Icon of the Seas tips
- Thread starter dpswift
- Start date
ucf_knight
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2017
Just got off icon. Overall a fantastic ship. We only have ever cruised royal so have nothing to compare it to in regards to other lines. We are diamond so we get 4 free drinks a day per person so we never paid for a specialty coffee or alcoholic beverage. Below is a synopsis of some of our opinions from the trip.
Food:
The food on royal boats has been slowly going downhill over the years. Well I think they finally got the message. The food is improved at all of the included options. We especially liked the aqua dome market and pearl cafe as new additions. We also had lobster on two separate nights which I can’t really remember any other boat doing so it may be short lived while the boat is still new. Highlights for us was the quiet and relaxing breakfast Buffett at surf side, the breakfast sandwich at pearl cafe and the elevated main dining food.
Room:
We had an infinite balcony room. We enjoyed the extra space this type of room affords you but did miss the traditional balcony at times. The shower shape and design is greatly improved with a bench in it that provides plenty of room for an average sized adult.
Pools and slides:
Thrill water park on board is a massive hit. Our kids loved it as did I. 6 fantastic slides that could easily make you think you’re at a proper water park. I liked that the pools were nicely spread out which spreads out the crowds on sea days. Lots of chairs (and chair hogs). We spent a lot of time at the pools and slides. Only negative was for us specifically that the kids splash pad is many decks below the thrill water park but I get why they did it. Overall this boat is far and away their best for water activities.
Entertainment:
The aqua, theatre and ice show are all fantastic. The spaces each show are in are fantastic and ahead of their time with the tech incorporated in the shows and sound systems seem greatly improved. However the aqua show and ice show are not complete. There aqua show is missing elements that they are still working on (skate board ramp being one) and the ice show had a guest juggler so I’m sure this show isn’t in its final form either. This is a huge blunder imo. We did the inaugural on wonder and none of the entertainment was ready for the first sailing. This was part of the reason we waited a few sailings before getting on icon. We should have waited longer. Royal needs to figure this out. People are paying top dollar to get on board and be some of the first guests and they should not be left wondering what it should’ve been like with the entertainment fully up and running.
Miscellaneous:
The boat according to the crew on board was operating at a 75% capacity. We enjoyed the ship not being completely full and I imagine they’ll slowly start to ramp this up soon.
Drinks felt slightly elevated with some unique creations that we enjoyed
The crown lounge like other lounges on oasis class ships is still a room with no windows. Lounges on other boats are much better than this class and oasis class such as the freedom class lounges with views that are towards the top of the ship.
Price:
We paid about $5,300 or so for a family of four and only spent about $350 on board. Still a very expensive boat compared to other ships royal has.
Final verdict:
If you’ve done the other royal ships and are loyal to the brand definitely book a trip and you’ll enjoy it. If you have t cruised much with royal save your money and book a cheaper cruise and sail on an oasis class ship. Icon is only 6% bigger than wonder so don’t feel like you’re missing out too much on the biggest ship in the world hype. Don’t get me wrong though this is a fantastic boat and one of the best that we’ve been on.
Thank you. Is the Wonder in between Oasis and Icon? We took several years off from cruising and I thought the food was better this past year.
ucf_knight
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2017
Wonder is the newest oasis class ship. I would describe it as an “oasis plus” type of boat.
I really like the Freedom and Oasis class. Seriously nervous about Icon
ucf_knight
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2017
Icon to me does not feel any bigger than an oasis class boat. There is just more emphasis on the back of the boat for pools/slides an adults only outdoor space. The boat is easier to navigate as well imo as you can completely walk the length of the promenade on two different decks.
ParkWarriorPunzel
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2024
We just got back from our first RC family cruise on the ICON, and we loved it! It was def pricey - family of four in an infinite balcony ocean view room was $6600 before any add-ons. Felt close to disney pricing tbh. That said, here are some highlights:
Entertainment:
- this was the highlight for me of the trip. I love entertainment on ships and, I thought the performances were top notch. We saw all the shows - but plan on reserving early online if you can. I built a little matrix to figure out which shows to see which days to be sure we did them all. The ice shows (there are two) were awesome. The main one was so, so cool and would highly recommend. We saw the Wizard of Oz, and it was on par with any broadway quality show (set design, costumes, effects) and was fun for all ages. The aqua dome show was also amazing because of the skills and design; there were some parts that were a bit wonky and the "story" wasn't cohesive, it was still a fun spectacle. We also had fun with live bands in the music hall, dueling piano bar, silent discos, Bingo (yay!), among other activities. There is not shortage of live performers from acoustic pub sets to dazzling spectacles, so this ship is for those folks for sure.
Food/Drinks:
- we upgraded to the beverage package and are really glad we did for the adults; there were a ton of unique bars and drinks to try across all the bars (we didn't even hit them all), as well as specialty coffee and non-alcoholic drinks. We also appreciated that the drink package was valid at CoCo Cay (not true for Carnival's island).
- the dining room was really fantastic - we all said we had the best lasagne off all time; 2 formal nights with lobster (yes, really), but the service was amazing. Our kiddo was getting hugs by the end of the week!
- we regularly went to the aqua market and loved the variety - 4 of us all chose different places but liked it for lunch or a quick meal; it's also great for a late night quick bite.
- we only did specialty dining one night at Chops, which was very solid. Other places looked great, but for the money, we didn't feel we needed to upgrade.
- one thing our teen son felt was missing was a good burger bar that was included; on carnival he really enjoyed Guy's burgers and Shaq's chicken but there wasn't a comparable option on board RC; there is some stuff at surfside, but the best items at basecamp were paid upgrades. Deck 16 - where basecamp is, actually feels like the most overt money grab. It is clearly a family area with lots of activity, and the food there included 2 main paid food - basecamp and desserted where you can get $11 burgers and $15 shakes. There isn't anything else nearby, so it feels very intentional.
- service on this ship was super fast! we rarely waited for a drink at any bar or venue; the servers were very attentive and the size of the ship was actually a plus because people were quite spread out.
Room:
- the infinite balcony was mostly great for our purposes - we used the extra room space regularly with 4 of us total. The room has a lot of storage and neat little spaces that we never had an issue with enough storage for the week and all were able to unpack our things. Lots of outlets/plug-ins throughout, including some USB-A and USB-Cs. The room can be controlled in the app, too so we could change the temp/close blinds, etc. Only nit is that the room never gets quite cool enough (but I have this problem on every cruise) and opening the window turns off the AC, so it can be hard to cool it back down to an ideal temp. Loved the shower design and can finally shave my legs on a cruise!!!
Pools and slides:
- we actually didn't do pools on the ship, but the water slide park were a rave from the fam! Note that the waits can be pretty long, so expect that going in or try to time it for slower periods. The splash pad at surfside was a hit for our 4YO. It was certainly busy, but manageable even in peak times. We liked that there was a bar nearby with fun drinks for adults and kids (lemon post) plus kid-friendly food and ice cream all right there.
- pools were busy at sea days, but there are A LOT of them, so many we were still finding them on the last day and think everyone can find something, and they aren't any busier than other ships.
Miscellaneous:
- elevator design was amazing. Super efficient and while there were a few kinks, overall they get you around quickly and efficiently with none of the mess of other ships we've been on.
Entertainment:
- this was the highlight for me of the trip. I love entertainment on ships and, I thought the performances were top notch. We saw all the shows - but plan on reserving early online if you can. I built a little matrix to figure out which shows to see which days to be sure we did them all. The ice shows (there are two) were awesome. The main one was so, so cool and would highly recommend. We saw the Wizard of Oz, and it was on par with any broadway quality show (set design, costumes, effects) and was fun for all ages. The aqua dome show was also amazing because of the skills and design; there were some parts that were a bit wonky and the "story" wasn't cohesive, it was still a fun spectacle. We also had fun with live bands in the music hall, dueling piano bar, silent discos, Bingo (yay!), among other activities. There is not shortage of live performers from acoustic pub sets to dazzling spectacles, so this ship is for those folks for sure.
Food/Drinks:
- we upgraded to the beverage package and are really glad we did for the adults; there were a ton of unique bars and drinks to try across all the bars (we didn't even hit them all), as well as specialty coffee and non-alcoholic drinks. We also appreciated that the drink package was valid at CoCo Cay (not true for Carnival's island).
- the dining room was really fantastic - we all said we had the best lasagne off all time; 2 formal nights with lobster (yes, really), but the service was amazing. Our kiddo was getting hugs by the end of the week!
- we regularly went to the aqua market and loved the variety - 4 of us all chose different places but liked it for lunch or a quick meal; it's also great for a late night quick bite.
- we only did specialty dining one night at Chops, which was very solid. Other places looked great, but for the money, we didn't feel we needed to upgrade.
- one thing our teen son felt was missing was a good burger bar that was included; on carnival he really enjoyed Guy's burgers and Shaq's chicken but there wasn't a comparable option on board RC; there is some stuff at surfside, but the best items at basecamp were paid upgrades. Deck 16 - where basecamp is, actually feels like the most overt money grab. It is clearly a family area with lots of activity, and the food there included 2 main paid food - basecamp and desserted where you can get $11 burgers and $15 shakes. There isn't anything else nearby, so it feels very intentional.
- service on this ship was super fast! we rarely waited for a drink at any bar or venue; the servers were very attentive and the size of the ship was actually a plus because people were quite spread out.
Room:
- the infinite balcony was mostly great for our purposes - we used the extra room space regularly with 4 of us total. The room has a lot of storage and neat little spaces that we never had an issue with enough storage for the week and all were able to unpack our things. Lots of outlets/plug-ins throughout, including some USB-A and USB-Cs. The room can be controlled in the app, too so we could change the temp/close blinds, etc. Only nit is that the room never gets quite cool enough (but I have this problem on every cruise) and opening the window turns off the AC, so it can be hard to cool it back down to an ideal temp. Loved the shower design and can finally shave my legs on a cruise!!!
Pools and slides:
- we actually didn't do pools on the ship, but the water slide park were a rave from the fam! Note that the waits can be pretty long, so expect that going in or try to time it for slower periods. The splash pad at surfside was a hit for our 4YO. It was certainly busy, but manageable even in peak times. We liked that there was a bar nearby with fun drinks for adults and kids (lemon post) plus kid-friendly food and ice cream all right there.
- pools were busy at sea days, but there are A LOT of them, so many we were still finding them on the last day and think everyone can find something, and they aren't any busier than other ships.
Miscellaneous:
- elevator design was amazing. Super efficient and while there were a few kinks, overall they get you around quickly and efficiently with none of the mess of other ships we've been on.
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