Royal Caribbean Sets 11 Ships for 2028 Caribbean Sailings

Royal Caribbean has scheduled 11 vessels for Caribbean and Mexico itineraries from April through October 2028, including four Icon-class ships: Hero, Star, Icon and Legend of the Seas. The lineup spans departure markets in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Northeast, giving sellers a broad set of departure choices.

The announcement contains no booking figures, fares, passenger capacity, occupancy targets or revenue forecasts, and no filing or market-size estimate. It establishes scheduled supply, not measured demand. Sell-through (the share of available inventory booked) remains untested, and agency revenue remains unquantified.

Royal Caribbean said in a press release: “summer 2028 itineraries are open to book for Crown & Anchor Society loyalty members.” Official opening follows later today, creating a loyalty-first window before general access. For agencies and advisers, that sequence matters: members can book before nonmembers can. Whether it produces meaningful revenue is another matter.

What does the 2028 lineup put on sale?

The ship schedule ranges from four to nine nights and mixes fixed sailings with broader date ranges. Repeated calls give sellers several routes into the same Caribbean and Mexico markets.

• Hero of the Seas — Miami: Beginning April 2028, the newest Icon-class ship will run seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. First guests are scheduled for August 1, 2027. Calls include Perfect Day CocoCay in The Bahamas; catamaran excursions at Philipsburg, St. Maarten; an aerial tram at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and cooking classes in Cozumel.
• Symphony of the Seas — Miami: Six- and eight-night Caribbean sailings will introduce new experiences in 2028; Royal Caribbean will reveal details later. Calls include Willemstad’s Queen Emma Bridge in Curacao, rafting on the Martha Brae River and hiking Dunn’s River Falls in Falmouth, Jamaica.
• Legend of the Seas — Fort Lauderdale: From Fort Lauderdale, six- and eight-night sailings begin in April, calling at Perfect Day CocoCay, Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic and Oranjestad, Aruba, among other tropical destinations.
• Star of the Seas — Port Canaveral: From Port Canaveral (Orlando), seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries call at Perfect Day CocoCay, Samaná and San Juan, Puerto Rico, plus other tropical destinations.
• Harmony of the Seas — Port Canaveral: The recently upgraded ship will offer seven-night itineraries from Port Canaveral (Orlando), including Perfect Day CocoCay and other Caribbean destinations.
• Brilliance of the Seas — Tampa: Beginning April 2028, six- and seven-night Western Caribbean sailings leave Tampa. Activities include snorkeling on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize City and swimming with stingrays at Grand Cayman’s Stingray City.
• Icon of the Seas — Galveston: From Galveston, six- and eight-night Western Caribbean sailings call at Cozumel, Roatan, Honduras, and other tropical destinations.
• Enchantment of the Seas — San Juan: From San Juan, Puerto Rico, seven-night Southern Caribbean cruises call at Tortola in the British Virgin Islands; St. John’s, Antigua; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Castries, St. Lucia; Roseau, Dominica; and Bridgetown, Barbados.
• Vision of the Seas — Baltimore: From Baltimore, five- to nine-night itineraries include Bermuda’s Horseshoe Bay Beach and the Crystal Caves’ underground lakes, plus Fort de France, Martinique; St. Johns, Antigua; and other Southern Caribbean destinations.
• Independence of the Seas — Cape Liberty: From Cape Liberty in spring 2028, four- to nine-night voyages cover Canada, New England, Bermuda and the Eastern Caribbean.
• Oasis of the Seas — Cape Liberty: From Cape Liberty, seven-night Caribbean itineraries call at Royal Caribbean’s exclusive destinations, Perfect Day CocoCay and Royal Beach Club Paradise Island.

Where can travel sellers use the inventory?

Most departures leave from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral and Tampa in Florida; Galveston in Texas; San Juan in Puerto Rico; and Baltimore and Cape Liberty in the Northeast. The mix gives agencies several departure markets and four- to nine-night products, broadening the bookings they can offer local and traveling clients.

Royal Caribbean discloses no berth count, cabin allocation or port-level sales target. More departure options can support a larger share of a client’s trip spend, but the release cannot show whether agencies capture that share.

Four Icon-class ships form a distinct product block within the program, though the release gives no capacity attached to them. Sellers know when and where the ships sail; they cannot calculate margins. Think of this as a sales catalog, not a demand forecast.

What can sellers claim, and what must they wait for?

Only Symphony of the Seas carries a stated 2028 product change, and Royal Caribbean says it will reveal those experiences later. Advisers can sell the route and sailing length now, but they cannot yet describe what the new experience actually is. Harmony of the Seas is the only vessel explicitly described as upgraded.

The loyalty-first release gives members a narrow advantage in access, although the company supplies no booking count or evidence that early access produces bookings. Its commercial effect will depend on general access later today, cabin pricing and the share of bookings reaching agencies.

The next test comes later today, when general booking opens. Booking pace, cabin pricing and agency uptake will show whether the 11-ship schedule earns a larger share of agencies’ selling inventory. Until then, the release documents supply, not demand.