Meyer Turku has officially started building Royal Caribbean International’s fifth Icon-class cruise ship, Icon 5. With the project now underway, the new mega-ship is slated for delivery in summer 2028.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class story is moving fast. The first ship, Icon of the Seas (248,663 GT), entered service in January 2024, and the second, Star of the Seas (248,663 GT), is scheduled to arrive in August 2025. The fifth ship became “effective” at the yard on September 23, 2025, which marks the start of its official build phase — and Meyer Turku still has Icon 6 and Icon 7 lined up after that.

Meanwhile, the shipyard isn’t slowing down. Along with Icon 5, Meyer Turku is also building the third and fourth Icon-class ships at the same time. The third ship, Legend of the Seas, is expected to be delivered in summer 2026, while the fourth Icon-class ship (name still unannounced) had its keel laid in September 2025 and is planned for delivery in 2027.

As a quick reminder of just how massive these ships are: Icon-class vessels are about 365 meters long and around 50 meters wide, coming in at roughly 250,000 gross tons. They’re built with 20 decks and 2,805 passenger cabins, designed for 5,610 guests at double occupancy — and up to 7,600 passengers at full capacity — plus about 2,350 crew members.

And it’s not just size — it’s tech, too. Icon-class ships are set up with an air lubrication system to reduce drag, robotic hull cleaners to keep the hull smooth while docked, shore power connections, and a waste heat recovery system that can convert waste heat into up to 3 megawatts of extra energy.