Hello from the largest cruise ship in the world.
I’ve been busy filming the new 20-deck, 1,198-foot Icon of the Seas, inside and out, during a preview sailing from Miami to the Bahamas.
This massive ship cost $2bn (£1.5bn) to manufacture, took 900 days to build and is a ship that is one of many ‘firsts’.
My video shows the first infinity pool suspended in the sea, as well as the largest water park ever created in the sea, with six record-breaking slides. Additionally, I moved my camera around the spectacular glass-topped AquaDome, which was the largest glass and steel structure ever erected on a cruise ship and houses a 55-foot indoor waterfall.
Royal Caribbean has been pushing the boundaries in the world of cruising for decades, but Icon is next level and its open-air decks are so bright and colorful they look like a cartoon otherworld.
Jo Kessel boarded Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, in Miami to catch a glimpse of the massive ship ahead of its maiden voyage on January 27. Jo is shown here enjoying a cocktail at Swim & Tonic, Royal Caribbean’s first. pool bar
Icon of the Seas, photographed here in Miami, cost $2 billion and took 900 days to build.
If it’s aquatic thrills you’re after, then Icon’s Category 6 is the place to be, says Jo
Category 6 is the largest water park at sea with several record-breaking attractions.
Jo watches a passenger challenge the Frightening Bolt: a 46-foot-high slide
My video starts with the pools and there is a different one for each day of the week.
Royal Bay is the largest swimming pool in the sea. Then there’s Swim & Tonic, Royal Caribbean’s first pool bar whose cocktails share a key ingredient. You guessed it: tonic! The pièce de résistance, however, is Hideaway, the first suspended infinity pool on a cruise ship, which dangles vertiginously from the side of the ship, 135 feet above the ocean.
But if it’s aquatic thrills you’re after, then Icon’s Category 6 is the place to be, and this is where the video below heads.
Sure to make a splash: Royal Bay is the largest pool in the sea
All Swim & Tonic cocktails share one key ingredient: tonic!
Experience the largest water park at sea with several record-breaking attractions.
Pressure Drop is the first open free fall slide in the sea (it looks scary), with a 66 degree incline; and Frightening Bolt is a 46-foot-tall slide. Their names alone are enough to scare you.
My footage then cuts to the front of Icon, where you’ll find the dazzling glass-topped AquaDome, a one-of-a-kind entertainment space that houses the AquaTheater, whose four nine-foot robotic arms have lights on the ends (used for special effects ) and cost millions.
Royal Caribbean has been pushing the boundaries in the world of cruising for decades, says Jo
Kessel on a boat: above is Jo enjoying the first infinity pool suspended in the sea
Dream cabin: Jo’s images show her comfortable room with a balcony
Jo reveals that the acrobatic shows on Icon are “gasp-inducing” and some incorporate the ship’s 55ft-high indoor waterfall.
This is where daily acrobatic shows are held with divers instead of gymnasts. Like the Cirque du Soleil on the water.
That 55-foot indoor waterfall becomes a spectacular part of the set.
Finally, we ventured into the heart of the ship to explore my stateroom, as well as two other Royal Caribbean debuts: the new Bubbles Champagne bar and ‘The Pearl’.
It is a giant three-story spherical installation with an artistic staircase – Icon’s answer to the more conventional atrium of a cruise ship.
The finale is a dazzling fireworks display before the ship thrillingly sets sail, bound for the Bahamas on the first voyage before a maiden voyage on January 27, when Icon will offer seven-night weekly round-trip sailings from Miami to Caribbean.
To see more of Jo’s videos, visit her YouTube channel. go with jo.
Breathtaking Ferry: Icon’s Vast Central Park Neighborhood
Corked: Jo ventures into Icon’s Champagne bar – Bubbles
Here, a bartender from Bubbles serves Jo a glass of soda.
Here Jo is shown looking at Icon’s Pearl feature: a giant three-story sphere installation that you can walk through.
Icon of the Seas has 20 decks and is 1,198 feet long. This official drone video captured her arriving in Miami.
Jo describes Icon of the Seas, photographed above in Miami, as “next level”