Royal Caribbean kicks off construction on seventh Oasis-class ship

Royal Caribbean released a brief statement on the keel-laying milestone, noting the construction would take two years and that the vessel is expected to be delivered in 2028. The 236,900-gt ship has not yet been named. 

After Oasis of the Seas in 2009 and Allure of the Seas in 2010, Harmony of the Seas was the first sister vessel delivered by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in 2016, followed by Symphony of the Seas in 2018, Wonder of the Seas in 2022 and Utopia of the Seas, which left Saint-Nazaire in June 2024 and entered service shortly after.

Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas is the first ship in the Oasis class to be LNG fuelled and the first of the company’s newbuilds to specifically target the short cruise market. Construction of Utopia of the Seas commenced at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France, in March 2022. Upon completion, the vessel became the third-largest cruise ship globally, measuring 362-m long, 64-m wide, and featuring 18 decks to accommodate 5,668 guests.

In a statement at the time, the French shipyard said the vessel would carry the “latest technical solutions developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, solutions that will constantly improve the environmental performance of ships”.

"We are proud of the strong ties between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Royal Caribbean Group. Thanks to more than 10 years of joint efforts, particularly on energy efficiency, this vessel will be one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitters per passenger per day in the world’s fleet," added Chantiers de l’Atlantique chief executive Laurent Castaing.

Days before the keel laying for Oasis-class 7 in Saint-Nazaire, Royal Caribbean took delivery of its third Icon-class cruise ship, the 5,610-passenger Legend of the Seas, in a ceremony at Meyer Turku, Finland, in time to make its debut this summer in Europe.

Equipped with diesel-electric propulsion, Legend of the Seas has six Wärtsilä 46TS-DF LNG dual-fuel engines, making it Royal Caribbean’s fourth ship powered by natural gas. For improved efficiency and high-power density, the medium-speed, four-stroke engines have two-stage turbocharging. With the ability to run on gas and liquid fuels, the Wärtsilä 46TS-DF has variable valve timing for improved flexibility, a digital common rail fuel injection system for smoke-free operations, and thermal insulation to improve safety and minimise loss of radiated heat.

The engines generate approximately 84 MW of power to meet the ship’s propulsion and hotel needs. Propulsion and steering are supplied by three 20-MW Azipod units, part of a complete electric power and propulsion system supplied by ABB. Additionally, a shore power connection system allows the ship to shut off its main engines and connect to the local electrical grid, minimising noise and ship emissions while berthed.