Icon of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International and is the lead ship of the Icon-class cruise ship. She entered service on 27 January 2024 out of the Port of Miami in the United States. At, Icon of the Seas and her sister ships, built by Meyer Turku in Finland, are the largest cruise ships in the world.
Royal Caribbean applied to register a trademark for "Icon of the Seas" in 2016.[9]
Steel-cutting for Icon of the Seas began in June 2021.[10] In October 2021, Royal Caribbean announced that the first LNG tank for the ship was installed at the Neptun Werft in Rostock, Germany.[11] In December 2021, the floating engine room unit, including the LNG tanks, was towed to Turku in Finland by tug.[12] The keel was laid in April 2022.[13] The ship was launched 9 December 2022. In May 2022, Royal Caribbean confirmed that Icon of the Seas would be bigger than the Oasis class.[14]
On 19 June 2023, Icon of the Seas sailed for the first of her sea trials.[15] She returned to the Meyer Turku shipyard on 22 June for adjustments to her systems, and to have interior spaces completed and furnished.[16]
On 27 November 2023, the ship was handed over to Royal Caribbean.[17] The ship retracted her funnel to pass under the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark,[18] and docked at the Navantia Shipyard in Cádiz, Spain, for final outfitting work.[19] She departed Cadiz on 23 December for Puerto Rico and on 10 January 2024 arrived at her home port, PortMiami.[20][21]
On 23 January 2024, the naming ceremony was held and Icon of the Seas was christened by soccer player Lionel Messi.[22] Her maiden voyage began on 27 January out of PortMiami.[23]
Icon of the Seas can be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ship has six multi-fuel Wärtsilä engines; these can be powered with both LNG and distillate fuel. Icon of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean vessel to use such technology.[24]
Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world by gross tonnage, a title also held by sister ship Star of the Seas.[25][26][27] The ship has a crew of 2,350, and a capacity of 5,610 passengers at double occupancy, or 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity.[4] 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, and the largest waterpark of any cruise ship.[25]
The ship was designed by a team of architects and designers, including Wilson Butler Architects, 3Deluxe, RTKL, and Skylab Architecture.[28] The designers introduced new concepts including:
In May 2024, a passenger reportedly jumped from Icon of the Seas. He was recovered by a rescue boat from the cruise ship and later pronounced dead.[35]
On 25 June 2024, a fire was reported onboard while docked at Costa Maya, Mexico. Electrical power was lost for a while but the flames were quickly extinguished, with the damage being "minimal" according to the cruise line.[36]
On 24 July 2025, a crew member, a 35-year-old South African man, allegedly stabbed a fellow crew member, a 28-year-old South African woman, multiple times onboard the Icon of the Seas cruise ship. The man then fled the scene and jumped off the ship, according to police. He was later found dead by onboard medical staff.[37]
Although LNG/methane burns significantly less polluting than diesel,[38][39] overall emissions depend on methane leakage.[40] Environmental groups (ICCT and T&E) have said that LNG is a more damaging fuel as it releases more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than marine gas oil through the engine.[41] Nick Rose, a vice-president of Royal Caribbean, said "We consider [LNG] a transitional fuel that helps build flexibility into our ship design ... LNG is one part of our alternative fuel strategy, along with biofuels, methanol and other energy sources like shore power".[42]
Although reportedly being more fuel efficient than the previous Oasis class, the environmental impact of the Icon of the Seas remains considerable. In particular Royal Caribbean cite the use of LNG as one of the most remarkable advances in reducing the emissions of cruise ships. Critics say that LNG is still a fossil fuel producing carbon dioxide and the engine itself could lead to methane leaks, a greenhouse gas more harmful than carbon dioxide itself.[43]
