World's Largest Cruise Ship Called "Monstrosity"
The internet is divided over Royal Caribbean’s mega cruise ship.
Cruising is reaching peak popularity in recent years. According to multiple cruise lines, more people are opting to spend their vacations sailing the seas than ever before. Some cruise lines, including Ritz Carlton and Celebrity, are more focused on offering moderately large ships with luxury amenities, while others, including Royal Caribbean and Costa, have a "bigger-is-better" approach. This January, Royal Caribbean is debuting the world's largest cruise ship – and the internet is majorly divided on how they feel about it.
The Icon of the Seas is five times the size of the Titanic with an internal volume of 250,800 gigatonnes (GT). The massive ship will host up to 7,600 people at a time with a crew of 2,350. The ship spans 19 floors with more than 40 bars, restaurants, and bowling alleys.
The mega boat boasts seven pools, nine whirlpools, and the largest water park at sea with six slides, including the tallest waterslide to sail. It also has an open free-fall waterslide, the first of its kind on a cruise ship.
According to the website, the least expensive interior room costs $1,851 on a seven-night cruise from Miami to the western Caribbean in September 2024. For a cool $10,864 you can book a suite on the same cruise in March. All the January 2024 sailings are sold out.
However, people are torn as to whether they would want to set sail on such a huge vessel. While many cruise enthusiasts are excited for the mega ship, others have slammed it on social media. "As visions of hell go, that's pretty much the most hellish," one person tweeted in response to a photo of the new cruise ship posted by Royal Caribbean. "I'm sorry but this is a nightmare," added another.
"For a second I was like 'No, the Icon of the Seas is not real, it can't hurt you because some wacky giant cruise ship seasteading scheme goes viral every 10 months.' But I looked it up and it turns out they actually built this one," another person tweeted.
Others have called it a "monstrosity" and many have compared it to the Titanic. "A new submersible cruise ship will take 10,000 passengers to the wreckage of the Titanic in 2024," one person tweeted. "Comparing anything to the titanic = me 100 percent out of it," added another.
"We are positioning it as the ultimate family vacation and when you step back and look at all the energy and time that has gone into creating this ship it is mind-blowing," Royal Caribbean International president and chief executive Michael Bayley said in a statement. "During her first set of sea trials, Icon of the Seas traveled hundreds of miles, during which the main engines, hull, brake systems, steering, noise, and vibration levels were all tested. Everything was done on time as outlined in the schedule, despite her departure being delayed due to wind conditions."
