Icon OTS looks like a joke…

[karl_nj]

30 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Looks interesting but I just know they are going to cram so many people on each sailing it just won't be as relaxing as it is going on a smaller ship.

If you like waiting in lines for everything then I guess it's the ship for you.

 

I think they could just park it somewhere forever and then sell it that way......They wouldn't have to spend money for fuel and they wouldn't have to over crowd the Caribbean islands they are going to. Imagine this ship pulling into an island with 2 or 3 other ships at the same time. It will be over crowded and not enjoyable on the port stops.

Just park it somewhere and sell tickets for the day at a more reasonable price then you are going to see when bookings open next week.

 

I do see your point, but I also think "that ship has sailed." Literally.  You can say the same thing about Oasis class ships.  We are "only" talking about a 13% increase in passengers.  Is another 900 people really going to make a difference between if Icon pulls into port vs Wonder?

 

[RedIguana]

12 hours ago, Vibe said:

Holland America will probably not survive once most of the older cruiser set sail on their last cruise.

I really hope not. I have done just one cruise with them, somehow lucked out and it was on the Rotterdam, the one that just launched last year, so their newest ship. Food was a step up from Royal in my opinion. The ship is a newer version of the older Celebrity and Royal ships (I saw a striking resemblance to the Celebrity Millenium class). And surprisingly the average age was not that old, but it would have been easy to hold scooter races 😄. Granted it was a 7 night during spring break, but not many college age on board. Mostly 40-60. I suspect my age group (mid 50's) will just sail on the 3500 passenger and less ships for the most part if we are looking for less a an amusement park full of kids. (disclaimer- A ship full of kids does not bother me, the number of kids that will be on board has no bearing on what ship, cruise line, or time of year I will sail.) I actually tried out the flowrider on explorer this year, will do it again if on a ship that has it.

[RedIguana]

11 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

I'm old enough to remember my Mom and Dad booking the new megaship Sovereign of the Seas after years of sailing on the Song of Norway, Sun Viking, and Song of America.

Sovereign was my first Royal cruise, Majesty my last Royal cruise before the Covid shut down. 

[Jimbo]

16 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

I do see your point, but I also think "that ship has sailed." Literally.  You can say the same thing about Oasis class ships.  We are "only" talking about a 13% increase in passengers.  Is another 900 people really going to make a difference between if Icon pulls into port vs Wonder?

 

I see your point, just sell packages by the night. Just sail far enough out to sea to open up the casino nightly. Then bring it back in the morning let passengers off and let new passengers back on, Turn around time 6 hours(6am-Noon) and then go back out to sea to open casino again . If you booked more then 1 night, you just stay on the ship and repeat until the number of nights you booked is complete.

 

Doing something like this the ship could move around to different warm weather climates ports and give the chance for all customers all over the world to sail on this ship. The ship would have lots of home ports depending on the season.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jimbo

[Cruising89143]

12 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

You know this is so typical, I read the same posts before Freedom debuted, then Oasis and now after 5 successful Oasis launches and the most popular cruise fleet in the world, we see it again for this ship.

 

Different strokes for different folks.  Ya'll have fun, I know we will.

Yep. Agree…. It’s 2008/09 all over again. With each new class introduced we read the same comments. It started with the Voyager OTS. It’s very simple. If you don’t like the ship then choose something else. There’s a ship out there for everyone. There is plenty of things that I don’t use on certain ships but that doesn’t keep me off of them. Royal Caribbean is no longer your grannies cruise line. Maybe Holland America is……. 😉😉

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, Ashland said:

Not interested in infinite balcony if it's anything like Celebrity Edge offers. Give me a regular balcony.

We loved ours but I wouldn't pay extra over reg. balcony now, it was a novelty then.

[loman]

6 hours ago, BigRoger said:

(I still do hate Quantim class ships!….. But it’s a case of each to their own!)….

Icon is exactly what RC wanted to make it - a fantastic floating version of cococay….. effectively it’s a ‘perfect day st sea’ concept for families and to that end it’s hugely impressive.
 

It’s not for me as it stands even though I love Oasis class ships as it’s a further move in a direction that’s not what I want to sail on….
 

But it’s certainly very good and looks  ‘perfect’ for the target segment…. For me it’s one to watch for a year or two when it’s out and see how it’s shapes up and maybe sample it when prices come down… who knows 

I dont like the Quantum class either. lol . 

I was one and done with them.

Ill stick with Oasis class also.

Looks like we are on the same page 🙂

[BirdTravels]

13 hours ago, planefring1 said:

Its getting to the point, cruise ships are becoming floating theme parks. While cruising is an amazing way to vacation, New cruise ships are quickly becoming caricatures of themselves. Bloated, cartoonish, grotesque hunks of steel.

The cruise lines are catering to the next generation cruise customer who will sustain their business for the years to come. The Icon is offering exactly what the contemporary cruiser is looking for. Royal has be lagging the rest of the cruise industry, hanging on to the old ways, trying to cater to the "more mature" cruise customer with traditional dining and formal nights. Bottom line, those "more mature" customers are not going to fill Oasis- and Icon-class ships week after week, you need to attract the contemporary cruiser to sustain the business. 

 

I am old. I have been cruising for decades since the times when you would rent a hard, wooden lounger and tip a pool attendant to set it up for you. I applaud change. I hated having to pack a suitcase full of evening gowns and a second case full for shoes. Days when entertainment on a ship was high tea in the afternoon and ballroom dancing at night. And as an evening treat, a string quartet playing classical music in the lounge. 

 

With the Icon, I think that Royal finally understand what it will take to keep their business viable into the future. 

[Nunagoras]

6 hours ago, sgmn said:

Everyone ages and people's wants and needs changes, what you want at 35 with a young family may not be the same as when you become a retired couple in your late 60s or 70s.  

For instance I would like more Enrichment lectures or art classes now.  

Therefore it's stands to reason that as the older generations take their last cruise there will be new older generations coming along whose cruising requirements may of changed.

 

This exactly!...

 

The problem in the mainstream cruise industry level is that, while I'm ok with the companies trying to be sustainable and growing with new cruisers from the next gen, on the other hand the "next level" is not accomodating accordingly. The ones whom will reach 50 during the RCI's "Iconization" are the ones whom have started their cruise career during the "Voyager-Osisation" time! Where will all those cruisers go, plus the ones that had no time to cruise before retirement? Old class Royal ships once available (and once up to par with current cruise standards, because Vision class may be out), or the few upscale alternatives?... Anyone will be put off of cruising for certain in just a few years to come!

 

At least, from photos and videos, pretty much both NCL and MSC are accommodating the ageing crowd in some ways on their new builds!...

[not-enough-cruising]

11 hours ago, zeroed said:

Most young families with small kids aren’t going to be able to afford to sail on Icon by the time it’s operational. They’ll be too concerned with getting a home loan for less than 12% and affording basic groceries. 
RC won’t be able to discount tickets enough because of the huge cost of sailing that behemoth. The timing of introducing any new cruise ship stinks especially one with a niche target demo that is struggling to pay for daycare. 

 

I think you have tremendously under estimated how this demographic spends their money and uses credit. 
This ship will sail at 100%+ for years, no problems 

[Jimbo]

5 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I think you have tremendously under estimated how this demographic spends their money and uses credit. 
This ship will sail at 100%+ for years, no problems 

Might sail at 100% but will it be making the amount off $$$ That Royal is hoping for to make money they are expecting it to make.? That's the question.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jimbo

[not-enough-cruising]

7 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Might sail at 100% but will it be making the amount off $$$ That Royal is hoping for to make money they are expecting it to make.? That's the question.

If you fill the berths, the rest of the revenue will take care of itself 

[Bennyboats28]

My only worry with the new build process for RCI is what is going to happen to the amplification schedule for the older ships? 

 

It seems that RCI is focusing on launching new ships rather than amping existing ones. I know there was a schedule to amp the older ships and that was delayed due to Covid but that is beginning to look a bit silly considering there launching a multi million dollar new ship. I hope they start amping the radiance class as we love that class along with many other RCI cruises. In Europe we seem to be left every year with RCI ships which are very old or which have not been amped (except Oydessy and Symphony) 

 

This ship unfortunately is not for me but I wish everyone happy sailing who does go on the Icon 🙂

[gottagoacruzn]

Not for me, don't like those mega ships, prefer the medium size like Song of Norway. Been question those ship lines, whose tryin to be the next Titanic to go down. Then they will wonder...?

[PhillyFan33579]

11 hours ago, zeroed said:

Most young families with small kids aren’t going to be able to afford to sail on Icon by the time it’s operational. They’ll be too concerned with getting a home loan for less than 12% and affording basic groceries. 
RC won’t be able to discount tickets enough because of the huge cost of sailing that behemoth. The timing of introducing any new cruise ship stinks especially one with a niche target demo that is struggling to pay for daycare. 

 

I think you are over generalizing saying most young families aren’t going to be able to afford to sail on Icon or they are struggling to pay for daycare. Obviously this applies to some families,  but it’s far from most families. Also, RCI’s target market is not lower class, lower income families.   Unfortunately not everyone can afford to cruise on RCI or afford to cruise at all. 

[Jimbo]

13 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

If you fill the berths, the rest of the revenue will take care of itself 

Not always true, have read about lots of people coming off cruise ships with little are hardly anything on their sea pass cards. People aren't spending on a cruise ship like they did years ago. Times are changing.

[davekathy]

12 hours ago, zeroed said:

Most young families with small kids aren’t going to be able to afford to sail on Icon by the time it’s operational. They’ll be too concerned with getting a home loan for less than 12% and affording basic groceries. 
RC won’t be able to discount tickets enough because of the huge cost of sailing that behemoth. The timing of introducing any new cruise ship stinks especially one with a niche target demo that is struggling to pay for daycare. 

 

If that's the case cruising shouldn't even be a consideration. 

[alfaeric]

OP and others of like mind- please, please, please boycott the ship. So that the prices come down faster for the rest of us. 
 

Thanks. 

[deliver42]

I, at 80 years old, can't wait to go on this ship, enjoy the slides, and then the adults only deck and pool.

[GetToLivin]

I made the joke that I needed a xanax after viewing the marketing material for Icon but truth is, I think for those of us with kids/teens, first thought was, "This is a great ship to take a family on," and I'll do just that. There are many other ships in the fleet I can opt for when it's just DH and I. For this particular ship, I think DS will have the time of his life 😊

[not-enough-cruising]

31 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Not always true, have read about lots of people coming off cruise ships with little are hardly anything on their sea pass cards. People aren't spending on a cruise ship like they did years ago. Times are changing.

SEC filings do not support your statement, and annual trends are showing an upward trajectory of profit per guest, even when the numbers are normalized for Covid related variances.

[CruisingHogFan]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Looks interesting but I just know they are going to cram so many people on each sailing it just won't be as relaxing as it is going on a smaller ship.

If you like waiting in lines for everything then I guess it's the ship for you.

Most times I just don't have the patience for stuff like this anymore.

Imagine 3500 kids on this ship. 

 

I think they could just park it somewhere forever and then sell it that way......They wouldn't have to spend money for fuel and they wouldn't have to over crowd the Caribbean islands they are going to. Imagine this ship pulling into an island with 2 or 3 other ships at the same time. It will be over crowded and not enjoyable on the port stops.

Just park it somewhere and sell tickets for the day at a more reasonable price then you are going to see when bookings open next week.

We have found the larger Oasis Class more relaxing then the smaller ships and less lines.

 

One of these days you might have something positive to say about cruising. 😂😂😂

[Tree_skier]

"GET OFF MY LAWN!"

[Nunagoras]

14 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

I made the joke that I needed a xanax after viewing the marketing material for Icon but truth is, I think for those of us with kids/teens, first thought was, "This is a great ship to take a family on," and I'll do just that. There are many other ships in the fleet I can opt for when it's just DH and I. For this particular ship, I think DS will have the time of his life 😊

Maybe you're right and the actual ship will be actually far better than that ugly as hell promotional materials RCI has shown a few days ago. Maybe what is badly done are those said materials.

 

Let us to have a break here: Does anyone thinks those color palettes and furniture textures do seem anything real out there? There are good points about this ship: The Pearl Cafe, the enhanced Central Park, the cabins themselves, those infinity view cabins, maybe some of the all-time favorites that doesn't need a 3D rendering video for us to understand what they're about. But sincerely: Whom the heck wants to be for a week on a cartoon like environment paid at a premium?

 

I'll to give them my doubt right for the times being; but if this is effectively the final result; for me, I'm sadly out.

[deliver42]

I've been on most of the Royal classes of ships. The only exception being the Freedom Class, and I've found There is more room and less crowding on the Oasis Class than any of the others. On the Icon  there seems to be even more room now that the family section is primarily on one deck, Surfside, and the have a couple of adult only sections. As I said before, can't wait to be on her. Waiting for pricing on Monday, 10/24.