Cruise ships keep getting bigger.
Royal Caribbean has arguably led that race with the seven biggest ships in the world all falling under its namesake banner. The cruise line also has two more ships in its Icon class, which currently consists of Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, and one more Oasis-class ship.
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MSC Cruises has the eighth biggest ship in the World, MSC World Europa, which will soon be joined by MSC World America, another ship that should make the top 10. That cruise line has also hinted at plans to go even bigger and perhaps even challenge Royal Caribbean (RCL) for the largest ship title.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has also joined the fray as it recently revealed plans to build its biggest ships ever. Members of a new, not-yet-named class, the 3 ordered ships will be delivered in 2029, 2031, and 2033. Carnival also has two more Excel-class ships on order and has publicly said it's not looking at creating new small ships.
“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 wrote on his Facebook page.
Royal Caribbean, however, has openly acknowledged that it has at least talked about the idea of a new class of smaller ships. Talk about what the cruise line's executives have called the "Discovery class" has been vague, but CEO Jason Liberty spoke in depth about the idea during Royal Caribbean's second-quarter earnings call.
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Royal Caribbean CEO points out a need
Liberty shared some of his company's overall approach to new ships during the call.
"And of course, the other thing I think that's important when you think about ship classes, whether they could be small, they could be larger, is kind of also a consideration that we also have ships that are reaching 30, 35 years. So, some of this is not just about we want to build same size ships, smaller ships, it's also replacing ships that will eventually kind of reach their end of life," he said.
The company's two smaller classes, Radiance and Vision class, are all approaching what would be considered old age for a cruise ship. Jewel of the Seas, the youngest of those classes, first sailed in 2004, making her a relatively spry 20, but Grandeur of the Seas, the oldest Vision-class ship, has been sailing since 1996, making her 28.
Smaller ships can sail more diverse itineraries than larger ships.
"We're looking potentially at smaller ships that will probably replace some of those older ships. It's a little bit less about the sourcing market. It's more about where those ships can go. It's getting them into maybe some of the more unique and bespoke destinations to further diversify our footprint around the world," Liberty added.
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Destinations are key to Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is also being mindful that some traditional cruise destinations, including a few in Europe, are looking at limiting the size of ships that can visit.
"We go to about 1,000 different destinations today and we keep more and more and trying to spread out where our guests go size of the ship can sometimes matter. And I think our brands are always designing to how do we have the most flexible platform to deliver the experiences in which our guests are looking to go on," Liberty shared.
The cruise line's larger ships including its new Utopia of the Seas have largely been positioned to take advantage of Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay. Royal Caribbean's highest-rated destination, CocoCay is something the cruise line plans to build on.
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"Perfect Day at CocoCay continues to perform exceptionally well, and we are reaching important milestones on Royal Beach Club Paradise Island opening in 2025 and the Royal Beach Club in Cozumel, Mexico opening in 2026. These new experiences uniquely position us to continue taking share from land-based alternatives," Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley shared during the call.
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