The Next World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Will Set Sail In 2024
Bigger is better apparently when it comes to cruise ships and Miami cruise line, Royal Carribean, has announced that the largest of all will set sail come 2024. Christened Icon of the Seas, it costs US$2 billion to build. When complete, it will weigh 250,800 gross tons, span 20-decks high and 1,200 feet long, and will succeed the Wonder of the Seas (also belonging to Royal Carribean) as the world’s largest cruise ship.
The mini-city can carry 7,600 passengers with an abundance of facilities to keep them entertained and fed, including over 40 restaurant and bars. The Icon is breaking records in more ways than one: it will carry the first suspended infinity pool at sea; contain the largest waterpark at sea, which will include the Pressure Drop, the first free-fall slide on a cruise ship; the tallest drop slide at sea that falls 46 feet; and the first ever family raft slides at sea.
Other “firsts” include the largest ice arena inside a ship, the first swim-up bar at sea and a 155ft waterfall inside a geodesic dome.
There are 28 different cabin types, many of them family-oriented, including options such as Family Infinite Balcony, Surfside Family Suite, as well as a three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse complete with a mailbox and white picket fence! The rooms with the best views, though, are the Sunset Corner Suites and Panoramic Ocean Views located inside the AquaDome.
The Icon will ply the seas for seven-night cruises all year round from Miami; all will stop at Royal Carribean’s private island, an itinerary called “Perfect Day at CocoCay”, in the Bahamas.
But besides all these impressive, over-the-top facilities, the most interesting thing about this ship to the non-cruise-enthusiast, perhaps hemp-trouser-wearing group is that it will be be the cruise line’s first vessel powered by Liquified Natural gas (LNG), a cleaner type of fossil fuel.
Cruise package prices have yet to be announced but a family of four should be able to enjoy the week-long cruise for around US$3,000, food and entertainment included.
