Royal Caribbean Adds New Ocean Class and River Cruise Ships to Orderbook
Reporting a strong financial performance for 2025 and projecting 2026 ahead of investors’ expectations, Royal Caribbean Group announced key next steps in its ongoing shipbuilding and expansion of the product offering. The company confirmed the long-anticipated class of new ocean cruise ships known as Discovery, as well as doubling its plans for its first river cruise operations.
Reports from France had said the news of the cruise ship order was imminent, adding to the group’s already large orderbook. Management today confirmed an order has been placed for the first two ships in the Discovery class, to be built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique for delivery in 2029 and 2032. In addition, the group has options for four additional ships.
Plans for the new class had been openly discussed for over two years, but as is the company’s policy, no details were announced. Instead, it likes to call everything “highly anticipated.” During the investor conference call, Michael Bayley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the cruise line Royal Caribbean International, called most of the speculation online about the class “inaccurate.”
The company has previously mentioned the ships as being smaller than its Icon Class (250,000 gross tons) and more versatile. They have said the ships would be sized to transit the Panama Canal so they could operate in Alaska, and they have said they would be able to call in a wider range of ports than the ultra-large class. Speculation puts the class in the mid-100,000 gross ton range, and it is thought that they will be the start of a replacement to the company’s Vision class, which dates to the late 1990s.
“These ships will be a showcase of what's possible when design meets purpose, ultimately bringing the world closer to our guests," said Jason Liberty, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. At the same time, Bailey said, “The Discovery Class introduces a bold new concept that puts our guests at the center of it all. It will deliver extraordinary, one-of-a-kind experiences - from cutting-edge design to immersive moments.”
Royal Caribbean has a long history with Chantiers de l’Atlantique, pointing out that the yard has built a total of 21 ships for the group. The yard in Saint-Nazire, France, is currently building two more ships for the group due for delivery in 2028: the seventh ship in the Oasis class and Celebrity Xcite.
The two Discovery ships also fill space in Chantiers’ orderbook until work begins in 2032 on France’s new 78,000 ton displacement aircraft carrier. The carrier will keep the yard busy until it is commissioned in 2038. In addition, the French yard has work underway on two World Class cruise ships (215,000 gross tons) for MSC Cruises and orders for up to four additional MSC cruise ships. It is also building two luxury sailing yachts for Orient Express.
Royal Caribbean International already had work underway on four ultra-large cruise ships, including Legend of the Seas and two sisters in the Icon class being built at Meyer Turku in Finland, as well as the Oasis ship in France. In addition to the options for the four additional Discovery class cruise ships, it also has options in Finland for two additional ships in the Icon Class. It is also making large investments in private destinations for the cruise ships and passengers in Mexico and Europe.
The orders are part of an industry-wide order book valued at over $70 billion for a total of 75 ocean cruise ships, before today’s announcement. A big part of the growth is for the Contemporary (mass market) segment, which has 34 ships with approximately 165,000 berths on order.
Royal Caribbean Group’s premium cruise line Celebrity Cruises is also expanding, having taken delivery of Celebrity Xcel (141,420 gross tons) delivered in late 2025 from Chantiers, as well as the sister ship now under construction. Last year, the group announced Celebrity would expand in river cruising, ordering 10 ships, and today reported the river class is being doubled to 20 ships by 2031.
Celebrity is following Viking, which was the first to build large offerings in both ocean and river cruising. Royal Caribbean management has said they plan to expand the segment, which is seen as incremental business to the group.
They reported today, January 29, that the first steel cut has happened for the first of the river ships, Celebrity Compass, although they had not released details and will not even confirm the shipyard. (Reports say the ships are being built in the Netherlands). The first ships enter service in Europe in 2027, and they announced the names as Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, followed by Celebrity Wanderer, Celebrity Roamer, and Celebrity Boundless joining the fleet in 2028. Capacity is believed to be 172 passengers, but little else has been revealed.
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The company excited investors today, forecasting 2026 earnings above consensus. Results for the current year were largely in line or slightly above expectations, with the upside reportedly coming from joint ventures (i.e., the cruise operation with Germany’s TUI Group). Analysts have been expressing concerns that there could be a slight oversupply in the Contemporary segment (Royal Caribbean International’s market segment), especially in the Caribbean. Management pointed out that the next Icon ship, Legend of the Seas, launches this year in Europe while also saying the group is about two-thirds booked for 2026 at record rates after experiencing the best seven booking weeks in the company's history.
Investors reacted positively to the outlook, driving the stock price up nearly 19 percent today. The share price is about six percent below the stock’s 52-week high.
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