It’s quadruplets! The world’s biggest cruise ship gets three super-sized sister ships
By Maureen O’Hare, CNN
(CNN) — In our travel roundup this week: the European capital with an underwater labyrinth beneath its streets, why an Abu Dhabi surf company believes it’s found “the perfect wave,” plus the rise and rise of XXL cruise ships.
You’re going to need a bigger boat
The world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has been the biggest hit Royal Caribbean has ever introduced, the CEO told Terry Ward, reporting for CNN earlier this year. Now the Icon Class family is expanding, with three equally hefty sister ships.
Star of the Seas entered service in August with Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, which call at Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Legend of the Seas, which will be home to Category 6, the largest waterpark at sea, was floated out for the first time at the start of this month, ahead of its August 2026 debut.
The fourth member of the Icon Class gang, a yet-to-be-named mega-ship which, like the others, will be more than 1,000 feet long and have a capacity of around 5,610 passengers, officially started construction on September 8. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, two years ahead of its 2027 debut.
More than 37 million passengers are expected to take a cruise in 2025 and, a Cruise Lines International Association spokesperson told CNN, there appears to be more cruise ships on order than ever before.
Unique travel experiences, where the ship is as much a draw as the destination, are how the bigger providers are making sure they stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Super-sized vessels that can function as “cities at sea,” with endless restaurants, bars, cinemas and waterslides to explore, are proving a lucrative way to do this.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, Norwegian Aqua, began cruising out of Florida’s Port Canaveral this April with a passenger capacity of 3,600. The cruise line has ordered four even bigger ships, carrying 5,000 passengers each, for delivery starting in 2030.
That same month, MSC Cruises debuted the 6,762-passenger MSC World America, which sails on Caribbean itineraries out of the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal, the largest cruise terminal in North America.
Carnival Cruise Line is also adopting a “go big or go home” ethos. It plans to launch its most gargantuan cruise ship class ever in 2029, when it takes delivery of the first of three ships with maximum capacity for nearly 8,000 guests.
Riding waves is a state of mind
Surfers have been chasing the idea of the “perfect wave” since at least the 1960s, but at premium watersport destination Surf Abu Dhabi, they believe they’ve found a version of it.
Using technology dreamed up by Kelly Slater, the most successful professional surfer in history, the center is home to the longest artificial wave in the world — but riding it does not come cheap. A pool session with six waves costs $950, or a little over $150 per wave.
Elsewhere in sun-scorched Abu Dhabi, people are running through shopping malls and hitting the beach for night swims. It’s a way of maintaining fitness when summer temperatures climb above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit.
The global surf tourism industry reaped $68.3 billion in 2024, and is projected to hit $95.93 billion by 2030. Siargao, the “surf capital of the Philippines,” is hoping to ride that wave. The island already has a winning blend of natural beauty, community and adventure, but now a cruise terminal, airport expansions and larger resort developments are on the way.
You can be my wingman anytime
Amran is from a small town in Minnesota and had never flown on a plane before. Then a free program dropped her and nine others into Times Square. The American Exchange Project aims to give kids a whole new perspective on just how much Americans really have in common.
In case you missed it
A luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Turkey, minutes after launching.
Everyone on board was safely rescued. Watch the dramatic footage here.
The European capital with an underwater labyrinth hidden beneath its streets.
Plus it’s heated by geothermal springs.
How San Francisco’s Castro district became the capital of LGBT America.
It first earned the crown 60 years ago.
It was the scene of the world’s deadliest landslide.
Now it’s a gateway for tourists.
The-CNN-Wire
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