Royal Caribbean’s next mega-ship, Star of the Seas, is almost ready to drop anchor, and this time, it’s all about the kiddos and the TikTok crowd.

The cruise giant just dropped a behind-the-scenes vid, and senior product boss Jennifer Goswami spilled the tropical tea:

“Star of the Seas is coming along great. As of this morning, she’s 96 percent ready,” she said, coffee in hand, strutting through Royal Caribbean’s Miami HQ like the Beyoncé of boat design.

So what’s the scoop?

The Star dropping August 2025 is the second ship in Royal’s Icon Class, and it’s gunning for cool points with the youth. “Teens told us they didn’t necessarily think it was cool on Icon,” Goswami admitted. “So we really did a lot.”
Translation: the ship’s getting a full Gen Z glow-up.

NEW WHO DIS?

One highlight? A purple-pink seahorse that made the cut for the carousel — and yes, it was kid-approved via real-life playtests. “We actually built quite a few and brought a lot of different kids through,” Goswami said. “This is the one the kids told us would be the most fun.” Cute overload incoming.

Playgrounds, But Make It Vibe

Daniel Perlmutter from the Special Projects crew chimed in too: “We realized kids are a little older than we thought,” he said. “So we added more physical play to hit that older kid demographic.” Think less toddler swings, more obstacle-course cool.

Splashaway Bay got supersized. The Adventure Ocean program got a full makeover. And the Surfside neighborhood? Completely reimagined with today’s cruise kids in mind.

Ship Design = Science + Sass

Royal’s design team goes full CSI: Cruise Ship with a combo of guest feedback, life-size warehouse models, and a virtual lab where they can “walk through” the ship before it’s even built. “Dreaming up new venues is the easiest part,” Goswami said. “Making them real is the beast.”

All Aboard in Port Canaveral!

This 250,800-gross-ton beast is finishing up at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Once it launches, it’ll homeport in Port Canaveral, FL — taking 5,610 lucky guests on 7-night joyrides to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. And yes, every route includes a stop at Royal’s own private party island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.