Icon of the Seas Overview. Jan 20-23

[CruisingWalter]

A quick overview of Icon of the Seas from our Jan 20-23 preview sailing. Some background on us. Cruising nearly 20 years, have sailed on 10 cruise lines. We love all manner of ships from the Icons to the small 650 passenger vessels. Prior to Icon we've sailed Mariner and Symphony on Royal. From what we were told there were 4000 on our sailing and I can tell you the ship felt empty. 

 

This ship is so far beyond an "Oasis upgrade," it's an intelligent, complete reimagining of what a big family ship can be. In particular Royal has really elevated the adult experience onboard by leaning into Celebrity. You can see influences of that cruise line everywhere with cleaner lines, a more contemporary and 'adult look' to spaces and elevated dining and entertainment options. 

 

I’ll start with our stateroom that was the Ocean View Balcony. Really nice design features including some extra power and USB outlets and a ton of storage. The best part was the redesigned bathroom. Small changes resulted in a larger shower and a better layout. The showers all have benches now and just moving the towel rack into the shower makes the rest of the bathroom feel larger. It’s the largest shower in a standard stateroom that we’ve stayed in for some time now. 

We were able to tour 21 stateroom categories during our sailing. The one great change is that the beds in suites are now turned to face the ocean vs. being sideways on the wall. I especially liked the reconfigured Junior Suite which is one of my favorite staterooms at sea. The new Spacious Interior and the Interior Plus are really clever re-designs of the interior stateroom. Spacious is a square room giving you more space around the bed. Plus moved the vanity into the closet creating more space in the main room. 

 

My favorite rooms on the tour were the Sunset Corner Suite and the Icon Loft. The sunset (aft) suites are just beautiful and there is a Sunset Junior Suite as well. The room I would not recommend is the Royal Loft. So much money to have a view of Swim and Tonic and the hot tubs. Yes there are ocean views around the side, but the main part of your balcony is right above the swim up bar. If you want a loft suite, go with the Icon Loft that has more private balconies that look out over the ocean. They seem like they’re similar to the Edge villas on Celebrity. 

 

Two small things that I really like. The Promenade has been redesigned with Deck 6 now a full deck allowing you to walk from front to back above the promenade on both sides of the ship. It's not just a partial deck so you have to keep going down the stairs into the Promenade, they connected it and created some amazing spaces on both sides with the showcase being Pearl Cafe.  

 

Second is the abundance of casual seating everywhere and the integration of spaces for parents and kids to hang together throughout the ship.  For instance in the Category 6 waterpark, there are many big round loungers and an abundance of chairs where the parents or other family members can chill while others take advantage of the waterslides. 

 

One big change from the Oasis Class is Surfside. Not just a reimagining of that space, but just how quiet it is now at night. With the AquaTheater moved to the front and Playmakers moved to the front, the entire space shuts down by 9pm. On Oasis class ships we avoid the Boardwalk balconies because there can be a lot of noise at night with the water shows and with big sporting events at Playmakers. Now it’s a much different and quieter vibe at night. For those of you with really small kids, note that they have a specific splash pad for toddlers in swim diapers. I love that they put a nice infinity pool behind the splash pad so mom and dad have a nice pool to enjoy while the kids splash around. And there's a lot of seating around the splash pad so parents and grandparents can relax while the kids play. 

 

Another obvious big change is the AquaDome. I was not prepared for how much I was going to love that space. That could be one of the most beautiful venues at sea on any cruise ship, honestly breathtaking when you come around the corner in front of the AquaTheater. I loved all the big comfy chairs to just relax and enjoy those amazing views. And at night it’s quite lovely with the subdued lighting. The Rye and Bean coffee shop and bar is my new favorite Royal Caribbean bar. Espresso Martini and Coffee Boulevardier were awesome, as were the macchiatos. 

 

The new Central Park is much cleaner and I personally love the splash of color with the shutters. I think the infinite balconies are a perfect addition to that area creating a much cleaner and more contemporary look. The balconies on the very top are cleaner as well now flush with the walls vs. hanging over the edge. The addition of Lou’s Jazz Club and Izumi in the Park just fit. I LOVED Lou’s. Royal also integrated Central Park with the promenade both through large windows that allow you to look out at the ocean and a staircase that takes you directly down to Pearl Cafe in the Promenade. That’s a really nice chance, especially bringing the ocean views to Central Park.

 

The Hideaway 18+ Adults area is nice. Big hot tubs, lots of sun loungers and of course that ridiculous infinity pool suspended between the two sections of the aft. The only quibble is they didn’t really put anywhere to keep your towels while you’re in the hot tub so there were towels all over the planters near the tub. It degraded the look of the space a bit. No shade though, this is pure sun decks. 

 

It was too cold for us to try out Category 6 waterpark but dang, that is some awesomeness back there. My walk on the Crown’s Edge was canceled due to high winds. We were told it’s $39 on port days and $89 on sea days, but that could change based on time of year and sailing.

New entertainment venues and redesign of familiar venues were awesome and based on the crowds each night, well received. The big difference you’ll notice is that the venues are wide open to the promenade or Central Park. The biggest change being Lou’s Jazz Club moving out to Central Park to replace Jazz on 4. Jazz on 4 was really not that inviting of a space, but Lou’s a beautiful, open venue with some great music. Dueling Pianos was fabulous, two great singers that I saw the first night and the crowd was really into the show. Bolero’s has a hopping new space on Deck 6 at one end of the promenade. Schooner Bar is right across from Bolero’s and it was probably the quietest of the venue. There’s definitely music bleed from Bolero’s to Schooner Bar so that might diminish your enjoyment of the quieter bar. I missed the Music Hall and its new location. 

 

The new theater is just beautiful and the Wizard of Oz was a fun show. That 16 piece orchestra really makes it sound like you’re on Broadway, they sound so good and the cast was fun. We saw 4 numbers from the upcoming Aqua Nation show and dang, they were amazing. The new AquaTheater is more intimate and changes the complexion of those shows entirely. It’s like a professional theater now. Absolute Zero is a huge ice venue in the front of the ship. I’ll admit I didn’t understand the storyline of the show, but the show itself was beautiful. Between the skaters and the tech, it was an awesome show to watch.

How Absolute Zero is configured is really my only complaint about this new ship. To get into Absolute Zero you have to line up inside Playmakers Sports Bar. Guests were having to avoid getting jabbed by a pool cue, blocking TVs and otherwise interfering with the folks in Playmakers. Then at the end of the show, you have a theater crowd of over 1000 passing through Playmakers on the way out. This flow really made no sense and I’m hoping they figure a different way to get folks into and out of Absolute Zero vs. having to pass right through Playmakers. 

 

The specialty restaurants were not open during the preview but they allowed us to get a tasting. Giovanni’s is now in the middle of the promenade on Deck 6 and it’s a lovely space. The Fried Lasagne was amazing. Hooked Seafood is now in the AquaDome, again a beautiful space. Loved the Scallops, shrimp cocktail and coconut shrimp. Empire Supper Club is the venue I really wish was open during our sailing. What a stunning location and I would have gladly paid the $199/pp to try this venue out. They had the standout sample of the entire tour with rabbit. So freakin good and it was just a tiny sample. Izumi still makes fantastic sushi. Pier 7 in Surfside is billed as a California surfin menu. I would give it an “ok” based on the samples. I would not spend my own money on that location, especially with Surfside Eatery on the other side included with the cruise fare.  That’s a kid friendly comfort food kind of place. 

 

My favorite new included food venue is the AquaDome Market. I tried the Feta Mediterranean, GNGR, Mac and the crepes.  Mac was ok, I had the bacon mac and the pepperoni mac. Both were ok. Greek salad with grilled chicken was great from Feta. The chicken and pork from GNGR was my favorite dish of everything there. The salted caramel crepe was good, not great, but good. Next time I’ll try the traditional lemon crepe. Base Camp’s paid food items were ok. I had the crispy shrimp bao buns and the chicken and waffles. Both were ok, not sure I’d want to pay for them. Sorrento’s pizza was actually edible on this ship. It’s the first time I ate an entire slice on a Royal ship. Just one slice though, that was enough.

 

The Pearl Cafe is such an amazing overhaul of the Cafe Promenade. Stunningly beautiful coffee shop that really feels like it came right out of a Celebrity Edge class ship. Those massive windows looking out, lots of casual seating, power outlets under the benches and a greatly improved sweet and savory lineup of snacks. Again, you have stairs leading directly up to Central Park from this area as well so you can take your coffee and snacks directly up to that space to enjoy. 

Throughout the ship the overall flow of traffic has been greatly improved making it easier to get around the hip. The addition of the escalators to exit and reenter the ship are fabulous for port days. The Smart Elevators worked well during our preview sailing but I am curious how they will scale up if the ship pushes 7000 guests. The hallways outside the staterooms have gotten narrower, especially when there’s luggage out there. But if that allowed us to have larger, better configured staterooms, I’m ok with that. 

 

And last but not least, we got to spend some time at Hideaway Beach, the new 18+ beach space on Coco Cay. This is a driving, Las Vegas party vibe space with a DJ, massive pool, swim up bar, private cabanas and a lovely protected lagoon. That protected lagoon may be the best part of the entire space because on the day we visited the winds were howling like our previous visit. The surf was probably kicking up good at the Coco Beach Club, but at Hideaway beach, the water was calm. There’s really no way to escape the music so if you’re looking for a tranquil place to get away from the kids, the best you’re going to get is ‘quieter’ spaces if you go as far away from the DJ as possible. If you plan to rent a private cabana, note that the regular ones are really close to the main pool and all the music. If you rent the swim up cabanas, those are further away and quieter. The pool is absolutely stunning and massive. The bar is dual level with a walk up bar on top and swim up bar in the pool. We were there early so the food venues were not open yet, but you have your usual assortment of hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, salad and other items available. Is Hideaway Beach worth it? That’s up to you and if you’re ok with all the music. Honestly it’s cheaper to simply stay on the ship and enjoy the pools while most of the kids are on the island. 

 

I was not prepared to like this ship as much as I did. It’s now my favorite Royal Caribbean ship. Having sailed it I better understand the pricing model too. Not only is this the first of its class, it’s currently a one-of-a-kind ship. There is so much technology and upgrades throughout this ship, I can see why Royal is charging a premium right now to sail Icon and soon her sister Star. I can’t wait to come back and sail a full 7 days on her. 

 

 

 

[Newcruiser215]

Thanks for the review! Was there anything about the ship that you didn’t like or wish they did it differently?

[karebare22]

Great photos and review, thanks! Icon looks amazing! 

[eroller]

Great review and pics!  
 

Two questions.  
 

1.  Any pics of the interior cabins?  I haven’t seen any yet and you mentioned there is a better utilization of space.  
 

2.  The pools.  I know there are 7.  So far they all seem like wading pools with the water only going waist high.  Any there any actual pools you can really swim in, where the water is up to your head and not just waist high?  
 

Thanks!  

[Oceansaway17]

correction though, The Absolute Zero ice rink is in the AFT of the ship. 

 

[doghog]

Thanks for posting. Very impressive pictures. That's about how close we'll be getting on that ship. 

[CruisingWalter]

18 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Thanks for the review! Was there anything about the ship that you didn’t like or wish they did it differently?

 

Really it was just the flow into Absolute Zero going through Playmakers. That is such a bad design and really makes no sense. It almost felt as though they 'forgot' Playmakers and threw it into it's current location. To have hundreds of folks lining up inside the venue and then over 1000 pass through the venue at the end of the show doesn't make any sense. And it disrupts the enjoyment of Playmakers. It's my least favorite Playmakers set up of the ships we've been on. There is a way to get into Absolute Zero from Deck 5 instead of Deck 6 so perhaps in the future they'll move the queue down there. 

 

The only other minor quibble was the volume for the DJ and band up on Deck 16 at the bandstand across from the pools. Really don't understand the need for the volume to be that high when the seating areas are right in front of the bandstand. But that's the trend now I guess over the top volume.

 

Overall the ship is just stunning and I'm looking forward to getting back again for 7 nights. 

[CruisingWalter]

18 hours ago, eroller said:

1.  Any pics of the interior cabins?  I haven’t seen any yet and you mentioned there is a better utilization of space.  

Here you go. The Spacious Interior is really nice just turning it into more of a square.  Interior Plus is clever in that not only did they move the vanity into the closet, they made a walk-in closet for an Interior cabin. And if you notice that clever little row of shelves in the first photo, those are pretty much in every standard stateroom now. A nice area for small things and note there are two USB ports to charge devices too.

 

18 hours ago, eroller said:

2.  The pools.  I know there are 7.  So far they all seem like wading pools with the water only going waist high.  Any there any actual pools you can really swim in, where the water is up to your head and not just waist high?  

 

I think the only pool you could even attempt to swim in would be the big infinity pool in The Hideaway but they are all shallow. If you want deep pools, you'll need to go to another ship. 

Edited January 29 by CruisingWalter

[CruisingWalter]

16 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

correction though, The Absolute Zero ice rink is in the AFT of the ship. 

 

Thank you! With only 3 days onboard the ship, everything turned into a blur after a while. 🙂

[CruisingWalter]

For those who need accessible cabins, here's a look at an Accessible Surfside Family View Balcony. The employee in the room noted the lowered bed and the extended ramp onto the balcony makes it much easier for him to get in and out of bed without assistance and it's easier to get onto and off the balcony. 

[eroller]

3 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Here you go. The Spacious Interior is really nice just turning it into more of a square.  Interior Plus is clever in that not only did they move the vanity into the closet, they made a walk-in closet for an Interior cabin. And if you notice that clever little row of shelves in the first photo, those are pretty much in every standard stateroom now. A nice area for small things and note there are two USB ports to charge devices too.

 

 

I think the only pool you could even attempt to swim in would be the big infinity pool in The Hideaway but they are all shallow. If you want deep pools, you'll need to go to another ship. 

 

Those interior cabins looks lovely.  Thanks for posting. 
 

It’s a shame with all those pools that not one is deeper than your waist.  In that respect the ship really seems designed for small kids.  I would certainly miss floating around the pool on a hot Caribbean afternoon.  Somehow standing in waist deep water isn’t the same, for me at least.  

[CruisingWalter]

21 hours ago, eroller said:

It’s a shame with all those pools that not one is deeper than your waist.  In that respect the ship really seems designed for small kids.

 

It is a ship designed for families so you never know when a smaller child may enter any of the pools. That being said, MSC is a family cruise line with multiple pools on their Seaside class being 6 foot deep. That's really the one big thing we love about MSC, those really deep pools. 

[eroller]

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

It is a ship designed for families so you never know when a smaller child may enter any of the pools. That being said, MSC is a family cruise line with multiple pools on their Seaside class being 6 foot deep. That's really the one big thing we love about MSC, those really deep pools. 

I’ve sailed on all the major lines, including Disney.  They all have at least one deep pool.  In the case of Disney it’s the adult pool.  Like you say MSC is designed for families as well as NCL and Carnival.  All their ships have at least one deep pool.  Same with all the previous Royal ships.  This is something new with ICON.  With the amount of lifeguards on ICON I think one deep pool would be fine.  Funny when I was a little kid I leaned to swim in a deep pool.  Different times.  

[ahahn078]

Very thorough review!

 

Thanks for sharing; I'm going to hold off on sailing this until they get rid of their "premium" charge. I understand why they're charging a "premium" for this ship, but that's out of my budget and expectation. 

[erby2283]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up and share your thoughts with us.  Just made final payment today for May.....so excited. 

[SUgwoz]

43 minutes ago, eroller said:

I’ve sailed on all the major lines, including Disney.  They all have at least one deep pool.  In the case of Disney it’s the adult pool.  Like you say MSC is designed for families as well as NCL and Carnival.  All their ships have at least one deep pool.  Same with all the previous Royal ships.  This is something new with ICON.  With the amount of lifeguards on ICON I think one deep pool would be fine.  Funny when I was a little kid I leaned to swim in a deep pool.  Different times.  

Everyone has different needs and wants.  However, I am curious how many people actually look for a deep pool to swim on a cruise ship.  Cruise pools tend to be on the small size, normally crowded.  Wouldn't be surprised they made the call that more people just want to stand around in a pool with a drink than have a pool to swim laps in.  I don't think the decision was purely made because they are worried about kids.

 

Disclosure I am an avid swimmer and often just find cruise ship pools too small to do anything but stand in.

 

[eroller]

3 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

Everyone has different needs and wants.  However, I am curious how many people actually look for a deep pool to swim on a cruise ship.  Cruise pools tend to be on the small size, normally crowded.  Wouldn't be surprised they made the call that more people just want to stand around in a pool with a drink than have a pool to swim laps in.  I don't think the decision was purely made because they are worried about kids.

 

Disclosure I am an avid swimmer and often just find cruise ship pools too small to do anything but stand in.

 

 

Apparently enough people enjoy them that almost every cruise ship in the world offers something more than just a waist high water wading pool.  I don’t expect to swim laps in a cruise ship pool (although you can on Celebrity’s Edge Class … it’s huge by ship standards), but it’s nice to be submerged in more than waist high water on a hot Caribbean day.  
 

 

[SUgwoz]

24 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

Apparently enough people enjoy them that almost every cruise ship in the world offers something more than just a waist high water wading pool.  I don’t expect to swim laps in a cruise ship pool (although you can on Celebrity’s Edge Class … it’s huge by ship standards), but it’s nice to be submerged in more than waist high water on a hot Caribbean day.  
 

 

 

Based on a video on youtube seems to be the Royal Bay pool is deeper than waist deep, unless people are crouching. 

[eroller]

7 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

Based on a video on youtube seems to be the Royal Bay pool is deeper than waist deep, unless people are crouching. 

I truly hope so.  That is supposed to be the largest pool at sea so my hope was that it would be a more typical cruise ship pool with deeper water.  I not asking for 10 feet of water but 5’ would be nice.  Something more than waist deep.  
 

I do notice on the deck plan there are no cabins under that pool.  That would indicate a pool well going into the deck below which would indicate something deeper.  
 

Having shallow pools saves the company money.  They don’t need deep pool wells so there can be revenue producing space such as cabins underneath them.  Every sq inch of space on a ship matters.  

Edited January 30 by eroller

[fletch1027]

On 1/29/2024 at 10:07 AM, eroller said:

 

Those interior cabins looks lovely.  Thanks for posting. 
 

It’s a shame with all those pools that not one is deeper than your waist.  In that respect the ship really seems designed for small kids.  I would certainly miss floating around the pool on a hot Caribbean afternoon.  Somehow standing in waist deep water isn’t the same, for me at least.  

 

With all of that stuff added to the top of the ship (aqua dome, infinity pool, etc.) there may be an engineering reason that the pools can't be deeper due to the added weight? 

[eroller]

5 minutes ago, fletch1027 said:

 

With all of that stuff added to the top of the ship (aqua dome, infinity pool, etc.) there may be an engineering reason that the pools can't be deeper due to the added weight? 

 

Yes you are absolutely right and that might be the reason. They do have the Aqua pool high and forward and that is 18 feet deep. So I’m sure many engineering challenges were created with that.  
 

A cool thing about Celebrity’s Edge class ships is that massive center pool actually has a built-in dampener.  If the seas act up a bit it rises from the center of the pool essentially cutting it in half. This greatly reduces the momentum of the water sloshing about.  

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, erby2283 said:

Thank you for taking the time to write that up and share your thoughts with us.  Just made final payment today for May.....so excited. 

You will have an AMAZING time. What a ship! 

[CruisingWalter]

17 minutes ago, eroller said:

They do have the Aqua pool high and forward and that is 18 feet deep. So I’m sure many engineering challenges were created with that.  

 

Not to mention the weight of the dome itself. That is simply breathtaking when you see it so combined with the weight of the AquaTheater Pool, that probably did create issues with making deeper pools elsewhere on the ship. 

[Sherry84]

Looks amazing, thanks for sharing!

[ChutChut]

48 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

You will have an AMAZING time. What a ship! 

Thanks for the review. Were you a comped guest of RC or a paying one?