Video: World’s Largest Cruise Ship, Star of the Seas, Starts Sea Trials
The second vessel of Royal Caribbean International’s Icon class, Star of the Seas, has begun its first sea trials, going to sea for the first time on Sunday, May 18. Due to enter commercial service in August, the ship will be slightly larger than her sister Icon of the Seas, and at an expected 250,800 gross tons, she becomes the largest cruise ship in the world.
Royal Caribbean highlights that the sea trials mark a key milestone in the construction of the ship and come less than 100 days ahead of her debut in her homeport of Port Canaveral, Florida. Over a total of 11 days, more than 2,000 experts from the naval architecture, engineering, navigation, and design spaces are testing the ship across a wide range of areas, mostly focusing on technical operations.
The ship, based on its AIS signal, is currently in the Baltic undertaking its tests. The line reports this includes how the ship moves through the open water as well as testing engine performance. They are saying the new ship, which is 1,196 feet (364 meters) in length and has 20 decks, reached a speed of 25 knots while they were pushing its engine performance to the limits. The Star of the Seas will cover hundreds of miles during these tests.
It is the next critical step for the ship which was floated from the assembly dock in September 2024 and started its engines for the first time in February. She was fueled with LNG for the first time in April. After the sea trials, the ship will return for the final phase of construction and outfitting at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. Another acceptance trial is anticipated closer to delivery and her August 2025 debut.
She follows Icon of the Seas, which is 248,663 gross tons. Introduced in January 2024, she became the largest cruise ship in the world. Each of the ships has a double occupancy of approximately 5,600 passengers (total occupancy of approximately 7,600 passengers using all berths) and a crew of 2,350. Royal Caribbean typically makes small changes to each ship in a class, with the later vessels becoming slightly larger in size, as is the case with Star of the Seas.
They highlight that the design features eight “neighborhoods” that are destinations in themselves, designed for families, children, suite passengers, entertainment, and other experiences. The ship will feature 26 dining locations and 18 bars and lounges. They are boasting of the fastest and tallest waterslides and seven pools, among the amusements aboard.
Star of the Seas is the third of the line’s LNG-fueled cruise ships, and she will be offering 7-day cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from the central Florida homeport. She joins Utopia of the Seas (236,473 gross tons), which was introduced last summer and also sails from Port Canaveral.
Star of the Seas went to sea for the first time on May 18 (RCI)
Royal Caribbean was the first to surpass the 200,000 gross ton threshold in 2009 with the Oasis of the Seas (226,838 gross tons) and continues to expand in this ultra-large ship category. The company has built six ships in the Oasis class with a seventh on order at Chantiers de l’Atlantique. A third Icon class ship, named Legend of the Seas, is being assembled in the building dock in Finland and will enter service next year. A fourth Icon class ship is on order for delivery in 2027, and the line has options for two more ships of the class.
The success of the ultra large ships has spurred MSC Cruises to introduce its World class (217,000 gross tons) with two ships in service and now four more on order. Disney Cruise Line will also introduce a 208,000 gross ton cruise ship in December 2025. Both Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line have ordered ultra-large cruise ships to be built by Fincantieri.