Royal Caribbean to ‘double down’ on family market with Icon Class
Sales boss also eyes opportunities for new-to-cruise consumers
BigThink
Royal Caribbean International says its new Icon Class offers agents more opportunities in the family and new-to-cruise market, especially with the third vessel sailing the Med next summer.
The third Icon Class ship, Legend of the Seas, is offering seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona from August 2026, ahead of a season of Caribbean cruises.
Aaron Langford, senior sales director at Royal Caribbean for UK and Ireland, told a Travel Weekly webcast that the sailings from Barcelona, “just a two-hour flight away”, offer a “real opportunity for people to try…particularly where we’re wanting to move into people who haven’t actually been on a cruise before…it offers so much amazing entertainment, so much value for money”.
The launch of Legend of the Seas follows the debut of the first Icon Class ship, Icon of the Seas, in Miami in January 2024.
The second Icon Class ship, Star of the Seas, launches this summer, with seven-day Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral in Florida from August 31.
Langford said: “We always want the new and the best in our backyard.
“There will be a big reliance on the UK and Ireland market, as well as the EMEA region, to make [Legend] successful.”
He added: “We have always had our best-in-class hardware in the Med.
“We are going after a particular guest demographic of families, and we want more families to sail with us.
“The opportunity that exists for families to experience…the ultimate family holiday, as we call it in the Med, is something we really want to double down on.”
He noted how the cruise line also has other classes of ships sailing in different parts of the Med, saying: “There is so much opportunity and so many different types of holidays you can have on any kind of hardware, all providing the Royal experience.
“In this theme of moving into more mainstream holidays [and] appeal for new-to-cruise, that’s where the opportunity lies.”
Commenting on Legend of the Seas, he said: “The Icon Class gives you an absolute masterclass in terms of holiday, with absolutely no compromises.”
The “neighbourhood concept”, which debuted on Oasis Class ships, has been “taken up a notch”, while cabins have been “taken to the next level”.
There are more balcony cabins that can sleep up to six, featuring split bathrooms to give family members more space.
“I went on Icon when she came out in Miami last year with my kids, and three nights was not enough,” he told the webcast.
“We had the absolute time of our lives, and we spent probably most of the time in Surfside where kids can be kids, and the adults can be big kids.”
He described the combination of Mediterranean destinations and the “destination” of Legend of the Seas as “a match made in heaven”.
“You could spend the whole week on the ship and then spend a week off [exploring]; there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy a two-week holiday,” he added.
Asked about some agents’ concerns over a lack of affordable product, especially for ex-UK sailings, he told the webcast: “We haven’t had that feedback.”
He explained that Independence of the Seas will offer more ex-UK sailings this year than Anthem of the Seas, the ship it replaces, thanks to the creation of shorter itineraries.
“We have got more opportunity for people to grab that family cabin in the summer now than ever before,” he continued.
Commenting on the possibility of a UK ship launch in the future, he said: “Never say never. It depends on the ship [and] what we are launching.
“We like to give the brand a headache. One way to do that is to really top out on what we do sell into the Caribbean and the Med.
“If we do a really good job of that, it gives the brand a headache about where the new shiny ships go.”
More: Royal Caribbean unveils details of third Icon Class ship
