Has Royal Caribbean finally hit its limit for giant ships? The cruise line's CEO sparks speculation

18.07.2024 - 20:34 / thepointsguy.com / Royal Caribbean / Michael Bayley

Is the era of ever-larger ships at Royal Caribbean coming to an end? Comments that the line's CEO, Michael Bayley, made this week are sparking renewed speculation on the topic.

Speaking during a preview event for the line's new Utopia of the Seas, Bayley suggested Royal Caribbean's next new class of ships (to be called the Discovery Class) would be smaller than the giant ships the line has been rolling out in recent years, according to several media outlets that were on board.

Bayley told a room full of travel advisers and other attendees that the new class might feature vessels small enough to sail into ports such as Baltimore and Tampa where bridges block the arrival of the line's bigger vessels, Travel Weekly reported.

For more cruise news, guides and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter.

"It's not as simple as making [the ship] broader and less high, but we constantly look at the ability to get ships in these places. So, maybe Discovery class will have the great solution for that," Bayley said, according to Travel Weekly.

Separately, Bayley told a room full of journalists at a press briefing during the event that the new class "will be really exciting," but he didn't give details on what sort of attractions and venues would be on board the vessel, Travel Weekly reported.

Related: Royal Caribbean's new Utopia of the Seas christened in Miami

Bayley also didn't give a timetable for when the new ships would be ordered and built.

Cruise Fever also reported on Bayley's comments, as did Travel Pulse and Australia's Cruise Passenger; the latter outlet speculated that the new ships might be small enough to fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Many large cruise ships can't dock at Sydney's White Bay Cruise Terminal because of the low clearance of the bridge. The clearance for Sydney Harbour Bridge is about 161 feet. The clearance for bridges that cruise ships must pass under when sailing into Baltimore and Tampa is roughly 180 feet.

Royal Caribbean's most recently built ships — including Icon of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas and five sisters to Utopia of the Seas (known collectively as the Oasis Class) — are among the biggest cruise ships in the world and have "air drafts" of well over 200 feet. That means they can't fit under the bridges in Sydney, Baltimore or Tampa.

Bayley's comments this week weren't the first he has made hinting that the line was developing a new, smaller class of ships. Over the past year, he has dropped small clues about a new class of smaller ships at several other Royal Caribbean events, including at a press conference in January aboard the line's new Icon of the Seas.

At some of these events, Bayley has noted that the line was looking to order new ships that could replace