Royal Caribbean has made big headlines with its newest and largest cruise ship in the world, but not everything you may have heard is necessarily true.
Icon of the Seas has garnered a lot of attention for a lot of good reasons. It's not only big, but delivers new experiences and reimagines concepts borrowed from existing ships. Icon has generated buzz and some people have started to come up with ways to summarize the ship, but are they fair representations of what you can expect?
Read more: All about Icon of the Seas
I wanted to debunk some of the common Icon of the Seas myths I've read so far, and share why they may not be entirely true.
Icon of the Seas is only for kids
Royal Caribbean may have designed Icon of the Seas to be its most family-friendly cruise ship to date, but it's far from a floating elementary school at sea.
This myth is rooted in Royal Caribbean's extremely effective marketing of the new ship. The cruise line wants to compete more directly with Florida land vacations that attract families, especially families with young children.
They turned an entire neighborhood into a kids space, added a waterpark to its top deck, and designed more cabins for parents and their children to fit into than ever before.
While those are indeed wonderful changes specifically for people taking a cruise with kids, there's still plenty for adults to do, including those without any kids.
Just like other Royal Caribbean cruise ships, there's an adults-only space onboard. Located in the Hideaway neighborhood, you'll find a new take on the adults enclave.
Then there's all the bars and lounges that lean more adult, such as the Music Hall, Schooner Bar, Pub, and Playmakers. Plus, there's new bar concepts that you'll only find on the Icon Class ships. Dueling Pianos is a new bar that brings an experience never offered before. Rye and Bean is another new bar that offers coffee-infused cocktails that is great for a pick-me-up.
The new jazz club in Central Park brings a throwback to Harlem jazz clubs, and it's the perfect spot for live music, a cocktail, and a good time.
The casino on Icon is massive, and the layout has been greatly improved as well.
Of course, adults will enjoy many venues that kids like too. After all, a space doesn't have to be exclusively for adults for adults to be able to enjoy it.
Don't forget the new adults-only expansion at Perfect Day at CocoCay. Hideaway Beach is an extra cost section of the private island where you wont find any children.
The idea it's "just for kids" is overlooking quite a lot of things to do to keep adults entertained too.
You have to book specialty dining for good food
While Royal Caribbean ships have added lots of extra cost restaurants over the years, Icon of the Seas has some really good choices included with your cruise fare.
First and foremost, don't overlook the Aquadome Market as one of the cruise line's best new dining concepts in a long time.
Aquadome Market is a food hall, where you can go to any booth and order a freshly made dish. Each booth caters to a specific cuisine, and you'll find Asian, Greek, salads, and more to consider.
You'll also notice a greater emphasis on grab-and-go choices on Icon of the Seas, especially at Pearl Cafe.
Pearl Cafe is a replacement and upgrade to Cafe Promenade, where there are all sorts of breakfast items, snacks, and compliments to a morning cup of coffee.
In the Surfside neighborhood, there are two restaurants included in your cruise fare, and while they may be in the "kids area", it has some great comfort food many adults will love as well.
Surfside Eatery is a buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it's a smorgasbord of chicken nuggets, quesadillas, hot dogs, pizza, and more.
If you happen to be in a suite, there's two restaurants just for you, instead of the usual one. You'll find sit-down meals at Coastal Kitchen and casual buffet choices at The Grove.
Read more: I ate at every new restaurant on Icon of the Seas and here's how I would rank them
And then of course you have the stalwarts of the included cruise dining game: Main Dining Room, Windjammer buffet, Sorrento's Pizza and Park Cafe.
While there are indeed lots of compelling extra-cost restaurants, you can easily stick to the dining included with your cruise fare and not miss out on great eating.
The ship is too big and overwhelming
Icon of the Seas was designed to capture the public's imagination, and if you've never cruised before, a ship of this size may seem overwhelming.
There's no denying Icon is big, but don't let its size fool you. Royal Caribbean is no stranger to building big ships, and they recognize the importance of ensuring it's manageable and easy to navigate.
The ship is divided up into neighborhoods, which means sections of the ship have a distinct theme and look to them. The idea is that without studying a deck map, you can visually differentiate areas and that makes it easier to remember how to get around the ship.
As soon as you walk around Icon of the Seas, I think you'll find it easier than you think to get around the ship without feeling lost.
One welcome change Royal Caribbean made was to make spaces more open. The Royal Promenade in particular is wider than on other ships, and there's more windows too.
Ever since the age of the megaship dawned in the 90s, the public has been in awe of how big cruise ships are and wonder how difficult it will be to find their way around the ship.
The reality is a cruise is what you make of it, and you can choose to do a lot or nothing at all. Plus, the ships tend to be more manageable than you might think simply by looking at photos of them.
Icon is too expensive and unaffordable
Like all myths, there's a bit of truth to the assumption that Icon of the Seas is expensive. After all, it's a brand new cruise ship and new ships always command a higher price tag.
While Icon of the Seas is not going to offer bargain basement fares, there are deals out there if you're flexible and can plan ahead.
Looking at cruise prices for Icon, there are significantly lower prices for select sailings in 2025 and 2026. If you want to get on Icon without paying top dollar, you want to book your cruise now.
At the time of writing this article, I found lower prices for upcoming dates in the next two years. Here are examples of some starting prices:
- January 10, 2025: $1723 per person
- May 10, 2025: $2146 per person
- May 24, 2025: $2046 per person
- August 16, 2025: $2254 per person
- September 6, 2025: $1983 per person
- September 27, 2025: $2,057 per person
- October 18, 2025: $1964 per person
- November 15, 2025: $1859 per person
There's even lower prices for a number of winter and spring cruises in 2026.
What's affordable or a deal will vary from person to person, but the high prices you may be seeing for Icon of the Seas this summer can be avoided if you're willing to book well in advance and can sail during certain times of the year. That isn't to say there's going to be bottom of the barrel prices, just that there are lower prices out there.
Speaking of lower prices, it's always worth working with a good travel agent because sometimes they have agency specific group rates that can be even lower than what you see on the Royal Caribbean website.
You can play with the ship's family dog
There is indeed a dog that lives on Icon of the Seas, and she's as cute as she looks. But I wouldn't make belly rub plans quite yet.
Rover is the name of the golden retriever that is the official "family dog" on Icon. She's less than a year old, and super cute and there is a chance you might see her around the ship.
Read more: I take care of a dog on the world's largest cruise ship
If you're like my kids, your first reaction was "I can't wait to meet Rover", but the reality is it's more likely you'll go the entire cruise without seeing Rover than not.
With up to 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity, there's a lot of other people who wouldn't mind playing with Rover. And while Rover is probably used to being on a ship now, she is understandably not going to be at the center of attention to avoid overwhelming her.
Plus, Royal Caribbean wants to ensure Rover gets to live her best life. There's plenty of time for naps and quiet time.
So while you might be able to spot Rover onboard, don't make any firm plans to interact with her in the same way you might plan to meet a theme park character.
