The ‘Icon of the Seas’ will have the world’s largest onboard water park with a free-fall slide, which is also the first at sea, with a 66-degree incline drop. The ship is built on a massive scale of 1,200ft in length and weighs a quarter million tons. This is five times the weight of the Titanic.
The Icon of the Seas is nothing less than a wonderland floating on the ocean. Royal Caribbean International recently revealed a cruise ship set to reformulate the luxury sailing experience and break all the existing records. Completing its construction, the Icon of the Seas is all set to take its maiden voyage next year. The cruise ship will claim Royal Caribbean’s inaugural icon class cruise ship. This would also be the company’s introduction of a new model since 2014.
A Floating City
The Icon of the Seas will have the world’s largest onboard water park with a free-fall slide, which is also the first at sea, with a 66-degree incline drop. The cruise ship also comprises 40 bars and restaurants, a mini-golf course, a 55ft waterfall inside, and an ice rink. Icon of the Seas is 10ft longer than the current record holder, Wonder of the Seas.
What makes this cruise ship go viral is the fact that it is also built to appeal to the younger crowd. There is a rock-climbing wall, a zip line 154ft above the ocean, and a karaoke bar. The ship is built on a massive scale of 1,200ft in length and weighs a quarter million tons. This is five times the weight of the Titanic. Icon of the Seas can accommodate nearly 7,600 passengers along with a crew of 2,350 members across its 20 decks.
The cruise ship will also be home to the world’s largest waterpark at sea known as Category 6, with seven pools and nine whirlpools. The ship will also have a haven of profuse “ Central Park” with thousands of real plants. Royal Caribbean International also saw its largest booking day in the company’s history when the reservations opened for the Icon of the Seas in 2022. And after a few hours, the tickets for the maiden voyage from Miami to the Caribbean were nearly sold out.
A Monstrosity
Even after having groundbreaking records in its hands, the Icon of the Seas was not spared from criticisms, eventually leading to the discussions of ‘bigger is not better’. Many people took their ‘anxiety’ to online platforms- especially in the light of Titan sub’s fatal implosion last month. However, Royal Caribbean has spent days running preliminary tests to make sure that the ship is safe and ready to sail.
Yves-Marie Abraham, a professor in the Department of Management at HEC Montreal described the ship as “a destructive and obscene monster”, reports The Telegraph. Yves-Marie Abraham also called out the ship to be a caricature of the industry itself. Some other critics are of the opinion that the ship is an unrestrained symbol of capitalism. According to the reports of The Telegraph, Rich Harrill, an international tourism research professor at the University of South Carolina stated that the interest in the cruise ship is what people call ‘revenge tourism’.
People were dreaming about this type of experience during Covid and were saving up for that and now they are utilizing the chance. The Icon of the Seas had also passed its first set of sailing tests which will be carried over four days and involved travelling hundreds of miles.
Royal Caribbean Group is one of the leading cruise companies in the world boasting a global fleet of 60 ships traveling to more than 800 destinations around the world.