In May we visited the Icon of the Seas by Royal Caribbean at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, an impressive ship that is in its final phase of construction.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 65 – June 2023
Royal Caribbean's Icon class will consist of three ships, and the Icon of the Seas is the first. It is a cruise ship measuring 365 meters in length and 48.5 meters in beam, with 20 decks and a capacity to accommodate a total of 7,514 passengers and 2,350 crew members.
The sight of the world's largest cruise ship wrapped in plastic, like a gift, to keep the exterior work intact, is striking; and so is visiting different decks where hundreds of workers are putting the finishing touches on its interior spaces so that it can begin sailing in January 2024. We met with staff from the various Royal Caribbean teams in Miami who have been visiting Turku since the beginning of construction, coordinating to ensure that all the work is carried out successfully or to make decisions and organize changes during the process.
After just over a year since construction began with the steel cutting and having successfully completed its sea trials this June, the world's largest cruise ship will soon be finished. It is the first ship in Royal Caribbean International's Icon class and the company's most sustainable vessel, featuring fuel cell technology and powered by LNG.
It will also be able to connect to the electrical grid on land and has waste heat recovery systems and a desalination plant, so it will produce 90% of the fresh water used on board. All these advances are leading the company towards a cleaner energy and zero-emissions future, in its commitment to sustainability.
It will be ready by the end of the year and will be inaugurated in Miami at the end of January 2024.
The new ship offers a full range of firsts and attractions, many of them the largest at sea, in eight neighborhoods that offer distinct experiences, entertainment, and places to eat and drink.
Three of them are already familiar to Royal Caribbean passengers: the Royal Promenade, with floor-to-ceiling ocean views and 15 restaurants; Central Park, with natural plants and various dining and entertainment venues; Suite Neighborhood, with three decks and luxurious amenities for suite guests, including private pools and jacuzzis, as well as two exclusive restaurants; and five more neighborhoods, which are a first on the Icon of the Seas: Thrill Island, a water park with six slides, one of them a family slide where four people can ride at once, mini-golf, and rock climbing; Chill Island, with four pools and the company's first swim-up bar at sea and its first frozen cocktail bar; Surfside, with pools, dining options, a carousel, an arcade, and various teen lounges; The Hideaway, with the first infinity pool suspended over the sea; And AquaDome, a place where you can enjoy the views and a waterfall during the day and which becomes the place to be at night, with restaurants, bars and the AquaTheater, with water shows combined with the technology of two large articulated arms, as Nick Weir, senior vice president of entertainment at Royal Caribbean International, explained to us during our visit.
The neighborhoods are connected, so it's very easy to move from one to another, enjoying the different atmospheres with the family or alone, so each family member can find their best adventure.
In addition to seven pools, the Icon of the Seas offers more than forty options of restaurants, bars and venues where you can try cocktails, enjoy live music, play darts, sing karaoke or watch the various shows.
From restaurants to takeaway counters, including Royal Caribbean's first food hall or the exotic Izumi in the Park, open all day with fresh sushi; the eight-course menu at the Empire Supper Club, The Lemon Post in Surfside, with an adult and a children's menu, or the Dueling Pianos, the company's first piano duel bar.
The ship also incorporates new features in crew accommodations, including a new cabin designed and patented by and for them, and their suggestions have also been taken into account for the design of the new family cabins.
On the new Icon of the Seas, the accommodations are special too, offering everything from spacious oceanfront balconies to connecting family suites and new designs for families of three, four, five, and more, such as the Family Infinite Balcony and the Surfside Family Suite, with separate spaces for children and adults, and the three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse, complete with its own white picket fence and mailbox. There are 28 ways to stay and 2,805 staterooms designed for guest comfort.
Icon of the Seas is also the company's most sustainable ship and, among other things, will produce 90% of the fresh water used on board.
The Icon of the Seas will undergo its final sea trials at the end of the year and will then be delivered to Royal Caribbean, ready to set sail on its maiden voyage in January 2024 from Port Miami. Regarding its itineraries, it appears Royal Caribbean has not planned to base it in the Mediterranean, but rather will offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami, visiting the private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas and sailing the Caribbean year-round to destinations such as Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Basseterre, St. Kitts.
Also in 2024, Royal Caribbean International will receive a second new ship, the Utopia of the Seas, of the Oasis class, and two more ships of the Icon class will be launched in 2025 and 2026.
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