Icon OTS looks like a joke…

[flamingos]

6 hours ago, tiggypooo said:

I can't believe they are doing Infinite balconies on this ship. My clients on Celebrity Edge class ships hate them. What is wrong with Royal Caribbean to first put them on Celebrity ships and now Royal. We will stick to the old ships...

What, in specific, do they dislike about the infinite balconies?  I've never actually seen one before.

[time4u2go]

2 hours ago, GStanMus said:

A family of 4 would pay $1100 a day for Disney Parks with no hotel  and no food included

How do you arrive at that amount? Seems very high. 

[Ourusualbeach]

24 minutes ago, flamingos said:

What, in specific, do they dislike about the infinite balconies?  I've never actually seen one before.

If one person wakes up before the other they can't go sit out on the balcony while the other person sleeps. 

[time4u2go]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If one person wakes up before the other they can't go sit out on the balcony while the other person sleeps. 

Why not? 

[MaryZ]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Why not? 

It's not an actual balcony.  It's a window that lowers.   Just google it. 
 

[Plum Happy]

5 hours ago, time4u2go said:

How do you arrive at that amount? Seems very high. 

Jumping in to provide some info and rant about Disney tickets. 

 

The park says a single ticket costs $109 a day (ONE Adult ticket),  but when you go to the calendar and pick your date, it could cost on average $155 for each adult, slightly lower for children under 10, yep over 10 you’re paying full adult fare.

 

That can add up to $600 plus parking plus Geni + Lightening lane to get in on just several the rides ahead of the lines so that’s another $100, parking $25, total so far about $700 plus taxes.  Gee, you need to eat, well that’s more money $$$.
 

Now do a park hopper ticket, you know that’s going to be close to or over $1,000 and you’ve only gotten on a couple of rides because the lines are too long.  
 

Now they even have a annual pass for a kid is listed 3+ Which is priced at $1,299, which is absolutely crazy.  
 

I am sure Universal theme parks are up there price wise too.
 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Plum Happy

[Jasukkie]

I might go in 10 years out of curiosity if the price is right but I'm happy on Radiance class. I keep myself entertained and love the ability to walk laps. It's great Royal is providing an even bigger ship for families. The Aqua Dome looks really cool. 

[sgmn]

6 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If one person wakes up before the other they can't go sit out on the balcony while the other person sleeps. 

May be a problem with all these quad family rooms (if they are infinity rooms) if the parents want to sit on the balcony whilst kids sleep. But on the positive a lot more usable space for families 

[time4u2go]

7 hours ago, MaryZ said:

It's not an actual balcony.  It's a window that lowers.   Just google it. 
 

Oh I know what it is. I was just curious about why one person being asleep would prevent another person from using it. 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by time4u2go

[trajan]

On 10/21/2022 at 8:10 PM, emdia43 said:

It looks great, but 7500 pax at full capacity … Hmm 

Holy @?$&! That is messed up on so many levels.

Edited October 23, 2022 by trajan

[karl_nj]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Oh I know what it is. I was just curious about why one person being asleep would prevent another person from using it. 

 

 

So the issue on the Edge class ships is that there are no curtains, only a electric window shade that "hums" kinda loudly when it opens.  And the shade has to be fully open in order to lower the glass to convert the balcony area, so the room gets a full blast of morning sunlight.  Depending on which side of the ship the sunrise is on, this could be very bright, or extremely bright.  And you probably don't know which is going to happen until you start opening the window shade.

 

With a regular balcony cabin, you can sort to 'sneak' out to the balcony, and not make *too* much noise/let in too much light.  And any light/noise you introduce will be for a short period of time.

 

So you are right -- there is nothing that would prevent one person from using the balcony if the other cabin occupant is sleeping.  But that other person won't be sleeping for much longer if they do...

 

On Icon it looks like curtains may be provided, so it's really too early to tell if this will also be an issue on the RCL version of these rooms.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by karl_nj

[KmomChicago]

21 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

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. 

 

Agreed. There are significantly cheaper cruises available than these newest largest ships (let's just say it: Carnival's older ships), as well as non-cruise vacation options.

 

With a population of 329 million people in the US, not to mention international travelers, there are plenty of customers across a broad range of tastes and budgets, and products to suit them all.  

 

Icon of the Seas does not have to be the "right" vacation choice for every vacationer.  Just the right choice for 7000 of them at any given time.  7000 who happen to like a lot of the stuff on this ship. 

 

This is the percentage of Americans (assuming only Americans cruised on this ship which is, of course, not accurate, though they are going to be the majority) that need to be on each sailing. This is 2/100,000ths of a percent, if my math is right, which is a figure that is hard to even make sense of. 

 

My point is, there are lots of people traveling and RCI, even with their current fleet, has determined there is room for them to get more of them than they are now, as well as to retain and encourage repeat and more frequent returns.

 

In addition, Icon may / will / probably could slightly depress the prices for Oasis and Quantum class ships (and on down the line), making them more accessible.  They still have a fleet of ships to fill, all essentially catering to the same demographic, and they have a lot of room to provide good value outside of their current flagship.

[CruiseTherapy]

21 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Does anyone thinks those color palettes and furniture textures do seem anything real out there?

You did ask....I am not one for the newer more garish colors either.  Odyssey has them also, I prefer much more subtle colors for the permanent fixtures on ship, but that alone would never cause me to avoid booking her.  I have sunshades on all the time anyways!😁  I understand they are going for the more Caribbean vibe with these new ships.

[flamingos]

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If one person wakes up before the other they can't go sit out on the balcony while the other person sleeps. 

True, but I'm very good at sitting quietly on the other side of the room, and this looks like it has more space available for that.  I don't think that would be an issue for us.  Thanks for the reply.

[deliver42]

Disney has it's own market, and they won't stop going. To change the subject back to the Icon, at least on this ship you will have the option of an Infinity balcony or a conventional balcony, depending on the deck. Only 2 decks have the IV's.

[cynt]

We sail 4 generations on our family cruises. We love the options the Oasis class offers. We're already talking about the Icon for 2024. My text messages have been going crazy since they released the new Icon information. We'll probably wait a year or so. But the Icon is definitely on our radar. That's why we love cruising. So many cruise line options, ship options, amenity options, itinerary options, restaurant options. The list goes on and on. There is something for everyone. 

[DirtyDawg]

I just saw some of the artist's renderings. OK, lots of pools, slides and stuff but where's the copy of the Eiffel Tower and c'mon no Pyramid????

 

Royal, you are definitely loosing your touch. 😢

 

 

[nelblu]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:47 PM, GTO-Girl said:

If you look at the videos there is so much more beyond the amusement type atmosphere!!!  One important thing to note is this ship is bringing more floor to ceiling ocean views, something that was always lacking on the Oasis class of ships.  

 

To each his own….but I believe it’s going to be a huge hit!  We cannot wait to book the Icon and we are in our 70’s!!

I had the same feeling when the Quantum class was announced.

[nelblu]

10 hours ago, MaryZ said:

It's not an actual balcony.  It's a window that lowers.   Just google it. 
 

It's an inside cabin as Royal Casino was trying to pass the virtual balcony as a true balcony.😁

[ARandomTraveler]

1 hour ago, DirtyDawg said:

I just saw some of the artist's renderings. OK, lots of pools, slides and stuff but where's the copy of the Eiffel Tower and c'mon no Pyramid????

 

Royal, you are definitely loosing your touch. 😢

 

 

I'd love to see a lazy River that goes around the whole top deck. 

[KmomChicago]

2 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I'd love to see a lazy River that goes around the whole top deck. 

 

WHAT? Some people actually like this current trend and want MORE, not LESS?

[ARandomTraveler]

13 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

WHAT? Some people actually like this current trend and want MORE, not LESS?

I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of it, but a lazy River seems like a cool idea, although admittedly a bit "out there," which is why DirtyDawg's comment about the Vegas structures made me think of it (except I was serious and I know DirtDawg was joking).

[crzndeb]

I like big ships, and I can not lie

while other dudes can deny……….

 

I’m boarding the Wonder in a week, and will eventually try the Icon, if the itinerary suits me.

 

And although nobody really cares about the opinions of others on this new ship, you know what they say about opinions….everybody has one.

That’s the beauty about choices. One size does NOT fit all.

[Aquahound]

3 hours ago, trajan said:

Holy @?$&! That is messed up on so many levels.

 

Something tells me there is going to be a revitalized of the NOOTS squad.  Reborn as NOITS.  

 

(Hopefully folks know what the heck I'm talking about 😉)

Edited October 23, 2022 by Aquahound

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, crzndeb said:

I like big ships, and I can not lie

while other dudes can deny……….

 

I’m boarding the Wonder in a week, and will eventually try the Icon, if the itinerary suits me.

 

And although nobody really cares about the opinions of others on this new ship, you know what they say about opinions….everybody has one.

That’s the beauty about choices. One size does NOT fit all.

Agree. Exactly why others opinions or experiences, positive or negative do not influence our decisions of a cruise line, ship, itinerary and etc.