Royal Caribbean has a brand ship class coming – here’s what we know about Discovery Class

• Royal Caribbean has officially announced its new Discovery Class ships.
• The ships are expected to arrive in 2029 and 2032.
• Little information is available about the ships, but some have been speculating.

Royal Caribbean has confirmed it will be building a new class of ships after its successful Icon Class. The new Discovery Class ships are being built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France and are set to arrive in 2029 and 2032, respectively.

Royal Caribbean also maintains the option for another four ships of the class.

As far as what we officially know, that’s it. However, Royal Caribbean executives have dropped some small hints.

CEO of Royal Caribbean International Michael Bayley said: “Exciting news this morning! We announced our order for the very first Discovery Class ships. The first one debuts in 2029 and the second is expected to be delivered in 2032.

“This is a completely new class and it’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Cutting-edge design, immersive moments, traveling to truly breathtaking destinations around the world.”

Some interesting to pull out of his statement is “destinations around the world”, which could suggest these new ships won’t just go to the Caribbean like Icon-class ships, but could rather travel to other destinations around the world, such as Europe or even Australia and Asia.

It had also previously been rumoured that these ships won’t follow Royal Caribbean’s pattern of building bigger and bigger ships, but could be relatively smaller compared to the massive Icon class ships. If this is true, it would make sense as the ships could be more appropriately sized to sail in other destinations, not just in the Caribbean where ports are equipped to take in massive ships.

Bayley has previously mentioned that ships could focus on more “exotic itineraries”, which does align with the idea that these new Discovery ships could be set to explore more widely. It’s even been suggested that the ships will fit through the Panama Canal, and could travel between the Caribbean and Alaska.

In saying this, Bayley has already commented that he’s seen lots of “inaccurate” information online speculating about the new ships, so at this point, very little can be confirmed.

However, he does promise innovation and another ‘game changing’ ship, like Icon of the Seas has been.

“Just as Icon was introduced and kind of changed the game, Discovery is going to do exactly the same thing.

“We are really excited with the innovation, creativity and the kind of product that we’ve now created with Discovery.”

With the new announcement, Royal Caribbean now has six new ships arriving from now until 2032.

Legend of the Seas will debut this year, and then a fourth and fifth Icon ship is expected in 2027 and 2028. A new Oasis class ship is coming in 2028 as well, and then Discovery class ships in 2029 and 2032.