Fairsky84

The new Princess "Sphere-class" ships appear to have a massive dome on the forward top deck. Could Icon have something like this too?
 

16 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

 

A nice view from some venues on the port side!

 

Call me crazy, but I'm not convinced this is just a huge window or glass wall. Normally, these large glass areas on a ship have supports for the panes of glass—look at construction photos of Eden on the aft of Celebrity's Edge-class ships, 270 on RCI's Quantum-class ships, or the wall of glass in the atrium of CCL's recent Excel-class. 

This framed opening on Icon looks different. I'm not sure what it's for, but we may be looking at something more than just a window.

1 hour ago, Panda Monium said:

 

I sense that the answer is one. 😁

Here is a potential funnel (in background) photo to cheer up Tough as Leather. 😄

 

Hmm...funnels are usually painted before being installed. Curious why this one looks dark blue/black. I also noticed that some of the decks with 'infinite balcony' cabins are also dark blue rather than white. And we've seen Icon's hull shares the Oasis & Quantum-class light blue livery. Could Icon introduce another change to RCI's look?

34 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

 

Hold onto that thought...😎

Oh, please tell me they’re not putting a Magic Carpet on Icon.

36 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

I see the makings of a large atrium window.

 

Great image. I'm still amazed at how much wider the superstructure (balcony decks) are from the hull (lower decks). The same thing is true of Oasis-class, but this looks much wider. That overhang is HUGE. And unlike Oasis-class, it doesn't look like the lifeboats will hang under the main deck. There are windows there but no lifeboat loading stations or equipment. I can only assume the lifeboats will be above the promenade deck. That is going to make Icon a very odd looking ship with an extremely wide top and much more narrow hull at the waterline. 

7 hours ago, Panda Monium said:

📸   Sergey Morgun

 

 

 

This hull design is very odd. It appears Icon's lifeboats may be positioned very differently than the Oasis-class—above the main deck rather than hanging below it. And is it possible Icon will have a real promenade deck? On Oasis ships the Central Park basically replaced space that could have been an outside promenade deck. These images look like Icon will have very wide spaces facing the sea on the main deck with the lifeboats above—like on more older ships, as well as Quantum-class.

Looks like the final version of the "Universal Sphere" does not have screens on the exterior, and the seating inside looks a lot like what we've seen inside the Icon's sphere. 

Here's a video: 

I bet it's something like this...https://www.coaster101.com/2019/06/22/inside-360-degree-universal-sphere-dome-theater/

This sphere theater in Philadelphia opened in 2019 and it's 39 feet in diameter. I don't know if that's the interior or exterior size, but it's pretty close to the 50 foot diameter of the Icon's sphere. 

The sphere definitely looks like a stairway. Given its location in the middle of the ship, maybe it's the entrance to a venue along the Royal Promenade. I could imagine it's a large digital projection dome you pass through to enter a nightclub? Restaurant? Bar? Hopefully we learn more soon. 

52 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

I wonder if it will still be called ‘Central Park’ on Icon. Central Park had been exclusive to Oasis class ships. Maybe it will be a similar ICONIC green space from another city, or even a different park on each new ship in the Icon class. There are so many beautiful parks in the US alone, not to mention parks from all over the world.

I'd almost certainly expect it to be called "Central Park." RCI has a history of introducing revolutionary new features on a ship and keeping the same name on subsequent classes. For example, Sovereign of the Seas introduced the soaring open atrium called "The Centrum." All of the following Sovereign, Vision, Radiance, and Quantum class ships kept this name. 

The Voyager-class introduced a multi-deck main street called the "Royal Promenade." Later Voyager, Freedom, Oasis, and Quantum-class ships also had main streets called the "Royal Promenade." 

Likewise, the Oasis-class introduced the open-air green space called "Central Park." I expect future classes, including Icon, that have this open-air green space will also use the "Central Park" name. (And I don't think RCI chose the name as a nod to NYC, but rather because it's a park in the center of the ship. And the connection to NYC is a bonus as these ships are like floating cities.)

48 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

And looks like three decks of Infinite Veranda staterooms like the Edge class. 

Yup, I think you're right. Also, I don't see normal looking balconies overlooking Central Park in these photos. I wonder if those inside cabins will also have the Infinite Verandas.

Well, if Icon really is larger than the Oasis-class that explains why she has 5 bow thrusters rather than Wonder's 4. I'd say the evidence is pretty convincing that Icon will indeed be the largest in the RCI fleet, and the largest cruise ship ever. 

42 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Also I do not like the look of the Magic carpet either.

Ship designing can get over the top just a bit.   I would like to see Icon not have an Aqua theatre but rather a Northstar in the back area up high.  

I agree. Magic Carpet looks like construction scaffolding on the side of the ship—especially because it's bright orange. I also think the space taken up by the Aqua Theater on Oasis-class ships could be better utilized. Hopefully we get something better on Icon. 

1 hour ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

Thanks for this feedback I find the ship building process very fascinating. 
Question if I may. Usually a ship has 2 or 4 (in the case of Oasis class) bow thrusters. For each set the blades face/alternate direction. That is to say 2 face right and the other 2 left. Perhaps for equal push right or left? In the case of Icon it would be 3 vs 2 and how would that work? Thanks 

That's not exactly correct. The propellers on the thrusters can push water in either direction either by reversing the spin of the propellers or by using 'variable pitch' blades, meaning the propellor blades are actually adjustable and can be set to push the water either port or starboard. 

Also, there are many ships—especially smaller or older ships—with only 1 bow thruster. And the Queen Mary 2 has 3 bow thrusters. So, an even number isn't necessary. And the number of thrusters has more to do with the size of the ship and the amount of thrust necessary to move it.

12 hours ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

I think Icon is the first with 5 Bow thrusters for any current cruise ship, but is 5 typical in newer ship builds in general?

Oasis-class ships have 4 bow thrusters. I can't think of any ships with 5. That could indicate Icon is larger (maybe wider) than Oasis and requires more power to push her bow sideways. Or, Icon may be taller above the water. This creates more surface for the wind which also requires more bow thrust to counteract. Of course, Icon may simply have smaller thrusters than the Oasis-class's (which produce an incredible 7,500 horsepower each) and therefore Icon might require one more to produce the same force.

Also, MSC World Europa, which is almost the exact same size as Icon (205,000 grt vs 208,000 grt) only has 4 bow thrusters. So, 5 is definitely weird. I'd also guess, based on the shape of that block, that Icon will not have a typical bulbous bow. Instead, the ship will likely have a vertical bow like MSC World Europa, Nor Prima, Celebrity Edge. That seems to be the big trend in ship design these days. 

Right now, Princess only has two Sphere-class ships on order for delivery. I would love to see these named:

Pacific Princess (2023)

Atlantic Princess (2025)

I always prefer when a class of ships have similar or related names. For example, Royal Caribbean's original Sovereign-class ships all had names related to royalty:

Sovereign of the Seas

Monarch of the Seas

Majesty of the Seas

Now, their Oasis-class is a random mix of unrelated names (Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Symphony, Wonder, Utopia). Why not start and stay with the musical theming for the entire class?:

Harmony of the Seas

Melody of the Seas

Symphony of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas

Anthem of the Seas

Ovation of the Seas

Aria of the Seas

It still kind of annoys me that Princess' mixes different categories of names into different classes of ships. For example, within the Royal-class there are royalty names (Royal, Regal, Majestic), a nature-themed name (Sky), and two odd/random names (Discovery, Enchanted). I think all six should have stayed in the "Royal" theme:

Royal

Regal

Fair
Majestic
Crown 

Noble 

And maybe a future class of Princess ships could have used celestial names including some from the line's past:

Sky
Sun
Star
Dawn
Cloud

14 minutes ago, brisalta said:

Just change the class name to Pacific class and make the first of the marque the Pacific Princess.

 

It's happened before. In the late 90s, Royal Caribbean was developing two new classes simultaneously. The "Eagle-class" would be the largest ships ever built with a multi-deck promenade through the center. The "Voyager-class" were designed as fast, Panamax-sized ships for global deployment. 

When Royal Caribbean decided to name the first Eagle-class ship Voyager of the Seas, they knew it would cause confusion with the smaller Voyager-class ships still in development. So, they changed the name to "Vantage-class." The first ship in the Vantage-class became Radiance of the Seas. 

Today, neither class of ships is known as Eagle or Vantage-class, but simply Voyager-class and Radiance-class.

30 minutes ago, Avid Travel Geek said:

Radiant Princess? Solar Princess?

Please, no! I actually hope they copy what Carnival did with Mardi Gras and name the first Sphere-class ship "Pacific Princess" to honor their heritage. It could be a marketing win as well. "Just as the original Pacific Princess changed the cruise industry, the new Pacific Princess (with clean LNG power and amazing new features) will change it again." Or maybe, "The new Pacific Princess will make you fall in love with cruising all over again." Or some similar PR nonsense.

3 hours ago, eroller said:

I'm also hoping for a new design but history tells me Carnival Corp. rarely designs anything for a single brand.  They like to milk every penny out of a design and use it across multiple brands just making cosmetic changes as needed. 

I completely agree and was also expecting Sphere to be a loosely modified version of the Excel-class Carnival Corp ships. They did make some modest changes between the Aida/Costa and the P&O/Carnival versions. I still have hope the Princess ships will be significantly different being the only ones built by Fincantieri. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if a future Sphere-class was built for P&O, as Princess has a long history of sharing ships and designs with P&O even predating their ownership by CCL. 

I've also feared the Sphere-class would be some version of Carnival Corp's other LNG ships, and while concept art isn't always reliable, even from this small image it's clear the Sphere is NOT a modified version of Iona.

First, the bow and forward superstructure are completely different shapes. And, most shockingly, the Sphere-class actually appears to have a very large glass dome/sphere on the top deck forward of the radar mast. This is a completely different shape from the Dome on Iona and Aida ships which is located midship. 

Finally, Sphere is listed at 175,000 grt and 4300 passengers. That's quite different from the Costa/Aida/P&O/Carnival LNG ships which are all 183,900 grt and around 5200 passengers. All of this, plus the image, make me think the new Princess ships will be a completely different hull and design.

10 hours ago, fsjosh said:

 

OK, now I'm confused. SHouldn't the exhaust be over the engines and not the tanks? The engines are where the fuel is burnt, producing exhaust right? 

Good question. Liquified Natural Gas is basically methane that can only be safely transported as a liquid which requires the gas to be cooled -260 degrees F. At that temperature, LNG cannot burn or explode. Those huge tanks are refrigerated and insulated to keep the LNG in liquid form. However, if the system fails and the temperature rises, the LNG will quickly boil into a gas. This is extremely dangerous as the pressure build-up from the rapidly expanding gas will cause a massive explosion that would destroy the entire ship (not an exaggeration). 

Therefore, as a safety precaution, LNG powered ships have an emergency vent that allows the gas from the tanks to be quickly released to avoid an explosion. This is the smaller "exhaust funnel" directly above the tanks in the center of the ship. It's not actually for engine exhaust, but for "boil over gas" and only needed in an emergency. 

BTW, a lot has been written about the dangers of transporting LNG with some cities even banning LNG ships from their harbors. An accident on an LNG tanker could level a good portion of a city. You can read more here. 

4 hours ago, tkress.22 said:

I am not familiar with the exhaust systems for ships using LNG as a primary fuel source, but why can't they utilize the existing funnels located above the loft suites?

The LNG tanks are very large and heavy when filled, therefore they need to be located in the bottom and center of the hull. Routing the exhaust straight up is the only real option because running them back into the existing funnels would require the large pipes to move across firewalls and water-tight compartments—that's not allowed in safe ship design. 

You'll notice other LNG ships all have additional exhaust "funnels" midship for this reason

On 4/7/2022 at 11:10 AM, Tough as Leather said:

The kids and I had fun this morning with an 'updated' list. 😁

 

 

This is kinda fun to see. Also reminds me that some RCI names are great, and others are absolutely stupid. 

In my opinion, the BEST names are all of the musical ones: Anthem, Ovation, Rhapsody, Serenade, Harmony. When will we get a "Melody of the Seas" or "Aria of the Seas"? And I'd love to see RCI celebrate a big anniversary by naming a new ship "Song of the Seas" in honor of their first ship "Song of Norway"?

The WORST names... Quantum and Spectrum. What were they thinking? Did they even bother to look up "quantum" in a dictionary? People think "quantum leap" means a huge step forward...which is how RCI used the name in their marketing materials. But it actually mean the opposite. It comes from physics and means an extremely tiny shift. And "spectrum"... what on earth is that supposed to mean? A collection? A wavelength? Just dumb.
 

41 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Does it need to go straight down or can it be funneled down the sides of the ship by putting a "Y' in just below the bride in CP keeping the open space in CP

I wondered that too. But if they split the exhaust and have two along either side of Central Park, why bring them together at the top? Why not just have two smaller exhausts emerge from the bridge structure? Below you can see the same location on Wonder; there are already two structures that could have been modified to include two LNG exhausts (indicated with the red boxes). Instead, the image of Utopia shows one, large central exhaust and the open space in the middle of the bridge eliminated. 

Looking at other LNG ships, it seems this central exhaust for the LNG tanks is very large. I suspect it's too large to split into a Y around Central Park. I also understand it's a critical safety feature. Liquid Natural Gas is highly explosive if not kept extremely cold. If the cold tanks fail and the temperature rises so the liquid expand to a gas, it needs to escape from the ship very quickly to avoid an explosion. That's what this exhaust is for and why it needs to be so wide.

Maybe RCI has some solution to keep CP wide and unobstructed, but I think they probably decided the benefits of LNG (both to the environment and public relations) were more important than keeping an open Central Park. We'll see.