Meyer Turku has floated out Hero of the Seas on 4 Sep 2026, marking a key construction milestone for the fourth Icon Class cruise ship built at its Turku shipyard in Finland for Royal Caribbean. The vessel now moves into its outfitting phase at the shipyard's outfitting pier, where it will continue to take shape over the coming year ahead of delivery. As part of the float-out process, the shipyard's dry dock was filled with more than 90 million gallons of water, allowing Hero of the Seas to be floated off its building blocks and towed to the adjacent pier. During outfitting, workers will complete interior installations, technical systems and finishing work before the ship undergoes sea trials and final handover. Casimir Lindholm, CEO of Meyer Turku, described the float-out as another milestone in the long-standing partnership between the shipyard and Royal Caribbean, noting that building consecutive Icon Class vessels has allowed continuous development of the yard's expertise, production processes and energy-efficient shipbuilding solutions. Thousands of shipbuilding professionals and partner companies are involved in the project. Hero of the Seas follows three earlier Icon Class ships already delivered by Meyer Turku to Royal Caribbean, continuing a series that has become a flagship program for the Finnish shipyard.