[ad_1]
The world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has officially docked at its year-round home in Florida ahead of its maiden voyage on January 27.
The Royal Caribbean ship sailed into Port Miami for the first time on Wednesday and was greeted with celebratory fire boat salutes, banner planes and a community celebration at Pérez Art Museum.
The 365 metre ship, the biggest in the world, will undergo final preparations in Miami as it sets to embark on its first ever seven-night cruise to the Caribbean in just two weeks.
The extravagant, multi-coloured cruise has eight “neighbourhoods” that are “destinations” — they include adrenaline-pumping thrills like six water slides at Category 6 and the Crown’s Edge experience at 47 metres above the ocean.
“Game-changing experiences” also include a stay-all-day neighbourhood designed for families with young kids and deck-defying entertainment across air, ice, water and theatre.
The mammoth ship is set to shake up the industry with Royal Caribbean insisting it will take the cruising world by storm.
“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 previously said in a statement.
Given the ship’s monstrous size, set over 20 decks, it’s safe to say no luxury was overlooked. In fact, Icon of the Seas claims to offer passengers more than 40 ways to dine and drink.
Its three-storey dining room, complete with a huge, dazzling chandelier, features a rotating menu from around the world, while a private 12-seat dining table is reserved for VIP guests.
There’s also on-board casino that hosts 30 table games and more than 370 slot machines.
The ship also boasts a rock climbing wall, Royal Caribbean’s first food hall, a beach-themed carousel, an arcade and a minigolf course.
It even includes Royal Caribbean’s largest ice-skating arena to date.
And of course with a ship this size, one pool isn’t enough — there’s seven, with nine whirl pools and has the largest waterpark at sea.
Since its arrival into Miami, social media users have inundated TikTok with clips of the ship, boasting about its extravagant features and mammoth size.
“Icon of the seas is a beast!! Wonder of the seas was soo fun and was a beast but this WOOO!!” one person wrote on Royal Caribbean’s TikTok of the ship arriving into Miami.
“Wouldn’t expect anything less from an icon!” a second person wrote, while a third added, “I could hear all the way in Texas”.
One TikTok user described it as a “floating city” as he broke down all its main features.
“The ship is 20 decks and 1200ft long and can accommodate 7600 guests,” he said.
“[And] you can’t forget about the 55 foot indoor waterfall.”
As for technical features, Icon of the Seas is equipped with 17 lifeboats with the capacity for up to 450 people each — meaning the ship can host 7650 people, despite having capacity for 7960.
Specifically, it holds up to 5690 passengers and 2350 crew across 19 floors. There are 28 different types of accommodation, with more categories for families, more layouts with ocean views and more space for group travellers.
The cruise line says it’s the longest time frame it’s ever dedicated to “designing the perfect home base”.
Accoridng to Royal Caribbean’s website, Icon’s available 2024 itineraries range from almost $US1,800 ($2,600) per person to nearly $US2,200 ($3200).
Cruising popularity among Aussies spikes
Its maiden voyage on January 27 comes at a time where the cruising industry has risen in popularity — particularly among the younger generation.
On a per capita basis, Aussies are among the world’s biggest cruisers with up to five per cent cruising each year.
“The number of Australians cruising has been growing strongly for several decades, and reached 1.35 million people in 2018,” Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) managing director in Australasia Joel Katz told news.com.au.
“It attracts all types of people from all age groups. The average age of an Australian cruise passenger has been dropping and it was just 49.7 years in 2022, which is down from 50.4 in 2019.
He said younger travellers make up a big proportion of cruise passengers – almost one third of Australian cruise passengers are aged under 40, and almost a quarter are aged under 30.
“Those aged in their 20s currently make up about eight per cent of cruise guests, and we can expect this to increase in coming years as this generation begins to travel more.”
Younger travellers are showing the strongest interest in cruising in the future.
“CLIA’s consumer research shows that of people who have cruises previously, Millennials are the most likely cruise again. 88 per cent of Millennials say they will cruise again, followed by Gen-Xers at 86 per cent.”
“Worldwide, the average age of a cruise passenger is just 46.5.”
He said even among those who have never cruised before, 77 per cent of Millennials say they are open to cruising — the highest level of any generation.
[ad_2]
Source link
