On 10 October 2016, Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku announced an order to build two ships under the project name "Icon".

[6] Royal Caribbean applied to register a trademark for "Icon of the Seas" in 2016, which was at the time suggested as an indication of the name of the first ship.

[12] Parts of the ship are built at Meyer Werft, Papenburg[13] and also at Gdańsk shipyard Marine Projects Ltd.[14][15] Icon of the Seas arrived in her home port of PortMiami on 10 January 2024 for the first time after leaving Europe in December, with the inaugural passenger sailing occurring on 27 January 2024.

[19] Ships will contain other alternative energy features, like the use of fuel cells to produce electricity and fresh water.

[20] The Icon class is the first Royal Caribbean ship to feature a parabolic bow design, which is intended to aid stability and provide smoother motion.