“Like a sore thumb” isn’t a very accurate analogy. Nothing about Icon of the Seas seems particularly painful or as if suddenly caught in a slammed door. But as you approach it from mainland Florida, gliding over the water at the Port Miami Bridge, then passing other maritime giants docked at the city’s various cruise terminals, one thing is certain. There, at the other end of the road, stands out Royal Caribbean’s newest ship.
It also goes up; their funnels project into the sky; colorful water slides visible on the upper deck. But mainly it stands out, to the point where I wonder how the “small” ships anchored in the canal will get around the canal.
It may as well be so. Icon of the Seas has generated so much publicity that it looks like it’s been afloat for months, perhaps even years, despite being released at the end of January now.
Mostly because of its size. After all, this is now the largest cruise ship in the world. And the statistics are remarkable. Despite all the self-amused comments on social media about the “human lasagna” sparked by initial drawings of the ship showing 20 decks stacked like sheets of pasta (if necessary), the ship’s scale heralds a formidable engineering feat.
If you squeezed it perpendicularly into the London soil, its length of 365 meters (1,197 ft) would dwarf the Shard in terms of height. If you opened its doors on the banks of the Thames it could host almost a Premier League football fan. With a maximum capacity of 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew, the space is well below the capacity of AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium (11,307). The alleged cost? Just $1.65bn (£1.3bn).
Stepping aboard the ship only enhances the sense of dimension. Icon of the Seas is so big that its name is written on the door of the Royal Caribbean terminal, like that of a movie star at a red carpet premiere.
Inside, guests subject themselves to airport-standard check-in procedures (all passport screenings, x-ray machines, and security screenings). It’s not a carelessly quick process. But the tail still hums with a noticeable buzz.
“We booked this eight months ago,” says an excited voice behind me; An American family’s dizzying conversation with their young children. “We definitely can’t wait.” He adjusts his designer sunglasses, which slide down his nose in excitement. It is the father who speaks.
However, it still looks like this turmoil will evaporate once we get on board. Everything is marked. An army of staff wearing branded orange T-shirts are on hand to give instructions. Elevators arranged in groups of nine are no less useful. Claim your deck via one of several touch screens, and the screen instantly responds to the letter A to I of the portal you need to retrieve. Even though I’m on deck 14, I’m in my cabin just five minutes after transit. ship threshold. Being great doesn’t have to be synonymous with being amazing.
Remarkably, Royal Caribbean was willing to downplay, if not exactly downplay, the Icon’s unprecedented size, then refrain from emphasizing it as the sole defining feature. About the ship’s facilities, it consists of seven separate swimming pools (claimed to be a record); More than 40 restaurants (serving everything from sushi and steak to sandwiches and snacks), bars and dining areas; The ability of the ship to recycle “waste” heat from the engines and convert it into onboard electricity.
But there’s also a bullish trend in the air, driven by satisfaction at the realization of a major project (and undoubtedly a dose of post-pandemic relief). “When we sailed to Miami on Icon of the Seas a week ago, we went in very loudly, without apologies,” Royal Caribbean president Michael Bayley said at a small media conference. “We put $100,000 worth of speakers on the side of the ship and woke up the city. “We stopped the traffic.”
Even leaving the exaggeration aside, the obvious confidence doesn’t stop there. In December, football superstar Lionel Messi (who, not coincidentally, now plays for Inter Miami in the US, captaining Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022) was once what might be called the “godmother” of the ship It was announced. The situation was simply described as “The symbol of the symbol.”
This confident spirit permeates the ship’s departure; a 10-minute farewell fireworks display left on a barge off Miami Beach; Sunset begins before dusk, a gunpowder fantasy somewhat diminished by the fact that various explosive bursts of red, green and gold are somehow lost in the orange sky.
The spectacle causes forklift drivers navigating between shipping containers on the adjacent dock to shrug their shoulders and say, “I’m too busy,” but to do draw a large crowd to the promenade on the other side of the harbour. When the Icon finally steps out into the Atlantic and into the night – heading for Royal Caribbean’s “private island” CocoCay in the Bahamas, it does so to audible cheers and applause from the appreciative audience at South Pointe Park.
Despite all the signage on board, it’s easy to get lost, or at least lose yourself, on the ship and its eight different “neighborhoods.” Even if you theoretically know the layout. Last May, I previewed the Icon of the Seas, which was heading to Finland and is still under construction, at the Meyer shipyard in Turku. The flashback is a bit unnerving. Even though I find myself on what turns out to be the same ship, I’m somehow excited by its transition from the forested Northern backdrop to the glow of Florida sunshine; like being able to discover the inevitably fully polished areas that were worked on eight months ago. .
So I’m walking around feeling pretty excited about how much has been packed into Icon of the Seas without ever feeling cramped. Central Park is a case in point: although it’s right in the heart of the ship on Deck 8, it’s an open-air oasis open to the sky, with restaurants and bars sheltered in the shade of trees and foliage.
Elsewhere on the Royal Promenade’s mall street (on Deck 5), the “Pearl” offers tech wizardry; Covered in 3,600 “kinetic tiles,” it’s a massive ball of white light and soft sound that’s part walk-in art installation, part purring comfort blanket.
Above the bow, the Aquadome is an entertainment zone of true creativity. The “AquaTheater” inside is not a simple stage, but a mini-arena filled with water, where the Aqua Action show takes place in the evenings, where acrobats, gymnasts and daredevils (some of them former Olympians) dive from high boards or swing and swirl in harnesses. , flowing like a waterfall from the ceiling.
But what’s most notable is how smooth the ride is. Cuddled up in my cabin, I hardly notice the January waves of the Atlantic during my first night’s sleep. By morning, the ocean is in an unpleasant mood, but it can no longer seem to disturb the camel floating above it.
The white horses are especially clearly visible from the bridge, which is the best spot in the house. Here, Henrik Loy, who has worked on the cruise ship since 1997, surveys the landscape with all the calm and fortitude you would expect from a highly experienced Norwegian sailor. “I am very proud to be the captain of the Icon of the Seas,” he says, barely taking his eyes off the empty horizon before him. The Atlantic continues to rumble beyond the reinforced glass; but for now, it looks like Royal Caribbean’s newest and biggest baby is destined for a trouble-free arrival into the world.