Construction of Royal Caribbean’s 4th ICON ship (Hero of the Seas) advances with cabin installation
Meyer Turku has reached a further stage in the construction of RCI-Royal Caribbean International’s fourth Icon Class cruise ship (Hero of the Seas) with the installation of the first passenger cabins, which took place on Friday, January 9th, 2026. The development marks the transition from primary structural work toward interior integration on the newbuild.
The Finnish shipbuilder has outlined that the cabins are produced as fully prefabricated modular units at its Piikkiö Works facility before being transported to the Turku yard and lifted into place aboard the vessel. This method is intended to accelerate the build schedule and simplify the installation process by limiting the amount of interior work required once the ship’s structure is complete.
The vessel is officially unnamed, but in September 2025, it was listed as “Hero of the Seas” in the Equasis database.
Hero OTS has been under construction for several months and was formally laid down in the shipyard’s drydock on September 8th, 2025. Since that point, the project has progressed through the hull block assembly phase, with multiple sections joined to form the ship’s primary framework. Hull construction is expected to continue for several more months.
The ship is currently scheduled to float out of dry dock in the summer of 2026, after which it will be transferred to an outfitting berth for interior completion, systems installation, and final commissioning work.
Delivery to Royal Caribbean is planned for 2027 Q2.
As part of RCI’s ICON Class, Hero OTS is among the largest cruise ships in the world, following the sister ships Icon Of The Seas, Star Of The Seas, and Legend Of The Seas.
