Royal Caribbean’s highly anticipated Star of the Seas is now 96% complete, the cruise line confirmed this week, and its August 2025 debut is on track.

The second ship in the groundbreaking Icon Class is being built with a clear mission: to elevate the onboard experience for families and teens like never before.

In a behind-the-scenes video released by the cruise line, Jennifer Goswami, Royal Caribbean’s senior director of product development, gave an inside look at the design process and progress updates. “Star of the Seas is coming along great,” she shared. “We really wanted to focus on youth and family.”

Building on lessons learned from Icon of the Seas—which launched in January 2024—Royal Caribbean has taken feedback to heart. Goswami revealed that teen spaces aboard Icon weren’t resonating, prompting a complete refresh.

The ship’s Adventure Ocean area and Splashaway Bay water zone have both been redesigned, with added physical play structures to appeal to older kids.

Daniel Perlmutter, part of the line’s Special Projects team, emphasized the shift: “We learned kids are a little bit older than we thought… so we incorporated more physical play.”

The enhancements extend to Star of the Seas’s Surfside neighborhood, where a larger Splashaway Bay and reimagined playscapes aim to better match the energy and interests of young cruisers.

Goswami also teased a new carousel character chosen directly by children during test sessions—a colorful purple-and-pink seahorse that emerged as a clear favorite.

The ship’s development includes both physical prototypes and digital walkthroughs. At Royal Caribbean’s Miami headquarters, teams use full-scale mockups and virtual labs to fine-tune details—from tile designs in The Pearl to signage placement throughout the vessel.

“There’s not much that’s easy about making a cruise ship,” Goswami said, reflecting on the challenges of turning vision into reality. “But seeing products we dreamed about for years come to life is incredibly rewarding.”

Star of the Seas is currently finishing construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, where its steel-cutting ceremony took place in February 2023.

Weighing in at 250,800 gross tons, the ship will homeport in Port Canaveral, Florida, offering 7-night Caribbean cruises with stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

With a capacity for 5,610 guests and cutting-edge design rooted in passenger feedback, Star of the Seas is shaping up to be the next “Icon of Vacations”—especially for families ready to sail in style.