Royal Caribbean has begun physical construction of its fourth Icon Class ship with a keel-laying ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, according to the company's release.
At the event, the first steel block was placed in dry dock atop a layer of freshly minted coins, in line with shipbuilding tradition.
The yet-to-be-named ship will “join the ranks of Icon, Star and Legend of the Seas,” and is slated to take shape over the next two years toward a 2027 debut.
The company did not disclose the ship’s name, technical specifications or itineraries.
Royal Caribbean (Royal Caribbean International) is a cruise line within Royal Caribbean Group. The company operated for more than 50 years, serves more than 300 destinations in 80 countries on all seven continents.
Meyer Turku Oy is a Finnish shipbuilding company based in Turku, Finland. It operates as part of the Meyer Group, a German family-owned enterprise that also owns the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and Neptun Werft in Rostock. Meyer Turku specializes in the design and construction of large cruise ships, ferries and other passenger vessels.