Icon of the Seas Blocks Are In The House!

[BrianLo]

4 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

I've actually been on all five Oasis class ships and usually have no problems finding areas where you can avoid all the rugrats onboard. I'm reserving judgement on the Icon until I actually see it, but the previews don't have me as excited as I had hoped.  It is also a shame that Royal appears to want to take on Disney for the "family" market, at the expense of their other loyal, older customers... you know, the ones with all the money!

 

 

I think from the pool views there is a bit more nuance to it than you are seeing. The Deck 7 Splash Zone is definitively a little kids area, but interestingly the aft 'adult pool' is separated by a boardwalk bridge to enter it. I see this as the little kids area with a nice semi-half barrier spot for mom and dad to have something nice... within eye shot.

 

I would have said that's a major loss because of sucking away all the prime aft placement, but the chill area aft on deck 15 with the infinity pool will have the far better view and looks boring adult enough and separated that it will probably skew older crowd. I would bet this becomes a defacto secondary adults predominated area and it's quite large.

 

The ship has a solarium AND an adults only outdoor deck, which is actually a bit of an improvement even if the former seems smaller. TBD as we haven't see much of the solarium still.

 

The deep pool and the whole category 6 area I see heavily dominated by families (6-Teens).

 

All that aside there's STILL the other infinity pool, probably another adult forward area AND the Swim up pool (reserved for the drunk rowdy crowd).

 

I don't see how this is a downgrade for adults from Oasis. If anything they merely took some kids areas and threw the moms and dads a bone and actually went out of their way to take the smallest families off the top decks entirely.

Edited October 20, 2022 by BrianLo

[BrianLo]

4 hours ago, jrapps said:

 

• Is Coastal kitchen now 2 decks? Its on Deck 17 but an un-named restaurant is above it on 18. Seems odd there would be 2 separate Concierge restaurants.

 

I read elsewhere that its a Mediterranean restaurant called The Grove, that is indeed supposedly a second Suite only restaurant.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I am going to assume the unnamed restaurants/bars are going to be new concepts. That means the following restaurants typically found on Royal's newer ships won't be onboard, unless they weren't included on the plans for some reason:

• Wonderland - I'll be surprised if this isn't included. Has been a staple on the newer ships. Could go in the unnamed restaurant space on deck 8 just forward of the forward elevator bank maybe.
• Solarium Bistro - May very well go near the AquaDome in the unnamed restaurant space, but wouldn't be surprised to see a new concept here
• 150 Central Park - There doesn't appear to be any unnamed restaurants in Central Park other than the venue just forward of the forward elevator bank. I will be disappointed to see this concept go
• Johnny Rockets - I wouldn't be surprised if this concept is eliminated based on recent ship renovations, but there are 2/3 small unnamed restaurants aft on deck 16 by the rock wall that could be possible locations for an Express option
• Mason Jar - Seemed like a popular idea on Wonder. Maybe it'll go in one of unnamed restaurants aft on deck 16 by the rock wall

Edited October 20, 2022 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

20 minutes ago, BrianLo said:

 

I read elsewhere that its a Mediterranean restaurant called The Grove, that is indeed supposedly a second Suite only restaurant.

The Grove is the suite sun deck. Coastal Kitchen is two levels according to the deck plans I am looking at:

[AshleyDillo]

2 minutes ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

The Grove is the suite sun deck. Coastal Kitchen is two levels according to the deck plans I am looking at

 

I saw a concept photo on social media today that showed the inside of the Coastal Kitchen and it was indeed 2 stories.

[Scoobydobe7]

Does anyone know where the Suite Lounge is located??  I would ho0e somewhere within the "Suite Neighborhood" but I can not find it??  Thanks

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

26 minutes ago, Scoobydobe7 said:

Does anyone know where the Suite Lounge is located??  I would ho0e somewhere within the "Suite Neighborhood" but I can not find it??  Thanks

Probably integrated with the Suite sun deck as it doesn't appear on the deck plans.

[BrianLo]

1 hour ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

The Grove is the suite sun deck. Coastal Kitchen is two levels according to the deck plans I am looking at:

Oh interesting. Yes I definitely see that. I wonder if there’s a buffet or something akin to the solarium bistro because this is what I was referencing and it certainly seems to imply a second distinct venue.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

One flowrider… I have an issue with this. 😝

So do Toby and Vikki.  The amount of complaining on Ovation......

[BrianLo]

Utopia of the Seas is going to be pretty awkward to market. I expected the evolution of Oasis Class (make it 'bigger' from a fresh slate), so in that sense I'm not disappointed in what we've see so far. I think there is some very obvious improvements that will be notable;

-Particularly the doubling of the outdoor public pool areas (from three to six), the far more interesting pool deck architecture, the huge number of water slides and a significant uptick in whirlpools. The pool deck is in almost all ways superior on paper. Save the probably bad decision to reduce to one flowrider.

-There's in some senses an entire extra deck worth of pool and sun and an entire extra promenade deck from the oasis class.

-The Aqua Show and Ice Show clearly will be in much more modern venues than Utopia.

-The suite area is on paper also a significant improvement.

 

That said - I am still waiting for the "innovation". Hopefully we see one tomorrow. I guess the Crowne Edge is sort of different and I am not underselling the measurable pool options. But I don't think "we covered the diving show in a glass dome" counts. Even the Quantum ships had the sky diving simulator, 270 and Northstar, probably other novelties I'm underselling.

 

A lot hangs on the Pearl, I guess?

Edited October 20, 2022 by BrianLo

[TheHawk1]

2 hours ago, BrianLo said:

 

 

I think from the pool views there is a bit more nuance to it than you are seeing. The Deck 7 Splash Zone is definitively a little kids area, but interestingly the aft 'adult pool' is separated by a boardwalk bridge to enter it. I see this as the little kids area with a nice semi-half barrier spot for mom and dad to have something nice... within eye shot.

 

I would have said that's a major loss because of sucking away all the prime aft placement, but the chill area aft on deck 15 with the infinity pool will have the far better view and looks boring adult enough and separated that it will probably skew older crowd. I would bet this becomes a defacto secondary adults predominated area and it's quite large.

 

The ship has a solarium AND an adults only outdoor deck, which is actually a bit of an improvement even if the former seems smaller. TBD as we haven't see much of the solarium still.

 

The deep pool and the whole category 6 area I see heavily dominated by families (6-Teens).

 

All that aside there's STILL the other infinity pool, probably another adult forward area AND the Swim up pool (reserved for the drunk rowdy crowd).

 

I don't see how this is a downgrade for adults from Oasis. If anything they merely took some kids areas and threw the moms and dads a bone and actually went out of their way to take the smallest families off the top decks entirely.

You make some valid points, so I will wait to see what the finished product looks like. Besides, there are enough people on here excited about all the kiddie amenities so Royal has made that market segment happy apparently.

[rhino7176]

8 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

I've actually been on all five Oasis class ships and usually have no problems finding areas where you can avoid all the rugrats onboard. I'm reserving judgement on the Icon until I actually see it, but the previews don't have me as excited as I had hoped.  It is also a shame that Royal appears to want to take on Disney for the "family" market, at the expense of their other loyal, older customers... you know, the ones with all the money!

A bit pretentious don't you think?  Older people have moremoney, lol.... that's laughable.  RCL is trying to keep the entire customer base open to sailing on their newest ship.   I no longer have kids below 18, but I will definitely be going on this. 

 

As far as being Disney Cruise Line, that is laughable.... ever been on that?  Not even close to a family cruise on Royal... good luck finding anything to to do after 10pm on that cruise line.  Royal is a great combination and I enjoy the families and kids, I'm not a crumudgeon.

 

[rhino7176]

8 hours ago, CamaCama said:

Did you really think it would not be geared towards young families?  I'm so confused by your responses here.

Apparently that peron thinks they should cater to the 70+ crowds and ignore the ones that will be here for for 40-50 years.... lol

Edited October 20, 2022 by rhino7176

[rhino7176]

6 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

• A swim up bar? I cant think of another line with one. What a zoo that area is going to be on sea days. 🙂

That will actually get me out to the pool!😁

[ReneeFLL]

10 hours ago, dada2199cc said:

I’m sneaking onto the Icon tomorrow just after the announcement so I can put my pool lounger towels down early.

You said you give them $20.00 in the beginning and 100% of the time you have the lounger you want when you want. What happen to that? 🤣🤣🤣

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[ReneeFLL]

9 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

I get what you're saying, but the Royal Caribbean Group has a cruise line geared more towards adults, Celebrity.  They have status match between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity so loyal customers don't have to loose out on the perks of being long time customers.

Not true. People who are D+ and Pinnacle get bumped down to Elite. It's not an even match so they do lose out.

[ReneeFLL]

8 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

• A swim up bar? I cant think of another line with one. What a zoo that area is going to be on sea days. 🙂

How yellow will the water be? 😳

[tx121]

I know I am not a ship building architect, but on all RCL ships the ice skating rink is in the lower middle ship region. I’ve always assumed it was because that was the most stable part of the ship. I’m also surprised that the aqua dome is on a higher deck in the front of the ship and wasn’t placed midship. I feel the front of the ship on a higher deck is the roughest area to be in during rocky seas. Do you think this will affect performances and cause more cancellations of the shows for both venues? 
On a side note, the adults area solarium will be missed. The solarium on the Wonder was perfect and thought the idea would transfer to the Icon. The aqua dome seems like it will be more like the 270 venue on the Quantum class. 

 

[tx121]

7 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

How yellow will the water be? 😳

Haha Coco cays pool area by the swim up bar would be very yellow if the pool wasn’t so big. 😂

[tx121]

7 hours ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

Crown’s Edge - Description

‘Dangling high above the ocean, this fear-facing challenge is part skywalk, part ropes course, part thrill-ride and an all-out test of your courage.’

 

Also mentions that it is 154 foot above sea level! I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near that! 😂

 

Yes I agree this is some scary sh*t 😂😳😮

[mrpie90]

15 hours ago, rockmom said:

I don't think that's a valid site.  

it is a valid site.

i use it to compare cruise prices.

[little britain]

11 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

One flowrider… I have an issue with this. 😝

And it’s facing the other way to usual. So you’ve got your back to the ocean 

[DaniMSCRoyal_85]

Longitud: 364.8m (1,196 ft)

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon-class_cruise_ship

 

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by DaniMSCRoyal_85

[beardedladies]

Looks like the main reveal site is now live: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/icon-of-the-seas/site/

 

Lots to digest in there. They are really pushing the "from 2024" thing though.

 

Oh and booking opens on 25th October!

[Billy Baltic]

I know Oasis class was seen as a warm weather ship but Icon takes it to a new level in my opinion. I can’t see this ship going anywhere unless sunshine and decent temps are almost guaranteed.