The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Is Nearly 1,200 Feet Long

The biggest cruise ship in the world is nearly prepared to embark on its journey.

Royal Caribbean announced last month that their massive new ship, Icon of the Seas, successfully completed its inaugural round of sea trials with great success. If everything goes according to plan, the record-breaking vessel will start sailing in the Caribbean in January 2024, bringing it closer to welcoming passengers on the open ocean.

The Seas Icon, specifically the Titantics, measures approximately 1,198 feet long, which means it can accommodate a total of 2,350 crew members and 5,600 guests. With a gross tonnage of 250,800, it is about a quarter of a mile long. As Erik Ryan from Jalopnik writes, it is the size of five Titantics. So, just how big is the Icon of the Seas, really?

According to Maureen O’Hare from CNN, CEO Michael Bayley stated earlier this year that the cruise company is promoting the ship as “the ultimate family getaway.”

He exclaimed, “it is astonishing when you take a step back and observe the immense amount of effort and time that has been devoted to constructing this vessel.”

Wonder of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship, was the previous largest cruise ship, boasting 18 decks and measuring 1,188 feet in length.

In 2021, construction of Icon of the Seas commenced in Turku, Finland. Just last month, the ship embarked on its maiden voyage, with the crew conducting a four-day assessment of the primary engines, hull, brakes, steering mechanism, and other elements. Additionally, levels of noise and vibration were recorded.

Royal Caribbean states that the Icon of the Seas will predominantly transport passengers to the islands of the eastern and western Caribbean on seven-night travel plans. The ship will experience additional sea trials in the coming months before its official debut in Miami in early 2022.

According to a statement, the cruise company anticipates the unnamed ship to be launched in 2025. Royal Caribbean has already commenced the construction of another substantial ship referred to as the “icon class”, and the development of Icon of the Seas is currently underway.

When Icon of the Seas embarks on its journey, Category 6 will become the most extensive waterpark on the ocean. Another remarkable aspect entails 8 “districts,” or unique sections with amusement and culinary options. Icon of the Seas boasts 7 pools for swimming and a total of 20 decks.

According to TTG Media’s Charlotte Cullinan, the vessel will be outfitted with a unique grooming robot that will cleanse the hull whenever it is docked, aiming to minimize resistance and enhance fuel effectiveness by 3 to 4 percent.

The vessel’s efforts to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions should aid in reducing the ship’s environmental impact. Fuel cells, which generate energy by combining oxygen and hydrogen, produce water as their primary byproduct. Similar to batteries, fuel cells do not require recharging. Moreover, Icon of the Seas will mark the cruise line’s inaugural ship to operate on liquefied natural gas and fuel cells.

As stated by the organization, the possibility of hazardous methane leakage and the carbon intensity of fossil fuels both rise significantly because of the energy needed to cool, transport, and convert the liquid form. The Natural Resources Defense Council asserts that liquefied natural gas, a contentious energy source, entails the process of cooling natural gas into a liquid state for easier transportation, and it is “in fact, more detrimental than regular gas.”

Looking ahead, the leaders of Royal Caribbean aspire to further diminish the ecological footprint of their vessels and perceive liquefied natural gas as a “transitional fuel.”

Bayley informs TTG Media that liquefied natural gas is roughly 20-30 percent more environmentally friendly than heavy fuel oil, however, it still does not provide the ultimate solution. “The entire industry is striving to find the solution, but we are uncertain of what it entails.”