Royal Caribbean Wants YOU to Name Its Next Ship
A new survey asks fans to suggest names for the upcoming Discovery Class โ what could possibly go wrong?
Royal Caribbean has decided to crowdsource, and I, a professional who remembers the internet, am already bracing for impact. The line is running a survey asking fans to suggest names for its upcoming Discovery Class ships, which are a few years out from delivery.
The brief, per Royal Caribbean: these ships are destined for exotic destinations, so they're looking for names that fit that adventurous profile. Think far-flung itineraries, bucket-list ports, the kind of sailing where the ship is your basecamp rather than the whole vacation. Presumably they'd like the suggestions to sound at home next to Icon, Star, and Legend of the Seas โ so keep your "of the Seas" generator warmed up.
A brief history lesson for anyone about to open that survey with mischief in their heart: in 2016, the UK let the internet name a polar research vessel, and the internet overwhelmingly voted for Boaty McBoatface. The government overruled it. The lesson was learned by absolutely no one, and I guarantee "Shippy McShipface of the Seas" is sitting in Royal Caribbean's survey results right now, submitted by hundreds of people who each believe they're the first.
To be fair, cruise lines do occasionally listen. Fan input has shaped ship names before, and a survey like this is cheap market research wrapped in an engagement campaign โ they get data on what resonates, fans get to feel heard, and one very tired brand manager gets to filter out the joke entries. Everybody wins, sort of.
So here's the homework, Podcastaways: what would YOU name a Discovery Class ship? Send us your best (or worst โ especially your worst) suggestions and we'll read them on the show. Bonus points if it would survive both a legal review and a group chat.