In our travel roundup this week: the European capital with an underwater labyrinth beneath its streets, why an Abu Dhabi surf company believes it’s found “the perfect wave,” plus the rise and rise of XXL cruise ships.
You’re going to need a bigger boat
The world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has been the biggest hit Royal Caribbean has ever introduced, the CEO told Terry Ward, reporting for CNN earlier this year. Now the Icon Class family is expanding, with three equally hefty sister ships.
Star of the Seas entered service in August with Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, which call at Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Legend of the Seas, which will be home to Category 6, the largest waterpark at sea, was floated out for the first time at the start of this month, ahead of its August 2026 debut.
The fourth member of the Icon Class gang, a yet-to-be-named mega-ship which, like the others, will be more than 1,000 feet long and have a capacity of around 5,610 passengers, officially started construction on September 8. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, two years ahead of its 2027 debut.
More than 37 million passengers are expected to take a cruise in 2025 and, a Cruise Lines International Association spokesperson told CNN, there appears to be more cruise ships on order than ever before.
Unique travel experiences, where the ship is as much a draw as the destination, are how the bigger providers are making sure they stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Super-sized vessels that can function as “cities at sea,” with endless restaurants, bars, cinemas and waterslides to explore, are proving a lucrative way to do this.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, Norwegian Aqua, began cruising out of Florida’s Port Canaveral this April with a passenger capacity of 3,600. The cruise line has ordered four even bigger ships, carrying 5,000 passengers each, for delivery starting in 2030.
That same month, MSC Cruises debuted the 6,762-passenger MSC World America, which sails on Caribbean itineraries out of the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal, the largest cruise terminal in North America.
Carnival Cruise Line is also adopting a “go big or go home” ethos. It plans to launch its most gargantuan cruise ship class ever in 2029, when it takes delivery of the first of three ships with maximum capacity for nearly 8,000 guests.
