Image for representation purposes only Royal Caribbean’s Icon class fourth ship, Hero of the Seas, will debut in August 2027. Most claims of the ‘ world’s largest cruise ship’ are about a vessel that has grown larger than its predecessor. Hero of the Seas will enter service at roughly the same size as the previous three Icon-class ships. The Icon Class – One Design, Four Ships Delivered in January 2024, Icon of the Seas is the first ship constructed within Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class program and immediately became the largest cruise ship ever built. Star of the Seas launched in August 2025; Legend of the Seas is set for mid-2026, and Hero of the Seas will round out the foursome in 2027. All four vessels have the same hull design, gross tonnage and general layout, and were built at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. That’s different from how cruise lines have historically pursued the title of “world’s largest.” The record was then held by Oasis of the Seas in 2009, followed by Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas, each one slightly bigger than the previous. The Icon class bucked that trend: Rather than upsizing the ship with each new build, Royal Caribbean quadrupled a design at maximum size. Size and Specifications Hero of the Seas will be about 365 metres (1,198 feet) long and 65 metres (213 feet) wide, with a gross tonnage of around 250,800 – numbers reported all around cruise industry trackers, although some have given Icon of the Seas a slightly lower gross tonnage of 248,663 GT, a difference likely stemming from the way gross tonnage was measured or later updated. The vessel is 20 decks and has a passenger capacity of approximately 5,610 to 5,654 at double occupancy, with a maximum capacity of 7,600 passengers, and a crew of 2,350. Total staterooms are estimated to be about 2,800 and include interior, ocean view, balcony and suite categories. In comparison, Oasis of the Seas, which