Thursday, April 25, 2024

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas Ship Review

royal caribbean cruise icon of the seas

The island opened in early 2020 and has been a popular spot for cruisers now that travel is in full swing again. With 28 ways to stay, even the rooms are thoughtfully designed for every type of vacationer. It’s come one, come all with more choices, ocean views and room. When it comes to views, among the best are from the brand’s first Sunset Corner Suites and Panoramic Ocean Views in AquaDome. MIAMI, Oct. 20, 2022 – A new era of vacations starts here.

Where will Icon of the Seas sail from?

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?

The live jazz bar

There are more than 40 bars and restaurants on Icon of the Seas, so on a classic seven-night sailing, it would be remarkable if you made it to all of them. For seated dinners, the three-story Main Dining Room offers both reserved and anytime dining, rotating its menu nightly; the buffet-style Windjammer Café is a more casual affair, but it, too, changes up its dinner offerings each night. Suite guests can dine at two additional complimentary restaurants in their private neighborhood, and all guests can choose to book specialty dining at a surcharge. Unfortunately I wasn't able to dine at the star premium dining venue — the new Empire Supper Club, an elegant affair for date night with live music — but that's definitely the one that intrigued me most.

royal caribbean cruise icon of the seas

Cabins and suites on Icon of the Seas

Any shorter of an itinerary, and you might not have time to experience all it has to offer. Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs.

Royal Caribbean Competing Against Vegas and Orlando with Icon of the Seas - Skift Travel News

Royal Caribbean Competing Against Vegas and Orlando with Icon of the Seas.

Posted: Thu, 01 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

What Are the Royal Caribbean Icon-Class Ships?

First ship in the fleet to have a two-story Coastal Kitchen restaurant. This restaurant is reserved exclusively for suite guests. With over 20 places to dine on the ship, Royal Caribbean hopes Icon of the Seas will deliver the best in dining yet. Eleven of them will be complimentary, while nine will incur an additional fee.

Thrills

"On the all new Icon of the Seas, you don't have to choose between watching the big game and playing in the casino. More screens means more entertainment, everywhere you look." More than 82% of all rooms onboard Icon of the Seas will accommodate 3 or more guests, and more than 70% of all rooms onboard Icon of the Seas will have a balcony. In addition, there will be free programming all day, including trivia, themed events, parades and more. Dedicated buffet in the Surfside neighborhood so families don't have to go far to get a meal.

Crew on Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea - NBC New York

Crew on Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea.

Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The package is a great deal, and it includes beers, wines, and other vacation libations at bars such as the Lemon Post. The Surfside and Thrill Island neighborhoods are home to some incredible specialty restaurants. At Basecamp, you can refuel between adventures, choosing among a variety of food windows popping out delicious provisions. At Pier 7, you can look forward to plenty of relaxed vibes paired with beachside bites — think mango shrimp tostadas and surf 'n' turf tacos. Though these restaurants are not complimentary offerings, they are absolutely worth a visit, especially if you're one to crave tacos at any moment.

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. Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness.

Icon of the Seas neighborhoods & layout

The new Icon of the SeasSM introduces the coolest innovations at sea. Watch ice skaters dazzle with double axels at our biggest ice arena ever. Or marvel at performances that push the bounds of bravery beneath a mesmerizing, morphing waterfall. The advantage LNG has over diesel is it is more energy-efficient and will reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

royal caribbean cruise icon of the seas

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. 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. The 7,600-guest Icon of the Seas has seven pools and nine hot tubs. As a kid-fearing adult, I loved the grown-ups-only suspended infinity pool. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam.

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. What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity. The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop.

The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques. I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before.

It was originally slated to be the adults-only area, but Royal Caribbean changed that to The Hideaway and made Cloud 17 open to all guests. Royal Caribbean has plans for the best pool deck at sea with Chill Island. Of course, there will still be a Trellis Bar in Central Park, and it will have a new look and offer food for the first time.

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. Icon of the Seas’ true wow factor, however, is arguably found on its upper decks, where the ship’s multigenerational family focus shines brightest.

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