Icon of the Seas review: What's it like on the world's largest cruise ship?

Table Of Content

• The lighter, brighter Royal Promenade is the best in the fleet
• Stays with views for days
• Central Park
• Icon Of The Seas
• Icon of the Seas offers 28 different stateroom categories to choose from, 14 of which are brand-new
• A newstay-all-day neighborhood just for families
• Icon Of The Seas - user reviews and comments

The centerpiece is the AquaTheater, where the vertigo-inducing Aqua Show takes place. But other venues -- like Hooked Seafood, Celebration Table, AquaDome Marketplace and the weirdly cool Overlook Pods hangout areas – also bring AquaDome to life. The ship also comes with a higher price tag than any of the other vessels in Royal Caribbean’s fleet.

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The lighter, brighter Royal Promenade is the best in the fleet

Unlike on all previous RCI ships with a Royal Promenade, Icon OTS' Royal Promenade has a dog statue instead of a classic car/vintage automobile. The 2-level wellness complex (decks 12-14) consists of Vitality Spa, Vitality Cafe (open for breakfast and lunch), and To Dry For (blow-dry bar for quick beauty fixes/hairstyling, with a beverage service). Like all RCI boats, Icon also has a FlowRider (surfing simulator positioned aft-starboard on top deck), an island-themed Mini-Golf Course (Lost Dunes) and Rock-Climbing Walls (at Adrenaline Peak), Ice-Rink Arena (Absolute Zero/fleet's largest). ICON ships also have a new (patented design) crew cabin type with an L-shaped bed layout.

Stays with views for days

From expansive balconies that invite the sea breeze to our most over-the-top family accommodations — our range of spacious rooms is designed with family comfort in mind. Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup.

Central Park

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Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? The next step in the journey to “Making an Icon” was to translate all those pie-in-the-sky ideas and guest needs into a strategic framework with five key pillars.

Don't miss Royal Bling in the AquaDome, where you can buy Royal Caribbean logo jewelry, including a bejeweled chalice that costs $100,000 and comes with a free lifetime drinks package on all Royal Caribbean ships. Social 020 is hidden between Playmakers and the Absolute Zero ice skating rink. It has gaming pods, hangout nooks and comfy seating, and foosball tables.

The 1,772-square-foot suite is comprised of three stories and has a private "backyard" that leads directly to Surfside. Whether you want to watch the ship pull into port or want clear views of the horizon while sipping on a cocktail, you will also find some of the best ocean views onboard here. There’s no shortage of ways to score unbelievable ocean views from your room.

A newstay-all-day neighborhood just for families

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts.

Icon of the Seas review: What's it like on the world's largest cruise ship?

The walk-up Champagne venue, Bubbles, features mimosas, bellinis and other bubbly-based drinks. The Trellis Bar is also back, now with an extra-fee food menu to accompany your beverage of your choice. Icon of the Seas takes Royal Caribbean's drinking and dining game to the next level. The line added new-to-the-brand restaurants to ensure that every neighborhood had a food venue easily accessible, with more quick-service eateries and options for families. 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.

As of 2024 this class is the largest cruise ship class ever constructed. Icon OTS' first engine (No 2) was powered for the first time on March 15, 2023, at 11 am (10 am UTC). Also in March was published the "The Top Deck Challenge" video about the construction works related to open deck and water installations, including the top deck's facilities (waterpark/slides and the swimming pools). RCI's ICON ships have a 4-deck Crew Neighborhood (housing 2350 people) featuring redesigned (new/patented) crew cabins with an L-shaped bed layout. Chill Island is the ship's three-deck pool area with multiple pools and hot tubs situated along the sides of the ship for stunning ocean views.

From lush tropical jungles in Roatán to Mayan ruins in Cozumel — plus the tallest waterslide in North America at our game-changing private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay — there’s never been more exciting opportunities for bolder bonding. Brace yourself for Category 6, the largest waterpark at sea with six record-breaking slides. And the Pressure Drop, the first open freefall waterslide on a cruise.

In total, 313 cabins and suites are listed specifically as family-focused accommodations, though many regular room types can sleep more than two guests. I loved the extra cabin space and the additional sitting area facing a window. However, we rarely opened the window because it messed with the entire room's climate control as heat (or, in my case, chilly breezes) flooded the cabin. Plus, noise from other decks, like the poolside DJ, also infiltrated the entire room.

” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends.

You might wonder if Icon of the Seas' fares are all-inclusive — they are not. The fares include meals in the main dining room, buffet and a handful of other complimentary restaurants; most entertainment and activities; use of the kids club; and basic drinks like standard coffee and tea, milk and select juices at breakfast. You will pay extra for soda and alcoholic beverages, specialty restaurants, spa treatments and select activities.

Near Aquatheater's entrance is Royal Bling (Retail Shop) selling Royal Caribbean-logoed/RCI-branded merchandise (keepsakes/jewelry rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc). Among the store's merchandise is a US$100,000 gold-adorned chalice, the owner of which will enjoy unlimited onboard beverages for life. The suites are in categories (high to low grade) Family Townhouse, Royal Loft, Icon Loft, Owner's, Infinite Grand, Grand, Sunset Corner, Surfside Family, Sunset, Junior, and Panoramic (with windows).

Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now?