Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas set a new standard for the cruise industry as it was a near-complete reinvention of the megaship.
It brings in a few features from Oasis-Class ships, but it was a blank-page reimagining of what a huge cruise ship should offer. Its firsts included RCL's first-ever onboard swim-up bar, a waterpark at sea, and a new take on the Aquatheater.
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Icon of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, also added the Pearl, a visually stunning structure that also has a purpose.
While it seems to have been created for Instagram, the Pearl actually offers structural support for the ship. And that enabled Royal Caribbean to install huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the Pearl Cafe, whereas its other large ships do not offer windows in common areas.
The cruise line also improved little things like giving passengers a better plug and USB port setup in their cabins. A small thing, perhaps, but Royal Caribbean did everything from adding storage to making the showers roomier even if they're not larger.
Taken together, many little changes add up to major improvements. That's impressive because Icon Class is being compared to Oasis Class, the cruise line's next biggest.
Royal Caribbean's next major ship move will have easier comparisons but will also have to deliver more in much less space.
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Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Royal Caribbean has hinted at smaller ships
Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean's largest rival, recently ordered three new ships that will be the largest in its fleet. CCL also made very clear that it has no plans to build smaller ships, even though passengers often ask for them.
“There are no plans at all for us ... to build smaller ships. It is not profitable, it is not something that is affordable, and it is not something that attracts the new cruiser," Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald posted on his Facebook page.
Carnival does plan to keep its current small ships in service.
“If we do not attract the new cruiser, we will not survive, and we will not have the money to continue to invest in the smaller ships that we have. And we will continue to invest in them," Heald added.
Royal Caribbean has been more open to the idea of building smaller ships to replace its aging Vision and Radiance Class ships, all of which are at least 20 years old. Both Royal Caribbean Group Chief Executive Jason Liberty and Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley have said that the company has begun working on the idea.
Comments both executives made on an Icon of the Seas media sailing made the smaller ships seem inevitable, but they didn't specify a timeline. Now, Bayley has provided a lot more clarity.
Royal Caribbean confirms smaller ships
Bayley's comments on Icon were the most expansive remarks about smaller ships from a Royal Caribbean executive.
"From a brand perspective, we recognize that Radiance and Vision are getting older. We’re working on ideas and concepts on replacing those ships. We’re quite actively working on what that would be," he said. "If we go through all the process and get the approvals, they’re going to be amazing."
Now, in an Instagram interview first reported on by Royal Caribbean Blog, Bayley gave a timeline and acknowledged the much-rumored name for the new class.
“We’re working now on another class of ship called Discovery Class. So, that’s going to be super exciting. That’ll come in about another three to four years from now,” Bayley says in the interview.
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Smaller ships can visit ports that larger ships cannot. And that may become more important now that some ports, including Key West and various ports in Europe, have begun limiting cruise-ship visits because of concerns about pollution and overcrowding of tourist areas.
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