Royal Caribbean is making so much good progress on its next new cruise ship, that it's once again bumping up the first sailing.
Star of the Seas will debut in August 2025, but will now have her first sailing August 20.
"We have an updated timeline for the arrival of Star of the Seas at Port Canaveral," Royal Caribbean said in an email to guests booked on the first sailings. "Building such a large and incredible ship is no easy feat, but lucky for us, there are times when we get to embark on our new ship ahead of schedule, and that time is now!"
The plan was for Star of the Seas to debut with a pair of 4-night "showcase cruises" before the official maiden 7-night cruise on August 31, 2025.
Those 4-night cruises will still take place, along with an extra showcase 3-Night Perfect Day Cruise on August 20, 2025.
According to Royal Caribbean, the three showcase sailings will take place before the August 31 sailing.
It's been an interesting game of changing first sailings for Star, which pushed back its inaugural voyage in February 2024, but has since moved up the first sailing two times now.
The initial Star of the Seas inaugural was scheduled for August 17th, 2025, and with this new sailing being added, the ship is even closer to getting back to that original timeline.
Anyone that was booked on the showcase sailings received an email on Tuesday to inform them of the new sailing, and to get first dibs on booking rooms on the new cruises.
Choice to change
If you're booked on either of the 4-night showcase sailings, Royal Caribbean is giving you the choice of staying on them, moving to the new 3-night sailing, or going on all of them.,
As you may have booked your Star of the Seas sailing to be first onboard and may have moved to one of our other two showcase sailing options or both, you’ll now have the opportunity to book the new showcase sailing OR to move your existing booking(s) to the first 3-Night Perfect Day Cruise as of today!
You could also do nothing and remain on either August 23rd or August 27th sailing.
If you want to move up your sailing, Royal Caribbean will make it as easy as possible.
Suite guests will have their same suites held for them as a courtesy, first come, first served. Guests in the Interior, Oceanview, and Balcony staterooms will have like-for-like staterooms available to choose from.
Royal Caribbean will transfer your current booking to the new sail date you choose, in the exact same suite or like-for-like stateroom currently booked – at the current prevailing rate.
The cruise fare rate will be adjusted to the current prevailing rate, and if there’s an overpayment on the booking, you’ll be refunded for the difference.
You can expect to receive any refunds, current taxes, fees, and any pre-paid gratuities, tours, and amenities to your original form of payment within 14 business days, though some banking institutions may take longer.
You have until next week to decide
If you want to move reservations, you need to act quickly.
Royal Caribbean is giving everyone about a week and a half to contact the line to make the change. Change requests must be made no later than March 25, 2025.
If you do not make a change by March 25, 2025, anyone booked on the showcase sailings will remain booked on that sailing, and you can still choose to add the new 3-night Star of Seas showcase sailings based on availability.
A brand new Icon Class ship coming this summer
The second in the Icon Class, Star of the Seas is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland and has high expectations to follow-up on the success of Icon of the Seas.
Star will share similar dimensions with Icon of the Seas, coming in at approximately 250,800 gross tons. It is expected to accommodate around 5,610 passengers at double occupancy and up to 7,600 at maximum capacity. When factoring in crew members, the total number of people onboard could reach an impressive 10,000.
Once the showcase sailings are complete. the new ship will offer 7-night Caribbean cruises from its homeport in Port Canaveral. Its strategic placement directly competes with the mega theme park market in nearby Orlando, positioning itself as a top-tier vacation alternative.
Designed as a floating family resort, the ship aims to rival—if not surpass—the experience of a theme park vacation. "Icon will be the best family vacation in the world," said Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer.
The ship will feature an entire area dedicated to families, a massive water park, thrilling attractions, multiple live shows, and more pools than any previous ship. With an abundance of entertainment and experiences, it's shaping up to redefine family cruising.
