ICON Sail Away

Icon of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International and is the lead ship of the Icon class. She entered service on 27 January 2024 out of the Port of Miami in the United States. At 248,663 gross tonnage (GT), Icon of the Seas and her sister ships, built by Meyer Turku in Finland, are the largest cruise ships in the world. History Planning In October 2016, Royal Caribbean and Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku announced an order to build two ships under the project name "Icon".[7] The ships were expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023 and in 2025[8][9] and would be classified by DNV.[10] Royal Caribbean applied to register a trademark for "Icon of the Seas" in 2016.[11] Construction Steel-cutting for Icon of the Seas began in June 2021.[12] In October 2021, Royal Caribbean announced that the first LNG tank for the ship was installed at the Neptun Werft in Rostock, Germany.[13] In December 2021, the floating engine room unit, including the LNG tanks, was towed to Turku in Finland by tug.[14] The keel was laid in April 2022.[2] The ship was launched 9 December 2022.[3] In May 2022, Royal Caribbean confirmed that Icon of the Seas would be bigger than the Oasis class.[15] Icon of the Seas during sea trials On 19 June 2023, Icon of the Seas sailed for the first of her sea trials.[16] She returned to the Meyer Turku shipyard on 22 June for adjustments to her systems, and to have interior spaces completed and furnished.[17] On 27 November 2023, the ship was handed over to Royal Caribbean.[18] The ship retracted her funnel to pass under the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark,[19] and docked at the Navantia Shipyard in Cádiz, Spain, for final outfitting work.[20] She departed Cadiz on 23 December for Puerto Rico and on 10 January 2024 arrived at her home port, PortMiami.[21][22] Christening On 23 January 2024, the naming ceremony was held and Icon of the Seas was christened by soccer player Lionel Messi.[23] Her maiden voyage began on 27 January out of PortMiami.[24]