Key Aspects:
- The sixth Icon-class ship isn’t officially under construction yet, but work has already begun on her future floating engine room unit.
- Construction on the actual vessel will likely begin in the Meyer Turku Shipyard later in 2026 or 2027.
- Royal Caribbean intends to launch the unnamed megaship in 2029.
Royal Caribbean’s sixth Icon-class ship is meeting major construction milestones before the steel has even been cut.
Construction is yet to begin in the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland. But in the meantime, the work on the floating engine room unit (FERU) officially began in the Crist Shipyard in the Port of Gdynia, Poland, on June 8, 2026.
“The start of FERU production is a significant milestone in the project’s progress. A well-designed and carefully prepared start of production creates a strong foundation for the success of the entire project,” Icon 6 Project Manager Kimmo Suutari stated.
Meyer Turku and Crist have a strong partnership, and in fact, this will actually be the fourth FERU built through a collaboration between the two shipyards.
“Crist is already a familiar shipyard to us, and we have successfully built a strong spirit of cooperation between the project organisations,” FERU Project Manager Marja Aartovaara also added.
“In addition, we have an excellent site team at the shipyard to ensure that the FERU is built on schedule and with high quality,” Aartovaara continued.
For context, the FERU refers to a prefabricated mega-block that contains the entire power plant (with the main engines, LNG tanks, and auxiliary machinery) for modern cruise ships. Once completed, it will be brought to the primary shipyard via tugboats.
What Do We Know About Icon 6?
Cruise Hive reported that Royal Caribbean ordered its sixth and seventh Icon-class ships at the end of April. But beyond that, little is known about the upcoming additions to the fleet.
As delivery of the sixth ship in the fleet is scheduled for 2029, work will likely officially begin in Meyer Turku later in 2026 or in 2027. Construction typically starts with a traditional steel cutting ceremony, and then it takes one to three years to complete the job.
Giving an idea of timing, the original Icon of the Seas began construction on June 14, 2021, and entered service on January 27, 2024, about two years and seven months later.
Things went slightly faster for Star of the Seas. The 5,610-guest ship began construction on February 15, 2023, and entered service two years and six months later on August 31, 2025.
Legend of the Seas, which formally debuts on the 4th of July, will have also completed the construction process in two years and six months at the time of its launch.
It’s unclear how similar or different the sixth ship will be compared to her older sisters, but Royal Caribbean is certainly taking notes to continue innovating and improving the guest experience as the fleet grows.
More Icon-Class Ships Under Construction
Currently, two earlier Icon-class vessels are under construction at the shipyard. Hero of the Seas, the fourth Icon-class ship, has been under construction since September 2025 and is scheduled to debut in August of 2027.
The fifth Icon-class ship began construction earlier this year on January 19, 2026, and is supposed to debut in 2028.
Before things can really get underway for the sixth ship in the popular class, her older sisters will need to move out of her way, or at least get further along in the process.
Meyer Turku shipyard is able to build two to three large cruise ships at once because their massive dry dock and outfitting piers require extensive staging, staggering the construction pipelines, and extensive planning to coordinate it all.
