Looking to travel the world without jet-setting?
The world’s largest cruise ship is almost here to fulfil all your ocean holibob fantasies.
(Pssst…it’s five times the size of the Titanic, and it has a waterfall in it!)
Designed by Royal Caribbean Cruises, the Icon of the Seas was sailed for the first time as part of a four-day sea trial in Finland, where the ship was first constructed at the Meyer Turku shipyard.
Ahead of its formal arrival in January 2024, the trials were operated by a team of 450 specialists and four tugboats. The tests proved promising, with a second set scheduled to ‘push Icon to its limits later this year’.
Welcoming 5,610 guests (or a maximum of 7,600 guests) and employing 2,350 crew, the ship comes in at an impressive 1,198 feet or 365 metres long.
By comparison, the famous Titanic – which was the largest ship afloat during her maiden voyage in 1912 – measured 269 metres.
The Icon of the Seas will debut in Miami, introducing a new era for holidaymakers in combining theme parks, beach escapes, fine dining and entertainment, sailing 7-night cruises across the Eastern and Western Caribbean year-round.
There are different packages, depending on your budget. The cheapest starts at £1,482 per person for a seven-night stay in an interior cabin in September 2024.
Or, if you’ve got cash to splash, you can opt for a suite. Prices for the latter vary wildly, depending on the dates you select. At the time of writing, a seven-night suite stay in September 2024 will cost you £2,694 per person. But in March 2024, the same package shoots up to £6,041.
Marketed as the ‘largest waterpark at sea’, the ship has a record-breaking six waterslides, from the aptly named ‘Frightening Bolt’ to the ‘Pressure Drop’, the first open, freefall waterslide on a cruise.
This cruise ship doesn’t skimp on swimming pools, either: there are seven pools and nine whirlpools, enough for every possible mood, with a range of infinity edges that’ll leave you feeling at one with the ocean.
That’s not all: passengers will get the opportunity to hop across some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean, including The Bahamas, Cozumel, Mexico, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Roatan and Honduras.
The Icon will also be accompanied by her sister ship, Utopia of the Seas, scheduled for her debut later in 2024. Consider us sold.
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