Even as Royal Caribbean continues to remain silent on the cruise line’s newest ship, newly released photos reveal what Icon of the Seas' bow will look like.
Brand new pictures from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland show tug boats transporting the bow for Icon of the Seas. The exciting series of photos, shared by finki.22 on Instagram, feature the arrival by barge of the massive new bow for Icon of the Seas.
It was a busy day at the Meyer Turku shipyard! The Instagram caption states that tugboats arrived from Poland with the bow of Icon of the Seas. Earlier in the day, the same tugboats assisted the new Carnival Celebration out of the shipyard for its sea trials. In fact, the two ships have been under construction together at the Finish shipyard.
As seen in the photos, the bow color is Royal Caribbean’s signature baby blue color, which matches the coloring of the hull. The cruise line’s newest ships have started to feature this new light blue coloring, with Royal Caribbean choosing to phase out its classic white-colored hulls.
In the background of the photos, the construction for Icon of the Seas can also be seen. Construction on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship started in June 2021.
Royal Caribbean continues to keep hush-hush regarding Icon of the Seas, leading many to speculate about the ship’s design, amenities and features.
Thanks to finki.22 for posting these photos.
Parabolic Bow Design
The bow for Icon of the Seas is now confirmed to be Royal Caribbean’s first ship to feature a parabolic bow design. This is a functional design element that creates a curved indentation in the bottom of the vessel’s hull.
With the arrival of Icon of the Seas’ bow, construction will enter its next phase of fitting the bow to the hull of the ship.
This new bow design helps increase overall stability of the vessel by shifting the center of gravity forward. In addition, parabolic bows allow the ship to be less likely to capsize or heel. This is due to the bow creating an area of low pressure beneath the ship’s hull.
Essentially, it’s unsurprising Royal Caribbean would choose this design for its newest ship; parabolic bows cultivate a smoother ride for cruisers. This is especially important for ships that are heavily-loaded.
Early reports from Royal Caribbean have stated that Icon of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship in the world, so the parabolic bow is an effective design choice.
Icon of the Seas
Although we know Icon of the Seas will have a parabolic bow design, there has been very little information about the ship’s design released by Royal Caribbean at this point. The cruise line has done an excellent job creating hype and excitement about what Icon of the Seas could bring to the Royal Caribbean fleet.
Within recent weeks, Royal Caribbean released a new video series about Icon of the Seas. The highly-anticipated series is titled ‘Making an Icon’. During the first video of the series, Royal Caribbean described its newest ship as “the most transformative ship the world has ever seen”.
The series has promised to feature footage from behind the scenes of the ship’s design, construction and eventual launch of Icon of the Seas. Engineers and industry experts will be featured to talk about the revolutionary cruise ship, which Royal Caribbean claims will offer the best family vacation in the world.
Along with the hype of its design and amenities, Royal Caribbean has also announced that Icon of the Seas will start sailing in late 2023 as the cruise line’s first LNG powered ship in its fleet. LNG powered cruise ships feature dual engines that utilize liquified natural gas to propel the ship. This makes the ships more efficient and environmentally friendly.
A huge media campaign has started for Icon of the Seas, with CEO Michael Bayley hinting at a fall reveal. In addition, Bayley already revealed that Icon of the Seas will first set sail from the UK.
Icon of the Seas is the first of its kind for Royal Caribbean and the first of a new class of ships. Royal Caribbean has not released a new ship class in over a decade; instead, the company has continued to expand its Oasis-class and Quantum-class ships, including Wonder of the Seas in 2022 and Odyssey of the Seas in 2021.
At one point earlier this year, it was teased that a full-blown marketing event could be launched in New York City this fall.
The CEO has also emphasized that the innovation and design of Icon of the Seas will be unlike anything Royal Caribbean has built before. Guests can expect incredible onboard thrills, water experiences like no other, and unparalleled entertainment.
