Royal Caribbean International is taking off on a major marketing campaign for a new class of ships. The icon of the sea is planned to enter service as the first ship in this series in the fall. Not much is known about the ship, but RCI is already promising “the best family vacation in the world.”
Royal Caribbean International is launching a major marketing campaign for Icon of the Seas, which is scheduled to enter service in the fall of 2023, with a video series titled Making an Icon and Episode 1 Envisioning an Iconic Vacation.
RCI CEO Michael Bailey describes the ship in the first video episode as “the best thing Royal Caribbean has built-in 50 years.” Jay Schneider, Chief Product Innovation Officer, talks about “the best family vacation in the world.” The video uses terms like “unbelievably amazing,” “revolutionary and unparalleled,” or “transformational vacation experience.” The icon of the sea will revolutionize the world of cruising.
However, the first video episode does not yet contain concrete details about the new Icon class, but it does contain some interesting insights into the planning process for the new ship class and some images of the Icon of the Sea construction in Turku, Finland.
If you take a closer look at the footage, you can see at least some details that observers have already discussed in recent months:
“Pearl”: A spherical structure with an alleged diameter of about 15 meters is said to bear the name “Pearl”. It is not yet known what is hidden behind this mysterious construction. It is clear that the pearl was delivered to the shipyard in one piece and placed approximately amidship.
“Aqua Dome”: The name “Aqua Dome” has previously been publicly mentioned by Royal Caribbean, but again it is unclear what exactly is behind it. Located above the bridge, so similar to the solarium on the Oasis and Quantum class ships, it is thought that it could be a new water theme park, especially as RCI announces major water activities for the Icon of the Sea.
Vertical mount: More and more new cruise ships now have a vertical mount and one can be seen in the video. So the arc shape of the sea icon is likely to follow this trend.
What is officially known so far is that Ikona will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will use advanced environmental technology. According to details from the shipping company’s financial report, there should be room for about 5,600 passengers on the Icon of the Sea.
The icon of the sea is likely to debut in the UK, but will then have Miami as her homeport for the 2023/24 winter season.