Royal Caribbean has released details on a new class of cruise ships “Icon of the Seas” that will be the travel industry’s first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation.
From the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure, with Icon, every kind of family and adventurer can experience their version of the ultimate family vacation.
The cruise line took Icon of the Seas out for its first sea trials last week venturing out from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, where it has been under construction for the last two years.
The 20-deck, 250,800-gross-ton, 1,198-foot-long cruise ship surpasses the size of Oasis-class ships like Wonder of the Seas and is set to arrive in Miami late this year before it begins sailing with customers in January 2024.
The line said more than 450 specialists spent four days earlier this month running through tests of its main engines, bow and propellers, noise and vibration levels ahead of a second set of planned sea trials.
The ship, which got its first taste of water when it was floated out in December 2021, is back in the shipyard now, and work will continue on interior spaces up through its arrival to Florida in the fall.
The cruise line plans a series of preview cruises in December and January ahead of its first regular itineraries that begin on Jan. 28.
It’s the first of three announced ships in the Icon class with the next two set to be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
Similar to the five existing Oasis-class ships with one on the way, the Port Canaveral-bound Utopia of the Seas, Icon of the Seas is carved up into neighborhoods. The most visible of those is the new AquaDome, a massive 363-ton engineering feat that sits at the top and front of the ship.
Icon of the Seas is about 15,000 gross tons larger than the current world’s largest cruise ship Wonder of the Seas but has less passenger capacity based on double occupancy of 5,610 compared with Wonder’s 5,734.
The size of the cabins and suites, though, among 28 categories gives Icon a maximum capacity of 7,600, which exceeds Wonder’s 7,084.
Icon of the Seas will sail year-round alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages from PortMiami.