My Favorite Amenities on Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas Cruise Ship

icon of the sea cruise

Voted Best Private Island by Travel Weekly readers, it’s a place unlike any other. Since Icon of the Seas is the biggest ship to ever set sail, you won't run out of things to do. In fact, any guest can access any neighborhood onboard Icon of the Seas℠ for free, including Thrill Island, Chill Island, the Royal Promenade, Surfside and the Hideaway.

icon of the sea cruise

The adult-only suspended infinity pool

Meyer Turku also constructed RCI's mega-liners Oasis OTS (2009) and Allure OTS (2010). The vessel's construction officially started on June 14, 2021, with the steel-cutting ceremony (yard/hull number 1400) held at Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku Finland. The ceremony was attended by Richard Fain (RCG's Chairman and CEO), Michael Bayley (RCI's President and CEO), and Tim Meyer (Meyer Turku's CEO).

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescued 14 people adrift in the sea - CBS Miami

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescued 14 people adrift in the sea.

Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

World's biggest LNG-powered cruise vessel Icon of the Seas ignites debate on methane emissions

A slide leads from Deck 8 down to the neighborhood, and the area is mere steps from the Adventure Ocean kids club and Social 020 teen club on Deck 6. The 1,196-foot-long, 20-deck Icon of the Seas is packed with bars, restaurants, and things to do. Any shorter of an itinerary, and you might not have time to experience all it has to offer.

Unique Cruise Experience Extras on Icon of the Seas

The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Has a Full Floor of Luxury Suites—Here’s a Look Inside - Robb Report

The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Has a Full Floor of Luxury Suites—Here’s a Look Inside.

Posted: Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

My preview sailing only had one stop — Perfect Day at CocoCay — where I visited the new Hideaway Beach. Entry to the adults-only beach club includes access to a protected cove surrounded by plenty of loungers, a massive infinity pool with a swim-up bar and a DJ booth, and a variety of bars and restaurants. Icon of the Seas’ true wow factor, however, is arguably found on its upper decks, where the ship’s multigenerational family focus shines brightest. Nevermind that the area is home to multiple pools and more than a dozen bars and eateries; some of Icon of the Seas’ most emblematic attractions are found here. On a beautiful sunny day, head to Splashaway Bay, an aqua park for pint-sized cruisers. It's designed exclusively with tots to tweens in mind and offers plenty of cool interactive water features and mini waterslides just for little ones.

Included with your cruise fare:

Other nightlife options include Spotlight Karaoke for embarrassing guest performances, Music Hall for dancing, Dueling Pianos and Lou's Jazz 'n Blues for live music and Playmakers for watching sports and playing table games. The ship's Vitality Spa on Deck 14 offers salon services for men and women, plus all your favorite spa treatments and an extra-fee thermal suite with heated loungers and aromatherapy showers. The fitness center is separate, located on decks 5 and 6 (though the Deck 5 entrance is off the jogging track that loops that deck). It's a sprawling gym, with space upstairs for fitness classes. Opposite the water park, the new Crown's Edge ropes course is also not a play-all-day, kid-friendly course, like the ones I've tried on Carnival cruise ships and Great Wolf Lodge.

Cruises on Royal Caribbean's newest and largest ship don't come cheap, and the prices have only increased since the ship first went on sale in 2022. Live bands perform at night in The Music Hall on decks 3 and 4 by the casino. The main show, "Aqua Action!" doesn't have a storyline, as far as I could tell, but is meant to push the boundaries of entertainment and wow every audience. You'll witness an aerial pas de deux, dancing robotic arms, crazy high dives and dancing with a lot of splashing.

Settle In For A Spellbinding Visual Feast At Aquadome℠

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques. In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die.

Among the new accommodations are layouts made for families of three, four, five, and more, including the three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse, complete with its own white picket fence and mailbox. Also new are the brand’s first Sunset Corner Suites and Panoramic Ocean Views in AquaDome. The Icon of the Seas will offer 28 different cabin categories which, according to Royal Caribbean, were thoughtfully designed for every type of vacationer. At over 250,000 tons and a capacity of 5,610 guests, the newbuild will be significantly larger than its fleet mate Wonder of the Seas, the 227,625-ton vessel that currently holds the title.

icon of the sea cruise

Central Park

Icon of the Seas will feature an astonishing 28 different ship cabins onboard that guests can choose from. Royal Caribbean has announced that Icon of the Seas will provide the most spacious rooms designed by the cruise line. There will also be a brand-new coffee bar in the AquaDome called Rye & Bean.

Kids can also enjoy a climbing structure and the carousel with its colorful cartoon creatures to ride. Of the nine top Star-tier suites, only one, the Royal Loft, is on other Royal Caribbean ships. Seven of these top accommodations are new Icon Loft Suites, two-deck-high accommodations with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large balcony with a private dining area and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The round ice stage makes it easier for the skaters to use the entire space to get up speed to do jumps and tricks. You'll gasp at the impressive lifts, spins and jumps the skaters can execute on a moving ship. The ship offers a mix of programming from Latin dance classes to liquor tastings, spa seminars, pool games, trivia and more. Check the line's app or the printed Cruise Compass daily newsletter so you don't miss events around the ship. The Adventure Ocean kids club and Social 020 teen lounge, both on Deck 6, are the it spaces for the under-18 crowd.

It will include the line's first swim-up bar, Swim and Tonic, and what Royal Caribbean is claiming is the largest pool at sea. Pools and hot tubs are positioned along the edges of the ship so guests can take in the sea views while soaking in the water. The theater is the marquee attraction within the ship's Deck 15 AquaDome neighborhood — if the draw is not the dome itself.

The cruise line has yet to announce where Icon of the Seas will head after April 2025. At maximum capacity, the brand-new Icon of the Seas will be able to hold nearly 10,000 passengers and crew members. Passengers can pay extra for laundry, pressing and dry cleaning services. Passengers can smoke in Icon of the Seas' casino while playing or in a designated outer area on Deck 17 by the Cloud 17 pool area. Guests can also bring up to a dozen standard cans, bottles or cartons of nonalcoholic drinks such as sodas on board on embarkation day.

Coastal Kitchens is an exclusive restaurant just for suite guests, which will be found in this new neighborhood. A quieter, more serene place can be found in the infinity pool, named Cove Pool, which features in-water loungers. All of the waterslides onboard Icon of the Seas are complimentary. Surfside is a neighborhood dedicated to young families with appeal to kids and adults alike.

At 1,198 feet long, 20 decks tall, and 250,800 gross tonnage, this is indeed a massive ship. With so much space, I (somewhat surprisingly) never felt that the ship was too crowded, but it should be noted that we were sailing at partial capacity. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

Fortunately, the heated water and the adrenaline rush kept me somewhat warm. It helped that there was always a hot tub nearby for a quick defrost. — This is perhaps the most family-friendly ship at sea, with many spaces designed specifically for children.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ithaca Cideries & Cellars Finger Lakes Cider House

Restaurant review: House of Mandi unites Bruins with homey atmosphere, shareable food

How To Get Rid Of Skunks, According To Experts