Next Royal Caribbean Mega Ship Meets Major Construction Milestone

Royal Caribbean’s fourth Icon-class ship, Hero of the Seas, is another step closer to completion! The massive ship has been floated out at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, marking its latest phase of construction.

A ship’s float out is when it touches water for the first time. The dry dock where construction began is flooded with water until the ship floats, and it is then “floated out” of the dry dock. As part of Hero of the Seas’ float out, its dry dock was filled with over 90 million gallons of water overnight.

Hero of the Seas has now moved over to the outfitting pier, where construction work — mostly on the interior and top deck now — continues. The vessel has just under one year until it debuts in summer 2027.

Royal Caribbean shared a short video of the ship’s float-out process on their YouTube channel (that included the firing of cannons!) — which you can view here.

Hero of the Seas will follow the first three vessels in the Icon class, which are the largest cruise ships in the world. They are Icon of the Seas which debuted in 2024, Star of the Seas which launched in 2025, and Legend of the Seas which began sailing this past July.

Like on its sister ships, the public areas aboard Hero of the Seas will be divided into eight areas, which Royal Caribbean calls “neighborhoods.” Across those neighborhoods, passengers can enjoy nine pools, 28 dining spots — including the new Orleans Parrish Supper Club, and a range of staterooms including the massive three-story Ultimate Family Treehouse.

The vessel will also feature thrills and amenities that passengers aboard the other Icon-class ships have come to know and love such as the Crown’s Edge (which is an experience that’s part skywalk-part zip line) the Coconut Cove pool, and the adults-only Hideaway neighborhood.

Hero of the Seas will sail from Miami, offering seven-night eastern and western Caribbean voyages starting in August 2027.