The throne of the world's largest cruise ship changes hands from Wonder of the Seas to Icon of the Seas. This ship under Royal Caribbean will begin operations in January 2024 with a displacement of 250,800 tons of water. It has just completed its cruise test process with final component assembly continuing in Finland.
Icon of The Seas can carry up to 7600 passengers and 2350 crew. When operational it will have 20 decks, 7 swimming pools, the world's largest floating water park, the world's longest onboard water slide and also the tallest man-made waterfall on a cruise ship.
Also unique on Icon of The Seas is the use of LNG fuel which makes it more sustainable than other cruise ships that still use diesel. Royal Caribbean is the holder of six world records for the largest cruise ship in a row starting with Oasis of The Sea in 2009. They recently became the first customer of the SpaceX Starlink high-speed internet system for maritime use.
At the time of Covid there was speculation about this ship due to low demand with construction only starting in 2021 at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Royal Caribbean will take Icon of The Seas passengers on a 7-night cruise in Caribbean waters before returning to the port of Miami.