For the past decade (really a little more), Royal Caribbean has pushed boundaries by building ever-bigger cruise ships. Its most-recent ship, Wonder of the Seas, holds the current title of "largest ship in the world."
It will give that up to Icon of the Seas early next year. That ship, the first in a new class, will be followed by Utopia of the Seas, which will be nearly as big, and more Icon-class ships.
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Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) has gone big internationally. The company's larger ships have changed the expectations of cruisers. Instead of cruise ships being floating hotels that bring you to the destination, the ship itself has become the destination.
That's especially true with Oasis-class ships and certainly Icon of the Seas. These ships are too big for many ports and generally stop in less-exotic locations including Nassau and Cozumel as well as Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay private island, which sort of works as an extension of the ships.
You can spend a week on an Oasis-class ship without experiencing everything it has to offer. That's by design (and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -) has largely followed the same model). That does not mean Royal Caribbean does not still operate smaller ships sailing more-interesting itineraries.
The problem is that the ships in its smallest Vision and Radiance class are old by cruise ship standards. Those ships, which can accommodate roughly 2,400-2,700 passengers (less than half an Oasis-class ship) can visit ports where their larger sister ships simply don't fit.
Over the past few years, Royal Caribbean has not mentioned building new smaller ships, either in one of the existing classes or creating a new class entirely. That recently changed as the cruise line's President Michael Bayley addressed the topic on Allure of the Seas July 24 on his company's annual President's Cruise.
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Royal Caribbean Considering Small Ships
During a question and answer session on the ship, Bayley was asked by a travel agent whether the company would ever consider building new, smaller ships, Matt Hochberg of the Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
"We recognize that we have classes of ships now that are, you know, getting a little up there in the years," the president answered.
Bayley admitted that the cruise line was talking about the issue.
"It is something that's certainly deeply in our consideration and our planning at the moment that we have a lot of conceptual work going on," he said.
That suggests that the cruise line would design a new class of smaller ships. That would be in line with the changes Royal Caribbean has made around creating sustainable ships.
Bayley was also clear that no decision had been made.
"I think when we're ready we can announce steps that we'll take to do just that," Hochberg, who is not affiliated with the cruise line, reported.
What's Next for Royal Caribbean?
Currently, the cruise line has three Icon-class ships and one Oasis-Class ship (Utopia of the Seas) on order. It also has plans to build a private, extra-fee destination in Nassau on Paradise Island and it's adding the adults-only Hideaway Beach expansion to its CocoCay private island.
Icon of the Seas, which will sail out of Miami beginning in January has shown that there's heavy demand for a new huge ship. The ship broke Royal Caribbean's single-day sales record when cruises on the ship went on sale in October.
The cruise line described the ship as follows:
"The ultimate family vacation features an all-encompassing lineup of firsts and next-level favorites across eight neighborhoods, making it the perfect getaway for adults and parents, kids and grandparents alike," the cruise line shared.
