ICON of the seas - what are your first thoughts

[BecciBoo]

13 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

we booked the first week of December. That’s usually a good time. 

We booked September, one of our favorite months because of Hurricane pricing and we just couldn't swing the inaugural😥

[BecciBoo]

On 11/27/2022 at 9:30 AM, WheresWalter said:

Disney is FANTASTIC for adults

Sorry, but we're over the mouse stuff...I would never consider Disney.  We are perfectly happy with RCL's product.  Also love sister Celebrity...my hubs is a techi, he owns his own tech company so anything techi gets his vote.

[BecciBoo]

On 11/26/2022 at 9:36 PM, monorail81 said:

it doesn’t look like there will be such spaces on Icon. 

Then you really didn't look!  THey're all over the place.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

  THere are plenty of venues for adults and the kids will all be elsewhere, Boardwalk and gaming

 

We're not saying that it wont have any spaces for adults, we're simply saying that the ship is very clearly designed for kids and families and marketed as such.

 

"Ultimate family vacation" marketing

     ^this specifically denotes three new types of rooms with "family" directly in the title

Introduction to ICON

     ^this mentions "family" 16 times

 

When the top deck and back 1/3 or more of the ship is very clearly designated for kids and their parents (families), it's also very clear that RCL is looking at families as their new source of revenue, leaving some of us out of their overall marketing scheme. I don't want to book a cruise and feel like I can only be in the front solarium of the ship.

 

[monorail81]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Then you really didn't look!  THey're all over the place.

Yeah….I did look and they are not. 

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, notscb said:

I don't want to book a cruise and feel like I can only be in the front solarium of the ship.

To each his own, I will be all over this ship...except in the back.  I see plenty of adult spaces.

[Ned11]

On 11/27/2022 at 2:23 AM, bgoff60 said:

We got the sneak peak promo footage on our last cruise and I have seen additional 'footage' since I have been back...

Is it just me getting old or does it seem like they are trying to out-do Disney in being family and kid forward???

Seams like a lot of footage effort emphasized all the young cruiser activities.  Yes they still have a Solarium type area but many the other activities seem to be kid focused...

Is RCI trying to redefine their target demographic?  (For this class of ship???)

As a solo traveller - £2000 for an inside and full of kids, no thank you. I just wish they did a ship (like Virgin) where it's adult only.

[Spurschick]

We are trying it but not sure what I think of it. Whilst it has more pools, they do look smaller and I can see them being very crowded. 
 

Will also be interested to see how it impacts CK/Suite areas. I don’t normally see lots of kids there - with there being lots more family suites will be interesting to see if it becomes more crowded.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Spurschick

[dada2199cc]

I'm just excited for a ship with more sun loungers than ever so I can get the Guinness World Records "most chairs hogged" trophy.

[RCCL Fan]

After doing a lot of cruises in a row I had swore of cruising for a while needed a break.

 

My first thought when I saw Icon....   "that's not a new ship, that's Oasis 2.0" 

 

It truly looks like Oasis with lots of tweaks. I was disappointed as I was expected something totally new and different.... maybe finally an outside promenade, or something crazy like a monorail.  but it feels more familiar than new.

 

Yes all the tweaks are geared toward families.  They didn't jump out to me personally.  But,  As a dad of two young girls, who are Diamond plus members in their own right, and LOVE this cruise line, this is a ship for them.  I took one look at it and I knew our family would be buying a ticket.   It's an amazing ship for families who are the bread and butter of the cruise line.  They get 7K a cabin when I sail with my kids  versus the 3K they get when couples sail alone.

 

Took my kids to Disney and when we left at the end of the week I got, "daddy thanks so much for an awesome vacation, we really appreciate it, but next time, I do think we'd much rather go on a cruise"

 

It's my kids who drive us coming back to Royal....  4 sailings this year, two last year.  3 booked next year. 

 

Every time we plan vacations they immediately start talking about which ships and sailings they want.

 

 

All that being said there are SOOO MANY OTHER SHIPS.

 

Radiance class

Quantum class

Vision class

 and all the celeb ships.

 

They're not the choice for  little humans.  They're adult ships.   Let the families have these two Icon ships.  They'll make some tweak of Edge to replace the vision class soon. 

 

My kids actually love all of the ships.  Vision is one of their favorite ships as is Serenade.  They know which ships are quieter and more adult and which ones are packed with activity and fun and both know what to expect before they get on.

 

All of you who who act like a ship with children is a death trap, sail on Anthem or Edge or Radiance. 

 

It's a big cruise line, there's space for everyone, let the families have Oasis 2.0.

 

 

 

 

[Kendall R]

On 11/27/2022 at 9:48 AM, crewsweeper said:

I hear what RCCL is trying to do in their marketing.  But I'd be interested in actually seeing what winds up being available for adults.   While I haven't cruised Disney, I do know several older adults who have cruised Disney Dream without kids and had a great time.

DW wants to go on the Icon.  So we'll probably do it in the winter of 2025 when most kiddos are (or should be) at school.

 

I'm holding out on seeing the rest of what the ship has to offer as well. I think people are passing judgement on the Icon Class a bit too soon; writing it off as strictly for families. The way I look at it, if all the kids are in Surfside or the Water Park then the rest of the ship will be ours! haha!

 

Some people are taking issue with so much premium real estate being set aside for families and kids but in my experience with the Oasis Class ships, The Boardwalk & Aquatheatre area at the back of the ship is never really crowded unless a show is going on in the evening. I don't see the loss in turning a relatively dead part of the ship into a family area. 

 

Losing the Solarium stinks, but being they really never enforced the age requirement (in my experiences on the ships) I think the new and improved Aquatheatre will be a nice trade off.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Kendall R

[deliver42]

I have no problem with the Surfside, and will check it out even though we have no children. I'm 80 and my wife 71, but it makes no difference to  us. We enjoy being around children.

[soremekun]

35 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

I have no problem with the Surfside, and will check it out even though we have no children. I'm 80 and my wife 71, but it makes no difference to  us. We enjoy being around children.

Congrats on your longevity.  I love it.  I wish you and your wife many more years of good health and happy sailings.

[Cruise a holic]

We are two adults and booked the Icon of the Seas.  We feel that the ship has many options for adults only.   Yes, the ship will attract many families, but on all ships, we find quiet spots and enjoy seeing families have a great time.    My only negative comment is the pricing is crazy, but it is still high for some of the old "tug" boats Royal still has.  Thus far, the only ship that have disappointed us on Royal was the Adventure of the Seas.  We have tried the Quantum and found that class of ship disappointing.  Thus far our favorite class is the Oasis class.  

[CruisingWalter]

On 11/29/2022 at 10:36 AM, BecciBoo said:

Sorry, but we're over the mouse stuff...I would never consider Disney.  We are perfectly happy with RCL's product.  Also love sister Celebrity...my hubs is a techi, he owns his own tech company so anything techi gets his vote.

 

We have cruised 8 different cruise lines so far, should be 10 or 11 by the end of 2023. We enjoy the variety, especially with so many cruise lines out there. Over 300 cruise ships now with 72 more expected to be delivered by the end of 2027. 🙂 

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, deliver42 said:

I have no problem with the Surfside, and will check it out even though we have no children. I'm 80 and my wife 71, but it makes no difference to  us. We enjoy being around children.

 

When we were on the Carnival Mardi Gras there was a gentleman, definitely in his 60s or older, who was having as much fun with the big dunk tank as the kids. Age is a number, never fully growing up is a good thing. 🙂

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, Kendall R said:

Some people are taking issue with so much premium real estate being set aside for families and kids but in my experience with the Oasis Class ships, The Boardwalk & Aquatheatre area at the back of the ship is never really crowded unless a show is going on in the evening. I don't see the loss in turning a relatively dead part of the ship into a family area. 

 

Losing the Solarium stinks, but being they really never enforced the age requirement (in my experiences on the ships) I think the new and improved Aquatheatre will be a nice trade off.

 

The ship is unapologetically aimed at families. That entire top deck is a waterpark. Over 80% of the cabins can hold 3+. You have a capacity that jumps from 5600 double occupancy to 7600 full capacity. I don't know of any other ship that has 2000 extra berths beyond double occupancy.  Wonder OTS goes from 5734 to 6988 for example. 

 

The new AquaTheater certainly looks amazing and I hope folks have realized that some of the balconies in the AquaTheater area are inside the dome. So you may get a balcony that's inside, not outdoors. That will be interesting as I wonder about the heat on those balconies. 

 

I do agree no solarium makes it less likely for us to do any serious pool time on this ship, but at the same time, if you really want a nice solarium, then sister Celebrity is the way to go. I will definitely sail this ship at least once because we love trying new cruise ships, but as for repeat sailings? My guess is probably not. After trying out Virgin Voyages recently (our 8th cruise line) we absolutely loved that adult experience. But we will be on Symphony OTS in a few weeks with probably 2000 kids so we'll get the full Oasis Class treatment. 🙂

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

 

We have cruised 8 different cruise lines so far, should be 10 or 11 by the end of 2023. We enjoy the variety, especially with so many cruise lines out there. Over 300 cruise ships now with 72 more expected to be delivered by the end of 2027. 🙂 

We've done carni and Celebrity 🥰, and we may venture out to NCL and maybe Mardi Gras or the newer Jubilee when she debutes, but we are just happy with RCL, why even go there.

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

That entire top deck is a waterpark.

Adults don't like slides?  Well, I'm 72 and I still love 'em.  I consider the smaller kiddies will be down on deck 7 in the family area (Surf Side and Splashaway Bay) not topside.  Only the older teens etc will be up on the slides (Thrill Island)and Flowrider.  If people would really explore the ship online they would see the only thing topside for the smaller kids is the little play area to the port side of the waterpark and a small kiddie pool under all the slides, that's all, the rest are adult./older teens areas, most of the kiddie things are on Boardwalk and the gaming areas. Those little kiddie splash zones are really just holding areas for kids whose parents may be in the main pools or sliding.  I won't be down there, even if I am on the slides, the point is the rest of the whole top side is mostly older kids/adult areas with bars.  And even the rides have height restrictions.  Not a problem for me...I don't mind teens at all.  The mini golf maybe, but once and done IMHO. Overall, yes, they're trying to lure more family style cruising, but that is not a concern for me.  We will do our thing regardless and have plenty of chill time with cocktails in hand.  And the solarium is just being replaced by the Cove and Cloud 17...only thing you lose is the glass roof.  If it's raining go to the Aqua Dome area

Edited December 1, 2022 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

That will be interesting as I wonder about the heat on those balconies. 

As someone who had one, I can tell you it was quite cool on deck 10, we had the port side on Central Park and again we had the last one on deck 11 starboard on the Aqua Theater and the breeze was quite brisk there as well.  We had no complaints whatsoever except that you had to be discreet when dressing, but if you kept the sheer curtains closed during the day, no one could see you in there unless you were well backlit from the mirror or bathroom.  Had to close the blackouts during the nights though to limit noise from Boardwalk and the Aqua shows, but Central Park was lovely, cricket and bird sounds and string ensembles at night.  We'd book one again without question.

 

For people who say they want to just chill out and watch the sea, deck 16 is predominately just that, places everywhere on that deck to just watch the ocean.  People really need to explore the deck plans.

Edited December 1, 2022 by BecciBoo

[Jimbo]

On 11/29/2022 at 8:55 AM, John&LaLa said:

 

Price out the new Disney ship

On 11/29/2022 at 10:36 AM, BecciBoo said:

Sorry, but we're over the mouse stuff...I would never consider Disney.  We are perfectly happy with RCL's product.  Also love sister Celebrity...my hubs is a techi, he owns his own tech company so anything techi gets his vote.

Food much better on Disney then  on Royal.

4 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

 

 

 

The new AquaTheater certainly looks amazing and I hope folks have realized that some of the balconies in the AquaTheater area are inside the dome. So you may get a balcony that's inside, not outdoors. That will be interesting as I wonder about the heat on those balconies. 

 

 

Do you know what  deck(s) and cabin number(s) those would be?

Edited December 1, 2022 by Jimbo

[OdieCarol]

Too many “good” options to sign up for this ship. We only hope it will drain off the large numbers of kids on the Oasis ships win - win!  Interesting comments about Virgin cruise - may want to check that out for sure. 

[BecciBoo]

Most of those heading into the Aqua Dome and behind the glass windscreen are not balconies but fixed window walls. The Panoramic Interior Cabins.Cat.N cabins. That is the category we were hoping to book, but it was just too confusing with all the triple passie requirements and I finally got impatient with the agent who just couldn't get it together, so we just booked an interior.  Although it looks like they will get sufficient ventilation between the screen...looks like there is several feet of space between your window and it.  We'll just have to wait and see, I am certainly going to try and take a look at one when we board if possible.  

[Diver2014]

My first impression of Icon is 'awesome'.  I love it.  I'd love to sail anywhere on it or any of RCI's ships (going on Wonder OTS next month).  I can't think of a ship I didn't like, after 37 cruises.  Maybe I'm too easy.  

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Food much better on Disney then  on Royal.

Do you know what  deck(s) and cabin number(s) those would be?

Looks like they're calling them panoramic suites. Deck 16 and 17. The original renders we saw made it look like it was an actual balcony inside the dome. Looks like the dome is outer wall of the cabin. 

Stateroom Features

Bedroom area with two twin beds that convert to Royal King. Dressing area in bedroom. Full bathroom with tub. Seating area with sofa. Extension of room that is a panoramic seating area. 

Sleeps up to 4.

Stateroom: 370-440 sq. ft.