Icon of the Seas
Icon of the Seas is a cruise ship built for Royal Caribbean International and will be the lead ship of the Icon class. She is scheduled to enter service in early 2024 out of PortMiami in the US.[3] At 250,800 gross tonnage (GT), Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world.[2][1]
Icon of the Seas during her first sea trials in June 2023. | |
History | |
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Bahamas | |
Name | Icon of the Seas |
Operator | Royal Caribbean International |
Port of registry | Nassau |
Builder | Meyer Turku, Turku, Finland |
Yard number | NB 1400 |
Laid down | 5 April 2022 |
Launched | 9 December 2022 |
Identification | IMO number: 9829930 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Icon-class cruise ship |
Tonnage | 250,800 GT[1] |
Length | 1,198 feet (365 m)[2] |
Decks | 20[2] |
Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Crew | 2,350[2] |
History
In October 2016, Royal Caribbean and Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku announced an order to build two ships under the project name "Icon".[4] The ships are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023 and in 2025.[5][6] The ships will be classified by DNV.[7]
Royal Caribbean applied to register a trademark for "Icon of the Seas" in 2016.[8]
Steel-cutting for Icon of the Seas began in June 2021.[9] In October 2021, Royal Caribbean announced that the first LNG tank for the ship was installed at the Neptun Werft in Rostock, Germany.[10] In December 2021, the floating engine room unit, including the LNG tanks, was towed to Turku in Finland by tug.[11] The keel was laid in April 2022.[12] In May 2022, Royal Caribbean confirmed that Icon of the Seas would be bigger than the Oasis class.[13]
On 19 June 2023, Icon of the Seas sailed for the first of her sea trials.[14] She returned to the Meyer Turku shipyard on 22 June for adjustments to her systems, and interior spaces will be completed and furnished.[15]
Design
Icon of the Seas is powered by liquified natural gas (LNG), with a gross tonnage of 250,800. The ship has six multi-fuel Wärtsilä engines generating 67,500 kW (90,520 hp) of power. The engines can be powered with both LNG and distillate fuel. The ship contains other alternative energy features, like the use of fuel cells to produce electricity and fresh water.[4] Icon of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean vessel to use such technology.[16]
The ship will have a crew of 2,350, and a capacity of 5,610 passengers at double occupancy, or 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity.[2]
Icon of the Seas has 20 decks with seven swimming pools and six water slides. The company claims the ship has the tallest waterfall, the tallest water slide, the largest waterpark, and the first suspended infinity pool of any ship.[2]
References
- "Icon of the Seas Ship Details Revealed - Cruise Critic". www.cruisecritic.com.
- "Royal Caribbean reveals spectacular design for new Icon of the Seas cruise ship". Royal Caribbean Blog. 20 October 2022.
- "Icon of the Seas | Cruise Ships | Royal Caribbean Cruise". Icon of the Seas. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- "Powered By LNG and Fuel Cells, Royal Caribbean International's New Ships Will Ride the Wave of the Future". Royal Caribbean Press Center (Press release). Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- "Icon of the Seas: Itinerary, features, and more". Royal Caribbean Blog. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- Staff, C. I. N. (5 November 2021). "Royal Caribbean Group Pushes Back Most New Ship Deliveries". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- "DNV GL sorgt bei Turku-Schiffen für Klasse" [DNV GL provides class on Turku ships] (in German). 8 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- Matt Hochberg. "Royal Caribbean files trademark for Icon of the Seas ship name". Royal Caribbean Blog. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- "Meyer Turku cuts steel for Royal Caribbean's newly named Icon of the Seas". seatrade-cruise.com. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Romanenko, Maria (28 October 2021). "Icon of the Seas Gets First 307-Ton LNG Fuel Tank Installed". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- "Mega-Modul für "Icon of Sea" reist von Warnemünde nach Turku" (in German). 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- "Meyer Turku lays the keel for Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas". seatrade-cruise.com. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Huxley, Lucy (10 May 2022). "Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas to be 'bigger than Oasis-class'". Travel Weekly.
- McGillivray, Robert (19 June 2023). "First Look as Biggest-Ever Cruise Ship Departs on Sea Trials". Cruise Hive. Cruise Hive Ltd. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- McGillivray, Robert (22 June 2023). "Icon of the Seas Returns to Shipyard After Acing First Sea Trials". Cruise Hive. Cruise Hive Ltd. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- Habibic, Ajsa (16 March 2023). "First of Six Multi-Fuel Engines Started on LNG-Powered Icon of the Seas". Offshore Energy. Retrieved 29 June 2023.