Icon of the Seas Review (w/ photos) 5/4/24 - 5/11/24

[erby2283]

 

Like others have said, there haven’t been very many reviews of Icon lately so I thought I’d try my hand at giving a review. I apologize in advance as I am putting this together a couple weeks later and will probably forget things and bounce back and forth with thoughts.

 

We are three childhood best friends celebrating the fact we all turn 50 in 2024.  We booked this cruise through my travel agent shortly after bookings for Icon were released and got an incredible price on an ocean view balcony Room 12292 for the three of us due to the fact that he had great group space available.  As we weren’t locked into a specific week for cruising or cruise line for that matter, the pricing for Icon was cheaper than the other cruises we had him price out; this included Oasis of the Seas, NCL Breakaway and Joy, Carnival Magic.  Once we booked, the countdown was on – only 556 days to go.

 

Over the course of the next 1.5 years, I purchased (and cancelled and repurchased as the prices dropped or went on sale) the refreshment package, lunch at Giovanni’s, dinner at Izumi, the 10 photograph package, and a one device internet package.

 

I made reservations for the Intercontinental Hotel back in July of 2023 using my AAA discount.  Room was $308.

 

I researched airfare everyday beginning the day flights were released and couldn’t get over how expensive flights from CLT to MIA were. My two other friends were flying in from CT.  One day I found great airfare from CLT to FLL and decided to book it knowing that I could change my flight from FLL to MIA if prices dropped – which they did.  I was then able to switch my flight to MIA without a problem. I would later find out the reason airfare was so expensive was because the Formula 1 race was happening in Miami that weekend.

 

May 3rd – Travel Day

 

Early wake up call as my flight was at 7am.  My girlfriends’ flight was at 6am but we all were arriving within 5 minutes of each other which worked out great.  Not sure I enjoyed getting up at 4:30 am but hey, it's for vacation which makes it slightly easier. I had the option of upgrading to first class a few weeks before my flight for $97 - which I gladly did knowing I was already going to pay $35 for a checked bag which would then be free with first class.

 

 

I texted my friends when I landed assuming they had landed before me.  They were at the gate but still on the plane.  Since I was at the front of the plane, I actually was off before them (yay for first class 🙂 ). We were about 20 gates apart from each other so we met in the middle and then made our way to baggage claim. We gathered our luggage and took a taxi to the Intercontinental hotel (which cost around $35 plus tip) and arrived around 10:30 am.  The hotel let us check in upon arrival so it was nice to be able to drop our luggage off in the room before heading out to grab something to eat for lunch.

 

We asked a valet where to find a good local place to eat and he suggested La Granja which was a few blocks away, but one in our group has celiacs and needs to be gluten/diary free and after seeing La Granja was more of a fast-food type place, we decided to find something else.  We walked another block and came across a wonderful Italian place called Fratelli Milano. The food was delicious and was the perfect start to vacation.  I had the Gnocchetti and my friends and enjoyed the special which was some type of salad with steak.  We then walked to the Bayfront Park area and Bayside Market and window shopped and just watched the boats in the harbor for a bit.

 

 

We stopped at Pier 5 bar and had a few drinks (I don’t drink so I enjoyed a huge virgin Pina Colada) and walked around the local shops and enjoyed people watching and the harbor views.  We then walked back to the hotel to rest for a bit before dinner.  We had dinner reservations for CVI.CHE 105 – which is Peruvian food. Service was good, portions were pretty big and the atmosphere was really pretty neat and relaxed. 

 

 

 

 We walked back to the hotel after dinner to wind down as we were all tired from an early day of travel but we all logged on to complete our health screening for the cruise and were then notified that we had Express Check-In for the next morning. Yay – whatever that meant.

To be continued.....

[teddie]

Looking forward to more of your trip report!

 

Teddie

[Cruise a holic]

We were on the icon. Looking foward to a family sailing viewpoint

[erby2283]

9 hours ago, teddie said:

Looking forward to more of your trip report!

 

Teddie

Hopefully “work” will be slow today and I can post more. 🙂

[erby2283]

May 4^th – Embarkation

 

We woke up Saturday morning and walked up to the CVS for some last-minute items and wine. Our check-in to the port was set for 11:30. Around 10:45 I called for a Lyft to the port. Driver arrived within 5-10 minutes and we were on our way to the port.  As we were within drop off sight, traffic became a cluster f as 4 lanes seemed to go down to 2.  Felt bad for our Lyft driver as he sat there in traffic for a good 15 minutes barely moving.  I was aware that a lot of drivers don’t like to take passengers to the terminal bc they get caught up in the traffic so I was sure to give him a good tip to help make up for time he had to sit there and wait. He seemed very appreciative of that. 

 

The app told us to follow signs follow the Express Signs at the terminal.  Apparently random people get the Express Check-in where you get to bypass the regular line when embarking. The only time we waited was for the photographer to take our picture on the way in (I had designed and printed matching shirts for our girl’s trip and was looking forward to getting some pictures of us in the shirts).  I would say there were about 40 people in the other line so it definitely saved us time although I’m not sure how quickly that line moves since we never had to stop.  We literally just walked onto the ship after going through security and showing boarding docs and ID. I just checked my photos and at 11:23 I was taking photos of the brass propeller and by 11:31 we were walking on the ship.

 

 

You are greeted with that beautiful view of the Pearl as you board and are advised by ship personnel to proceed to your muster station so you can get that out of the way.  Someone was there to check us in (but I think you can also do it on your own) and then we had to physically watch a demonstration on how to put on the life jacket and then we were free to go.  I think many get distracted upon boarding and don’t go to their muster station. They continually remind people via announcements all afternoon to get it done and that we wouldn’t be able to sail until everyone has completed muster. I really don’t know how much easier Royal Caribbean can make this process as all the stations are in close proximity to where you embark.

 

 

After we completed the muster safety briefing, we went upstairs to the windjammer for lunch.  Our first look at the “washy washy” guys.  Can we just stop for a minute and give these guys some props?!  It has got to be BORING after about day 2 to make every song you sing about washing your hands – yet no matter what, they are smiling, helpful, and always in a good mood. As most people know, they are still offering a huge seafood buffet the first day in the windjammer. Both sides of the buffet were open at this time.

 

After lunch and a brief look around Cloud 17 and to grab some drinks, we headed to our room.  We had a balcony on deck 12 – 12292 – which was close to the rear elevators and was a perfect spot.  I enjoy only have to walk up two decks to get the buffet. 😁  We then headed down to Boleros to get our drink cups for the refreshment package. I love the ships that have the soda machines so I don’t have to bother the bartenders for sodas. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking pictures and walking around the ship trying to take it all in.

 

 

 

 

View from our balcony - right at the tip of "Star" Island.

 

 

This was my first cruise since 2019 and I was really impressed with the app and just how much can be done with it.  Photos that are taken of you show up in your app within a couple hours.  You can turn on the tv, you can change the temperature of your cabin and you can even change the lighting – all from the app.  It’s really quite amazing.

 

We had assigned seating for 5pm on deck 4 but I also knew that Sail Away was scheduled for 5pm and we didn’t want to miss that. So, we went down to the dining room and they said it was fine and that we could show up late. We knew that on Deck 5 behind the Pearl there are some chairs outside and we thought we would enjoy that for sail away as none of us really like a big party atmosphere.  Except, 5 o’clock came, then 5:15, then 5:30, then 5:45 and we were still not moving. No announcement as to why we had not left. My dad was watching the Live Feed of the Port of Miami  and called to find out why we hadn’t left.  He said, “You still have the parking brake on????” 😊 We finally got under way just before 6 and after we stayed out on deck for a bit and then decided to change and head to dinner….except by then it was 6:45 and too late for the dining room so they sent us up to Windjammer. 

 

Pictures my dad sent from the Port of Miami Web Cam of us leaving

 

 

We could have gone to any of the complimentary restaurants but the windjammer was by far the most convenient so that’s where we had dinner.  My one friend who is gluten free was not very impressed with their GF options.  I think we all thought that they cooked separate gluten-free foods for the buffet section. But in reality, all they do is look at all the selections on the daily buffet and see which ones are naturally gluten free and put some of those options in the Gluten-Free section in the back.  Now there may be a night or two where you might find some type of fish back there that wasn’t anywhere else but for 95% of the time, the options you saw at the gluten-free section could be found in the main selection in the wind jammer. It is nice to have them separate but we often saw kids or other adults who were grabbing an omelet or hamburger (from that same area) also putting stuff on their plate from the gluten-free section.  May not seem like a big deal to most of us but I bet cross-contamination could definitely be an issue for those with a higher gluten sensitivity.

 

After dinner, or luggage finally arrived and we started to put everything away.  By then, our room stewardess, Jocelyn, had reconfigured our room.  I had gone on to the app and advised we needed twin beds and the sofa bed made up but she said she somehow missed it and it was her fault.  Not a problem. I have to admit I was a little shocked to find out the sofa did not convert to a bed nor does the bottom come out like a trundle bed.  Probably bc we were in a room for only 3 people (and not 4). But basically, at night Jocelyn would lay down a blanket over the sofa and then some sheets, remove the cushions and that’s what our third person slept on. Our third person was a saint and never complained but I could tell it was not the most comfortable.  We offered to switch it up and rotate nights but she was fine to stay on the sofa – and sometimes she even just slept on the balcony outside.

 

We had reservations to the Aqua show the first night.  We got there about 20 minutes before the show began and most of the seating was already pretty full. But we found a seat down front on the side.  The show was fantastic! It’s pretty amazing what the Aquadome can do with the lights and sounds and production.  It was really, really, good! I made my donation to the casino on the way back to the room – it didn’t take long to lose it.   I knew there was a balloon drop at midnight but we were all pretty tired and didn’t quite make it.  Plus, we’re always up so early on cruises so we decided to skip the rest of the nighttime festivities.

[erby2283]

6 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We were on the icon. Looking foward to a family sailing viewpoint

Well we're best friends who consider each other sisters but not a traditional "family."

[BecciBoo]

22 hours ago, erby2283 said:

This is so funny, ya'll look like 3 Blind Mice or the Jazz Brothers...cute!

 

[erby2283]

@BecciBoo 😁I designed and made the t-shirts and another friend surprised us with the heart sunglasses so we decided to wear it all.  Just wish the picture wasn't blurry....at least it looks blurry to me.   Eye appointment tomorrow AM...lol

[erby2283]

May 5^th and 6^th – Sea Days

 

So let me preface this by saying that one of the main reasons I chose Icon over other ships and itineraries knowing there would be many kids (1800 on our sailing) besides price and it being a new ship, was the fact that they had an amazing adult only area awaiting us in Cloud 17.  Until they pulled the swithcheroo and then made The Hideaway the adults only area.  Upon hearing that news, I had sent a short email to Michael Bayley voicing my displeasure and he assured me I would love the Hideaway.  I can confirm that I did not. 😄 I follow a lot of Icon related news on social media and so many adults like myself get blasted with the, "Well didn't you do your research and realize this was going to be a ship full of kids?" 1) We choose the first week in May when most kids are still in school and 2) It's not my fault I booked when they had a better adults only area planned.

 

That being said, I am happy to report that I never ONCE felt overcrowded by kids - or by crowds in general; except in the windjammer which is to be expected.  As many others have said, this ship has so much to do and see, that it really breaks up the crowds. 

 

On sea days, my favorite thing to do is to wake up early, grab breakfast and be in my lounge chair overlooking the sea by 8/9 o’clock. The two times we went to Hideaway, it was so loud, you could barely carry on a conversation and it was packed with people.  It was the only place on the ship I smelled the gross sewage smell I often read so much about. Think of spring break at any Florida beach and that’s what I liken The Hideaway to.  It may be right up your alley, but it’s not my cup of tea.  Suffice it to say, I never had a problem finding a lounge chair and once I found my spot, I went back to it all week which made it easy to find one another.  We generally went up to  Cloud 17 just past the Smoking Area on the right.  Nice plushy loungers.  You could hear the music from the other pool areas which was nice but it wasn’t overly loud.

 

On our first sea day, we lounged around from about 8 am until 2 getting a nice sun tan (burn).  I walked over to basecamp around lunch time and ordered some cheese curds (extra charge) and pretzel bites (free).  They give you one of those buzzers when waiting for a table at a restaurant which notifies you when your order is ready.  These were the only things I ever ordered from Basecamp – there’s just so many food options to choose from all over the ship. The cheese curds were better than the pretzel bites for sure. 

 

Since our first sea day was also formal night, we went back to the cabin around 3 to start getting ready for our 5 p.m. dinner time.  Three women trying to get ready was amazingly easy – mostly thanks to my two other friends who were so understanding knowing it would take me 45 minutes to blow dry my hair and always let me in the bathroom first.  Then they’d start getting ready while I was blow drying my hair. I’ve read other reports that the rooms can be quite cramped for three adults but honestly, we had empty shelves and never felt like it was too small for us!  We did need extra hangers which were easily supplied.

 

Our waiter was Orlando and his assistant was Kystal.  I must also advise you all that I am a very plain Jane eater so if you’re hoping for some honest advice about the food, I can’t really help you out.  I don’t eat salads or anything containing seafood so most nights I ordered just a main course and no appetizer bc I didn’t like any of them.  It never bothered me because there was always plenty of food to be found if you got hungry later.  Surprisingly though, I can’t recall a single night where we found ourselves hungry after dinner (which again was at 5 pm) and went to find more food later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we changed clothes and got ready for the 8:30 showing of The Wizard of Oz. As someone who has season tickets to Broadway touring productions in Charlotte, the show was wonderful.  Singing was great and the sets were amazing.  My eyes were getting so heavy by the end of the show though.

 

 

On our second sea day, I got up and was out of the room at 8 am.  It was cloudy.  I took this opportunity to go down to Surfside and take some pictures while it was void of kids. I hid a duck or two in the cubbies in the back while it was empty.

 

 

 

I noticed that Surfside Eatery was open for breakfast and only had a handful of people in it – as opposed to the Windjammer which I knew would be packed. But I didn’t see any chocolate chip muffins (which in the past Royal Caribbean used to have every day on other ships) so I went up to windjammer for breakfast and couldn’t find any there either.  Keep the Surfside Eatery in mind for breakfast if you want to grab a quick breakfast or some coffee.  It was really quiet between 8/9 am.

 

After breakfast I went back up to the same chairs on Cloud 17 and sent a message to other girls on where they could find me.

 

Let’s talk about the CHOGS (chair hogs) for a moment.  I did see personal items left out for a good while on some of the bigger, nicer, outdoor furniture up on Cloud 17.  But for the most part, I didn’t see many people trying to reserve chairs and then coming back an hour or so later.  This picture was taken at 9 am on our second sea day – and while I know it’s cloudy, it was the same scene the day before. No one in sight.

 

 

Because it was so cloudy out, we decided to go down to Boleros for “Love Songs” trivia at 11:30. We then followed that up with “Movie Quotes” in Spotlight Karaoke.  I liked the pace of this one much better. I thought we had a chance to win it but two teams were tied with 5 points more than us. I was really impressed with my friends’ knowledge of older movies and quotes. 

After trivia, we had a 1:30 lunch reservation at Giovanni’s but we were early…and hungry.  They were more than happy to seat us early.

 

My friend who has the gluten allergy ordered Caesar Salad, gluten free pasta Carbonara (which she said was really more like alfredo) and am not sure what type of dessert she had.  I ordered the Meatball Gigante, Chicken Parm and chocolate Nutella ravioli for dessert.  My other friend ordered a salad, the Steak Muffuletta and some type of Nutella dessert that was rolled in the dough.  She said the dough was too much and ended up just scraping all the Nutella out of it.  Overall, I thought it was very good for the price – I reserved when they had a sale and think I paid like $25 each for lunch. FOOD PORN WARNING BELOW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, no one was very hungry for dinner at 5 but we tried.

 

 

 

We had the comedy show booked for 7:30. We got there around 7:10 and there was already a line out front.  We got in line and a crew member came right up and asked if we had a reservation.  They took us straight inside and I realized the line out front was the stand-by line.  The comedians were funny and most people seemed to have a good time. Shows runs about 45-50 minutes.

 

We then went to the casino for a split second – long enough for me to lose my $20.  Once upon a time at a penny slot machine could last you hours. But now they have found a way to increase the minimum bid so you spend it much quicker. Unless you plan to spend a lot, it doesn’t last long.  I think I spent a total of $60 – won $80. And then spent that $80 and then I was done. Never went back in after night three or four.

 

After that we went to Central Park and hung out here just talking and people watching for another couple hours. I hid another duck by one of the support columns by the champagne window but I knew it was too dark to be found that night.  I had never experienced a ship with Central Park before.  I LOVED it.  What a very neat area of the ship to enjoy.  I was surprised how windy it actually got on some sea days but I always enjoyed walking through that area and would often take an elevator to deck 6 just to make my way across and then up/down the elevators on the other side. One night it was pouring rain in Central Park and someone was there to hand you an umbrella to walk through - I thought that was a nice touch.

 

Up next...St. Maarten

 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, erby2283 said:

After that we went to Central Park and hung out here just talking and people watching for another couple hours. I hid another duck by one of the support columns by the champagne window but I knew it was too dark to be found that night.  I had never experienced a ship with Central Park before.  I LOVED it.  What a very neat area of the ship to enjoy.  I was surprised how windy it actually got on some sea days but I always enjoyed walking through that area and would often take an elevator to deck 6 just to make my way across and then up/down the elevators on the other side.

When I was on Icon in February, Central Park was on deck 8. Have they moved it to deck 6 since then?

[erby2283]

13 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

When I was on Icon in February, Central Park was on deck 8. Have they moved it to deck 6 since then?

Ha yes. They rearranged it just for me. I mistyped. Thank you. 

[erby2283]

Day 4 – May 7th St. Maarten

 

Woke up around 5:45 just as the sun was rising and got this picture from our balcony.

 

We were in St. Maarten today from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and had plans to go to Divi Little Bay.  I was there on our last cruise and really enjoyed the beach. I kept waiting to hear the announcement that we could get off the ship but never heard one so we just headed down to the Pearl on Deck 5 where you take the escalators down two decks to get off the ship.  People were already getting off so I guess they don't make announcements anymore? They had a couple towel stations set up in the Royal Promenade so you could check towels out on your way off the ship.  We exited around 8:25 a.m. and stopped for the obligatory pictures with the Royal Caribbean photographers.  Since I had bought the photo package, I wanted to take as many pictures as possible so that we’d have some good ones to choose from.

 

 

 

We walked to the taxi area and someone asked where we wanted to go and directed us to some other cabs to the right.  We asked how much for a cab ride to Divi Little Bay and was told $15 so we piled in the taxi and off we went. Took about 10-15 minutes in light traffic to get to to Divi Little Bay.

 

 

Beach chairs were $5 each and an umbrella was an additional $5 – so $20 total for the day. The attendant even put up the umbrella since there wasn't one where we chose to sit. Looking at the time stamp on my photos, we were IN the water by 9:03 am.  This time of day was just heavenly – hardly anyone on the beach – it was quiet – peaceful and so enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

But by 11:00, our quiet day was over as more and more families showed up with kids screaming and crying and adults yelling at one another from behind us on the beach down to others in their party in the water. We stayed until 1:30 as we wanted to head in to town to do some shopping and grab something to eat. There is an area to hose off your feet which is where I took the next picture from. 

 

 

There were also some really nice views of the ship from Little Divi Bay as we were leaving the resort.

 

 

Divi Little Bay has taxis waiting for you right there at a stand so you needn’t have to wait for one to be called or arrange for one to pick you up ahead of time. We asked for one to drop us off in town. I really wanted to buy another ring like I did last time I was there but was really turned off by how all of the stores basically accost you if you even slow down to look inside their store.

 

We continued to just walk on the “Boardwalk” and find someplace to eat.  We saw a couple we met who was staying at Divi Little Bay at one of the restaurants and decided to just stop and eat there as well – The Blue B*^ch Bar. After a long day with no food, a coca-cola with real sugar and chicken with peanut sauce hit the spot.

 

View of the ship from the beach in front of the bar.

The food was really good! But just as we were about to leave, the skies opened up and it started pouring. The rain lasted a good 20-25 minutes and we just decided that even though it was still slightly drizzling, we’d just start the trek back to the ship anyway bc it was 3 pm and we needed to start getting ready for dinner. We stopped at a few vendors along the way for some cheesy souvenirs and I always purchase a magnet at every port I visit. (I have a magnetic chalk board at home and one side is filled with magnets from my trips and the other side is filled with magnets gifted to me by friends on their trips). It was a 1.20 mile walk from the restaurant to the cruise ship (I always try to complete the monthly challenges on my apple watch so I turned it while we walked). 😊

 

 

For dinner I actually ordered something "not plain" and went with the Jerk Pork Chop. It was HUGE…and delicious.  They also had some of wait staff parade through the dining room – I always enjoy that they do that even though some hate it.  It’s nice for them to get recognition because I know they work so hard. You can tell some really enjoy the dancing and others are just trying to get though it….lol

 

 

After dinner it was time to get ready for playoff hockey at Playmakers! My friend is a Rangers fan and I am a Carolina fan so we spent the night watching a fabulous game that went into double overtime. Even though Carolina lost the game, it was fun watching it in that atmosphere with a friend I only get to see maybe once a year.  The staff at Playmakers is awesome – George, Mohamed, Natalia, Cristian. We never ordered food from there but everyone else that was around us said the food was REALLY good. We were brought a sundae there from a staff member one night and it amazing - and you got to keep the helmet the sundae came in.

 

We went to bed after the hockey game – around 1 am. Docking in St. Thomas at 7 a.m. the next morning.

[Oceansaway17]

I was on the same week as you.  I guess you did not see ROVER.  I did and she was cute.

They take her every day around 5pm ish to the Overlook.

 

 

[erby2283]

16 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I was on the same week as you.  I guess you did not see ROVER.  I did and she was cute.

They take her every day around 5pm ish to the Overlook.

 

 

Awwwww....no, we never got to see her.  We had heard later in the week that she's usually in the promenade around 9 a.m. but we never checked to see her. 

[Oceansaway17]

2 minutes ago, erby2283 said:

Awwwww....no, we never got to see her.  We had heard later in the week that she's usually in the promenade around 9 a.m. but we never checked to see her. 

I saw her on the first and last day.  She is fed her dinner by hand along the way during 5-6 pm.  That is how they train her and how she is lively and happy.  

[erby2283]

Day 5 – May 8^th St. Thomas

 

We were in St. Thomas from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.  All of us had been to St. Thomas before and we really just wanted to do another beach day.  The plan was to go to Lindbergh Bay and come back around lunch time to eat and enjoy some pool/slide time while hopefully everyone was still off the ship.  Unfortunately, we were awakened before 6am by the sound of thunder. It was an amazing thunder and lightening storm that lasted for well over an hour.

 

 

 

Having never docked at Crown Bay (always been at Havensight), I didn’t even know we had already arrived and were anchored to the pier as our side of the ship did not have a view of the pier. Since the weather was bad, we weren't in a big hurry to get off since we knew our plans for a beach day were probably out.  We took our time getting ready, ate breakfast in the dining room, walked around the jogging track, explored around the ship some more, etc. 

 

 

Always walking through Central Park 🙂

 

 

 

Christina decided to stay on the ship but Sarah and I decided to get off and at least check out the stores in the port area.  Time stamp on our photos shows we walked off around 10:30. I checked out some of the local vendors and purchased a new St. Thomas magnet.  I had wanted to buy a new ring as well so we popped our heads into one of the stores (not Diamonds International) right there on the water front. I didn’t really have a particular ring style in mind but did end up purchasing one that contained my birthstone – I mean we are celebrating the big 5-0 right?!

 

 

Just as we were walking back to the ship, the Celebrity Beyond was getting ready to pull in beside us so we sat down on one of the benches and watched her pull in.

 

 

 

We then stopped for a quick bite at Sorrentos (two slices for me) and my friend ordered a gluten free pizza which was brought to our table because it's made to order.  Pizza is one of my favorite foods and I thought it was pretty decent! But two slices wasn’t enough for lunch so while my friend was still eating her pizza, I walked up to Aquadome Market and got a bowl from Gingr and brought it back down to Sorrentos while Sarah finished her pizza. The cast for one of the shows seemed to be practicing for a new show (or routine) in the middle of the Promenade so it was interesting to see them do that.

 

 

I don’t have any pictures on my phone after pizza so I am not sure what we did until our reservation at 6pm at Izumi but it was not a good night for me.  I’m a migraine sufferer and started feeling a migraine coming on as I was getting ready for dinner.  I took one of my expensive migraine pills (I usually only take them when I know it’s going to be bad) and was trying to remain positive and push my way through it. I was really looking forward to eating at Izumi! We weren’t doing the Hibachi table where they cook in front of you (due to my friends gluten allergy, we were afraid of cross contamination) but you get to choose one smaller plate (appretizer), two larger plates (main) and a dessert. I had ordered the fried pork gyoza, beef teriyaki and chicken udon noodles and I don't remember what I ordered for dessert.  But you can also choose sushi and a really good variety of other menu options.  I started on my appetizer but wasn’t able to finish it…..any migraine sufferer knows and can relate to what I am about to say.  All the banging from the utensils from the chefs on the hibachi stoves and people clapping and cheering and even just the lights from the restaurant….it was just too much.  I had to get out of there and go lie down. I was so disappointed. Our lovely waitress had just come out with our food and I had to tell her I had to go. My friends filled her in on why and she said she also suffers from migraines and understood.  One of the girls walked me back to the room and I just climbed in bed. I didn’t get up until the next morning. The girls said the dinner was wonderful and that our waitress was so concerned about me – she even boxed up all my food and gave it to them to take back to the room for me.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to eat the leftovers since we were in Coco Cay the next day and I had no way to reheat the food.  Oh well, guess I have to go back and try it again!

[erby2283]

Day 6 – May 9^th Sea Day

 

I awakened refreshed after a 12-hour sleep from my migraine. I headed up to the Windjammer for a quick bite to eat for breakfast and was in “my” lounge chair before 9:30 a.m.  It was a beautiful sunny sea day. I was waiting for one of the other girls to come up and watch my stuff so I could go on some of the water slides.  I haven’t been on a water slide in about 30 years and I had told myself that I was doing at least one on this trip! Since it was still early, I was hoping to get on them before the throngs of people woke up and the lines got long. 😊 Sarah arrived before 10 and I headed all the way to the back of the ship and grabbed a mat to head up to the Storm Chaser water slide. Surprisingly, there was no one in front of me so I just kept climbing all the stairs straight to the top. Phew – that’s a lot of steps!. Lol.  You get to step on the embarrassing scale to make sure you’re not over the weight limit and then wait your turn to go headfirst down the totally enclosed slide! Water splashes up in your face a lot and I was going like 80 mph (slight exaggeration) and before I knew it, I was down at the bottom. Ok, once was enough for me on that slide. This was really the first time I took to explore Thrill Island so I took some videos and pictures (I’ve tried uploading videos during this review but none of them every seem to show up correctly). Most of the below pictures were taken around 10 am so you can get an idea of how crowded it is at that time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christina arrived around 11 and she and I went back to the water slide area to ride the Storm Surge raft slide.  There was a longer line for this one but I don’t think we waited more than 10 minutes.

 

I also promised myself I was going to get one of those delicious milkshakes from Desserted! I settled on the Minty Mariner.  They aren’t served with a spoon so be sure to ask for one so it’s easier to eat and so that you can also scrape those sprinkles off the side. 😊 I did have the refreshment package so when I ordered, they did advise me that the classic shakes and floats are included in the package instead of paying for one of the more expensive milkshakes but I already made my mind up.

 

 

 

 

 

I went back to the room and changed and grabbed my kindle and walked up front to the overlook and just sat in one of the chairs in the front row and read while enjoying nothing but open seas in front of me.  It’s really nice to enjoy that view without having to battle wind. I hid another duck in the overlook on my way out as well. When hiding in the foliage, I try to place them in a way so that the plants won't get stepped on our damaged so these aren't necessarily "hidden" very well.

 

 

 

Dinner was another steak, with the onion tart for an appetizer.  I didn’t get dessert but apparently took a picture of someone’s. lol.

 

 

 

 

Went back to the room to change after dinner and back to the overlook to try and grab a picture of the sunset. I wanted to stay longer to get THE sunset picture but would then miss the start of the hockey game. We struck up a great conversation with a guy who turned out to be an airline pilot for Delta who had just moved to Atlanta from the west coast. It was fun to pick his brain about flying questions and all the recent snafu’s that have been happening with planes. Carolina lost….again….

 

 

After the game, we found our way to the dueling pianos bar. The guy is really, really good – she is good too, I just didn’t enjoy her playing as much as his. We stayed until the end when they closed with Bohemian Rhapsody…..some songs just shouldn’t be sung by a bunch of strangers.  It was pretty bad.😊  We headed back to the room around 1 a.m.

 

Tomorrow – Coco Cay

 

 

Edited May 31 by erby2283

[erby2283]

Day 7 – May 10^th Coco Cay

 

This would be my first ever trip to Coco Cay.  I took a Royal Caribbean cruise in 2019 but it was to the Mediterranean and before that was 2016, so I’d never been there.

 

I was able to book a Breezy Bay Cabana pretty early on for a good price ($225). I thought it would be nice for us to have plenty of space to lounge around in comfort with a nice view of the sea.  We were supposed to be the only ship in Coco Cay that day but apparently due to last minute port cancellations, Independence of the Seas was also there with us.

 

We were able to get off the ship around 9:30 am and someone directed us to the easiest way to walk to Breezy Bay.  We checked in and  received wrist bands and were shown to our cabana.  Earlier in the week someone from the shore excursion department called to confirm how many guests were in our cabin and when I went to the Shore Excursion desk to follow-up, they gave us a map of the island and showed us the cabana that had already been assigned.

 

 

Walking through the main pool to get to Breezy Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the Cabana bed, you get two loungers, an umbrella, 2 water mats and a cooler that contained 4 water bottles. We all got in the water at some point – it was definitely cooler than St. Maarten. But it also got really busy with people. I can't imagine what it's like with two mega-ships in Coco Cay.

 

Around 11 the girls went to the snack bar and brought me back some mozzarella sticks.  They were soooooo good! The woman working at the snack bar was our waitress from Izumi the night before and she remembered them and asked for an update on how I was feeling; which I thought was very sweet. For lunch I walked over to the buffet but it was very busy so I just grabbed a tortilla and made a taco and grabbed some French fries and got the heck out of there.  When I got back to the Cabana, I feel asleep for a good hour+.  But man, those dang seagulls….they don’t shut up….lol.

 

 

We headed back to the ship around 3 to get ready for out 5 p.m. dinner.  In retrospect, I wasn’t a big fan of my day at Coco Cay.  But I think that just may be due to my lack of planning and not exploring more. I may have enjoyed it more if I did something different or was on a different beach on the island.  Next time I know to walk around a bit and see what else there is to offer – or maybe we should have taken the tram instead of walking because Breezy Bay is the last stop and we could have seen the other areas they had to offer and moved if it wasn’t to our liking. It was nice for a beach day, I just didn’t think it was “great.”  

 

 

Dinner service was good and is my customary, we tipped our dining staff and head waiter, and room steward in addition to the automatic gratuities. I know tipping is always a personal and sometimes volatile topic here but I am of the personal belief that everyone on a cruise ship works extremely hard, works long hours every day, and is away from their families for months on end. And if I can afford a little bit of extra money to send their way, I will.

 

 

 

We had reservations for Elemental tonight but none of us really felt like going to the show so we went to Playmakers for more hockey after the horrendous task of packing.  We were self-assist debarking the next morning and we wanted to pack up early so we could enjoy a last night together.  After hockey, I found myself alone wandering the ship taking a few final pictures and hiding my last remaining ducks. I went to bed around 1 a.m.  I noticed they were already setting up for the balloon drop for the following night. 😘

 

 

 

Coming up, debarkation, summary of thoughts.

[erby2283]

Day 8 – May 11^th and post-cruise wrap-up

 

I got about 2 hours of sleep, if you can call it that.  Christina was on the balcony around 3 a.m. and I went out to join her.  We had just started sailing back into Miami. It was so peaceful and beautiful just sitting out there.  I also was interested in being awake while they maneuvered this massive ship and turned her around. She turns so quietly and effortlessly. By 4 am, we were back in our parking spot.

 

The USS Bataan was in front of the NCL pier. 

 

 

 

This was as we were making the turn-around in port. Remember, I'm closer to the back of the ship so think about how close to shore the front end must be judging by the shore in the foreground of the picture. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 5:15 a.m. we grabbed our luggage and headed down to Deck 5 Promenade where we already saw some luggage from passengers being lined up and those passengers sitting at tables nearby.  We added ours to the line and the girls went to Starbucks to get some caffeine. A little while later staff came by and had us spread our luggage out into 4 separate lines for disembarkation.

 

 

If you want pictures with an empty Pearl, stay up really late or get up really early. 😘

 

 

Our original American Airlines flight wasn’t until 1-something in the afternoon but they kept continually changing it; moving it earlier and earlier. So for the last month, our flight was at 10:15 a.m. which made me really nervous (wondering if they’d move it again and would there be enough time to make the flight). Hence why we decided to do self-disembarkation.

 

Around 6 o’clock I saw several passengers get up and go rush to their luggage. I was wondering what they knew that I didn’t. They apparently got word via the app that the ship had been cleared so they knew we’d be okayed to get off shortly.  But the staff kept telling us to sit down and that it hadn’t been cleared yet. And so the back and forth between the passengers advising them what the app said versus what they were saying continued for 10 minutes or so.  What’s funny is we could overhear on their radios that the ship had been cleared so I’m not sure why they were saying it wasn’t.

 

We were literally one of the first 20 people off the ship. As we were walking by, they were just now bringing out the luggage for Suites and Pinnacles.  It’s still amazing to me how organized the whole process is. I had my passport ready but having not cruised in a while, was not aware that you literally just have to look into a camera screen on your way out to be cleared by customs. Easy!

 

We got to the taxi line and were the 3^rd group in line. Our taxi arrived, he got out of the car, and literally zipped his pants up in front of us before grabbing our suitcases and putting them in the trunk while we all looked at each other wondering about this ride to the airport. Smh.

 

We arrived about half an hour later (thankfully).  2 of us have TSA pre-check and one doesn’t so I inquired about curbside check-in for luggage before heading in.  He said the line was about an hour inside to check luggage or he could do it there free plus tip.  I’m all about convenience at this point so I tipped him $5 for my one bag and we headed inside.  Sarah and I to the TSA-Precheck and Christina to the regular security checkpoint.  Sarah and I were through in 5-10 minutes and told Christina we’d wait for her on the other side. Waiting….waiting……waiting…..waiting…..  Probably an hour later she comes through – keep in mind this was at 7 a.m.  When she finally gets through, she says security decided to move everyone to a new line when she was almost at the front. But instead of taking everyone from the front of the line and walking them down to the new line that they were opening, everyone from the back of the line got there first so she got pushed back to the end of the line again.  We walked to our gate with plenty of time to spare – like a good 2 hours +.  And we were hungry.  Not much to eat at this time of morning and we had pretty much walked by where any restaurants were open so we grabbed a bag of chips and drinks from a snack shop to hold us over.

 

We arrived in Charlotte on-time and I walked my girlfriends over in the direction of their connecting gate as far as I could before I needed to veer off to get my bags.  Group hug – and off I went to retrieve my luggage in the cluster f that is currently Charlotte Douglas International Airport (they’re doing renovations). Boooo vacation is over....Yay - only 120 until my next. 

 

Closing thoughts:

 

The Kid Factor - I was really, really nervous going into the cruise hearing nightmares of kids everywhere. It was my experience that it felt like any other cruise when it came to kids. I never felt inundated with kids or felt like they were “everywhere” and that I needed to get away – or “where are their parents?!” Now it could also be that I don’t go in the pools or hot tubs – and yes, the main pool did close on 2 maybe 3 days due to poop/throw-up in the pool. But for the most part, I was able to enjoy what I like to do on cruises (be lazy and lounge in the sun) and never felt like I was interfered with by either kids (as I said before, there were 1800 on our sailing) or felt any kind of overcrowding on the ship…period.  Even getting on/off in port, we never encountered long lines of any kind.

 

Refreshment Package – I purchased the refreshment package like I always do and this time it was definitely a waste for me.  Even with 3 sea days, I probably only had 5 virgin drinks the whole cruise.  I did enjoy plenty of sodas (I don’t drink alcohol of any kind) but still not enough to warrant $180 worth.

 

Photo Package – I purchased the 10-photo package for just over $100. I enjoyed being able to see all your pictures right in the app. But I must also admit that I kind of enjoy having a physical picture in my hand more than getting a digital download.  I think you can choose between digital download and getting a physical picture but since I wanted all three of us to have the option of printing the pictures when we got home, I elected digital.  It might also only be on certain ships that you get to elect digital or a physical copy (I can’t remember).  I also noticed that some pictures don’t contain a date anywhere on the picture and that many were blurry or the lighting was just off. But knowing you usually pay somewhere around $15 for a 5x7 picture, I thought it was a good deal and would probably buy it again.

 

Cabin 12292 – As I stated earlier, we booked 556 days out – shortly after bookings opened for Icon so we basically had our pick of the litter of rooms. The location of the is cabin is perfect. Close to elevators. We had three to the room so twin beds and one slept on the made-up sofa (or she slept on the chairs on the balcony some nights).  Plenty of storage for 3 women although one of the girls did keep a majority of her smaller foldable items in her bag that she just pulled out when needed.  We literally had empty shelves in the bathroom, behind the mirror where the safe is, and also the shelves on the side near the tv. I had purchased magnetic hooks which we used to hang our lanyards, small purses, etc. I also brought a pop-up hamper to put my dirty clothes in which I kept in a corner. It was very neat controlling the temperature and lights with the app. I do wish they had a pullman’s sofa even for a 3-person room bc I don’t think most adults would find that sofa very comfortable to sleep on.

 

Overall Ship – She is a beautiful ship and I can’t help but feel like I barely got to scratch the surface on what she has to offer.  It wasn’t until the last sea day that I remembered about El Loco Fresh while walking by. Smh. I think you just default to Windjammer instead of remembering all the options available on a ship this size. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze.  Again I’m not a big foodie but I enjoyed everything I ordered (except Izumi which I never got to eat….still mad about that). I honestly think there is plenty for all walks of life on this ship – you can lounge in the sun or in the shade. You can find a quiet spot or a party spot. You can find plenty of activities or just sit in the Overlook and stare out into the big blue ocean realizing what a tiny little speck you are in this world. On Icon, as with any cruise, it is what you make of it. And I hope the three of us made memories to last another 35+ years of friendship together. #Fun@50group #1974babies

 

[erby2283]

Thanks for allowing me to share my cruise memories with y'all.  Hope those of you cruising Icon enjoy her as much as we did.

[erby2283]

I just noticed the day I joined cruise critic below my profile picture, September 10, 2004 - my mother died September 10, 2017. "Isn't it ironic....don't ya think?"