{"id":2011,"date":"2024-01-27T17:02:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2024-01-27T17:02:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:02:28","slug":"royal-caribbean-international-worlds-biggest-cruise-ship-is-finally-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/royal-caribbean-international-worlds-biggest-cruise-ship-is-finally-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Caribbean International World\u2019s biggest cruise ship is finally ready."},"content":{"rendered":"

Royal Caribbean\u2019s new, nearly 1,200-foot-long and 250,800 gross ton Icon of the Seas towers like a multilayered birthday cake with frosting on the top in the form of seven swimming pools, a whimsical striped carousel, groves of tropical greenery and twisting waterslides in green, pink, blue and orange.
\nWhen the $2 billion ship sailed into the Port of Miami with music blasting on January 10, after crossing the Atlantic from the shipyard in Turku, Finland, where it was built, it was greeted with a cacophony of fireboat salutes and a banner flag flyover. The commotion brought traffic to a halt along the causeway to Miami Beach that parallels the cruise ship channel.<\/p>\n

Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi was even in on the ship\u2019s early fanfare as the Icon of the Seas\u2019 \u201cgodfather,\u201d christening the 20-deck ship on January 23.<\/p>\n

The ship is officially the biggest cruise ship in the world, with Royal Caribbean\u2019s Wonder of the Seas, new in early 2022, trailing close behind at 1,188 feet long and 235,600 gross tons.<\/p>\n

And when Icon of the Seas sets sail on her maiden voyage from Miami on January 27 on a sold-out, seven-night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, passengers can expect some next-level experiences at sea.<\/p>\n

Icon of the Seas\u2019 list of superlatives and firsts is long
\nFinding time to fit in everything onboard Icon of the Seas promises to keep passengers busy. And speaking of passengers, the ship can carry a whopping 7,600 guests at full capacity, along with 2,350 crew \u2013 so about the whole population of Sedona, Arizona.<\/p>\n

Among the behemoth\u2019s attractions, there\u2019s Category 6 \u2013 the ship\u2019s 17,000-square-foot water park, currently the largest at sea and sprawled across Decks 16 and 17, with six slides that include Frightening Bolt (the tallest drop slide at sea at 46 feet or 14 meters) and the first family raft slides at sea (Hurricane Hunter and Storm Surge).<\/p>\n

The ship has the first cantilevered infinity pool at sea, as well as the largest swimming pool at sea (the 40,000-gallon Royal Bay) and the largest ice arena at sea (Absolute Zero, where guests can skate or watch a performance).<\/p>\n

Some 50 musicians and comedians keep passengers entertained with ensembles that include the largest orchestra at sea (16 pieces) as well as the first at-sea performance of \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d complete with flying monkeys. There\u2019s even a resident golden retriever, Rover, dubbed the Chief Dog Officer, who is still a puppy and appears on her own schedule alongside a dedicated handler.
\nThe buzz is real \u2013 and so is the blowback
\nLong before it arrived in Miami, social media images of Icon of the Seas generated online buzz from eager vacationers as well as heavily polarized opinions about the over-the-top ship, in particular about the potential environmental impact of such a large ship.<\/p>\n

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said Icon of the Seas is 24% more energy efficient than required for ships designed today. The company plans to introduce a net-zero ship by 2035.<\/p>\n

The ship is Royal Caribbean\u2019s first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Not everyone is impressed with that choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoyal Caribbean\u2019s decision to use LNG is their biggest climate blunder,\u201d said Bryan Comer, marine program director at The International Council on Clean Transportation.
\n\u201cLNG is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its emitted. The Icon of the Seas uses engines that release methane to the atmosphere in the form of \u2018methane slip.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The organization says LNG can only \u201csignificantly contribute to achieving climate goals\u201d when methane-slip and other factors are greatly reduced or eliminated, which the council says is still a major challenge.<\/p>\n

The ship\u2019s parabolic bow \u2014 a first for Royal Caribbean \u2014 is designed to help a ship move more easily through the water and does help reduce fuel consumption and emissions, Comer said, adding that it also helps the cruise line\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

The ship produces more than 93% of its fresh water through reverse osmosis. And Icon of the Seas also has the brand\u2019s first microwave-assisted pyrolysis waste-to-energy system (MAP), used to convert onboard waste to gas that the ship can use as energy.<\/p>\n

High interest from avid cruisers<\/h2>\n

Interest in the massive ship is undeniably high among cruise devotees.<\/p>\n

Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of\u00a0Cruise Critic<\/a>, told CNN Travel that Icon of the Seas is the most researched topic on the cruising website so far in 2024.<\/p>\n

For avid cruisers, McDaniels said, the biggest buzz around Icon of the Seas is the fact that it\u2019s the first in an entirely new class of ship\u00a0<\/strong>for Royal Caribbean, which last debuted a new class of ship, Quantum Class, in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking about all that\u2019s changed in cruise \u2013 and travel \u2013 in the past 10 years, there are so many new concepts and options to be excited about onboard,\u201d McDaniels said, calling Icon of the Seas \u201cabsolutely groundbreaking for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up in Royal Caribbean\u2019s Icon Class of ships is Star of the Seas, under construction in Finland and due to debut in August 2025 for Caribbean sailings out of Florida\u2019s Port Canaveral, near Orlando, with similar amenities to Icon of the Seas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unprecedented demand for Icon of the Seas prompted Royal Caribbean to open bookings for Star of the Seas \u2013 Icon\u2019s sister ship \u2013 three months earlier than originally planned,\u201d said a company spokesperson.<\/p>\n

New ship \u2018neighborhoods\u2019<\/h2>\n

Icon of the Seas\u2019 eight different onboard \u201cneighborhoods\u201d are designed to appeal to cruising\u2019s multigenerational demographics as well as passengers with different interests, including families with young kids and adults-only travelers.<\/p>\n

Offerings within them range from Royal Caribbean\u2019s first swim-up bar at sea, Swim & Tonic, in the ship\u2019s Chill Island neighborhood, to The Lemon Post in a new family-focused neighborhood called Surfside, where guests can order mommy-and-me and daddy-and-me cocktails and mocktails within steps of a kiddie splash area.<\/p>\n

While Royal Caribbean was already known for its onboard neighborhoods, which guests can bounce between, McDaniels said Icon of the Seas has leveled up the concept on this ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a doubt, this ship was created to compete directly with resorts on land, particularly those that cater to families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The new ship\u2019s most anticipated offering for families might be Surfside on Deck 7. Geared toward families with kids 6 and younger, it centers around a Seussian-looking carousel for which kids made the ultimate call on the ride-on characters (a rainbow-toothed narwhal and a pool floatie-style flamingo, among other whimsical creatures).<\/p>\n

\n
\"Surfside<\/picture><\/div>\n
\n
Surfside Eatery features a new buffet for families.<\/span><\/div>\n

Michael Verdure\/Royal Caribbean International<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The carousel sits steps from several family-friendly dining options, including a buffet, snack window and new specialty restaurant, Pier 7, with all-day brunch and where kids younger than 12 eat free. And two water play areas for young kids are also nearby and right next to the Water\u2019s Edge pool, where parents can ostensibly keep an eye on their children while also relaxing with ocean views.<\/p>\n

For the 18 and up crowd, another new onboard neighborhood, The Hideaway, takes its inspiration from international beach club scenes, with a multilevel terrace with uninterrupted ocean views and the first suspended infinity pool at sea, cantilevered 135 feet (41 meters) above the ocean.<\/p>\n

The ship\u2019s features will be particularly impressive to people who have never cruised before, said Rob Clabbers, founder and president of\u00a0Q Cruise + Travel, a Virtuoso agency in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Icon of the Seas, the clients that are most excited are families with younger children,\u201d said Clabbers, pointing to features such as the water park, pools and a surf simulator.<\/p>\n

The ship is also generating interest from clients who aren\u2019t necessarily traveling with kids, he said, especially the Suite neighborhood, which is an area that feels like a ship-within-a-ship reserved for suite guests only. Royal Caribbean\u2019s largest Suite neighborhood to date, it spans four decks and has its own private sun deck, pool and hot tub as well as two exclusive restaurants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entertainment, the amenities, the restaurants, the quality of shows and variety of activities \u2013 and even the design of the interior and exterior spaces \u2013 is simply mind boggling for those who are used to staying in most land-based resorts,\u201d Clabbers said. \u201cAnd that doesn\u2019t even include the things you can do while ashore.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 40 onboard restaurants, bars and lounges include 21 options new to Icon of the Seas, among them pay-extra offerings such as a walk-up sushi window at Izumi, specialty restaurant Empire Supper Club (with Wagyu ribeye and butter-poached langoustine on an eight-course menu that costs $200 per person) and a walk-up Champagne window at Bubbles in the ship\u2019s Central Park area.<\/p>\n

The 28 different kinds of onboard accommodations range from 157-square-foot interior plus cabins, which start at $3,600 per week for two people, to the three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse, with its own wraparound deck, cinema, outdoor hot tub and spiraling slide to ride between decks that averages $100,000 per week and can accommodate eight people.<\/p>\n

A marvel of engineering and big aspirations<\/h2>\n

Impressive feats of engineering are on display everywhere on Icon of the Seas.<\/p>\n

The 82-foot-tall steel and glass AquaDome crowns part of the top of the ship, housing a theater where high-divers perform, a 55-foot-tall water curtain feature, a bar and Royal Caribbean\u2019s first food hall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Royal Caribbean\u2019s new, nearly 1,200-foot-long and 250,800 gross ton Icon of the Seas towers like a multilayered birthday cake with frosting on the top in the form of seven swimming pools, a whimsical striped carousel, groves of tropical greenery and twisting waterslides in green, pink, blue and orange. When the $2 billion ship sailed into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}