Royal Caribbean just took delivery of a cruise ship so big it can hold nearly 10,000 people. Really

27.11.2023 - 22:09 / thepointsguy.com / Royal Caribbean / Meyer Turku / Michael Bayley

It's official: There's a new record-setting giant in the cruise world.

Royal Caribbean on Monday took delivery of Icon of the Seas — the new world's largest cruise ship — from the Finnish shipyard that has been building it for nearly three years.

At 250,600 tons, the much-awaited new vessel is the first in a new series of ships at the line that will be bigger than anything seen before.

Icon of the Seas 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.

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Add in 2,350 crew, and it could sail at times with nearly 10,000 people on board — a new all-time record for a ship.

"Welcoming Icon of the Seas to the Royal Caribbean family is a remarkable accomplishment years in the making for thousands of innovators, engineers, architects and designers," Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean president and CEO, said in the wake of the delivery of the ship from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. "Seven years ago, we had an ambitious idea to create the first vacation truly made for every type of family and adventurer; now, it's in our hands, and in this final stretch, we'll bring it all to life for the biggest debut in our history in January."

The Meyer Turku shipyard is one of the only shipyards in the world big enough to construct a vessel of Icon of the Seas' size.

The first sailing of Icon of the Seas with paying passengers is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2024, out of Miami.

The ship will be based in Miami year-round for seven-night voyages to the Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean. It'll rotate between four different itineraries that visit such destinations as St. Thomas; St. Maarten (the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin); Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

Related: Peek inside Icon of the Seas under construction

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 a cruise line has launched a new class of ship that will eclipse all others in size and amenities in 15 years. The last time that happened was in 2009 when Royal Caribbean unveiled its much-ballyhooed Oasis Class of vessels.

The Oasis Class included the previous size leader in the cruise world, Wonder of the Seas.

Icon of the Seas boasts 18 passenger decks — two more than Wonder of the Seas.

It's also longer than Wonder of the Seas, by a tad. It measures 1,198 feet long — 10 feet longer than Wonder of the