Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s most over-the-top cruise ship, will be the world’s largest when it welcomes passengers aboard in January 2024.
Royal Caribbean ’s new , over - the - top sail ship , Icon of the Seas , wo n’t welcomeits first make up passengersuntil sometime in January , 2024 . In fact , the company wo n’t even receive the finished vas from its shipbuilder until this fall , with construction tempo at around 75 % as of mid - May . And yet they recently welcome Thrillist aboard the incomplete Icon for a super - rare and super - early first look .
As you ’ll see in the video and series of picture below , it was a duty tour unlike any other .
Icon of the Seas — the first of three ship in Royal Caribbean ’s new Icon social class — is already an absolute behemoth . It will be the large sail ship in the globe , surpassing the already prodigious current title bearer , Wonder of the Seas ( from Royal Caribbean ’s Oasis grade of ships ) , in gross tonnage duty , a measuring of a ship ’s interior volume .
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When dispatch , she ’ll measure 1,198 base long and boast 18 passenger deck ( 20 in sum ) , seven pools , nine maelstrom , and six book - wear out waterslides , include the tallest drop slide ever on a sail ship . The ship will have capacity for 2,350 crew members and 5,610 passengers with its 2,805 nation suite at three-fold occupancy ( 7,600 passenger maximal ) , according to the troupe .
Most of the ship ’s exterior was covered with protective tarps at the time of the tour , which emphasize the great mountain of employment yet to be done . At this item , the special nature of the shipyard hitch — the ability to get an up - close firsthand look at the very much unfinished sail ship — start to set in big sentence .
Tim Klauda , Royal Caribbean ’s VP of Product Development , led our hitch through the inner ear of unfinished halls and decks of the ship , many of which were partly block by cables , scaffolding with downhearted clearance ( my hard had definitely come in ready to hand a few time ) , and workers on ladder .
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More than 3,000 workers were on and around the ship on the day of our go . There were construction hatful , sounds , and smells around every street corner — Crane lifting enormous piles of metal , a cacophony of clanking and Bell , and the smoky metallic exhaust fumes of a fresh weld . No throngs of people at the kitty , or delivery - perfect Broadway musical performances , or mouth-watering buffet smells overload on this sail experience . Not yet at least .
See that purple Caribbean logo on the side of the ship ? You ca n’t really order yet , but that ’s where a new attracter dubbed Crown ’s Edge will be located .
Here ’s the eyeshot from where you enter Crown ’s Edge . Thrill seekers will strap in and step over the side of the ship on this part skywalk , part circle trend , part heart approach 154 foot above the crash moving ridge .
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The ship ’s bridge — or cockpit , if you will — would normally boast some of the best views aboard , but as you’re able to see , it was n’t quite ready for the skipper and crew . The windows , for example , were covered with protective panel and a lurid issue of wires and cables hung from the ceiling . Fun fact : Icon of the Seas is built with enough cablegram to wrap around the planet double , according to Sascha Lang , VP of Architectural & Design , who also led our hitch .
Icon offers 28 way option , including new room for families of three to five and beyond . Among the offerings are the Family Infinite Balcony , Surfside Family Suite , and even a three - story Ultimate Family Townhouse that will admit a slide from the second floor .
Hundreds of upcountry and exterior balcony way like the one shown above will feature an extension that transforms into a balcony . With the pushing of a button , the top half of the window slide down to create an opened air space with the mediate frame of the windowpane serve as the rail ( you ’ll have to imagine ocean view instead of that white tarp ) . This will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to have this type of balcony , though it has appear on ships from other brand like Celebrity .
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Like with many other finishes , the stateroom bath were upgraded over what you ’ll find on haven class ships . I found that this shower , while still very much crammed into a small cruise ship privy , is much adult than the one I had in my way on Allure of the Seas .
As purple Caribbean execs explicate along the tour , many of the ship ’s stateroom are pre - assembled and fabricate elsewhere in the shipyard , then lifted and slot into the ship . The tour take the air by dozens of rooms on several decks of the ship that were still empty cuticle .
This is a thought of what will eventually be Central Park , one of eight area of the ship that Royal Caribbean touch to as " neighborhoods , " each with a distinctive vibration and set of conveniences to cater to various police cruiser ' interests and needs . Central Park is one of three " evolutionary " neighborhoods from previous ships that are returning on Icon with updates and upgrades . For example , Central Park will be the novel base of Izumi , the company ’s beloved Japanese eating place chain , along with a commodious walk - up sushi windowpane .
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There will also be five all - novel , " revolutionary " neighborhoods across the ship : Thrill Island , Chill Island , Surfside , The Hideaway , and AquaDome .
Here ’s another view of a portion of Central Park , look down at the close together succeeding location of Izumi from one of the upper decks of the ship .
The key affair to know aboutallneighborhoods on Icon is that they ’ve been designed to be more connected and sort of menstruation into each other so it ’s easy for patrol car to take the air from one to another . As Klauda explained , you — and everyone else on the ship — don’t have to schlep to the same two lift bank and staircases at either end of the ship to get around .
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" lift are something all of our guests hate — they hate our elevators , " he enjoin . " On this ship , you ’ve get lots of staircases and other thing between the neighborhoods . I can tolerate in Central Park , take the air down through the eye of it , I can be in the Royal Promenade , I can walk out to Surf Side , I can go back down through the other part of the Promenade , I can get into the gambling casino — all without ever seeing a lift . Which , if you ’re a cruiser , you know that ’s where you see the most people and they ’re exigency points . "
Our tour guides would n’t tell us on the dot what the above space — with in high spirits cosmetic ceiling and zero window , flop off Central Park — would be at the time , but now that the society has released more details on the dining alternative aboard Icon , it seem to be the swanky , eight - course tasting carte restaurant , Empire Supper Club . The concept is described as " an prodigal dark out with a taste of old New York , " agree to the troupe . A three - art object band will total to the vibraphone as guests dine on elevated American cuisine .
Along with take back favorites like Giovanni ’s Italian Kitchen & Bar , Dining Room , and the aforementioned Izumi ( among others ) , there ’s a foresightful listing of all - new dining choice debut on Icon — AquaDome Market ( Royal Caribbean ’s first solid food manor hall ) , Celebration Table ( a 12 - seat VIP stain for special occasions ) , and Pier 7 ( all - day brunch located in the Surfside locality ) , to name just a few .
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And , obviously , you ’ll find plenty of billet for drinks and night life throughout the ship . Speaking of , we still have n’t quite recover from the name of the brand ’s first - ever float up saloon , revealed last October : Swim & Tonic .
Icon would n’t be a megaship without a ridiculous portfolio of water slides snaking over the upper pack of cards . There were only a few section of slides installed at the time of our visit , but if you hear severely enough , you could already hear children screaming .
The slides are part of the Category 6 waterpark , which sweep a bit over 17,000 square foot of the Thrill Island neighbourhood on decks 16 and 17 . Here are a few of their telling stats :
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go out the water slides in progress was exciting , but much of what we find on the turn was the plain internal walkway and halls .
Another pot you do n’t see every day on a sail : notes and doodles on the stateroom doors . It ’s unclear if the above is supposed to be a sad cat or a daimon , but if you ever terminate up last out in cabin numeral 12172 , it might be something to think about .
There were also a shocking number of other sort of doodles drawn all over the ship , including the freight lift , which made for many too - well-to-do jest along our journey . " Icon of the Seas ? More like Phallus of the Seas , amirite , " said someone who definitely was not me .
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The top gem of Icon — it ’s literally above the bridge at the front of the ship — is the AquaDome . During the Clarence Day , it will be a space to cool with a bite or a potable and savour its 220 - degree ocean views and 55 foot - tall falls , but at night it becomes an entertainment hub with acrobatics - filled water appearance enhanced with all variety of bell and whistle that are too nerdy to heel here .
At 82 feet tall and 164 ft broad , the dome had to be constructed in another areas of the shipyard and carefully lowered onto the front of the ship . worker beat back down the outside to wreak on the glass as we walk through — just another thing you do n’t see on a cruise every day .
" Everything about Icon is just unbelievable . " That ’s how Michael Bayley , Royal Caribbean International ’s president and CEO , summarise up the ship at a insistency group discussion during the turn .
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" We think it ’s going to be the best sept vacation in the human beings , " he articulate . " All of the vim and time that ’s locomote into creating this ship is just mind - blowing . As I walk around the ship , I ’m delighted and unrestrained , and I trust you have the same feelings as you expend time looking at the ship . "
beguiled and excited would be understatements , of grade . The overwhelming feeling I had as we walked aside from the ship was patently awe — and not the character of veneration that ’s expected when you witness the ship ’s immense size and flashy magnet . Instead , I finally value the truly absurd amount of time , effort , and resources that go into building a be adrift holiday machine of this size after experiencing it firsthand . Cruising will never be the same for me .
majestic Caribbean and the ethnic music at Meyer Turku have made significant advance on the ship over the last few weeks since the tour . Protective wrapper is coming down , lifeboats are being installed , and extra water playground slide section are extend up . The ship is expected to enter sea trials soon . And pending any unanticipated issues or delays , Royal Caribbean will take delivery of the ship in October . Her maiden ocean trip , a seven - night Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Miami , is slat for January 27 , 2024 .
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
