Icon of the Seas, soon to set sail on its maiden voyage, already has a fan club and a sizable crew of haters with different views on the largest cruise ship ever built, able to carry nearly 10,000 passengers and crew.
The ship, built in Finland for Royal Caribbean, will make its first official voyage in January, and is getting its final fittings, features and sea trials before entering the cruise operator’s fleet.
According to Royal Caribbean, which describes the cruise ship as a “game changer” for vacations, the vessel will boast seven pools, including the “largest pool at sea,” the “world’s largest waterpark at sea,” six waterslides and nine whirlpools as well as 15 bars and nightclubs, eight ‘neighborhoods’, a rock-climbing wall, a food hall, a carousel, an arcade and a mini-golf course.
Depending on family configurations, it can carry between 5,600 and 7,600 passengers served by 2350 crew members. Royal Caribbean says ticket sales are brisk and the day first tickets went on sale was the biggest booking day ever.
On the other hand numbers of cruise fans on cruise sites and Twitter are, to say the least, put off by the size and density of features, with posts suggesting that “As visions of hell go, that’s pretty much the most hellish.” Others called it a “nightmare,” with one commenting “The world’s largest monstrosity of a cruise ship, Icon of the Seas. 7,600 max capacity, 20 decks, five times larger than the Titanic. That does NOT look relaxing…at all.”
