LIVE!!! ICON OF THE SEAS INAUGURAL

[Ourusualbeach]

8 minutes ago, jk04 said:

Some pics from the one last night.  I think that was a Celebrity ship further out, they probably had a nice view as well.

 

 

Cruise Director Mitch whos is now one of our Account managers in Canada did a live stream last night that I saw.  I imagine I will see the same on Tuesday

[cruisinghawg]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have heard from my rep that there will be one at CocoCay for us

Yipeeee I remember seeing one for Wonder that was fantastic!!!

[BecciBoo]

20 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Promenade looks wider than Oasis class

I am amazed at how massive the elevator bays are, the circular area is humongous!

[KmomChicago]

37 minutes ago, silentbob007 said:

Hope everyone has fun.  Looking forward to what everyone thinks.  Thought about it but am going to be on Harmony instead.  I was on the Quantum "inaugural" from NJ and it was a less than impressive experience.  It was great being on a new ship, but other than that, there were still shakedown issues and very little fanfare except the debut of one of the shows.

I agree! I was, through an odd twist of luck, on the 2nd commercial/revenue sailing of Carnival Mardi Gras. It was actually a great experience, partly because the ship was about 2/3 full and it was staffed with Carnival’s top drawer crew being at the beginning of Covid resumption. At the ports, locals were extremely grateful to welcome back the cruise passengers after over a year of nothing. 
 

However, some of the shows weren’t ready or even being rehearsed / tested onboard yet, and there were other details and features not yet in place, and so we still don’t exactly know what a normal Carnival Excel class cruise is like.

 

I wouldn’t particularly avoid an inaugural if the cards fell that way but also wouldn’t ever consider going out of my way or pay a dime extra to get on one.

 

Super excited to follow this through!!
 

 

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, schooner_Drinker said:

(Deck 16 - 16030 Pics if you get a preview chance)

I would love an ADA Interior, we have 10428 right at the elevators on deck 10,.  wondering just how big it is.

[BecciBoo]

16 hours ago, cruisinghawg said:

Gotta go to the Jammer on first day of Inaugural!!!

My first stop in food is going to be Aquadome Market for some Chinese at GNGR!  I am so excited about it.

[cruisinghawg]

Plans are coming together, schedule has been set for the week. We leave Friday afternoon and spend the night in Ft. Pierce, get up early to get there early to get a parking space.

[cruisinghawg]

A cut away for those curious.

 

[cruisinghawg]

Sorry almost double posted

 

 

Edited January 21 by cruisinghawg

[Ozark_Kid]

4 hours ago, jk04 said:

 

Did anyone else see the fireworks display before Icon left?  Was there another event in Miami or was that practice for the Inaugural?

I missed it.  I didn't know it was happening.   I did notice they waited until it got dark before they left.

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, silentbob007 said:

Hope everyone has fun.  Looking forward to what everyone thinks.  Thought about it but am going to be on Harmony instead.  I was on the Quantum "inaugural" from NJ and it was a less than impressive experience.  It was great being on a new ship, but other than that, there were still shakedown issues and very little fanfare except the debut of one of the shows.

 

I was on the "maiden" voyage on Quantum ... 8 night non-stop* TA from Southampton to Cape Liberty.  A lot of work still being done during the crossing.  NorthStar elevator was full of chairs.  Deck 15 men's room was a storage closet.  Dynamic Dining was a cluster.

 

Still had a great time.

 

* Med evac at Ponta Delgada, Azores.

 

I was also on the "maiden" voyage on Radiance ... 3 night RT MIA to Nassau.  MDR was a disaster; very long wait to get menus, another long wait to order, another long wait to get appetizers, etc.  Still had a great time.

[SilkySal]

4 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

I would love an ADA Interior, we have 10428 right at the elevators on deck 10,.  wondering just how big it is.

We'll have #9179 interior in November, 2025. Sigh, it seems like a fairly long wait but trying to have patience.

[cruisinghawg]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I was on the "maiden" voyage on Quantum ... 8 night non-stop* TA from Southampton to Cape Liberty.  A lot of work still being done during the crossing.  NorthStar elevator was full of chairs.  Deck 15 men's room was a storage closet.  Dynamic Dining was a cluster.

 

Still had a great time.

 

* Med evac at Ponta Delgada, Azores.

 

I was also on the "maiden" voyage on Radiance ... 3 night RT MIA to Nassau.  MDR was a disaster; very long wait to get menus, another long wait to order, another long wait to get appetizers, etc.  Still had a great time.

Hopefully RC has learned their lesson on this. It seems with the last inaugural it went pretty smooth.

[Cruise a holic]

We will be sailing on the Icon in March.  Looking foward to hearing opinions for early guests on this ship.  Should be fabulous.

[cruise1957]

30 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

We'll have #9179 interior in November, 2025. Sigh, it seems like a fairly long wait but trying to have patience.

We are September 2025, sorry but I'm glad someone has longer to wait than me.  🤣 I hope the time goes quickly.

[BecciBoo]

58 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

We'll have #9179 interior in November, 2025. Sigh, it seems like a fairly long wait but trying to have patience.

I'll try to get you a review of our room then....It's right back of the elevator bank..just steps away.  It was the cheapest ADA I could get at the time, but it looks like a pretty good location now, we go up or down to nearly anything but the pools and I can walk that short a distance with patience.  Also, I saw a video on the slides today and it showed the steps leading up to the top, they are surprisingly not steep at all so I think I'll be able to do some of those too.  Woohoo.  If anybody wants to see it  at the 2:00 mark it shows the steps, more steps than stairs...like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um3ssjj_7Ok

 

Edited January 21 by BecciBoo

[DaniDanielle]

6 hours ago, silentbob007 said:

Hope everyone has fun.  Looking forward to what everyone thinks.  Thought about it but am going to be on Harmony instead.  I was on the Quantum "inaugural" from NJ and it was a less than impressive experience.  It was great being on a new ship, but other than that, there were still shakedown issues and very little fanfare except the debut of one of the shows.

We were on the Quantum Inaugural also.  It was the most boring cruise we had been on.  Mostly trivia was offered.  The only “fun” was the stewards throwing gifts into our cabin every day!

[topanga49er]

On 1/20/2024 at 4:23 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

DW was just showing me pics posted on FB of today's WJ for those on the 1st 3 days out.  Filet mignon, lobster 🦞, clams, etc.  I bet on the 2nd 3 day @Ourusualbeach will post pics of it to get us excited.   Let's hope it carries on when we all get on!

So Jealous of that Seafood Buffet.  Excited to live vicariously thru you all and so happy you are doing this live!  Thank you...

 

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

I'll try to get you a review of our room then....It's right back of the elevator bank..just steps away.  It was the cheapest ADA I could get at the time, but it looks like a pretty good location now, we go up or down to nearly anything but the pools and I can walk that short a distance with patience.  Also, I saw a video on the slides today and it showed the steps leading up to the top, they are surprisingly not steep at all so I think I'll be able to do some of those too.  Woohoo.  If anybody wants to see it  at the 2:00 mark it shows the steps, more steps than stairs...like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um3ssjj_7Ok

 

Thanks for posting.   I have always loved slides.  Since my mobility has changed the odds of enjoying the slides has really dropped.   It looks like the raft slides may work.   

[cruisinghawg]

Thought this one was cool!!

 

[Mreimer]

We will be there on the 27th as well. We are also booked for May. Look forward to meeting everyone and the new Icon!

[erby2283]

Will also be following along. We board in May and can’t wait! 

[perfect match]

On 1/20/2024 at 4:29 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

The room will be the exact same as all of the other balconies but I will definitely post pictures of the balcony.

Balcony pics would be great! Thank you. 
 

On 1/20/2024 at 6:06 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

He thinks so.  He slso thonks the day bed was bought for him.  

He looks so comfortable there! It must be for him! 

[KmomChicago]

@Ourusualbeach to be sure I understand - you are posting here on this thread for both the preview and inaugural?  I don’t want to miss if there is a separate post. 
 

And if you have explained previously or if this is too nosy I apologize, by what means did you get invited to the final preview / shakedown cruise? 
 

What I really want to know is how much better Icon class is than Oasis class. It obviously is bigger, but not drastically bigger. And some of that extra tonnage is to provide more bedrooms for passengers and crew, so how many more  / how much larger are the public spaces and features and amenities than Oasis?

 

Chris Wong (yes he is Royal Caribbean Dude here on CC but posts infrequently) has said it’s the best cruise ship in the world and it should be. I expect that. So how wide is that margin when RCI is competing only with itself?

 

I patiently await your assessment. 

[Cruise a holic]

Wow- those slides are insane!  Great for young in shape people!  I would definately have a heart attack!  I will enjoy lounging by the pools.