My #1 Unexpected Favorite Thing Aboard Royal Caribbean's Newest Ship 'Icon of the Seas'

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I’ve never been afraid of water, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t apprehensive about going on a cruise. Probably thanks to the fact that I watched Titanic when it first came out and I was a very young child, going on a big cruise ship for an extended period of time has not always been appealing to me. I also used to suffer from pretty bad motion sickness and cruises just seemed like a thing I was okay missing out on when I could travel in other ways.

However, when given the chance to board Royal Caribbean’s brand-new Icon of the Seas ship before its debut voyage, I found myself more curious than ever and I knew it would be the perfect time to finally experience my first cruise.

According to Royal Caribbean, the Icon of the Seas has the “largest waterpark at sea” and is currently the world’s largest cruise ship. As you can imagine, that’s a mix of intimidating and exciting for someone who’s never gone on even a regular-sized cruise ship.

So what is Icon of the Seas really like in person? And what can people expect from a Royal Caribbean cruise if they’ve never been on one before? Here's an honest review of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas.

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Thoughts and Expectations Before Embarking on the Cruise

I think I’ve known this whole time that Icon of the Seas wasn’t like any regular cruise ship. After all, on Royal Caribbean’s website, the Icon is even called the “first Icon Class ship." But it wasn't until I saw this post on X (formerly Twitter), with a real view of what the ship looks like, that it finally hit how insanely big this ship was.

There’s almost too much going on in that video to even comprehend what awaited my partner and me on the ship. There were obviously pools and waterslides, but my brain couldn’t fathom what else was on the Icon of the Seas or what we’d be able to do. It looks like a small city on water with a splash of Lisa Frank thanks to all of its colors.

However, I did have some expectations. I was looking forward to the warm weather in Miami and the Bahamas, since I’m currently in Chicago where it was -5° this past week.

I also looked up videos of Royal Caribbean rooms ahead of time, and knowing we had a balcony was very exciting. The events on the ship, as I could see on the Royal Caribbean app, also seemed like my partner and I would be partying and having fun for three days straight. No complaints there.

Boarding and Navigating Icon of the Seas

To board the Icon of the Seas, we flew to Miami where it was docked before this three-day preview cruise. We were shuttled from the Miami airport to the dock and went straight to the ship. I think I had a Titanic view in my head of what it was like to board an ocean liner, so I wasn’t prepared for the massive building we had to go into first for our safety screenings and boarding procedures. I didn’t realize we had to go through airport-level security either, but that’s exactly what’s waiting for you before you board the ship. 

We walked through a covered gangway to board the ship. Thanks to the elevation of the building, we entered Deck 5 and scanned our SailPasses to enter the ship. And then we stepped into pandemonium. If you’ve seen videos of the inside of the Icon of the Seas, then you already know that Deck 5 has a lot going on. There are so many bright colors to greet you right away!

I’m used to checking into a hotel, receiving your key cards, then going to your room. But once we entered the ship, we walked around to find our room number and then our key cards were in a sealed envelope in front of our rooms. 

Our room was nice and more spacious than I thought it would be, and we had a balcony facing the ocean! My girlfriend and I just kept saying, “This is nice!” as we walked through our new home for three days.

Icon of the Seas Ship Features

Considering the Icon of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship at the moment, it’s no surprise it’s a mammoth to stand in front of from the outside. At a press conference held on Day 2, Michael Bayley (President & CEO of Royal Caribbean International) and Jason Liberty (President & CEO of Royal Caribbean Group) estimated that, at peak summertime, the full capacity of the ship would be close to 7,600 people, with about 4,500 people on this preview cruise. They also emphasized how family-oriented this ship was compared to others, with 80% of the staterooms in Icon of the Seas able to accommodate families, whereas that number is usually only 25%.

Once inside, though, all of the maps made it easy to navigate (once we figured out what FWD—forward or front of the ship—and AFT—back of the ship—meant). And while walking inside, up and down the hallways, its size wasn’t intimidating anymore. I don’t know how they make such a massive ship so manageable, but they did! 

The Icon of the Seas’ size is still evident in other ways, like all there is to do and see on board. The pool decks (15 and 16) made me feel that the most—probably because it was outside and you could walk from one end to the other without needing to go back inside. There were also so many waterslides, pools and sunbathing sections.

At the press conference, Bayley and Liberty shared that 1,500 kids can go through the waterpark in 50 minutes. Again, Icon of the Seas' Category 6 is the "largest waterpark at sea," with six slides including Frightening Bolt—the tallest waterslide to sail—and Pressure Drop—the first open free-fall waterslide on a cruise.

Those are not for the faint of heart, so there are younger-kid appropriate waterslides and fun as well at Surfside, another part of the ship's water playground areas. This is not only aimed at younger kids, but also is meant to serve multi-generational families that come on board. "The joy you get is directly connected to the joy of your children,” Bayley stated. 

In total, there are seven pools, including the largest at sea right now. It's all nicely split up into Thrill and Chill Islands, so that everyone has something fun to participate in.

Another one of these sections was the adult-only pool and deck area—The Hideaway—and it was lovely. It has the only suspended infinity pool at sea right now, and it was very nice to lay out or swim without kids around (no offense to the kiddos). And I had this cocktail called Castaway Spritz, which had coconut milk, and it tasted like a dream. Almost like an alcoholic refresher!

Things To Do on Icon of the Seas

We had one beach day planned at Royal Caribbean’s private island, CocoCay, for this three-day preview cruise. They call this excursion “Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas” and at first glance, it looks like Spooky Island from Scooby-Doo (2002). It was pretty windy and kind of cloudy, but that didn’t stop my girlfriend and me from wearing our swimsuits and spaghetti-strap sundresses. If we got a little chilly, we just had to remind ourselves how freezing cold it was back in Chicago to get our minds right. But honestly, there was mostly a nice warm breeze, and once on the island, it was warm! We also got sun most of the afternoon, so it was a successful beach trip.

We enjoyed a sneak peek of their brand new adult-only section of the island, Hideaway Beach, and spent most of our day there. It was a funny mix of people and environment; the DJ was playing rave remixes of popular songs with smoke canons, a la Miami Spring Break, with patrons in their 40s or older. But people were having a great time and the atmosphere was really joyous, making our time enjoyable.

We had to board the ship by 5 p.m., so we left Hideaway Beach by 2 p.m. or so to see the rest of the island, spotting a hermit crab and checking out the little merchant shops. We went to a swim-up bar, but the rest of the island was pretty devoid of people, probably because everyone with kids had gone back to the ship early thanks to the coming clouds.

Different excursions on the island—like jet ski, swim with pigs or access Hideaway Beach and Thrill Waterpark—range in price depending on the season, with Thrill Waterpark tickets going from $90 to $200, kayaks ranging from $40 to $50 and jet skis from $103 to $120.

It should all be spelled out for your specific vacation on the Cruise Planner you can access after booking your cruise. While we enjoyed our cost-free activities, we did regret not swimming with pigs, so we’ll have to do that on our next trip.

And there is so much more to do on the ship as well. There are 15 bars and venues on the ship that host live music, trivia, Dueling Pianos and more. This is definitely more for the adults, with so much thought going into all of the cocktails and nightlife on board. There was even karaoke, a casino and a sports bar for all the NFL playoffs happening while on Icon of the Seas.

Food and Drinks on Icon of the Seas

One thing you always hear about cruises is that the food and buffets are delectable and make up a big reason to go on one. We had reservations every night—either at the main dining restaurant or Hooked, a specialty seafood restaurant that was invite-only—but breakfast and lunch were open for us to choose the complimentary restaurants on the ship.

There are "over 20 ways to dine" on Icon of the Seas, including restaurants like the aforementioned Hooked, Empire Supper Club, Chops Grille, Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar and more. There's also the Windjammer buffet, which is a Royal Caribbean staple that many people (including myself) have heard about before. There are also smaller restaurants—like Surfside Eatery, Pier 7, Surfside Bites and Izumi Hibachi & Sushi—and walk-up eating spots—Basecamp, Pearl Cafe, Sorrento's, Park Cafe and El Loco Fresh.

Windjammer is on Deck 15 at the back of the ship and is open most of the day. The buffet-style food wasn't horrible and I was able to find something I enjoyed enough to eat, but nothing to write home to Mom about.

On the plus side, the food at the AquaDome Market was pretty good. There were stations that served Mediterranean food, Asian food, sandwiches and macaroni—plus, there was a crepe place.

Some of the best food on the ship was found at the smaller places—even on CocoCay (which had amazing coconut shrimp)—and once we figured that out, we had a good dining time. Park Cafe had the most amazing tarts and chocolate mouse cake; had we stayed there longer, I would have loved to check out more of these gems.

My #1 Unexpected Favorite Thing on the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas Cruise

The main events that I enjoyed the absolute most on this cruise were the events and programming on board (along with the creative cocktails available at each bar). And while it isn’t a shocker that these were great, it surprised me that this was what I enjoyed the most.

There were so many pub quiz sessions or “Name that tune” events throughout the trip, along with silent discos, themed dance parties and even dance lessons. The ship also had stage performances of The Wizard of Oz and a show in the AquaTheater that combined lights, water and machinery with people to "dance" to cinematic music (it's hard to explain, but it's cool). There is something for everyone, and because I prefer vacations that allow me to go off and explore new places, the offerings on this cruise filled that travel desire for me.

My girlfriend’s and my favorite event was at Bolero’s bar the first night, which had the Latin band, Travesia, performing iconic Latin hits. There was bachata, merengue, cumbia (“Como La Flor” by Selena!) music and more. There were so many Latinx people in one room and the vibes were truly immaculate; we know how to have a good time.

Overall, we had a good time and loved escaping to the Bahamas and Miami in January. We didn’t do everything we wanted to (mostly because we were dead tired at the end of each day!), so I know there was even more we could have done. Ultimately, if you love cruises and want a very family-friendly ship, Icon of the Seas is definitely for you. If you’re “meh” about it all, the programming and experiences would be enough to give you a good time too.

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