Sources have told Cruise Industry News that Royal Caribbean International is set to go with Meyer Werft for a two-ship order.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman and CEO Richard Fain hinted at the deal for new ships being close to done on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call, saying the ships would be smaller than the Oasis and Allure of the Seas, but the rumor about Meyer Werft came as a surprise. 

Royal Caribbean has traditionally used STX Europe in Finland to build big ships over the last decade. Although previous Royal Caribbean ships have been built at the German yard.

Meyer’s ship sizes are limited by the Ems River. The biggest ships Meyer has built have been Disney’s 128,000-ton Dream, recently launched, and Celebrity’s Solstice class, at 122,000 tons, although the Celebrity Reflection, the fifth ship in the Solstice series, will be enlarged to 126,000 tons.