Hope X will not follow Royal C with mega mega

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@KansasK Our experience on Allure was like you described. Felt less crowded than we had on the Reflection because of all the venues for people to conregate in. We don't do the rides, but had fun watching people who did. 

Allure was our last RC cruise all the way back in 2015. Not because it was a bad cruise…it was great. A Barcelona embarkation and my first Med experience. It was the biggest ship we’d ever sailed but the weird thing is that I remember very little about the ship itself. I know we had a jr. Suite and we ate at one of the restaurants (French or Italian) in Central Park. I think the reason the ship is such a blur is because we weren’t on it much being a very port intensive itinerary. I’d book it again if we had young kids who would enjoy all the activities but for now, we are just fine with the peace, quiet and smaller X ships. 

[Dr. Pam]

LOL !  🤪🤣 Hard not to reply to these comments.  LOL again! As a forward, we have done the big ships when our kids were young.  It was a good fit at the time.  We are now looking forward to a more adult experience especially after our cruise on the Reflection right before the Pandemic. We loved it!  However, after being on the Celebrity boards and reading about the decline in service, we will definitely check out some other luxury lines after our Asia Solstice cruise in a RS.

 

Now let us chat about the size and motion.........😁

 

 

 

Is it the size of the boat or the motion in the ocean?

Well it isn’t the size of the boat.

See this guy? It’s a flower class corvette. Yeah pretty freaking tiny as far as ocean going vessels are concerned.

These boats could only do 13.5 knots, and were pretty sluggish to get up to speed.

But damn were they sea-worthy. Even covered in ice, they were renowned for their sea-keeping and generally well-balanced capabilities. As long as a hatch wasn’t left open, you’re pretty guaranteed to be there the morning after a bad storm.

Then there is this poor thing. It could make 25 knots, and it could carry absolutely anything, but some heavy wave action at designed load did her in.

So maybe the size of the ship in relation to the motion of the ocean is important. The design and use of the ship is what matters

[Miss SeaBee]

10 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I would like to see it a port to see it from the outside. 

Actually, so would I. 

[shipshape sam]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:49 PM, horseymike said:

I agree with the original post. 
My instincts say that RCI knows the main clientele on Celebrity is not looking for the floating amusement park experience. ( Myself included ).

There was an earlier time in life that many X cruisers would have enjoyed that experience, but no pun intended, that ship has sailed.

When we sail by ourselves, we like Celebrity over Royal.  With our kids/grandkids, we want Royal for sure.  I joke that it is cruel to take kids on a Celebrity cruise IMHO.🙂

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

When we sail by ourselves, we like Celebrity over Royal.  With our kids/grandkids, we want Royal for sure.  I joke that it is cruel to take kids on a Celebrity cruise IMHO.🙂

Yes, poor kids 😂

[Moby Jones]

People need to see beyond the RCL group. Other lines also carry 6500+ at full capacity. 

It's one reason why we've lost a lot of interest in sailing in the Caribbean. The ships have gotten more numerous and larger whilst the islands remain the same size! 

[hcat]

7600 pax?

 Has been desribed as " gargantuan"

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

7600 pax?

 Has been desribed as " gargantuan"

Our friend/ travel agent is on it now , she said it is great for families 

It would be like going to a big theme park 

It is not for me , 

[doghog]

42 minutes ago, hcat said:

7600 pax?

 Has been desribed as " gargantuan"

Gargantuan Of the Seas. Good call. 

[Moby Jones]

We were onboard Beyond last week. We moored next to Icon in Nassau. This is a picture taken on the day from a drone.

We also drove over to Atlantis. From the bridge you could see these two ships with an MSC and Carnival ship to the other side of Beyond. From that distance you could really appreciate just what a Behemoth Icon really is compared to more regular sized vessels. 

I know there are many wannabee snooty types that look down their noses at the RCL mega ships, but it really is a triumph of engineering. 

I wonder if future ships will ever exceed 300,000 tonnes? 

Edited January 25 by Moby Jones

[hcat]

Wow,  thanks for sharing !

Great comparative photo..

Gargantuan... Behemoth.....

 

Wonder what its  full impact was in Nassau...stores, restaurants, beaches excursions,  taxis;  or if most folks stayed on board?

 

We are not wannabee snooty types  whatever that means, but is it really a "cruise" ship?  From the outer deck photo, it  resembles Coney Island on a barge !

 

It will be interesting to read the reviews

[Moby Jones]

12 minutes ago, hcat said:

Wow,  thanks for sharing !

Great comparative photo..

Gargantuan... Behemoth.....

 

Wonder what its  full impact was in Nassau...stores, restaurants, beaches excursions,  taxis;  or if most folks stayed on board?

 

We are not wannabee snooty types  whatever that means, but is it really a "cruise" ship?  From the outer deck photo, it  resembles Coney Island on a barge !

 

It will be interesting to read the reviews

This was a pre inaugural cruise. It didn't look particularly busy onboard or in Nassau. I suspect the people we did see were press and TA's. 

I suspect the story will be very different when she docks there full of passengers! 

Incidentally I'm told that a week in an ordinary balcony will cost you $4200 on Icon! 

What did surprise and disappoint me though was the fact that she's fitted with some Infinite verandah's. 

Edited January 25 by Moby Jones

[Ex-Airbalancer]

3 minutes ago, Moby Jones said:

This was a pre inaugural cruise. It didn't look particularly busy onboard or in Nassau. I suspect the people we did see were press and TA's. 

I suspect the story will be very different when she docks there full of passengers! 

Incidentally I'm told that a week in an ordinary balcony will cost you $4200 on Icon! 

What did surprise and disappoint me though was the fact that she's fitted with some Infinite verandah's. 

Our Travel agent is on it now , in a HC , it is IV balcony which is probably a good use for IV room 

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Moby Jones said:

We moored next to Icon in Nassau. This is a picture taken on the day from a drone.

Great looking ship. But not for us. 

Edited January 25 by doghog

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Moby Jones said:

This was a pre inaugural cruise. It didn't look particularly busy onboard or in Nassau. I suspect the people we did see were press and TA's. 

I suspect the story will be very different when she docks there full of passengers! 

Incidentally I'm told that a week in an ordinary balcony will cost you $4200 on Icon! 

What did surprise and disappoint me though was the fact that she's fitted with some Infinite verandah's. 

that info re a Preview makes sense....local Fl new said the Inaugural for Pax is Sunday 1/28 from Miami..

.Glad we are sailing from Port Ev

Edited January 25 by hcat

[563toM]

The videos are starting to post on YT and to me it looks like a larger version of a kiddie playland.  The colors are so childish and way too many people for us to ever book a cruise.  I am going to check cruisemapper.com to see if our future cruises will be in port on the same day as Coney Island of the Seas.

[hcat]

49 minutes ago, 563toM said:

The videos are starting to post on YT and to me it looks like a larger version of a kiddie playland.  The colors are so childish and way too many people for us to ever book a cruise.  I am going to check cruisemapper.com to see if our future cruises will be in port on the same day as Coney Island of the Seas.

too late for us to do that but I will probably  torture myself anyhow....

 

We leave Pt Ev same day ..  It would be horrible to be in port together.  As it is,  we avoid sharing with Royal C mega ships.. any anything Carnivore..(once was enough for that in ARUBA!)

[hcat]

WHEW!  Sigh of relief..!

 

Believe  it or not MEGASAURUS of the Seas( ICON,) is scheduled to be in St Kitts. on Jan 30th...Small port huge ship...bad idea!

 

Stroke of luck,  we are set to  arrive there few days later... . 

 

Thanks so much  "563toM"  for the reminder to start checking !

Edited January 25 by hcat

[AC Stew]

For the life of me, I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that the monster can actually float! And those colours? Looks like Big G barfed up a whole mess of Legos and Play Dough and thus the Icon was the result. Aesthetically, it's certainly not for us. And way, way too many people! Thousands and thousands of tourists descending upon what were once pleasant and relaxing Caribbean port stops? No thanks!

 

If we want to visit a theme park, it'll be a self-contained Disney World or similar option. 

 

I fully understand that Royal will likely continue to sell out these beasts. Unfortunately, those passengers won't have a clue that they're actually on a ship. Can't really call the experience a "Cruise."

 

(Don't flame me, we're just one opinion among many.)

[hcat]

make it another thumbs down from us

 

folks can choose what they like and call it a cruise vacay,   but I fear these MEGA MEGA Monsters  will impact ports and all other cruisers as a result. 

 

 I thought it would be limited to Cocay, Nassau,  and Labadee but St Kitts is small....easily overrun.. Bet it will never be allowed at Key West!

 

  We were looking at a smaller Oceania ship that.gies only to smaller ports but a new mandatory fee for drinks and excursions turned us off!

[NMTraveller]

IMHO E class is already oversized ...

[Cruising89143]

On 1/24/2024 at 9:26 AM, hcat said:

7600 pax?

 Has been desribed as " gargantuan"

The Icon is not much larger than the Wonder. More staterooms that hold three and four guests versus the Oasis class. Personally, I no longer have an interest in the larger ships but we found the best entertainment hands down on the Oasis class and it looks as though Icon is turning up the volume in this area as well. 
 

We enjoy the Voyager class on RCI and the Solstice class on X. RCI is rumored to be working on Project Discovery which will be around the 130-140,000 ton size to replace the older ships in the fleet such as the Vision and Radiance class. RCI will never build the smaller ships in those classes again and we can expect the same from most of the Carnival brands. Princess is going larger with their new Sun Princess. Recent rumor has Carnival Corp. new buildings exceeding the 200,000 ton range. Of course their new Excel class is already packing them in like sardines. Even NCL found out that the new Leonardo class was too small and continues to upsize. I won’t be surprised to see X go a little larger with their next class. 

[cruisegal40]

It looks to me like a floating Barbie city.  It's a engineer feat, however, we will not be sailing her.  Way to big.

[jakebloke]

Looks like Icon will be in Cozumel the same day as my Ascent sailing March 20.  We never get off the ship in Cozumel so I'm not concerned about the number of people, but I am looking forward to seeing this behemoth in person.  

 

I hope Celebrity doesn't move in this Royal direction.   I'd like them to adopt some aspects of Virgin and develop a few adults only ships.  

[hcat]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

The Icon is not much larger than the Wonder. More staterooms that hold three and four guests versus the Oasis class. Personally, I no longer have an interest in the larger ships but we found the best entertainment hands down on the Oasis class and it looks as though Icon is turning up the volume in this area as well. 
 

We enjoy the Voyager class on RCI and the Solstice class on X. RCI is rumored to be working on Project Discovery which will be around the 130-140,000 ton size to replace the older ships in the fleet such as the Vision and Radiance class. RCI will never build the smaller ships in those classes again and we can expect the same from most of the Carnival brands. Princess is going larger with their new Sun Princess. Recent rumor has Carnival Corp. new buildings exceeding the 200,000 ton range. Of course their new Excel class is already packing them in like sardines. Even NCL found out that the new Leonardo class was too small and continues to upsize. I won’t be surprised to see X go a little larger with their next class. 

Bigger not always better. 

We could not wait for our  Oasis cruise to end..It was like a  big mall but nothing upscale! 

 

our dtr agreed , but son in law liked the action stuff..zip line, flo ride..