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Royal Caribbean Remaining Quiet on Next Ship Class
Royal Caribbean is remaining quiet on its next ship class of ships, which will be known as the Discovery class.
The company ordered two Discovery-class vessels for 2029 and 2032 deliveries from Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France on Thursday, with an option for more.
“From the business perspective, we are really excited with the innovation, creativity, and the kind of product that we’ve now created with Discovery. It really is going to be a game changer,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International.
“Just as Icon was introduced, and kind of changed the game, Discovery is going to do exactly the same thing. We are really looking forward to sharing more details about Discovery with the marketplace, but we’re not planning on saying much about it today or in the next couple of months,” Bayley added.
He also refuted widespread social media coverage, most of which has rumored the new class of ships to be somewhat smaller.
“The many of the assumptions that are currently out there in social media, etcetera, in terms of size, capacity, etcetera, etcetera. Are probably, it’s fair to say, inaccurate.”
Liberty: Pricing Higher in Caribbean Despite Capacity Increase
Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said that the company’s pricing for Caribbean voyages was up despite the industry’s significant capacity increase in the region.
He said this was for all three company brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
“We’re seeing high demand wanting to go to the Caribbean. We’re not only seeing good volume, but our pricing is higher in the Caribbean than it was last year,” Liberty said.
Speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call, Liberty made sure to mention the cruise line expected positive yield growth for key products, including the Caribbean, as its investments continued to differentiate it from its peers and strengthen its leadership position, despite elevated capacity in the Caribbean.
“And I know that may not feed into what maybe some groups want to hear, but that is a reality that we continue to see strong demand for the Caribbean, and we continue to see strong demand for our broader organization,” he added.
Liberty said company capacity was up 6.7 percent year-over-year, driven by the new Legend of the Seas launching this summer plus full-year service from the Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel.
Set to become the largest ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet, the Norwegian Aura will offer cruises in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean starting in mid-2027.
Inaugural Cruise in the Mediterranean Dates: May 21, 2027 Length: 7 nights Homeports: Trieste (Italy) to Barcelona (Spain) Itinerary: Valletta (Malta); Salerno and Civitavecchia (Italy)
The Norwegian Aura will make its debut in the Mediterranean as part of a seven-night cruise departing from the Italian port of Trieste.
Sailing to Barcelona, the open-jaw itinerary features visits to destinations in Italy, Spain and Malta, such as Valletta, Salerno and Civitavecchia.
First Trans-Atlantic Crossing Date: May 28, 2027 Length: 13 nights Homeports: Barcelona (Spain) to Miami (United States) Itinerary: Gibraltar (United Kingdom); Motril and Cádiz (Spain)
Following its inaugural cruise in the Mediterranean, the Norwegian Aura kicks off a trans-Atlantic cruise to Miami.
The 13-night cruise sails to three ports before crossing the Atlantic: Cádiz, Motril and Gibraltar. The itinerary also includes eight days of cruising.
U.S. Debut Date: June 14, 2027 Length: 5 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic); and Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas)
For its U.S. debut, the Prima Plus-class ship offers a short cruise to the Bahamas and the Caribbean sailing from PortMiami.
In addition to a day at sea, the five-night itinerary features visits to Puerto Plata and Norwegian’s private island destination of Great Stirrup Cay.
Eastern Caribbean Date: Weekly departures starting on June 19, 2027 Length: 8 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic); St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands); Tortola (British Virgin Islands); Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas)
After its first short cruise, the Norwegian Aura kicks off a series of regular seven-night cruises to the Eastern Caribbean for the summer of 2027.
Sailing from PortMiami every Saturday, the ship offers an itinerary that features visits to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay.
Western Caribbean Date: Weekly departures starting on October 30, 2027 Length: 7 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Roatán (Honduras); Harvest Caye (Belize); Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico)
The new ship will move to the Western Caribbean for the 2027-28 season, offering weeklong cruises to the region starting in late October.
Also sailing from Miami, the itineraries include visits to Honduras, Belize and Mexico with planned stops at Roatán, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya and Cozumel.
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