Trixie21

So what is your impression of Icon ?

How did you feel about the ship after actually being onboard versus how you expected to feel about it?

I've very much enjoyed this thread - thank you to everyone who took some time out from their cruise to post pictures and thoughts.

I've just watched a 1 hour video tour of Icon on YouTube from someone who was on the cruise and was fully expecting not to like the ship , but was actually , in their own words , completely blown away by it and totally in love with it. This was a couple with no kids.

On watching the tour video , I must say I was quite blown away by it as well. We are a couple with no kids and have sailed on every class of Royal Caribbean ship over the years . In recent years we have come to prefer the smaller ships for the atmosphere. 

But Icon seems to actually have loads of spaces for adults and loads of nooks and crannies where you could get away from it all and read a book or whatever. The overlook area in particular is stunning. And the pearl cafe area is beautiful. In fact the whole ship looks stunning and very well thought out. 

No doubt there will be some things which don't work as well as planned , but they will have the opportunity to fix those with Star and the next one.

Icon is expensive - there is no getting away from it. But I have seen some good deals with travel agents with flights from here in the UK included .

We are actually looking now at booking Icon or Star just for the ship, and we never thought we would be.

Just our thoughts on what we have seen so far- not sure what the general consensus is.

We had a booking on Jewel for this year out of Amsterdam to Iceland and Ireland (11 day cruise) which was around £4000 for the 2 of us. We had to cancel it due to a continuing medical issue my wife has.

I've been looking at the price for next year for a virtually identical cruise in a balcony cabin on Jewel. £11000. Who in their right mind would pay that for a balcony cabin? Could they actually be selling any? And the price keeps going up as it was around £7500 a few months ago when I first started looking at it and I thought that was bad lol!

We had to cancel an Iceland cruise on Jewel this year because my wife was ill. It was around £4000 from memory. The same cruise for next year in the same grade of room is over 10k. Not sure what is going on there. We have booked our first celebrity cruise instead (after 14 Royal cruises in a row) - just under £4000 for the same basic itinerary on the Apex - a brand new edge class ship. In no hurry back to Royal at current pricing. We will be shopping around all lines from now on to get the product we want  , the itinerary we want at a price we feel is fair. 

8 hours ago, George C said:

You should like Apex we have done two Edge classes better entertainment than Jewel and better buffet.

We are excited to try something different , and Apex looks pretty stunning from the images I have seen.

4 hours ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

 

Good point, but others aren’t inflating prices to the extent of Royal, so it is somewhat understandable for them. I have seen some great deals with Celebrity for example, yet they haven’t slimmed down their offering, but also for Princess who have recently reduced complimentary options. Put it this way, If I paid less for the cruise fare I would be willing to spend more onboard (e.g. Specialty Dining/Activities), but at current rates it’s just a complete NO!

We've done 14 Royal cruises in a row and have just booked our first celebrity because it was miles cheaper for the itinerary we wanted than Royal - and the celebrity cruise is on Apex while the Royal was on Jewel which is one of their older ships ( which we actually really like ).

We eat a few slices of the pizza over the course of a cruise and find it OK but nothing more than that.

I am not stingy by any means , but I would not pay for it , and I agree with the poster who said that sadly,  RCL are risking devaluing a great brand. 

29 minutes ago, Boatharbour said:

I’m glad you mentioned the cereal as there wasn’t a GF option.

I too carry my own cereal on my travels. I just pop a meal size portion into a resealable plastic bag each morning and take it with me to the buffet. 

Yep , she does exactly the same thing.

Or if she doesn't fancy anything else I go down and bring her up a bowl and some milk to the room.

1 hour ago, What A Market said:

Heidi is Coeliac and is very careful with her diet. We did eat in the buffet a few times. Once for dinner and twice for lunch. Gluten Free options always seem pretty extensive and are clearly marked. 
 

Breakfast is probably weakest in terms of options. 

Again thanks for the reply. Sounds like we will be quite alright on the Apex.

Carol would just probably be looking for either toast , bacon or eggs for breakfast- hopefully those are easy enough to have gluten free. She will be bringing her own cereal which she likes.

9 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

There are a few other recent threads about this that I read before our July cruise on the Apex. I’m not celiac but have a wheat allergy.

 

The buffet worked well for me as everything was labelled so I knew what was GF. There was plenty of variety. There is a GF corner  for desserts at lunch and dinner and bread/ pastries in the morning with separate toaster. The first day I had the maître d walk me around and explain the labelling.

 

Dining room options were limited unless you preordered which I didn’t, I did have a superb meal at Eden though. 
 

Prior to going on the cruise I submitted a special needs form. Every time we went to dinner it was clear that the wait staff knew about my allergy without me mentioning it, 
 

 

Thank you , thats encouraging. 

@What A Market Did you visit the buffet at all on your cruise?

Just wondered how the selection was and specifically the gluten free selection. My wife is celiac - (lucky her) and has other gastric issues which means she can only eat very small amounts of specific foods when she feels hungry - preordering dinner in the MDR is difficult because she may not be able to eat it - just depends on the day. Going to the buffet is better from that point of view - I assume it is possible to get  a chef to walk you round the buffet and tell you what is gluten free , or even prepare you something from scratch?

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

To add to this confusion it is no longer the case on the Apex. They did indeed have fixed early and late dining. Attached is a photo of the daily planner from last months Apex Iceland sailing.

That makes sense because I had the option of choosing between early , late or anytime when booking.

1 hour ago, scrapcreator said:

Normandie Day 3

 

Thanks for posting these - much appreciated.

were you able to order off any of the menus in any MDR?

Hi

Following your thread as we have now Apex booked for next year. 

Would you be able to post copies at some stage of menus from the 4 main dining rooms ? Juwt one days to give me an idea of what they are like.

Thank you for taking the timeout from your cruise to do this live thread!

First time on Celebrity next year - we have the Apex booked (couldn't decide between Sky Princess and Celebrity Apex so booked both lol)

I have read a bit on various threads about dining on Edge class. 4 main dining rooms- part of the menu the same in each , part unique to that dining room (correct me if I am wrong about anything please).

Does anyone have a link to the menus in the 4 main dining rooms?.

And I have read that you can actually get items off any of the menus in any of the dining rooms - is that correct and if so how does that work? Do you have to ask for the menus for the other dining rooms ?

I have read conflicting information about seating - my booking showed an option for select , early or late. Does that actually exist? We chose early 6pm as that is our preferred time for dinner , but someone said on the beyond that there is only select dining - are the 2 ships different?

1 minute ago, Polition67 said:

I am, take my money royal. No long haul flight!!! I can dream 😂

Me too lol

And I don't actually see Icon as just an amusement Park. That is certainly a large element of it , but when you look at the detail of the ship I think they have tried to create areas to suit everyone.

53 minutes ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

 

I believe Royal have got some longer sailings from Galveston to the Bahamas and PDCC, so maybe this is a test to see what the demand is like before committing to a project?

 

It would be nice if Royal had a private destination somewhere in the Mediterranean, as it would add a relaxing day to an otherwise quite intense city/sightseeing itinerary and be especially great for Oasis/Icon Class.

That would be fantastic- I can't imagine they haven't looked at or are looking at the idea.

I do think given the hype and excitement around Icon that they could easily command premium pricing in the Med. 

Maybe I'm a bit silly bit I would pay it - my wife can't do long flights any longer and I would love to try Icon. I can't remember this type of buzz around the launch of a new ship on any line recently. 

13 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Southampton has lost importance for Royal - I'm sure it is only Indi or bust!

You may be right - but it hasn't lost importance for lots of other cruise lines who have multiple new ships homeported during the summer and some even through winter. 

3 hours ago, huntnewt said:

I have thought the same and have wondered if Galveston would receive the second Icon class due to all of the attention that it has had lately.

I still think Icon 2 could do a med season if she is out in time for 2025 summer?

And maybe Allure goes to Southampton along with Indy? IMHO that would blow all the other competition in Southampton out of the water. Could do a really great set of itineraries between the 3 ships. I know its wishful thinking but not impossible.

A lot of people have been saying they have been told by senior officers on Anthem and other ships that 2 ships are going to Southampton in 2025 - Indy is pretty much a definite and they are saying another larger ship also - that would only leave Odyssey or an Oasis class and odyssey looks quite certain for the Greek Isles again where she is very successful. We shall see.

Another question occurred to me - can I book princess standard and afterwards if I decide , upgrade to Princess plus by paying just the cost of the plus package itself. Or would this constitute an entirely new booking and you would then pay the prevailing current fare? Remembering i am referring to UK booking rules.

34 minutes ago, What A Market said:

Long full day in London yesterday with no particular agenda.  We’ve been here a dozen times for pleasure and work, but never tire of spending time in this vibrant city. From our hotel we are a short walk from the Tate Museum, so a return visit there was in order. The hotel concierge recommended we visit the Borough Market — London’s oldest open air market.  It was amazing. An absolute crush of locals sampling all the food stalls. We spent several hours here doing the same.  If you’ve never been on your trips to London, put it on your agenda. Planning your first trip — same!  I’m definitely returning!

 

Then it was off to some pubs for some local beers (and Ciders for Heidi, who is Coeliac/gluten free).  Highlight of the beers sampled was the Beavertown pale ale. Light, refreshing and perfect for a summer day. The pint glass is wild! (Photo attached in separate post.) The founder of this brewery is Robert Plant’s son.  Love that.

 

Some other photos from the day to follow.

Then a post coming from yesterday evenings fun.

 

I was already following your live thread as we are considering booking Apex. Its of even more interest now that I see your wife is celiac - my wife is also. Interested to see how your wifes food experience ismon the Apex.

Enjoy,  and thanks for taking the time to do this !

24 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

To the OP...

Do you like to eat? If so, you might want to skip the Star.

I suggest you read the live trip report from @YVRteacher.

Caveat emptor...

Lol , yes I like to eat !!

And I have been following the live thread by @YVRteacher

Not good. And we were originally considering the Star. Dodged a bullet there!

However food on the Prima which we had hoped to go on seems to be quite good from the few reviews I have read.

25 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

As you know I’m on the Star now. I have not sailed on the Prima. I have decided that when I come back to Iceland (not if, when!) I will not cruise with NCL.  I will never come on the Star again. I booked this trip for the itinerary, not the ship. The ship is not worth it for the itinerary. Given the extreme challenges I have had getting a vegetarian diet accommodated, I would not trust NCL with a medical need.  
 

Check out Viking!

I have been following your live thread and you seem to have had a rough time. Seems very disorganised and disjointed.

I hope things improve for you .

55 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

TA should be able to do a booking with a hold to get a number.

 

Then NCL can answer the question, might need the hold renewed a couple of times if it takes time.

 

 

Can that be done with a UK booking ?

To be honest I told my travel agent after the third time of trying not to waste any more of her time pursuing it and to explore other cruise lines .

Princess have actually called back twice detailing how they can be of help from assisted boarding because we will have medical supplies to working with the medical supply company so they can deliver the fluids direct to the ship. They will likely get the business as they also have a nice itinerary .

I'm not trying to knock NCL as all cruise lines can be infuriating at times and I know they have many happy guests and their Prima class ships are intriguing.

I suppose I am just a little disappointed and frustrated .

37 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

I agree that what you’ve recounted makes no sense and is a totally foolish way of doing business. So much so that it makes me wonder whether something was not communicated correctly on one end or the other. I assume you were not on the call that your TA had with NCL. If you weren’t, you might want to call special needs yourself and see what they say directly. 

The question i need an answer to is as follows.

My wife administers IV nutritional fluids at night as after multiple operations for crohns disease she is unable to eat enough food to give her the nutrition she needs.

We would be bringing onboard one bag of nutritional fluids for each night of the cruise and these bags require refrigeration to keep cool.

So the question was can you allocate refrigerated storage for us in the medical bay for these bags? Fairly straightforward. 

She needs no other assistance or help. The coolers in the cabin would maybe hold 2 bags at most and are only coolers anyway , not proper fridges.

I recognise that they would need to contact the ship to check etc and maybe check with other departments and this may take a little time - nomissues with that at all.

But they will not even try without us first making a booking , as they say there must be a booking number on the request form , otherwise it cannot be submitted. And of course if the answer is no they can't,  then ypmy deposit is lost as obviously we could not to.

I have been using my travel agent for 10 years and she is very competent. I know she has asked the correct question because she has gotten an answer from Royal Caribbean (no) , Princess (yes - very helpful) , P&O (yes - again very helpful).

Still waiting on Celebrity to come back .

I appreciate your suggestion to call special needs myself and I may do that anyway - can't do any harm i suppose. 

Though having called 3 times and been given the same answer by 3 different people one must suppose it is policy .

Unfortunately I have had to say no to sailing with Norwegian.

We were kind of settled on Prima and I instructed my travel agent to contact the special needs department and check if they were OK to accommodate a specific medical request for my wife.

Its actually a very simple request , requires no effort really on the part of the ship. All we need is a yes or no answer . Now no means we can't book with them as this is a necessity on my wife's part.

So the special needs department say to my travel agent that they cannot give an answer to the query unless we have a booking number - ie already booked and paid a deposit. So she tells them that if we book and pay a deposit and they say no they cannot accommodate the request then we cannot go and we would lose our deposit . But they still say there must be a booking number to action the query.

She rang twice more and received the same answer.

So they will not get our money. If we had enjoyed the cruise , we would have booked more with them. I know it means nothing to them really but it seems such a bizarre thing that they cannot provide an answer to a very simple question . Every other cruise line my travel agent contacted has been able to at least provide a straight answer without the need to book first. 

Disappointing to say the least.