MIAMI — Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will get the title of world’s largest cruise ship when it debuts sailing out of Miami in 2024, but that’s beside the point.
“It’s purposeful. It’s not like we start with each ship and we say, ‘OK, this one’s going to be the biggest in the world.’ That actually isn’t the purpose,” said Jay Schneider, chief product innovation officer for Royal Caribbean. “It really comes down to going through the creative process and the customer insight process to say what are we really seeking out to achieve?”
So while the 20-deck ship’s 250,800 gross tons and 1,198 feet in length bests the most recent Oasis-class ship and current world’s largest ship Wonder of the Seas’ 235,600 gross tons and 1,188-foot-length, Icon of the Seas will actually have less passenger capacity based on double occupancy — 5,610 compared to Wonder’s 5,734.
