MIAMI – Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas — the largest cruise ship in the world — was at PortMiami on Thursday afternoon.
The 20-deck ship with a capacity of 9,950 people — 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members — is about 1,190 feet long. It is powered by liquefied natural gas, and equipped with a shoreside power connection.
The 250,800-ton ship has seven pools and Category 6, a water park with six slides including the Storm Chasers, two 431-foot-long splashdown speedways; and The Hurricane Hunter, a 425-foot-long slide that requires a raft for four.
It was the result of years of planning and hard work. After about 900 days of hard work, Meyer Turku, the manufacturer of the ship, delivered it to Royal Caribbean on Nov. 27, in Finland.
There was also work done in Cádiz, Spain, in preparation for voyages to the Caribbean. There will be a naming ceremony on Jan. 23, and it is scheduled to set sail in the Caribbean for the first time on Jan. 27.
Aside from CocoCay, a private island in the Bahamas, the list of the ship’s destinations includes Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts & Nevis.
The ship’s first voyage across the Atlantic ended on Wednesday with the Royal Caribbean’s welcome home rally at the Pérez Art Museum in downtown Miami.
The average cost per person on Thursday for voyages from February to next year ranged from about $1,810 for a 7-night eastern Caribbean cruise to about $2,510 for a western Caribbean cruise.
There is a sale running until Saturday that includes $600 onboard credit, 60% off on a second guest, and free sailing for children.
Today’s noon report
Watch Wednesday’s reports