Icon of the Seas - Royal Caribbean’s Next-Generation Cruise Ship. Expected to be delivered in October, the ship will depart from Miami on her first trip in January 2024. From then until April, the Icon of the Seas will cruise the Caribbean on 7-night itineraries.
The ship will be able to accommodate around 5,610 passengers and 2,350 staff members. Icon of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship ever constructed, with a length of 1,200 feet and a projected weight of 250,800 tons.

The technological wonder will use LNG and fuel cell systems, ushering in a new era of environmental responsibility. The cruise line estimates that this will cut carbon emissions by 30% and sulphur emissions by 99%.

Passengers will be offered the opportunity to explore eight distinct areas across the ship’s 20 decks. All of them are designed to provide visitors unique experiences. Seven swimming pools and six water slides will make this ship the biggest floating water-park in the world.

The vessel’s maximum carrying capacity of 7,600 guests will set a new industry standard, beating out the current record holder, the Wonder of the Seas, which can only accommodate 6,988 people.

Icon of the Seas is expected to cost about $2 billion to build, according to Royal Caribbean. To put that into perspective, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, which held the previous record for most expensive cruise ship ever built, had a construction price tag of around $1.43 billion. So Icon will be among the most costly vessels ever constructed.

Icon of the Seas is now undergoing final completion at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, despite being registered in the Bahamas. This shipyard has worked with Royal Caribbean before, having constructed nine of their earlier cruise ships.

Moreover, the cruise line announced the biggest number of reservations in its 53-year history, which was especially impressive given that the launch was still 15 months away.

Both eastern and western Caribbean itineraries aboard of the Icon of the Seas will be seven nights long and depart from Miami. Individual pricing begins at $1,800.

Royal Caribbean intends to launch two more ships in the Icon class by 2030.