After Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas became the world's biggest cruise ship, she's earned a lot of praise and accolades, and they're all well-deserved.
I've sailed on Icon for three full cruises so far, along with a few shorter sailings leading up to her debut. Each time I've stepped onboard I've rediscovered why this ship is now my absolute favorite ship in the fleet.
You don't need to go on a big and new ship in order to have a great vacation, but Icon makes it so darn easy.
I've been sailing on Royal Caribbean's newest ships for years, and each one brought a little something different to one up the previous. However, Icon takes a leap forward from the fleet and it's apparent quite quickly when you get onboard.
Innovations that go beyond any other ship
I can sum up Icon of the Seas in two words: truly innovative.
That phrase gets tossed around a lot, but Royal Caribbean set out to build the ultimate cruise ship and threw out everything they knew about ships prior to it.
They called it a "white paper cruise ship design", which means they started with a blank canvas to come up with the things its guests wanted, while improving on things that have already been a success.
If you've been on any other cruise ship, the improvements made to Icon soon stand out. Some are massive and others subtle, but they all contribute to a better guest experience.
If you haven't been on a cruise ship before, then Icon will feel more natural and not as jarring as a cruise can be for newbies.
What you can expect going on Icon of the Seas is a smooth process each step of the way, and it's a lot of the fixes and improvements made to Icon that make this ship so guest friendly.
You won't be bored with so many things to do on this ship
I'm amazed how much there is to do on a ship like Icon, and it's part of why I love going on it.
One of the most common reasons people use to avoid going on a cruise ship is they are afraid they'll be bored. I don't see how that's possible on this ship.
Being the biggest cruise ship in the world, it can handle up to 7,600 passengers if every bed was sold out. The standard double occupancy rate is 5,610 passengers. Regardless of how many people are on this ship, good luck finding a crowd because the distribution of people is phenomenal.
It's so easy to be drawn to one area of the ship because of how many different activities and venues exist. It's a boon for first time cruisers who I think will be astonished by the variety.
The highlight of this ship is what you can see as you drive up to the ship: the pool deck.
Icon was designed with a "water, water everywhere" approach. You can see the water from so many places and be in the water too.
There are seven pools, including a suspended infinity pool just for adults. There are many other pools for kids and families to enjoy together, and each has its own theme. By offering more pools, it spreads people around and avoids the common cruise ship trope of a crowded and bustling pool.
Then there's the waterpark at the back of Icon, which has six slides. Most cruise ships have maybe two or three slides, but Royal Caribbean pushed the limit with enough to have a true waterpark.
There's also a surf simulator, mini-golf course, rope/swing challenge, rock wall, and sports court. There's enough to happening in the Thrill Island area that you probably could spend an entire day here without trying it all.
The ship has three theaters onboard, with unique shows in each venue: an indoor AquaTheater, traditional stage theater, and an ice skating rink.
On top of all of that, there's an entire section dedicated to young families.
If you have a kid under the age of 7, Surfside is going to be the best thing you never knew you needed on a family vacation.
This entire area was designed with young kids in mind, and the tone is set when there's a slide for them to go down into it, right next to the stairs.
Inside Surfside is a carousel, arcade, three different restaurants that serve kid-friendly food, a bar to sit at with your kids, and a giant aqua park.
What Royal Caribbean has done with Surfside is double down on what families want: lots for the young kids to do along with their parents.
When my kids were growing up, more dedicated programming for them was sort of a new concept that was being explored by Royal Caribbean. But kids today have arguably the best in class offerings for this age group to ensure they will love it, without making their parents have to run around the ship between activities.
It's easy to find your way around the ship
I know you might be worried that the ship is a maze, but it couldn't be easier to get from point A to point B.
The ship is split up into 8 neighborhoods, which is an idea borrowed from the Oasis Class ships. Think of it like themed lands around the ship, where the look of the area instantly tells you where you are.
- AquaDome: An indoor space and theater capped by a large dome, offering immersive entertainment and dining experiences (Deck 15).
- Central Park: Open air park with real trees, shrubs, and flowers that has a variety of restaurants, shops, and bars (Deck 8).
- Thrill Island: All things fun and exciting, with a water park, mini-golf, sports court, and many more activities (Deck 16)
- Chill Island: Most of the pools, whirlpools, and bars for time spent enjoying being in or around the water (Decks 15, 16 & 17)
- Royal Promenade: Two deck high entertainment "street" that has restaurants, bars, and is home to The Pearl (Deck 5 & 6)
- The Hideaway: Adults only enclave for passengers at least 18 years old, with a suspended infinity pool, whirlpools, and a variety of seating options (Deck 16).
- Suite Neighborhood: Reserved area of the ship exclusively for guests booked in a suite. There's two dedicated restaurants, bar, and sun deck (Deck 16, 17, & 18).
- Surfside: A family-friendly neighborhood with a kids' splash zone, arcade, carousel, and family-friendly restaurants (Deck 6).
The benefit of the neighborhoods is it makes it easy to guess what sort of activities or dining choices might be there.
Many dining choices, but a lot of restaurants cost extra
Royal Caribbean includes an astonishing amount of places you can eat on Icon of the Seas, with more than 40 different dining spots and bars to choose from.
There's a choice of places included in your cruise fare, and others that cost extra. You certainly won't go hungry limiting yourself to just the included spots, but it's quite tempting to pay more for the other ones.
While I indulge in the specialty restaurants, I have to admit the included food offered is superb and better than most other Royal Caribbean ships.
The Main Dining Room and Windjammer buffet are staples of any ship to provide most meals, but my favorite places to eat at no cost are the Aquadome Market and Pearl Cafe. Both are new concepts introduced for Icon and really up the free food game.
I also really like El Loco Fresh. It's quick service Mexican food and you can customize your food with a generous toppings bar. Following guest feedback, Basecamp was changed to be completely complimentary and it adds a convenient choice when you're feeling peckish around the waterpark.
If you're willing to spend more, there are a lot of great specialty dining options too. Some are familiar favorites, such as Chops Grille or Giovanni's Italian Kitchen. Others are new ideas, like the three-hour $200 per person Empire Supper Club experience.
My favorite extra cost restaurants are Izumi, Giovanni's, and Empire Supper Club. Each offers a different experience, cuisine, and truly stands out with excellent food.
Anyone booked in a suite should be trying the food at Coastal Kitchen because it's feels like a specialty restaurant but without the price tag.
It's available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for guests in a Grand Suite or above (Dinner only for Junior Suite guests).
My favorite cruise ship because it's better than every other ship
Why should you choose Icon of the Seas over any other Royal Caribbean ship? Because it's just that much better at everything it does.
I'm a fan of big cruise ships, and I've found the other ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet fantastic. The difference is Icon builds on all of them and solves a lot of issues that traditionally would have been pain points.
It's clear this ship has a two-pronged approach to its design: deliver amazing experiences and make everything easier than ever before.
The way crowds are managed on Icon is astounding to me because they are so well spread out.
Unless there's a dance party, the Royal Promenade is rarely crowded at all. On other ships, it feels like Times Square more often than not.
The pool deck has so much seating spread around the three decks that it's probably the best approach yet at solving the chair hog problem. Plus, I think having so many different pools helps too.
The best innovation on the ship is the use of destination elevators, where you tell the system which floor you want to go to, and are subsequently assigned an elevator. It's incredibly efficient and faster than regular elevators.
Of course, the calling card of any Royal Caribbean ship is how good the entertainment is around the ship. There are must-see shows at each venue, and I think the Wizard of Oz show is Broadway quality.
In short, Icon makes taking a cruise as easy as possible for new and veteran cruiser alike because of the the innovations this ship has.
What I loved to do on Icon of the Seas
The included restaurants are so good
Royal Caribbean invested a lot of time and effort to come up with dining options included in your cruise fare that you'll want to eat at a lot.
The addition of Aquadome Market has been incredible, as it adds a restaurant that provides a true alternative to the Main Dining Room and Windjammer. It's fast, efficient, and the food is really good.
Pearl Cafe is an upgraded Cafe Promenade, and also has some amazing seating to go with it.
Don't overlook the included food in Surfside, because it's vastly underrated. Both Surfside Bites and Surfside Eatery have so many good family-friendly options.
It may be labeled as for kids, but I am certain there are plenty of adults who would love to eat there too because of how good the food is.
I would never want to hang out in Cafe Promenade after finishing my coffee, but the Pearl Cafe space is beautiful. It's easily one of those popular places to hang out on the ship. Plus, the grab-and-go food options are really good.
Of course, the food in the Main Dining Room and Windjammer are both really good, and I appreciate how large the Windjammer is on Icon so that there's lots of seating and food selections.
Royal Caribbean also added Basecamp as a convenient option near the waterslides, and it's entire menu now comes at no extra cost.
The elevators are amazing
One pain point solved on Icon are the cruise ship elevators.
Instead of traditional elevators, destination elevators replace them and along with the extra cars added to handle the capacity, it works so much better.
The beauty of these elevators is you rarely wait more than a few seconds for one to arrive.
They're far more efficient in how they assign cars to each floor, and it gets you moving faster to where you want to go.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well the elevators work as soon as you get onboard.
Wizard of Oz is the best show you never knew you wanted to see
While not a true musical, I'm very impressed by Royal Caribbean's Wizard of Oz show.
It's included in your fare, the production value is off the charts. From the set, to the costumes, to the special effects, this is no musical medley. It's on par with any stage show you might see in a city (and have to pay extra to see).
While I loved the movie as much as anyone, I was leery of the show being worth it. Any concerns I had were quickly unwarranted.
One factor that elevates this show is the imaginative use of aerial stunts, such as when Dorothy is in her bed in the tornado scene and flies over the audience.
I think even casual theater fans will like this performance.
Empire Supper Club is unlike any other restaurant
At $200 per person, I wasn't sure if the Empire Supper Club would be worth it to justify the cost and time involved. Luckily, it totally is.
This is a curated meal experience with cocktails paired to each course, and a jazz band playing songs to match up with it all.
I especially love that Royal Caribbean made the space intimate without forcing everyone to sit with each other, like at Chef's Table. There's no awkward conversations to worry about here.
Plus, it has amazing food too. The Chilean Sea Bass was extraordinary, as were a few of the appetizers.
The food is high quality, and I thought it was simply unlike any other dining experience I've been to on a cruise ship. It's not "just another" specialty restaurant.
The ship feels so uncrowded
Up until I sailed on Icon of the Seas, I assumed all cruise ships were going to be crowded and there was nothing I could do about it.
By creating wide open spaces onboard, implementing better elevators, and redesigning venues, the ship almost feels strange being so uncrowded.
It's remarkable how uncrowded the ship has felt, especially where I usually expect to find a lot of people, such as the pool deck or Royal Promenade.
This was true on our spring break sailing that had 7,300 passengers onboard and I think you'll quickly notice it too when you board.
What I hated about Icon of the Seas
Adults only area has no shade
I like that Royal Caribbean came up with a new concept for the adults only area, but it's incredibly hot there with little shade.
The Hideaway is a great spot overall, and it has a pool party vibe. I just wish there was more shade to enjoy.
Both the pool and loungers nearby are all directly in the sun, and the only shade is near the bar or underneath some metal "palm trees" close to the hot tubs.
During most months of the year, it gets very hot, very quickly.
Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen layout is too close together
I wish there was more space allocated for both the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen so it didn't feel so smushed together.
It's not uncommon for both spaces to share the same overall room, but it feels quite cramped on Icon.
When the suite lounge is busy during happy hour in the evening, the conversations there can easily bleed into Coastal Kitchen (and vice versa). Some of the tables are pretty much right near each other.
Basket storage is questionable
Icon of the Seas has many innovations, but one I'd rethink was the choice of baskets instead of drawers.
The issue I have with the baskets is I don't want any clothes on display. Plus, they're more cumbersome than useful.
Because the baskets are fairly small, all you can really put in there are probably undergarments, and that's the last thing I want visible.
On top of that, it's clear there's overall less storage space in any of the rooms compared to the Oasis Class ships.
Usually there's more storage space than we can use on new Royal Caribbean ships, but Icon feels like it's missing a few drawers here and there.
Who should book Icon of the Seas
I think Icon of the Seas is probably the best family cruise ship I've ever sailed on because of how much it offers for everyone, not just kids.
The ship leans heavily towards the multi-gen group, where parents, kids, and their grandparents can truly enjoy a vacation together and find different things each would enjoy.
This ship has the very best that Royal Caribbean, and the cruise industry, can offer. It's like going on the newest airliner or freshest hotel concept. There's something to be said about going on the latest and greatest.
Royal Caribbean wants this ship to be the perfect first ship for anyone, and it's well-suited for someone new to cruising.
The kids areas, including the kids club, are truly impressive. In fact, I think Royal Caribbean's kids club is overlooked, but the staff is so good at not only supervising them, but keeping them engaged with events, games, and activities.
For me, I love the sheer variety of activities offered. The casino is enormous, there are great shows, fantastic bars with live entertainment, and some of the best restaurants we could hope for on a cruise ship.
Itineraries and pricing
Icon of the Seas is sailing from Miami, offering 7-night cruises to both the eastern and western Caribbean. Each cruise includes a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.
These weeklong cruises are the right amount of time to enjoy everything there is to do onboard. You probably won't be able to do everything in one sailing, but should be able to knock out the major must-dos.
Plus, the variety of islands you visit is lovely, each with great beaches, food, and fun activities.
Prices for a 7-night Icon of the Seas cruise from Miami start at $1497 per person for an interior cabin, based on double occupancy.
Cruise prices will depend on when you want to sail, as certain months are cheaper than others. Nonetheless, you won't find cheap bargain basement prices for an Icon of the Seas cruise.
Being a new ship means you'll pay premium pricing to go on it.
