One of the world's largest cruise ships, Star of the Seas, was delivered to its owner from the Turku shipyard in 2025. As the giant vessel set sail for Royal Caribbean Cruises, the connections and commissioning of its data network had been completed by Rauman Juku. This marked Juku's 30th shipbuilding project.
Built at the Turku shipyard, the cruise ship Star of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean Cruises in July 2025. Star is the second Icon-class vessel completed in Turku. Icon-class ships are among the largest cruise ships in the world. At 365 metres long, they have a normal capacity of around 5,600 passengers, but can accommodate a couple of thousand more when needed.
“We are extremely satisfied. The project was successful in every respect. The cooperation has been incredible, the ship has been built to a high standard and delivered on schedule – even six minutes ahead of time,” said Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President of Newbuildings, Harri Kulovaara.
Rauman Juku played an important role in the project, which marked the company's 30th shipbuilding assignment.
“We carried out the data network connections and commissioning. We tested the lines to make sure the cameras had images, the Wi-Fi worked and the phones rang. There was plenty of work to do, with more than 9,000 data points in the ship's general network alone,” says Juku’s site supervisor Ilkka Aaltonen.
An average of around ten Juku employees worked as part of Aaltonen's team. In the fast-paced shipyard environment, initiative and a proactive attitude are just as important as technical skills and a hands-on approach.
“Not everything can be found in manuals and documents. You need to be able to solve problems, and sometimes you also have to think creatively,” Aaltonen explains.
A great history with Meyer Turku
According to Toni Kujansuu, CEO of Rauman Juku, it is fantastic that some of the world's largest and most impressive cruise ships are being built in Finland.
“We have a great history with Meyer Turku. Over the years, we have worked together to develop methods for building data networks on ships. It's wonderful to be part of projects like these, which often attract a lot of attention,” says Kujansuu.
For Aaltonen, the Turku shipyard is part of everyday life, and he has grown accustomed to seeing enormous ships. Even so, he still occasionally finds himself wondering just how incredibly big and impressive these cruise ships really are.
“They are even more impressive in other ports, when the cruise ships arrive right in the city centre,” Aaltonen says.
