Jo Kessel enjoying some of the ship’s features. Photo / Simon Brook-Webb
Jo Kessel enjoying some of the ship’s features. Photo / Simon Brook-Webb
Does bigger always equal better? Writer Jo Kessel jumps aboard Royal Caribbean’s brand-new Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.
As I peer over the top of a tall, yellow waterslide, a whoosh of vertigo ripples across my chest. Its 66-degree gradient is so sheer, you wonder how anyone riding it could not fly off? There’s a short pause for a sanity check – actually, it’s a rather long one – before I plant myself on the edge of the flume, cross my arms and ankles, then go.
I’m aboard Royal Caribbean’s brand new Icon of the Seas, the world’s most highly anticipated and biggest cruise ship. It’s currently on its maiden voyage, and before it left I hopped on for a short preview, sailing from Miami to the Bahamas.
Whenever Royal Caribbean launches a new ship (this is its 27th), it does it bigger and bolder and breaks more records than the last. Not only does the 365m-long Icon have the biggest aqua park on any cruise ship, it also has the first suspended infinity pool, as well as the largest swimming pool. As for the vertigo-inducing yellow slide, this too is a record-breaker, the first of its kind on a cruise ship in an open, freefall style. There’s also a drop slide, raft slides and mat slides, and if, like me, you’re in shock after splash-crashing to their bottoms, then there’s Swim & Tonic, Royal Caribbean’s first swim-up bar. Here cocktails share one key ingredient – tonic – and an “Iconic” G&T calms post-slide nerves nicely.
Icon of the Seas made its official debut on January 27, 2024.
You might imagine this 20-deck ship, which is longer than the Eiffel Tower laid on its side and has seven swimming pools, would be hard to navigate, but Icon is divided into distinct “neighbourhoods”, which helps make life easier. There are eight in total. One has the pools; another’s home to the thrills (slides included) and a third caters for those aged under six. Then there’s Central Park. Bonkers though it sounds, this is an actual al-fresco park at the centre of the vessel with living trees and plants, including stunning blue orchids.
The ship’s most posh neighbourhood is “The Grove”, reserved for guests staying in suites. When I’m upgraded to one from my regular balcony cabin, I can’t believe my luck. The Grove is a tucked-away sanctuary at the opposite end of the ship to the slides. It has its own pool terrace, spa pool and restaurants, and if money were no object, this is where I’d stay.
The ship features a waterslide with a 66-degree gradient, the first of its kind on a cruise ship in an open, freefall style.
It’s impossible to get bored on Icon, as there’s something for everyone. Fancy riding a carousel? There’s one in the kids’ neighbourhood. Want a physical challenge? Try the climbing wall. Are musicals your thing? The Wizard of Oz is playing in the theatre. And, because this is Royal Caribbean, the special effects are second to none – think Dorothy flying over the audience in a four-poster bed.
There’s also an ice-skating rink, ice shows and a glass-topped “Aqua Dome” that’s a whole neighbourhood unto itself - a one-of-a-kind entertainment space with restaurants, bars and a pool where divers and synchronised swimmers perform acrobatic shows beneath a 16.5m indoor waterfall. You’ve got to see it to believe it.
Empire Supper Club is an extravagant eight-course experience with a taste of old New York. Photo / Michel Verdure
To describe Icon as a floating theme park or Las Vegas would be doing it a disservice. It has elements of these, but is much classier and tasteful, wrapped up in a colourful bow of pizzazz. And its chic cabins have real flair, with splashes of colour, great beds and smart bathrooms. Its sheer scale turns out to be an asset. A huge topic of conversation is how much walking everyone’s doing – I clock on average 10,000 steps a day – just wandering from cabin to pool to show and so on.
This makes it easier to not worry about counting calories, which is good news because food is everywhere and plentiful. There are a whopping 40 different bars and restaurants, and while some of them cost extra, there are excellent free options. Park Cafe’s muffins and smoked salmon bagels are the perfect breakfast; the Aqua Dome serves a delicious stir-fry lunch. And French onion soup, lasagne and apple cobbler make a top-notch main dining room dinner. Plus, there’s unlimited poolside icecream.
The Overlook in Aqua Dome. Photo / Michel Verdure
A week isn’t long enough to see and do everything. Even though The Pearl – a show-stopping walk-through art installation – is right at the heart of the ship, I only pass it a couple of times. And it’s by pure chance that I stumble upon the Promenade Deck, a shared running and walking track that wraps around the exterior of the vessel. This is a glorious, quiet space which gives the best sense of Icon’s size. It feels much wider than other ships.
The Pearl Cafe on Icon of the Seas. Photo / Michel Verdure
I can’t leave without trying Icon’s new, scarier-than-ever attraction: Crown’s Edge, a high-altitude rope and zipline course which sees you dangle on a wire over the edge of the ship, 47m above the waves.
An instructor kits me up in a body suit, harness and helmet and I teeter towards the edge of the course, high above the ship’s top deck.
“Are you ready, Jo?”
Hands are clammy; a whoosh of vertigo reappears. But I obediently inch forward because others are waiting behind me. In the event, I don’t have to do anything. A trapdoor opens beneath my feet, and suddenly I’m whizzing on a wire over the sea before circling back towards the ship. It’s the maddest, biggest adrenaline rush.
Icon of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship, measuring 1,198 feet long, longer than the Eiffel Tower laid on its side.
Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi is Icon of the Seas’ godfather, and when he hops aboard to name the ship, I find myself in touching distance of a living legend. Who’d have thought? And that pretty much sums up Icon. It’s big, bold, bright and fun and offers thrills galore, as well as the opportunity to do, try and experience things you never thought you would. You can dip in a different pool every day; you can see a different show nightly; you could enjoy every single meal in a different restaurant all week. Or you can brag about simply being on the biggest cruise ship in the world.
Thing is, you just might need another holiday to get over it.
