipbuilder, Meyer Turku floats out Royal Caribbean’s new ship Star of the Seas: Everything you need to know about

Published on October 5, 2024

By: Paramita Sarkar

Finland’s shipbuilder Meyer Turku has floated out Star of the Seas, the second Icon-class cruise ship for U.S. cruise giant Royal Caribbean.

The float out was celebrated at the Turku, Finland shipyard with an event that included the firing of a ceremonial cannon.

The dry dock gates were opened, and the dry dock—measuring 16 meters deep, 80 meters wide and 365 meters long—was filled with water, a 9-hour process.

Once the dry dock was fully flooded, the ship was floated out and moved to the outfitting pier, where the final outfitting stages are now underway.

Emptying the dock afterward took an additional 12 hours.

Star of the Seas is expected to enter service in 2025, sailing week-long cruises from Port Canaveral.

The 365-meter-long vessel will have capacity for up to 5,610 passengers and will be fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

At 250,800 GT, Star of the Seas will be slightly larger than the first Icon-class vessel, the 248,663 GT Icon of the Seas—currently the world’s largest cruise ship—also built by Meyer Turku and delivered in late 2023.

Royal Caribbean has been steadily growing its capacity amid continued strong demand across the cruise sector, with a newbuild pipeline that now includes seven new ships on order and two shipyard options.

A third Icon-class cruise ship is scheduled for delivery from Meyer Turku in 2026 followed by a fourth in 2027. Royal Caribbean also has options for two additional Icon-class vessels.

The new Star of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International was recently floated out of the building dock, touching water for the first time at Meyer Turku.

The ship is slated to enter service next summer, sailing from Port Canaveral starting in August.

To mark the float out, a maritime tradition, complete with a shot from a cannon took place in the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, to celebrate 19 months of work put in by the thousands behind Star’s construction.

Then the drydock was filled with 92 million gallons of water – an overnight process that took nearly nine hours, according to a statement.

Image credit: MEYER TURKU