Icon of the Seas, biggest cruise ship ever, arrives in Florida for first sailings

11.01.2024 - 18:53 / thepointsguy.com / Royal Caribbean / Meyer Turku

The biggest cruise ship ever built is finally in position for its first sailings with paying passengers.

Royal Caribbean's massive, 20-deck-high Icon of the Seas arrived in Miami on Wednesday after undergoing regulatory inspections in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The long-awaited vessel, which is aimed at the family cruise market in a way we haven't seen before, will be based year-round at the port of Miami for seven-night sailings to the Caribbean. Fares for the voyages start at $1,707 per person, not including taxes and fees — an inordinately high price for a mass-market cruise ship that speaks to the strong demand for the vessel.

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Icon of the Seas' first sailing with paying passengers — a seven-night voyage to the Eastern Caribbean — is scheduled for Jan. 27. But TPG will get an early glimpse at the ship Thursday at an event in Miami (stay tuned for our first photos from inside the vessel).

A multiperson team from TPG will also be reporting live from a three-night Icon of the Seas preview sailing for media and travel agents scheduled for Jan. 20.

At 250,800 tons, Icon of the Seas is the first in a new series of ships at Royal Caribbean that will be bigger than anything seen before.

The giant vessel is, notably, more than 6% bigger than the current size leader among cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's 1-year-old Wonder of the Seas. It's able to hold up to 7,600 passengers — a new record for a passenger ship.

Add in 2,350 crew members, and Icon of the Seas could sail at times with nearly 10,000 people on board — a new record for a ship.

Icon of the Seas was built over nearly three years at the sprawling Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland — one of the only shipyards in the world big enough to construct a vessel of Icon of the Seas' size.

Related: Peek inside Icon of the Seas under construction

While the first sailing of Icon of the Seas with paying passengers is an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, the vessel will operate voyages to the Western Caribbean, too.

The ship will rotate among four different itineraries across the Eastern and Western Caribbean that visit such destinations as St. Thomas; St. Maarten (the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin); Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

Every sailing of Icon of the Seas also will include a stop at Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Cruising fans are particularly excited about the arrival of Icon of the Seas as it will mark the first time in 15 years that a cruise line has launched a new class of ship that will eclipse all others in size and amenities. The last time that happened was in 2009 when Royal Caribbean unveiled its