Royal Caribbean's new Icon of the Seas will be world's biggest cruise ship, with room for nearly 10,000 people

Table Of Content

• Harmony of the Seas
• (tied). Ovation of the Seas
• What all can you do on an Icon of the Seas cruise?

The world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has officially sailed the ocean blue for the first time in preparation for its highly anticipated 2024 debut. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots.

Harmony of the Seas

Speaking of grab and go, I managed to stop by Basecamp in Thrill Island for an early dinner before disembarking the ship. Rover is a symbol for the fun and family-centric nature Icon of the Seas was designed to deliver. Obviously no one is booking a cruise just to see a dog, but it's a really nice touch.

(tied). Ovation of the Seas

I tried the newest ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian. Here's how they compare - Cruise Blog

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Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:57:15 GMT [source]

There are 8 neighborhoods (one more than the Oasis Class ships), with three of the neighborhoods being an all new concept. There's 28 different kinds of cabins, including the new three-level Ultimate Family Townhouse. The townhouse comes at a hefty price, with families paying $80,000 for a week to stay in it. The ship will begin operating 7-night cruises from Miami, Florida to the Caribbean in late January. Construction took over 900 days, and the momentous occasion was met with celebration by both the shipyard and the cruise line.

What all can you do on an Icon of the Seas cruise?

This is your getaway, and there’s no idea or request too big or small for our dedicated staff. So go ahead and dream a little, because anything is possible when you sail with the best cruise line in the world Royal Caribbean®. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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It carries 7,084 passengers at maximum occupancy (all berths filled). Tee off for a game of mini golf unlike anything you've played before —on land or sea, day or night. Immerse yourself in a wild, watery, undersea story where seasnails sport racings stripes, turtles guard the way to winding mazes and a giant octopus rules the course.

AND BOLDEST FAMILY ADVENTURES

After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods. There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself.

And experience a beach day full of record-breaking thrills and epic ways to chill at Perfect Day at CocoCay — voted best private island three years running. Wonder of the Seas® brings even bigger adventures to the award-winning Oasis Class. Like eight unique neighborhoods, including the Suite Neighborhood. A totally redesigned pool deck with more ways to soak up the sun —or shade —than ever before. The most immersive AquaTheater ever, with a game-changing surround-stage that makes you feel part of the action.

I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy. At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

Like a new bride, it borrow the traditions of the past, while forging its own destiny. All new cruise ships build on the progress made by ships of the past, but it is clear to me that Icon of the Seas takes a jump ahead. If there's one thing apparent about Royal Caribbean's new ship, it's that it's anything but ordinary.

But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that. Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

With ships this packed with adventure, next-level thrills never ends. They may be similar, but no other behemoth cruise liner has a waterpark for children and a pool club for adults just dozens of feet from each other. The rows of pools flowed perfectly into Thrill Island's waterpark, rock climbing walls, mini-golf course, and Crown's Edge.

Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer. In addition to the new stateroom designs, Royal Caribbean built Icon to cater to families, meaning that more than 82% of all cabins will accommodate three or more passengers.

I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts. If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it. And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “pendejo.” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.