Royal Caribbean has laid out its summer 2028 Caribbean and Mexico programme, and it's a big one: 11 ships sailing from a dozen-odd homeports across Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, Baltimore and New Jersey, with bookings already open to Crown & Anchor loyalty members ahead of the general release. The headline act is the sheer scale of Icon-class hardware on the route — four of the line's biggest and newest ships will all be working the Caribbean between April and October 2028.
The newcomer is Hero of the Seas, the fourth Icon-class vessel, which enters service on 1 August 2027 and heads straight to Miami for its first full season. From there it runs seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries with a call at Perfect Day CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian island — think catamaran trips in St. Maarten, the aerial tram over Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, or cooking classes in Cozumel.
The other three Icon-class ships are spread out strategically. Icon of the Seas itself shifts to Galveston, Texas, running six- and eight-night Western Caribbean sailings to Cozumel and Roatan, Honduras — a rare homeporting of a flagship outside Florida. Star of the Seas stays at Port Canaveral near Orlando with seven-night itineraries calling at Samaná in the Dominican Republic and San Juan. Legend of the Seas operates from Fort Lauderdale on six- and eight-night trips that include Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic and Oranjestad, Aruba.
The rest of the fleet covers a lot of ground. Symphony of the Seas joins Hero in Miami with six- and eight-night cruises, promising new onboard experiences still to be announced, plus stops like Curaçao's Queen Emma Bridge and Jamaica's Dunn's River Falls. Harmony of the Seas, freshly upgraded, sails from Port Canaveral; Brilliance of the Seas offers shorter Western Caribbean trips from Tampa with snorkelling on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize and stingray swims in Grand Cayman. Enchantment of the Seas does a proper Southern Caribbean loop out of San Juan — Tortola, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Dominica and Barbados on seven nights.
There's also life beyond Florida. Vision of the Seas sails from Baltimore on five- to nine-night itineraries mixing Bermuda (Horseshoe Bay Beach, the Crystal Caves) with Southern Caribbean ports like Martinique. From Cape Liberty in New Jersey, Oasis of the Seas runs seven-nighters to Perfect Day CocoCay and the new Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, while Independence of the Seas kicks off spring with four- to nine-night voyages blending Canada, New England, Bermuda and the Eastern Caribbean.
Why it matters: if you've been priced out of, or simply crowded off, the newest mega-ships in 2026 and 2027, 2028 is when the supply spreads out — Icon-class ships from Texas and Orlando, not just Miami, means more departure points and more date flexibility. Early loyalty-window bookings are live, and the general sale opens soon, so anyone with a specific ship, cabin category or school-holiday week in mind should move quickly. Cruise pricing on the newest tonnage rarely softens once itineraries are public.
