According to CEO Michael Bailey, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is the "best-selling product" in the company’s history. The next Icon class ship, Star of the Seas, is planned for summer 2025 and is already creating a buzz among cruisers.
With a winning formula like that, one would expect the cruise line to continue the evolution of large ships. However, these so-called mega-ships mainly sail the waters of the Caribbean, and Royal sees growth opportunities with smaller, more versatile ships.
As Business Insider reports, "The reality is, families want to go on vacations not just in the Western and Eastern Caribbean where a ship like Icon can get into," Jay Schneider, the chief product-innovation officer at Royal Caribbean Group, said. "They want to stay with our brand and journey to different destinations that require more versatility in ship size."
So while new-to-cruise passengers find themselves drawn to the promise of family-friendly water parks and Broadway-style shows, seasoned cruisers opt for quieter vessels and tailor-made adventures. And destinations such as French Polynesia and Venice, Italy, have limited cruise capacity, including size restrictions.
As Royal Caribbean's smaller vessels show signs of age, with Vision-class having launched in the late 1990s, the cruise line is reinvesting in its fleet of smaller ships.
With travellers seeking unique experiences and a more intimate atmosphere, the demand for extravagant cruise ships may plateau, and as with all things cruising, RCI wants to be ahead of the curve.
