Could Royal Caribbean’s new Discovery Class fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

The launches of Utopia of the Seas and Icon of the Seas this year, two of the world’s largest ships, herald in a new type of cruising – big is best.

These floating resorts are designed very much around cruisers experiencing the ship with its multitude of food and beverage outlets, rides and games as well as entertainment.

And because the sheer size of the ships means very few ports will take them, they are dedicated for sailing in the Caribbean and to its private islands.

But there are places in the world that grapple with the visibility of larger cruise ships, particular ports in Europe. Places like Greece are looking to minimise cruise ship capacity on islands like Mykonos and Santorini, while Spain has already outlined plans to ban cruise ships from the city centre of Barcelona.

But closer to home, Australia has a different problem. Long have been we plagued by the height of one of our most iconic sights – the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney remains the gateway for cruise, particularly as international tourists consider sailing into the Emerald City as something to check off the cruising bucket list.

But because of the height of the bridge, we are limited to either smaller and older contemporary ships, or luxury and boutique vessels which can clear the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Harry Sommer, the President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holding’s Limited had previously said he would love to bring a Prima class ship Down Under but solutions are needed to bring bigger ships into the harbour city.

Or, ships that can fit under the bridge.

“The problem with OPT is that it’s booked 20 years in advance and a Prima class ship just simply cannot fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.”

But Royal Caribbean may have just found the solution, despite building the world’s largest ships.

Aboard the launch of Utopia of the Seas, CEO of Royal Caribbean Michael Bayley made brief comments on the new Discovery Class.

At a press conference for travel advisors, he suggested the new class of ship may be smaller, which would provide new product in ports where bridges hamper larger ships from visiting like Baltimore and Tampa.

“It’s not as simple as making [the ship] broader and less high, but we constantly look at the ability to get ships in these places. So, maybe Discovery Class will have the great solution for that,” he said.

So, let’s break down the maths

The clearance for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa is 55 metres, while in Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay Bridge is at 56.6 metres and the Francis Scott Key Bridge is 56 metres.

The clearance for the Sydney Harbour Bridge is 49 metres, meaning Royal Caribbean’s new Discovery Class, could find a new home at Sydney White Bay Cruise Terminal.

What could the Discovery Class look like?

Royal Caribbean has been hinting at building smaller ships to replace their older class of vessels since 2023.

Currently, the line’s Radiance and Vision class can carry around 2500 passengers which is around the third of the full passenger load of the Icon class vessels.

At a media briefing earlier this year on Icon of the Seas, Bayley addressed the issue.

“From a brand perspective we recognize that Radiance and Vision are getting older. We’re working on ideas and concepts on replacing those ships. We’re quite actively working on what that would be,” he said.

“If we go through all the process and get the approvals, they’re going to be amazing.”

While few details have been confirmed, the Discovery Class of ships would not be an update of Radiance or Vision class, these new ships will be a blank page reimaging.

But this doesn’t mean that the new ships won’t borrow heavily from its predecessors. Royal Caribbean Blog reported it would be a similar size to the current Radiance Class.

And it these ships were to come to fruition, hopefully it would mean Sydney would finally get the newest and brightest vessels, built to sail under the Harbour Bridge.