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It also has its own landing craft on board to bring people ashore in remote locations as well as kayaks and even submarines for exploring (the latter being something that is relatively rare on cruise vessels of any type). Designed to hold just 378 passengers, Viking Octantis is the line's first "expedition" cruise ship — a type of cruise ship specifically designed to take travelers to the most off-the-beaten-path parts of the world, including Antarctica and the Arctic. Fast-growing Viking has rolled out more than 70 new river cruise ships and oceangoing vessels since its founding in 1997. I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note.
Wonder of the Seas
Other stand-out features include The Dome, an entertainment venue that takes inspiration from the scenery of Santorini, and which offers a pool by day and shows by night. Four of the ship's seven pools will be found in the three-deck Chill Island pool area, with plenty of ocean views from the watery play spaces. Among the pools is Royal Caribbean's first swim-up bar; another is what Royal is claiming to be the largest pool at sea.
Enhancing the family vacation experience
Icon of the Seas will have 28 cabin and suite types to suit every type of traveler, including the aforementioned family cabins, inside cabins with extra-large walk-in closets and panoramic ocean-view rooms in the AquaDome. Icon of the Seas will also be the first ship in the cruise line’s fleet to run on liquefied natural gas and fuel cells, which are similar to batteries but do not need to be recharged. Water is the main byproduct of fuel cells—which combine oxygen and hydrogen to produce energy—which should help the ship reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. As Jalopnik’s Ryan Erik King writes, it’s the size of five Titantics. More specifically, Icon of the Seas measures 1,198 feet long—nearly a quarter of a mile—and has a gross tonnage of 250,800. All that space means it can accommodate 5,600 guests and 2,350 crew members.
Icon of the Seas offers 28 different stateroom categories to choose from, 14 of which are brand-new
Icon of the Seas marks not only a big deal for the cruise line but also the cruise industry. It’s the first of the newest class of ship from Royal Caribbean (Icon class) that promises to pack more things onboard to do, see, and experience than ever before. "Every time I see a picture of the Icon of the Seas cruise ship I am filled with an intense dread," one person said.
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Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway.
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But compared to the rest of my mediocre meals on Icon of the Seas — including dinner at a specialty restaurant — my complimentary pork pita wrap from the food hall's Mediterranean-inspired stall was admittedly pretty decent. Thrill Island is one of eight neighborhood that will be found onboard Icon of the Seas. It is not the only new concept, either, as families with young children will love the brand-new Surfside Neighborhood. While Thrill Island is chalked full of brand-new experiences, the cruise line is also bringing back some fan-favorites, including the FlowRider surf simulator and rock wall. Royal Caribbean wants to draw in adrenaline junkies with Thrill Island onboard their newest class of ships. Both of the ships boast status as some of the most environmentally conscious ships ever to take on the high seas.
MSC Seascape
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again. It's the first show-at-sea I've seen with a waterfall and nine-foot-tall robotic arms, and so far, it's one of my favorites. The ship's riff on Broadway-approved "Wizard of Oz" — 16-piece live orchestra and flying bed included — delighted me, a hater of most musicals. There's no need to grab coffee before harnessing up for the part-zipling, part-agility Crown's Edge course.
New stateroom categories make their way to the ship, including infinite balconies (where the wall is a sliding window that opens to essentially make the entire cabin a balcony). And the Royal Promenade gets an update with The Pearl, a new art sculpture that you literally walk through that serves as a centerpiece. "The enthusiasm and excitement for Icon are undeniable in more ways than one," Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said in October. Drinking spots will include an English-style pub serving beer made on board as well as a new gin bar concept, a first for MSC Cruises. Like the Oasis Class ships, MSC World Europa will be able to hold nearly 7,000 passengers with all berths filled — 6,762 to be exact.
Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams.
World's largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, begins its maiden voyage after christening from Lionel Messi
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? There's a reason Royal Caribbean's new mega-cruise ship is only operating seven-night sailings.
Under development since 2017, Norwegian Prima will be the first of six sister vessels scheduled to debut between 2022 and 2027 that collectively will be known as the Prima Class. Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.
Attractions include a six-slide waterpark, seven full-size swimming pools, an aqua park for families, a swim up bar, exclusive dining experiences, arcades, live music and shows. At roughly 250,000 gross tons, the ship can carry up to 7,600 passengers at full capacity. In total, it’s roughly 6-8% larger than Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships, which had set the market for the largest cruise ships on the planet. Like so many of the new cruise ships on our list, Viking Vela is slated to be its cruise line’s largest cruise ship yet. The 10th Viking Cruises ship, Viking Vela is an adults-only vessel that channels the same Viking styles and class that you can find on all its sister ships. Icon of the Seas has 20 total decks, 7 swimming pools and 8 “neighborhoods,” or distinct areas with entertainment and dining.
Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics. Royal Caribbean’s leaders say they view liquified natural gas as a “transitional fuel,” and that they hope to continue to reduce the environmental impact of their ships moving forward. Liquefied natural gas, meanwhile, is a controversial energy source that involves cooling natural gas to a liquid state to make it easier to transport. The liquid version is “actually worse than ordinary gas,” writes the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace, who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am.
Icon of the Seas comprises eight neighborhoods, one of which is specifically designed for families with young children. Royal Caribbean is doubling down on the family vacation market, not only trying to attract families that cruise other lines, but land vacationers who never considered a cruise vacation. The 20-deck cruise ship has a maximum capacity for 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members.
"...We spoke to a lot of people about what they wanted to have [and] what they expected to experience," said Bayley. Emily Rodriguez, Senior Product Owner and Product Development, said that they really took into consideration the excitement that they were seeing guests display for their thrilling experiences. They knew that those were the kinds of things that they were looking for. As Disney’s latest and greatest cruise ship, and the sixth in the fleet, Disney Treasure provides all the magic that the cruise line is known for. There’s also the Park19 adventure park that features the first-at-sea roll glider, a ropes course, tilt wall and more adventurous fun to keep the adrenaline pumping. The inaugural sailing will take place on January 27, 2024 from Miami, Florida when Icon of the Seas will sail to the Eastern Caribbean and Royal Caribbean’s private islands of Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.
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