It’s nearly here!
Royal Caribbean has officially taken delivery of its brand-new Star of the Seas, the cruise line’s second ship in the massive Icon Class, from Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland on July 10, 2025.
This means the new Star of the Seas will soon be sailing to Florida – after a few more weeks of final touches – where it will operate Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral starting in late summer.
Jason Liberty, CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, called the handover a major step.
“The completion of Star of the Seas is another significant step in Royal Caribbean Group’s journey toward a completely new type of vacation experience,” he said.
The delivery is the final phase of the 248,663-gross-ton vessel’s construction, which began steel cutting at Meyer Turku in February 2023.
Throughout its construction phases, eager wannabe passengers have watched in delight as Star of the Seas completed its successful float out in October 2024 and then began a series of successful sea trials in June 2025.
The multi-day testing period took place in open waters near Turku beginning June 14, and included assessments of the ship’s propulsion systems, maneuverability, safety features, and overall performance.
And all of the construction went faster than expected, noted senior leadership at Meyer Turku, with the shipyard working on Star of the Seas on the heels of delivering the vessel’s sister and first Icon Class ship, Icon of the Seas, in January 2024.
“Star of the Seas is already the second world’s most advanced Icon class cruise ship built on our dock,” said Casimir Lindholm, CEO of Meyer Turku.
“In good cooperation with the subscriber and the companies of our network, we were able to make use of the lessons we gained during the prototype ship building process, and the Star was finished in record time,” he added.
Now that the ship is delivered, crew are boarding and beginning the final onboard preparations, with teams setting up departments from culinary and housekeeping to entertainment and engineering, ahead of test sailings and media previews.
Final Outfitting Underway
With Star of the Seas now officially in Royal Caribbean’s ownership, the vessel is in its final phase before entering service.
The final outfitting is scheduled to take place in Turku until July 17, 2025, and then in Cadiz, Spain, from July 24 to 26, 2025.
Next, the vessel will compete a transatlantic crossing to Port Canaveral, where it will undergo final inspections and host a series of preview cruises for media and travel agents, including one scheduled for the weekend of August 7 through 10, 2025.
Read Also: Icon of the Seas Amenities and Everything You’ll Love Onboard
Three additional preview sailings will take place on August 20, 23, and 27, 2025, and the ship’s first official passenger sailing will depart on August 31, 2025. That will be a 7-night inaugural voyage to the Caribbean.
Its schedule includes alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean routes, both of which include a call at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean’s private destination in the Bahamas.
Star of the Seas can carry up to 7,600 guests at full capacity (5,610 at double capacity) with 2,350 crew members.
Said Liberty of the ship, “We are proud to bring this new generation vacation experience to life at Meyer Turku shipyard together with our esteemed partners.”
Meanwhile, Legend of the Seas, the cruise line’s third Icon Class ship, is also under construction at Meyer Turku. That vessel will move to the outfitting dock at Meyer Turku following Star of the Seas’ departure.
