When cruising is Iconic
18 December 2023/ Icon of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world, heralds a new era for cruise goers /
The biggest cruise ship in the world has set sail. On November 27th, after more than 7 years of dreaming and 900 days of design and construction by thousands of experts, the Icon of the Seas was officially delivered to Royal Caribbean International at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
The age of gargantuan cruise ships is in full swing, and the Icon does more than just keep up. To give just a few figures, this ship is 365m long, with a gross tonnage of 250,800, 20 decks (18 of which are open to guests), and a maximum capacity of 7,600 guests plus 2,500 crew. But it’s more than the numbers that make it big: the cruise line says it will be “the first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation.” Whether people are traveling as a family, couple or friends, the Icon offers a full spectrum of top-level favorites to make the holiday enjoyable for everyone. Across eight neighborhoods, there are adrenaline-pumping thrills, unrivaled ways to chill, more than 40 choices to dine and drink, cutting-edge entertainment across four signature stages, and more.
One of the neighborhoods is the Aquadome, a glass and steel structure with 360° ocean views that is a tranquil oasis by day and vibrant hot spot at night, and offers a 16.7m tall water curtain and the next-level AquaTheater, as well as a number of restaurants and bars. The Aquadome is a feat of engineering in itself: it is the single largest glass and steel structure ever to be lifted onto a cruise ship.
The best neighborhood for thrill-seekers is the aptly named Thrill Island, which features Category 6, the largest waterpark at sea. The area includes six record-breaking slides; Crown’s Edge, that is part skywalk, part ropes course and part thrill ride on which adventurers swing 47m above the ocean; the FlowRider simulator; the Lost Dunes minigolf course; and more.
The Icon features more water on board than ever before across no less than seven pools, six record-breaking waterslides and more, Four of the swimming pools are in the Chill Island neighborhood alone: here guests can find, for instance, Royal Caribbean’s first swim-up bar at sea, as well as the largest pool at sea. The ship also includes the first suspended infinity pool at sea, inside the Hideaway area. There’s also the new Surfside neighborhood, made for young families, with a Water’s Edge pool for grownups and the Splashaway Bay aquapark for kids.
Besides the Suite Neighborhood, spanning four decks, two favorite areas complete the lineup: the Royal Promenade, with its more than 15 restaurants, bars and lounges, plus floor-to-ceiling ocean views made possible by The Pearl, the world’s largest kinetic art sculpture; and the open-air Central Park, where thousands of real, lush plants line the way to the many ways to dine, drink and be entertained.
The Icon is also Royal Caribbean’s first ship that can be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). It features dual-fuel engines, a lineup of energy efficiency initiatives, and the first waste-to-energy plant at sea, making…
Continue reading Games & Parks Industry December 2023, page 62
Photos Courtesy: Royal Caribbean Int’l.
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