As Hero of the Seas makes progress toward her summer 2027 debut, Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley took to Facebook on August 6, 2026, asking fans to suggest names for the ship's Chief Dog Officer, a female pup whose breed has not yet been revealed.
The cruise line narrowed the most popular suggestions to seven finalists: Hero, Scout, Marina, Pearl, Coco, Coral, and Sandy. On August 28, Bayley opened a second round of voting among those seven names. The post collected over 1,200 comments within its first eight hours.
A notable wrinkle arrived when a significant number of commenters pushed for the name Dolly, in honor of country music icon Dolly Parton, who passed away on August 25, 2026. Bayley has not set a closing date for the vote or said when the chosen name will be announced.
Hero of the Seas will be the fourth ship in Royal Caribbean's Icon class, and each of the previous three Icon-class vessels has received a golden retriever to serve as Chief Dog Officer onboard. The ship is scheduled to sail from Miami in August 2027 and will expand on her predecessors with eight neighborhoods, 28 dining venues, cooking classes, nine pools, and the all-new Ultimate Family Treehouse.