The development of Royal Caribbean’s third Icon Class cruise ship reached an essential milestone this week when the keel was laid.
At a ceremony held on the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland on Monday, October 7, the official begin of building was celebrated.
Icon of the Seas was the primary Icon Class ship, and it launched to nice fanfare earlier this yr. It is daring new design caught the eye of the cruise trade, and now work is starting on its third ship.
Royal Caribbean has not even introduced the identify of the ship, not to mention what options or particulars we will anticipate from the ship.
Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku, shared his ideas on the importance of this second, “Icon 3 is a vital vessel for each the shipyard and the accomplice community. Throughout its building course of, we get to see what a mixture of high-level know-how and sister ship expertise can obtain right now. “
The ship’s keel is the primary block, and it’s maritime custom to commemorate this section of a brand new ship building.
One other maritime custom is to put the “fortunate cash”, which symbolize the shipyard and cruise line.
The cash are supposed to carry luck throughout building, and they are going to be retrieved and given to Icon’s captain and crew earlier than setting sail.
Icon 3’s keel laying comes only a few days after Icon 2 was floated out.
Referred to as Star of the Seas, this ship was put into water for the primary time on the finish of September. Having two of the identical class of ship below building on the similar time isn’t uncommon. In truth, Star of the Seas’ building journey started when Icon of the Seas was nonetheless being constructed.
Cruise traces generally place orders for a number of ships at a time, they usually stagger building in order that they will launch every ship a yr aside or so.
What might be Icon 3’s identify?
Royal Caribbean hasn’t introduced the identify of the third Icon class ship but, however there’s at all times quite a lot of hypothesis as to what it may be.
The rumor mill believes Royal Caribbean will revive an outdated identify for this ship, but it surely’s nonetheless unconfirmed.
The alleged identify of Icon 3 might be Legend of the Seas, which was a reputation of a Imaginative and prescient Class cruise ship that was bought to a different cruise line in 2017. It is nonetheless in operation as Marella Discovery 2.
There’s a number of sources for the rumor that Legend could possibly be the identify.
Throughout a High Tier occasion on Concord of the Seas in Could, the ship’s Lodge Director advised passengers the ship’s identify might be Legend of the Seas.
Previous to that, metadata inside Royal Caribbean’s web site appeared to point the corporate would re-use Legend.
In fact, cruise followers love a juicy rumor and the great ones are inclined to get shared so much.
Royal Caribbean logos ship names with the US Patent and Trademark Workplace, most of which by no means get used.
Examples of latest logos Royal Caribbean have made embody:
Glad of the SeasFun of the SeasIdol of the SeasLove of the SeasNova of the SeasTitan of the SeasSun of the SeasMarquee of the SeasHero of the SeasFantasia of the Seas
The corporate purposefully logos ship names they by no means intend to make use of as a way to obfuscate those they actually need to use.
What’s subsequent for Icon 3?
The third Icon class ship will not launch till 2026 and you may’t guide cruises but for it, partially as a result of there’s nonetheless quite a lot of work left on it.
Development of the ship will proceed for a lot of months, with the ship’s metal infrastructure being assembled to type the vessel.
The ship’s keel is the primary block, and different blocks might be joined collectively till the ship’s main construction is assembled. Then extra of the ship’s options are added in, equivalent to cabins, inside constructions, and paneling.
Icon 3 has a tonnage of 250,800 GT and sufficient room for as much as 5,610 passengers.
Royal Caribbean will reveal the ship’s identify, house port, and sailings, and different essential particulars within the months to return.
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