Inside Icon of the Seas: The Mail sets sail on the world’s biggest cruise ship for a sneak peek of the vast vessel ahead of her maiden voyage, with our footage showing her bars, pools, shows and more…

By James On Jan 21, 2024

Hello from the world’s largest cruise ship.

I’ve been busy filming the new 20-deck, 350-foot Icon of the Seas – inside and out – during a preview from Miami to the Bahamas.

The enormous ship cost two billion dollars to make, took 900 days to build and is a ship of many ‘firsts’.

My video shows the world’s first suspended infinity pool at sea and the largest water park ever at sea, with six record-breaking slides. Additionally, I panned my camera around the spectacular glass-roofed AquaDome, the largest glass and steel structure ever lifted onto a cruise ship and featuring a 17.5-meter indoor waterfall.

Royal Caribbean has been pushing boundaries in the cruise world for decades, but Icon is at the next level and the exterior decks are so bright and colorful they look like a cartoon from another world.

Jo Kessel boarded Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship – in Miami for a sneak peek of the massive ship ahead of its maiden voyage on January 27. Jo is pictured here enjoying a cocktail at Swim & Tonic, Royal Caribbean’s first cruise ship swim bar

Icon of the Seas, pictured here in Miami, cost $2 billion to make and took 900 days to build

If you’re looking for watery sensations, Icon’s Category 6 is the place for you, says Jo

Category 6 is the largest water park at sea with several record-breaking attractions

Jo watches as a passenger braves the Frightening Bolt, a 40-foot 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 at sea. Then there’s Swim & Tonic, Royal Caribbean’s first swim-up bar whose cocktails share one key ingredient. You guessed it: tonic! The piece of resistance, however, is Hideaway – the first ever suspended infinity pool on a cruise ship, which hangs dizzily from the side of the ship, 41 meters above the ocean.

But if you’re looking for watery thrills, Icon’s Category 6 is the place to be – and this is where the video goes next.

It’s sure to make a splash: Royal Bay is the largest swimming pool at sea

Swim & Tonic’s cocktails all have one important ingredient in common: tonic!

Get to know the largest water park at sea with several record-breaking rides.

Pressure Drop is the first ever open free-fall slide at sea (it looks scary), with a slope of 66 degrees; and Frightening Bolt is a 14 meter high drop slide. Their names alone are enough to put you off.

My footage then moves to the front of Icon, where you’ll find the dazzling glass-roofed AquaDome, a first-of-its-kind entertainment space that houses the AquaTheatre, whose four nine-metre-long robotic arms have lights at the ends ( used for special effects) and cost millions.

Royal Caribbean has been pushing boundaries in the cruise world for decades, says Jo

Kessel on a ship: Above, Jo enjoys the very first hanging infinity pool at sea

Dreamy Cabin: Jo’s images show her comfortable balcony room

Jo reveals the acrobatic shows on Icon are ‘gasp-gasps’ – and some include the ship’s 17.5-metre-high indoor waterfall

Breathtaking acrobatic shows are held here every day with divers instead of gymnasts. Like Cirque de Soleil on the water.

That 17-meter-high indoor waterfall will be a spectacular part of the set.

Finally, we head 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’.

This is a gigantic, walk-through sphere installation with three decks and an artistic staircase – Icon’s answer to the more conventional atrium of a cruise ship.

The finale is a dazzling display of fireworks before the ship thrills away, heading to the Bahamas for the maiden sailing ahead of a maiden voyage on January 27, from which point Icon will offer weekly seven-night itineraries to the Caribbean.

For more videos from Jo, visit her YouTube channel Go with Jo.