The New Behemoth Cruise Ship, Icon of The Seas

RadishRose said:
When the $2 billion ship sailed into the Port of Miami with music blasting on January 10, after crossing the Atlantic from the shipyard in Turku, Finland, where it was built, it was greeted with a cacophony of fireboat salutes and a banner flag flyover. The commotion brought traffic to a halt along the causeway to Miami Beach that parallels the cruise ship channel.

12-icon-of-the-seas-photosv2.jpg

https://www.cnn.com/travel/icon-of-the-seas-largest-cruise-ship/index.html
Click to expand...

It all looks a bit tacky. A bit like a third-rate seaside resort.
 

RadishRose said:
iu
Click to expand...

Just the picture put a smile on my face.

As a child, I used to watch this TV show on Saturday evenings when my parents were out at the club. My parents would return later in the evening and ask me what have I been doing. I would say just watching TV. They would then ask me what have I been watching, so I told them.

My parents were never aware of this show or what it was about. They were a little horrified that their young son had been watching something called "The Love Boat!"
 
Last edited:
That ship is just godawful.

I worked in the cruise industry for 35 years. I was actually with Royal Caribbean until 2000, when they started introducing these behemoths. They actually held "blue zone" meetings where employees were asked what amenities they would like to see on new ships. One person mentioned an ice skating rink and, sure enough, it was included on the last ship that was introduced before I left. Passengers could use it, but it was also used for ice skating performances.

I moved to a company that operated 100-200 passenger ships with over-the-top accommodations, service and cuisine. We introduced 450-passenger ships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Then a couple of 600-passenger ships before I retired. Those are the largest they operate. We still sail on this line, and every time we do we have staff acknowledge us from previous sailings and we meet other interesting, like-minded, well-traveled guests. We met some of our best friends on an Asia cruise in 2019. We are sailing to the Caribbean with them in a couple of weeks.

The atmosphere and clientele aboard the smaller ships is great. I'd only go back to a large ship if we were sailing with the extended family.
 
When the large cruise ships came to Shetland, the locals thought it would bring a lot of trade. They were wrong, the tourists looked round, but returned to the ship for their meals, etc., ignoring the local restaurants and shops. They had everything they needed on board. The only shops that benefited were the charity shops that were popular with some of the crew, mainly Filipino and Eastern Europeans.

There are lots of ads. on TV here for cruises. They make it look as if everyone has a stateroom, there are never more than a few people in the restaurant and everyone gets personal attention. I wonder where the other 2000 passengers were ?

The small ship cruises that Seadoug mentions sound not too bad, but from what I've seen, the smaller the ship, the higher the price.
 
seadoug said:
That ship is just godawful.

I worked in the cruise industry for 35 years. I was actually with Royal Caribbean until 2000, when they started introducing these behemoths. They actually held "blue zone" meetings where employees were asked what amenities they would like to see on new ships. One person mentioned an ice skating rink and, sure enough, it was included on the last ship that was introduced before I left. Passengers could use it, but it was also used for ice skating performances.

I moved to a company that operated 100-200 passenger ships with over-the-top accommodations, service and cuisine. We introduced 450-passenger ships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Then a couple of 600-passenger ships before I retired. Those are the largest they operate. We still sail on this line, and every time we do we have staff acknowledge us from previous sailings and we meet other interesting, like-minded, well-traveled guests. We met some of our best friends on an Asia cruise in 2019. We are sailing to the Caribbean with them in a couple of weeks.

The atmosphere and clientele aboard the smaller ships is great. I'd only go back to a large ship if we were sailing with the extended family.
Click to expand...
I think a 100 passenger ship is more than enough, Doug.
 
I would not like to cruise on that ship. It looks like The Mall of America on water. And someone go ahead and convince me there's enough life rafts for everyone on there. I would very much bring my long wool coat. I saw Titanic! ;-) I know how capsizing ends! :LOL:

How many lifeboats do you need for 10,000 people? Equally bad, what if 5,000 of those 10,000 people all come down with some nasty virus? Got enough medical staff to treat 5,000 sick people? I doubt it!
 
Not for me either. Even though I'm a good swimmer, I'd be scared stupid of drowning Titanic-style... Both my grandparents lived through the times it happened.

These ships are way too big and too many things can go wrong. Too many people as well. Don't like crowds.

We had plans to try a Viking Cruise on the Blue Danube. Their ships are small, just two-three stories high and that river is quiet. Our plans at retirement age was Austria!
 
Manatee said:
I used to live in a very nice town with a smaller population than that.

The most enjoyable cruise that we ever went on was on Holland American's Zaandam, about 1600 passengers.
Click to expand...
We are going on Holland America's Nieuw Statendam in a couple of weeks. It carries 2600 passengers. That is just small enough not to seem extreme but large enough to have great entertainment venues and specialty restaurants. They provide a great, subdued experience.
 
seadoug said:
We are going on Holland America's Nieuw Statendam in a couple of weeks. It carries 2600 passengers. That is just small enough not to seem extreme but large enough to have great entertainment venues and specialty restaurants. They provide a great, subdued experience.
Click to expand...
About a year & a half ago I thought I'd try a Carnival Cruise as I hadn't been on one in probably 20 years or so.
It was like being a part of a week long bar brawl lol. Never again šŸ˜£

I really does make a huge difference which cruise line & which ship you travel on.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top