Royal Carribean's "Icon Of The Seas"

[Yavin4]

After The Titanic and most recently Covid, some people just don't learn and keep tempting fate with the oceans.

The world's largest-ever cruise ship, The Icon of the Seas, has completed its first sea trials. Part of Royal Caribbean International's fleet CNN reports that the ship is 365 meters long and weighs a projected 250 800 tonne. Construction of the ship began in 2022 at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland and is expected to have its maiden voyage out of Miami, Florida, on 27 January 2024.

Some of the ship's features include 20 decks, 6 waterslides, 7 pools and whirlpools, and 2 805 staterooms. The cruise liner can accommodate 5610 guests and has a crew of 2 350.

https://www.news24.com/life/travel/worlds-largest-ever-cruise-ship-the-icon-of-the-seas-completes-first-sea-trials-20230707

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/icon-of-the-seas

Link to tweet

[Coventina]

1. I can't wait to not book!!!

Ugh!

The idea of a cruise like that gives me the creeps!

[11 Bravo]

61. Could I possibly get a vasectomy without anesthesia instead?

[GoCubsGo]

2. I'll never understand the appeal of those things.

I wouldn't mind cruising on a small ship, but t that thing looks like a bloody nightmare to be stuck on for days at at time.

[Marius25]

3. Never been on a cruise. These massive ships are so bad for the environment

but I think it would be neat to take some kind of cruise.

[Ace Rothstein]

46. Alaskan or European river cruises seem much more interesting to me than these.

[dalton99a]

4. .

[sarisataka]

5. Wow!

For comparison the Ford class carriers are 337m and around 100,000 tons.

[sir pball]

60. Nitpick, you're talking about displacement while the article is gross tonnage. VERY different.

It's an obscure but major difference in naval architecture terminology – displacement is simply the weight of the vessel calculated by how much water it, well, displaces; gross tonnage "is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume[…]calculated based on 'the moulded volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship' and is used to determine things such as a ship's manning regulations, safety rules, registration fees, and port dues" that "should [not] be confused with measures of mass or weight such as deadweight tonnage or displacement."

Gross tonnage numbers for military vessels aren't available since they don't need to conform to civilian regulations; I haven't seen a displacement number for the Icon but based on slightly smaller cruise boats she's probably "only" around 110-120,000 tons…bigger than a Ford-class, but hardly 2.5x as large. Most of her internal volume is empty, as opposed to a warship where empty space is wasted space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_tonnage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displacement_(ship)

[Disaffected]

6. Yech. If the damned thing burned or sank,

how would they even get a small fraction of the passengers & crew into the lifeboats?

[Yavin4]

13. They won't be able to.

James Cameron gets a sequel.

[haele]

8. That's a sea lane hazard. Or a portable island

Where the heck can it pull into port where it won't be in the seediest dock area along with the car and Ali-Baba delivery container ships?

Oof. That thing is the product of someone grinding the Sampo a bit too much (points for those who know mythology, or MST3K...).

Haele

[A HERETIC I AM]

33. Have you seen the Port of Miami?

It’s set up to handle these vessels.

[obamanut2012]

62. Plenty of ports can handle it -- Port of Miami, Port Everglades

[elleng]

9. Ridiculous

[ZonkerHarris]

10. You can smell the norovirus from here...

[Maru Kitteh]

49. BINGO!

[Diamond_Dog]

11. You couldn't pay me to get on that monstrosity.

[malaise]

16. You couldn't pay me to go on any cruise

😀

[ProfessorGAC]

36. Same With Us

Every vacation we ever took included waking up that morning, deciding what we would do & where we would go.
The "go" part of that doesn't exist on a cruise.
Not for us.

[moonscape]

41. I could be paid to go on one in Antarctica. Oh

hell, if I had the $$ I’d even pay!

[genxlib]

12. I have a love/hate relationship with cruises

On one hand, they represent a lot of things I don't like.

However, they are the only real low-key vacation available to me as the "planner" of the family. Taking an equivalent vacation without a cruise takes a lot of legwork, driving, scheduling, booking, and transporting. That can be exhausting to do and can really affect the quality of the vacation.

Cruises, on the other hand, are set-and-forget. Show me where to sleep, show me where to eat and take me where I need to be. It is the only type of vacation where I can actually completely unwind.

Honestly, I like the ships to be big because it gives you more options for places to eat and things to do.

The real downside is in the ports. You dump 5000 people into a small tourist town and it ruins it. Key West has never been the same since cruise ships started going there. It is just too many people in too short of a time frame.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Booking a guided tour is no different than booking a cruise. Just choose how much you want to

spend for the room/cabin.

[genxlib]

25. I have never really tried a guided tour to accomplish the same effect.

I guess it feels more necessary to need outside help to go island hopping than it does to just go on a land excursion.

But your point is taken. I have considered it. I guess my biggest reason for not trying them so far is it seems like they are always used by people a lot older that me. Of course, I am one of those people now but I am still in denial.

[sinkingfeeling]

26. Most of them I've taken have an age range of 35 to 80. The one with the youngest

group was my expedition to Antarctica. I was 70 and there were lots between 20 and 30.

[BannonsLiver]

21. DU is virulently anti cruise ship

And is just about as militantly anti-air travel as well. Anytime either comes up there are a lot of "YoU cOuLdN'T gEt Me On OnE oF ThOsE 1!!!" posts.

I feel more or less the same way you do.

[csziggy]

65. I like taking a cruise ship more than flying these days

When my husband and I went to the UK, we took the Queen Elizabeth over and a Royal Caribbean monster back. I loved the QE - smaller, better (more intellectual) entertainment, and just more our style.

After a horrible flight in 1990, I swore I would only fly first class - but when I price tickets for our trip in 2019, they were $6000 each. A balcony cabin on the QE was $4800 each. The Royal Caribbean ship was even less. The QE sailed from Fort Lauderdale, stopped in New York City, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Iceland. We got off at the Port of Glasgow but the ship went on to Dublin and then Southhampton. The Royal Caribbean ship stopped at four Caribbean islands before returning to Fort Lauderdale.

It was nice having the extra stops. Adding two weeks each way would be hard for many people, but we had the time to do it. If I ever took a cruise in the future, I would select one with a theme and special stops along the way that fit that theme - maybe birdwatching or wildlife tours. I'd also keep to smaller ships - the Royal Caribbean was just too big and their featured entertainment is just nothing I'd want to see. We're more the lecture type that the big show type. The QE had lecturers from NASA and NOAA. Royal Caribbean had comedians and stage shows.

[brooklynite]

14. OR (just spitballing), you could take your vacation in any Las Vegas Casino-Hotel

Last edited Wed Jul 12, 2023, 10:25 AM - Edit history (1)

My HS roommate is a cruise ship Captain (currently with Cunard) and once invited us on board when he was in port. Nothing appealing in the design or size.

[Kennah]

53. I would prefer to wander the desert over Vegas

And I would prefer to book passage on a cargo ship

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Wouldn't stay on that thing for a million dollars.

[taxi]

17. Once again I have the mistaken idea that people go on tropical cruises to bask in the sun.

Don't the passengers realize there is no place for them on deck and they will have to manage not seeing the sun for days on end?

[edisdead]

28. That couldn't really be further from the truth

Every cruise I have been on I have gotten plenty of sun.

[taxi]

29. There is always one

[TxGuitar]

39. What does any of that mean?

[taxi]

40. Are you able to view the photos on your device?

[TxGuitar]

47. Yes I see them

[taxi]

52. It looks like passengers have traded off lounging in the sun for

the other amenities. I served 10 years in the Navy; it's a fairly common realization that there are times when someone hasn't been above deck for days. On this ship it appears the same thing could happen.

[CanonRay]

19. No thank you

[yonder]

20. Hideously Fhloston Paradise-ish

Korben and Leeloo could gain the final piece to save the Universe there.

Me? I'll take a hike, maybe an overnight or two, out my favorite, little-used trail.

[Red Mountain]

22. Dee-luxe habitrail for people

that floats!

[Mysterian]

23. Bowling alleys?

Just not my thing. I hate crowds.

[NowISeetheLight]

24. Cruising

I enjoy cruising but stick with Princess. I like the older ships too, the new Royal class are kind of big for me. Princess does a decent job though.

[Ziggysmom]

27. When I was much younger I took a windjammer sailing schooner cruise. It was one of my

best vacations ever. The large, modern cruise ships do not interest me at all.

[617Blue]

63. I'd rather take a walk in the woods. nt

[Talitha]

30. Way too crowded for this country girl.

A question, though...

In the last image of post #4, what are the green 'ladder-looking' things on the outside of the upper levels?

[Hekate]

31. Never

[Quixote1818]

32. If Cruises Were Honest Honest Ads

[liberal_mama]

43. That was hilarious and so true! I actually was planning a first cruise right before Covid struck

and now I'm horrified at the thought of one. I joined all the cruise groups on Facebook (OMG, most of the people in these groups are insufferable) and browsed the cruise offerings. Every single day on these cruise groups, people post things like, "Just got back from our cruise! We caught Covid!" or "We had to spend 5 days in quarantine because we got Noro!"

Just looking at that huge cruise ship makes me feel dread. Not only because of my infectious disease worries, but a real disaster could happen with a ship that big. How would they save all those people if things went wrong? Maybe I've just watched Titanic and The Perfect Storm too many times.

[Quixote1818]

58. I just did one to Alaska. I'm glad I did it but won't do another

We were on a smaller ship of 2000 passengers. It just got boring on the ship and not enough time at each port.

[Maru Kitteh]

51. Hepatitis ampersand!

[prodigitalson]

34. it looks like The Onion photoshopped a bunch of ships together as satire

the closest thing I have ever done to a cruise was an all inclusive resort thingy in Cancun. I ejoyed it a lot but not so much I did it again. It provided the decadance of at least one bar and buffett open all night that cruise ships have without having to be on a cruise ship. I'm too old to care about bar/buffett availability at 4:00 am these days.

[petronius]

42. I saw a snark somewhere, maybe here, that it was "carefully designed by three toddlers with

a bucket of Legos."

[Emile]

35. Infectious disease heaven.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

37. my nightmare

[nolabear]

38. I've been on a couple but they were dedicated ones.

A regular sized cruise ship is manageable and there are some themed ones that can be fun. And if you’re not super adventurous it’s an easy way to tourist around.

There are mystery themed, rock artist themed, politics themed, etc. ones that bring together people who share interests. As I’ve mentioned I went on a couple of Richard Simmons cruises in the Bahamas and Mexico. They were fun. I don’t think I care to do it again though, and not on that kind of monstrosity.

[Celerity]

44. Les Bateaux Belmond river barge cruising in France blows this bloated monstrosity away

Luxury barges with private chefs and excursions like truffle hunting, hot air ballooning, canoeing, and wine tasting. Seven barges make up Afloat in France, each with its own style and size. The elegant barges cruise the waterways of Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Champagne, Languedoc, and Franche-Comté from April to October.

On the Belmond Napoleon, guests cruise the River Saône past châteaux, rural river towns, and expansive vineyards. Stops at Montmerle, Mâcon, and Tournus offer opportunities for wine tasting and exploring a Benedictine abbey. There's a walking tour of Chalon-Sur-Sâone and time to browse through St. Jean de Losne.

[dembotoz]

48. reminds me to the terror of watching my uncle pull out his slide projector at a hoiday meal for vaca

pics

do we get a discount for suffering thru that?

[Celerity]

56. Thanks. I now know to add more pics next time. TTFN

[taxi]

67. THIS is a cruise, and not a carnival. Way to go!

[sakabatou]

45. How long until there's a gigantic disease outbreak on the ship?

[dembotoz]

50. i did enjoy my cruise a number of years ago....1 week, much smaller ship

couple different ports, good food, good shopping on shore......visited placed i have never been.....ship did much of the traveling while i was sleeping...wake up to a new port.....a new adventure every day

this thing is too big

[Kennah]

54. Forgotten me already?

[Prairie_Seagull]

55. Ginormous petri dish. ' Icon of the Sneeze' nt

[Chakaconcarne]

57. Gross...

[sir pball]

59. Not that mega-cruisers are ever good looking, but she's particularly uggo.

I get that a clipper bow isn't the most efficient use of space, but between the near-tumblehome hull and massive glass dome this thing looks like a Zumwalt with hydrocephalus…

[Buns_of_Fire]

64. It's... big... I wonder how many people will wind up

embarking, getting lost on the way to their cabin, and never be heard from again?

[debm55]

66. I think it's ugly