vision of the seas cruise liner

+971 4 331 4299

+971 56 414 4777

We know booking a cruise can be a complicated process, so if you need any help or would even like us to fill out your information for you please get in touch. To request a call back from one of our cruise experts, kindly provide us with the details requested bellow and we will get back to you as soon as possible

Please leave this field empty.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN ARABIA

• Destinations
• Brochure 23-24

ADVENTURE IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT

Vision of the seas, there’s a great big world out there full of new places to explore, and vision of the seas® is the perfect ship to see it from. no matter where you wander, it’s full of ways to make memories in between onshore adventures — like broadway-style shows, dining that always hits the spot, and activities that make every moment onboard wow-worthy..

WORLD TRAVELING SCENE STEALER

You need more than just epic ports to have an unforgettable adventure. because the journey is as important as the destination. from rush-inducing activities to world-class dining and exhilarating nightlife, fill your sea days and your nights with more to do, taste and experience in between each new shore — on vision of the seas®..

SEAS THE DAY

Spend your time between ports pumping up the adrenaline as you scale the Rock Wall, unwinding at the adults-only Solarium and taking a dip in the pool. Or get your game on at the arcade.

EPICUREAN EXPLORATION

Settle in for a far east feast at Izumi Sushi and contemporary Italian fare at Giovanni’s Table. Or upgrade your dinner plans with a tasting menu presented by the Chef de Cuisine at Chef’s Table.

NIGHTS DONE RIGHT

The adventure of a lifetime calls for a celebration. Whether yours involves classic cocktails at R Bar, a party by the pool or all your favorite Broadway tunes in one show, you’ll find it onboard.

Or Contact our Reservations Team Middle East: +971 4 331 4299 Saudi Arabia Toll Free: 800 897 1419 Email: [email protected]

Vacation starts now, from fort lauderdale, that adventure you’ve been craving — it’s well within reach. upgrade your getaway plans with memory-maxing escapes to the southern caribbean onboard vision of the seas — sailing 10- and 11-night adventures from fort lauderdale..

EPIC ESCAPES FROM FORT LAUDERDALE

As a city, Fort Lauderdale has it all — top-notch bars and restaurants, world-class hotels, beautiful beaches, and plenty of outdoor activities. Spend some time getting to know the pulsing heart of Broward County before setting out to explore the most captivating shores of the Southern Caribbean are not to be missed.

SET SAIL FOR SOUTHERN GEMS

Stroll along charming cobblestone streets filled with reggaeton beats in Old San Juan. Explore emerald rainforests in St. Lucia. Unwind on secluded shores in Antigua. And dive deeper than ever before into the beauty of the southern Caribbean on itineraries that let you linger longer in the tropics.

CALL US NOW

Your browser is outdated and does not support many of the modern features of this website, please click here to update it.

• Vacation Rentals
• Restaurants
• Things to do
• Royal Caribbean Cruises
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from California
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Florida
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Anchorage
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Los Angeles
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Fort Lauderdale
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Miami
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from New York City
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Seattle
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Honolulu
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Vancouver
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Southampton
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from London
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Barcelona
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Venice
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Copenhagen
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Civitavecchia
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Sydney
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Hong Kong
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Singapore
• Royal Caribbean Cruises from Dubai
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Skagway
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Honolulu
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Caribbean
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Barbados
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Curaçao
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Puerto Rico
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to San Juan
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to St. Lucia
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to St Martin / St Maarten
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to British Virgin Islands
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to St. Kitts and Nevis
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to St. Kitts
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Vancouver
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Vancouver Island
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Victoria
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to France
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Portugal
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Central America
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Croatia
• Royal Caribbean Cruises to Dubrovnik
• Family Royal Caribbean Cruises
• Things to Do
• Travel Stories
• Rental Cars
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travelers' Choice
• Help Center

Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas Deck Plans & Reviews

Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas

Activities & entertainment

• CruiseCritic Meet and Mingle
• Dance Classes
• Dance Parties
• Fitness Classes *
• Hot Tubs (6)
• RC Online *
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Running Track
• Scavenger Hunts
• Sports Tournament
• Video Arcade *
• Vitality At Sea Spa and Fitness Center *
• Wine Tasting *
• Adventure Ocean
• Teen Center
• Casino Royale *
• Deck Parties
• Demonstrations
• Game Broadcasts
• Masquerade Theater
• Movie Screen
• Some Enchanted Evening Lounge
• Wellness Lectures
• Aquarius Dining Room - American
• Izumi - Asian *
• R Bar - Atrium Bar *
• Windjammer Café - Casual
• Café Latte-tudes - Coffee Bar *
• Chef's Table - Gourmet *
• Viking Crown Lounge - Iconic Bar *
• Giovanni's Table - italian *
• Schooner Bar - Nautical bar *
• Park Café - pastries
• Chops Grille - Steakhouse *
• Excellent 17
• Very Good 31
• Terrible 15
• All languages ( 94 )
• English ( 90 )
• Spanish ( 1 )
• French ( 1 )

Upcoming itineraries

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

• Already Booked?
• My Favorites
• 1.800.377.9383
• Email Deals
• Personal Quote

• Advanced Search

• Featured Cruise Deals

• Deals by Destination

• Deals by Cruise Line

• Deals by Departure Port

Last Minute Cruise Deals

Holiday Cruise Deals

Military Cruise Deals

• Family Cruise Deals

Popular Destinations

Australia/New Zealand

• Canada / New England

Popular Int'l Departure Ports

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Barcelona, Spain

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

Reykjavik, Iceland

Southampton, England

Stockholm, Sweden

Sydney, Australia

Vancouver, British Columbia

Venice, Italy

Popular U.S. Departure Ports

Baltimore, Maryland

Boston, Massachusetts

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

Los Angeles, California

Miami, Florida

New York, New York

Port Canaveral, Florida

San Francisco, California

Seattle, Washington

Popular Lines

Luxury Lines

River Lines

AmaWaterways

Atlas Ocean Voyages

Avalon Waterways River Cruises

Carnival Cruise Line

Celebrity Cruises

Holland America Line

MSC Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line

Oceania Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Princess Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Seabourn Cruise Line

Silversea Cruises

Uniworld River Cruises

Viking Expeditions

Viking Ocean Cruises

Viking River Cruises

Windstar Cruises

Land Vacations

• Cosmos Tours
• Globus Journeys
• Kensington Tours
• Tauck Tours

All-Inclusive Resorts

Cruising 101

• Free Consultation

Why Cruise?

Shore Excursions

Cruising Tips

Future Cruise Credits

Photo Galleries

Specialty Cruises

Group Cruises

Business / Incentive Cruises

Events & Meetings at Sea

Private Charters

Theme Cruises

• River Cruises

Cruise Tours

Wedding Cruises

Hosted Cruises

Family Cruises

Senior Living at Sea

News & Media

Press & News

Testimonials

Social Media

Pre-registration

Passports / Visas

Travel Protection

Why Cruise Web?

Our Approach

Low Price Guarantee

Gift Certificates

Customer Service

Not sure where to start?

Talk to a travel consultant.

Free quotes. Expert guidance. No booking fees.

Royal Caribbean: 60% OFF 2nd Guest and Kids Free*

Royal Caribbean Bahamas cruises

Royal Caribbean Bermuda cruises

29 Ships in the Royal Caribbean International fleet

Ship:  .

• Destinations
• Departure Ports
• Photo Gallery

Vision Of The Seas Overview

As you embark on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas you are instantly transported to another place - a place where your concerns, cares and worries are whisked away. A cruise on Vision of the Seas is the ultimate getaway. Onboard you will experience amazing service, immaculate surroundings and exciting features. The ship has 8 bars and lounges, a casino and nightly shows in the Main Theater. The ship also has an extensive program for children and an expanded teen-hangout area. For an extra special event, check out Vision of the Seas’ jumbo movie screen on the pool deck where you can enjoy a spectacular movie with the wind in your hair. 

• Passenger Capacity: 2,050 (double occupancy)
• Year Built: 1998
• Last Refurbished: 2022

Vision Of The Seas Cruise Destinations

With cruises to 72 countries on six continents, you can sail just about anywhere in the world with Royal Caribbean. This contemporary, innovative line offers unique and exciting itineraries that are designed to wow. They offer sailings that range from a tropical paradise to a thrilling tundra. Destinations include, but are not limited to: Alaska, Australia, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Panama Canal and South America. 

A truly blissful vacation filled with beaches, Bahamian customs, and sunshine awaits you on a cruise to the Bahamas.

Golf on the finest links and experience a vacation full of tropical delights when you cruise to Bermuda.

Seafood on the coast, historic villages and scenic lighthouse views—cruise to Canada and New England.

Southern Caribbean

Tropical cuisine, European influence through the islands, and incredible people are highlights of a cruise to the Southern Caribbean.

Vision Of The Seas Departure Ports

Royal Caribbean not only builds their ships to have a wow factor, but they also make their itineraries just as appealing.  Royal has ships stationed across the U.S. and in several international ports to give their passengers lots of opportunity to get to a cruise quickly and easily. You can cruise from Miami to Seattle or Perth to Rotterdam, there’s a departure port for you. Find out more about Royal Caribbean’s itineraries and ships when you contact a qualified consultant at The Cruise Web. 

Explore Baltimore’s rich history and culture as you visit the local neighborhoods which are home to important world changing events. 

Vision Of The Seas Deck Plans

Deck eleven, deck twelve, vision of the seas staterooms.

Balcony (1B)

Balcony (2b), balcony (3b), balcony (4b), balcony (nq), balcony (xi), balcony (xn).

Balcony (SG)

Balcony (xq), balcony (xb).

Balcony (D1)

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed with open bed frames, wider entry door, turning spaces, private balcony, sitting area with lowered vanity, closet rods, and safe, and a private bathroom with a wider door, roll-in shower, grab bars, fold-down shower bench, hand-held shower head, raised toilet, and a lowered sink.

Balcony (D2)

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed, private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed, and refrigerator.

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area, private balcony and private bathroom.

Balcony (X)

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive a balcony stateroom, which could be in any balcony category (excluding suites), anywhere on the ship. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

Inside (1V)

Inside (2v), inside (3v), inside (4v).

Inside (ZQ)

Inside (1R)

Inside (zi).

Two twin beds that can convert to a Royal King size bed.

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed, vanity area, and a private bathroom.

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed.

Inside (6V)

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive an interior stateroom, which could be in any interior category, anywhere on the ship. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

Oceanview (1M)

Oceanview (1N)

Oceanview (2n), oceanview (3n), oceanview (4n).

Oceanview (CO)

Oceanview (YQ)

Oceanview (yo).

Oceanview (FF)

One bedroom with lower twin beds, one bathroom with shower, living area with double sofa bed and lower two twin beds that convert to Royal King. Capacity up to 6 guests.

Oceanview (1K)

Two sets of two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area with sofa bed, separate area with bunk beds and a private bathroom with shower.

Oceanview (F)

Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom.

Oceanview (G)

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed with open bed frames, wider entry door, turning spaces, sitting area with lowered vanity, closet rods, and safe, and a private bathroom with a wider door, roll-in shower, grab bars, fold-down shower bench, hand-held shower head, raised toilet, and a lowered sink.

Oceanview (H)

Oceanview (fo).

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed, an additional twin bed, sitting area with sofa bed, and Pullman bed.

Oceanview (I)

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King and private bathroom.

Oceanview (6N)

Oceanview (PV)

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom. Over-sized window provides extended view. *Note: staterooms 7082, 7084, 7086, 7088, 7582, 7584, 7586, 7588 do not have floor to ceiling windows

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom. Oversized window provides extended view.

Oceanview (Y)

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive an ocean view stateroom, which could be in any ocean view category, anywhere on the ship. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

Grand entrance with doorbell. Bedroom with king-size bed, and private bathroom with whirlpool tub, private balcony, living room with queen-size sofa bed and baby grand piano. Sleeps up to 4 guests

Marble entry with door bell. Queen-size bed, bathroom with tub. Separate living area with a queen-size sofa bed

One bedroom with lower twin beds, one bathroom with shower, living area with double sofa bed and lower twin beds that convert to Royal King. Up to 6 guests.

Queen-size bed, private balcony, separate living area with queen-size sofa bed, refrigerator, bar, and bathtub.

Separate bedroom with king-size bed, private balcony, whirlpool bathtub, living room with queen-size sofa bed and baby grand piano.

Two bedrooms with twin beds that convert to Royal King size beds, two bathrooms (one with bathtub), living area with double sofa bed and Pullman bed, refrigerator, and private balcony.

Two bedrooms with two twin beds that convert to Royal King, two bathrooms (one with shower, one with bathtub), living area with double sofa bed and two Pullman beds, and a private balcony.

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed, private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed, refrigerator, and bathtub.

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed, private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed, refrigerator, and bathtub. Accessible rooms include two twin beds that convert to a Royal King size bed with open bed frames, wider entry door, turning spaces, private balcony, sitting area with lowered vanity, closet rods, and safe, and a private bathroom with a wider door, roll-in shower, grab bars, fold-down shower bench, hand-held shower head, raised toilet, and lowered sink.

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King, private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed and private bathroom with tub.

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive a superior ocean view stateroom. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

Photo Gallery for Vision Of The Seas Cruise Ship

Royal Caribbean’s ships are known for eliciting wows from passengers. Get a look at their innovative approach to cruising in this photo gallery that features the FlowRider, AquaTheater and Central Park.

Vision of the Seas

Fantasies Lounge

Schooner Bar

Top 10 Vision Of The Seas Cruises

Learn more about royal caribbean international.

Accessibility

Learn about accessibility-friendly accommodations made by Royal Caribbean for guests with special needs, dietary restrictions and more.

Savor dining aboard Royal Caribbean, including the Windjammer Café, main dining room and room service. Royal Caribbean also has many specialty restaurants and dining or beverage packages.

Entertainment

Enjoy Royal Caribbean's onboard entertainment, including Broadway at Sea, hi-tech Two70 shows, ice skating shows, AquaTheater Diving Shows, DJs, live music, dancing, parades, pool parties, karaoke and more.

Onboard Activities

Have fun participating in Royal Caribbean's onboard activities, including sky diving and surfing simulators, sports courts, zip lines, rock walls, ice rinks, mini golf, pools, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, duty-free shopping and more.

Service & Awards

Learn how Royal Caribbean takes care of your every need with an extensive list of onboard services. Plus, view Royal Caribbean's cruising awards.

Spa & Fitness

Relax at Royal Caribbean's spa, onboard gym, fitness courses, boxing ring and jogging track. Royal Caribbean's spa has plenty of relaxing treatments like massages, facials and more.

Special Events

Learn about celebrating a special occasion or milestone with Royal Caribbean's special events at sea.

Explore Royal Caribbean's contemporary staterooms, including several classes of suite, balcony, oceanview and inside staterooms.

Youth Programs

Learn about Royal Caribbean's family-friendly experience with youth programs for children, including H2O zone, teen-only hangouts and themed experiences

Cruise Type

We make vacation planning easy.

With an overwhelming world of choices, we understand you may need some personal assistance to plan your perfect vacation. From finding the right destination to choosing the best departure date, we're here to help. Plus, our experienced travel consultants have access to exclusive vacation deals to make sure you get the best value for your time and money.

Expert guidance. No booking fees.

Find a cruise.

• All Cruise Types
• Popular Cruises
• Luxury Cruises

Vacation Deals

Destinations & ports.

• All Destinations

Cruise Lines

• Popular Cruise Lines
• Luxury Cruise Lines
• River Cruise Lines
• All Cruise Lines
• All About Cruising
• Already Booked

Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals.

• Monthly Newsletter

Switch language:

Vision of the Seas Cruise Liner

The Vision of the Seas is the second of two cruise ships built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique Alstom of France, for the Ro

The Vision of the Seas is the second of two cruise ships built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique Alstom of France, for the Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line. Her sister ship is Rhapsody of the Seas. It is the largest liner ever built in France and had its maiden voyage in May 1998. The vessel has a capacity for 2,435 passengers and is available for cruises to Alaska’s Glacier Bay, the Panama Canal, and from San Diego to the Mexican Riviera.

Recommended White Papers

Sustainable water solutions for the marine industry

Reduce operating costs using xbee as a combustion improver, recommended buyers guides.

Maritime training, simulation, and R&D companies

Ship corrosion prevention: cathodic protection, coatings and insulation for the shipping industry.

The Vision of the Seas has an overall length of 279m. It has a maximum moulded breadth of 32.2m and a maximum draft of 7.75m. Its deadweight is 6,300t at 76m. For safety, the vessel is compartmentalised by 32 watertight division doors. Its steel weight is 15,000t and it has a steelplate surface area 750,000m². The international Gross Tonnage is recorded at 78,500t and it has a 22.3-knot service speed.

The Vision of the Seas can carry a maximum of 2,435 passengers and 765 crew.

The main spaces of the cruise liner are distributed over twelve decks. The passenger cabins are distributed over five decks and extend along the ship’s length, over two decks. A feature of the design is the large number of glazed windows, totalling almost 7,300m².

The passengers can have the choice between eight types of cabins. Of the 999 cabins, nearly a quarter of them (229) have a balcony. Approximately 60% of the cabins are externally facing, and there are also 18 suites. Each passenger cabin has a TV network and sound installation. There are 2,000 phone sets, and over 50 control video cameras for equipment and access. In addition to the 14 cabins for handicapped people, all the suites and the owner’s cabins can be reached by wheelchairs.

A main feature of the ship is the 1,240-seat edelweiss formal dining-room over two levels. A central hall goes up to the open air over six decks. There are 480-seat and 170-seat lounges and a 150-seat conference room. A 275-seat panoramic lounge is situated on the top deck. Leisure facilities include a 250-seat solarium with six whirlpools, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a retractable glass canopy, and the casino royale (which has blackjack tables, slot machines, roulette, craps and stud poker), as well as a jogging track, video-game centre, a shuffleboard and children’s play areas. Other amenities include a beauty shop, library, photo gallery and shopping gallery.

The vessel has electric propulsion, with two shaftings that have fixed-blade propellers (weighing 75t each). Each shafting is directly driven by an electric motor (17MW at 145rpm). The electric generation necessary to drive the motors is ensured by four generating sets. The electric motors are of synchronous three phase type with double windings, supplied by thyristor frequency converters to reduce the network harmonic level. A 6,600V/3,000V transformer supplies each converter from the 6,600V electric network.

The seakeeping is enabled by a pair of fin-type stabilizers. Steering is carried out by two flap-type rudders, each one controlled by an electro-hydraulic steering gear.

Manoeuvring is enabled by two 1,750kW transverse bow thrusters and a1750kW transverse stem thruster.

The engine room contains two 10t/h unit capacity oil-fired boilers and four 4.3t/h unit capacity waste heat boilers at the diesel engine exhaust. Electricity is generated by four 15,520kVA units, which is transformed to 6,600V 60Hz, three phase mains. The alternators driven at 514rpm by diesel engines supply the 6,600V main switchboard.

Related Projects

More Projects

Superyacht Luminara, France

Viking octantis expedition ship, switzerland, star of the seas cruise ship, usa, explora ii cruise ship, italy, sign up for our daily news round-up.

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Sign up to the newsletter

Your corporate email address.

Ship Technology In Brief

Ship Technology Global

I consent to Verdict Media Limited collecting my details provided via this form in accordance with Privacy Policy

Thank you for subscribing

View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network.

Vision Of The Seas

Royal caribbean.

• Year of built 1998
• Length (LOA) 279 m / 915 ft
• Passengers 2443
• Destination Port Canaveral
• ETA April 15, 12:45
• Speed 20 kn / 37 km/h
• Temperature

• Cruise Lines
• Royal Caribbean Cruises

Vision of the Seas

Cruise search, special cruise offers.

Royal Caribbean

• 60% OFF 2nd Guest + Kids Sail FREE + Instant Savings + FREE GRATUITIES or Up to $1,700 Onboard Credit

Norwegian Cruise Line

• 50% OFF Cruises + Take All FREE + BOGO Airfare + Up to $1,700 Cash Back

Holland America

• Up to 45% OFF + Up to $1,000 Onboard Crerdit + 50% Reduced Deposit + 3rd & 4th Guests FREE

Princess Cruises

• Up to 35% OFF + 3rd & 4th Guest FREE + Up to $1,785 Onboard Credit

Celebrity Cruises

• Up to 75% OFF 2nd Guest + FREE Amenities Included: FREE Beverage Package + Basic Wi-Fi + Up to $1,700 Onboard Credit

Featured Cruise Deals

Other cruise options.

• Last Minute Cruise Deals
• Land Tour Deals
• View Golf Vacations
• Shop by Destination
• Shop by Cruise Line
• Cruise From Port Near You
• Holiday Sailings
• Luxury Cruises

About Vision of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas is beautifully bedecked with endless windows providing breathtaking views. Onboard activities, kids programs , stylish cabins, delectable dining and riveting entertainment options will ensure your entire family cherishes this vacation.

Ring the bell topping the rock-climbing wall or relax in one of the Vision's pools, including the adults-only Solarium, and whirlpools. Spend an afternoon in the Vitality SM Spa and get lost in a soothing massage or an invigorating body treatment. Work out in the state-of-the-art fitness center as you take in the panoramic sea and shore views or sign up for a variety of classes including kick-boxing and yoga.

Accommodations on Vision of the Seas' welcome you with their comfortable design and convenient amenities. A variety of cabin configurations are available to meet everyone's needs including family oriented adjoining rooms, well appointed interior staterooms, those boasting magnificent ocean views or private balconies and spacious suites.

Dining options on the Vision of the Seas range from casual eateries to gourmet restaurants. The Windjammer Café offers choices for everyone from their vast buffet. Other casual spots include Park Café. Adults can dine in an intimate setting at Chef's Table. Satisfy your fine food cravings at Izumi, Giovanni's Table or Royal Caribbean's signature steakhouse, Chops Grille. The gorgeous multi-level main dining room offers a diverse menu in an elegant setting.

Entertainment on the Vision of the Seas includes amazing Broadway-style shows in the Main Theater and multiple bars and lounges where you can socialize with friends and family or dance the night away. The Casino Royal is always a hot spot! Head to the pool deck for first run movies or favorites on the outdoor movie screen. The perfect souvenirs await you at the duty-free shops which feature name brand merchandise. Whatever your preference there is always somewhere to relax and have fun.

From fun and exciting onboard activities to fine dining the Vision of the Seas offers incredible family cruises on an amazing ship. With something for everyone of all ages you are sure to return with memories that will last a lifetime.

Vision of the Seas offers a wide variety of cruises to beautiful worldwide destinations.

Royal Suite - 1 Bedroom

Relish an extraordinary vacation in this luxurious suite.Ocean view,Bedroom,Private balcony,One bathroom with whirlpool tub.

Owner's Suite - 1 Bedroom

Enjoy the ultimate suite for a perfect vacation.Ocean view,Room with bed, vanity,Living area with double sofa bed,One bathroom with tub.

Grand Suite - 2 Bedrooms

Indulge in a comfortable suite and enjoy the extra perks.Ocean view,Two bedrooms,Living area,Private balcony with outdoor dining and seating area,Two bathrooms (master bathroom with tub).

Grand Suite - 1 Bedroom

Enjoy a comfortable suite and the extra perks.Ocean view,Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa,Private bathroom with bathtub.

Junior Suite

An incredible intimate suite with a great view.Accessible-An incredible intimate suite with a great view. (Up to 4 guests),Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed,One double sofa bed,Stateroom 287 sq. ft.Balcony 81 sq. ft.

An incredible intimate suite with a great view. Accessible-An incredible intimate suite with a great view. (Up to 4 guests),Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed,One double sofa bed,Stateroom 287 sq. ft.Balcony 81 sq. ft.

Ocean View Suite (No Balcony)

Enjoy beautiful views of exotic ports, landscapes, seas and skies from your suite.Ocean view,Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa,Living area with extra beds,One bathroom.

Suite Guarantee

This category can be booked for a special rate, guaranteed to you. Please note that the category is not associated at the time of booking with a specific stateroom, deck, bedding configuration or other particular settings. The assignment of an actual cabin will be performed during your check-in. The cabin can be anywhere on the ship.

Spacious Ocean View Balcony

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous view for a memorable vacation. Accessible- Immerse yourself in a gorgeous view for a memorable vacation. ( Up to 4 guests ) Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed & One double sofa bed 195 sq. ft. Balcony: 58 sq. ft.

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous view for a memorable vacation.

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous view for a memorable vacation.Ocean view, Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa , One bathroom

Ocean View Balcony Guarantee

Ultra Spacious Ocean View

Have a spectacular view in an immense space with family.Ocean view, Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa, One bathroom ,

Spacious Ocean View

Have a spectacular view for a memorable vacation.Ocean view, Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa, One bathroom,

Gaze into the beautiful views from your cozy room. Accessible-Gaze into the beautiful views from your cozy room. ( Up to 4 guests ),Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed,One double sofa bed in staterooms with up to 4 guests,Stateroom: 255 sq. ft.

Gaze into the beautiful views from your cozy room.Ocean view, Some staterooms have two portholes instead of a window, Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa, One bathroom.Accessible- Gaze into the beautiful views from your cozy room. ( Up to 4 guests ),Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed,One double sofa bed in staterooms with up to 4 guests,Stateroom: 255 sq. ft.

Gaze into the beautiful views from your cozy room.Ocean view, Some staterooms have two portholes instead of a window, Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa, One bathroom

Connecting Oceanview

Enjoy your vacation in the perfect space. Accessible-Enjoy your vacation in the perfect space. ( Up to 2 guests ),Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed,Stateroom: 146 sq. ft.

Ocean View Guarantee

Enjoy your vacation in the perfect space.Room with bed, vanity and sitting area with sofa, One bathroom

Enjoy your vacation in the perfect space.

Interior Guarantee

View Deck Plan

Aquarius Dining Room

Aquarius Dining Room.

Chef's Table

If you enjoy gourmet fare paired with the finest of wines, then dining at Chef's Table is an absolute must. Located in an intimate, exclusive enclave throughout various spots onboard, this private epicurean experience for a limited number of guests treats you to a five-course, upgraded menu and wine tasting. Dinner at Chef's Table is both experiential and educational, as the Chef de Cuisine specially prepares and presents each course, while explaining its cooking techniques, ingredients and flavors. Then a sommelier pairs every course with wine chosen to enhance your enjoyment of the dish.

Chops Grille

For more than a decade, the chefs of Chops Grille have proudly presented quality, hand cut steaks at this hallmark Royal Caribbean restaurant. Now, they give you a fresh twist on a favorite, with a revamped menu that brings contemporary flair to traditional steakhouse offerings. Most intriguing: our exceptional prime meat. This prime beef is joined by Maine lobster, veal parmesan, grilled branzino and other succulent dishes paired with addictive sides and irresistible desserts.

Giovanni's Table

Rustic Italian dishes are served with contemporary flair at Giovanni’s Table, a Royal Caribbean® favorite offering indoor and al fresco seating. This casual trattoria serves up a seemingly endless selection of Italian classics, like Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola, Melanzane alla Parmigiana, Risotto, Bolognese and much more. From the mouth-watering fresh pastas to the carefully braised meats and stews, you can tour all of Italy without ever leaving the ship.

From sushi to sashimi and tableside preparation using Hot Rocks, Izumi offers guests an exotic Asian-inspired dining experience. At Izumi, items are charged a la carte. You'll enjoy a wide variety of hot and cold appetizers, entrees, desserts and more, all made-to-order with intense flavors, the best ingredients and impeccable presentation.

For casual deli eats that knock it out of the park, head to the Park Café. You’ll find quick bites to please every palate, from made-to-order salads to fresh-pressed panini and sandwiches. Not to mention the “Kummelweck” roast beef sandwich— it’s a guest favorite.

Windjammer Cafe

Windjammer Marketplace, a Royal Caribbean dining mainstay, is a global culinary pavilion that invites you to explore the world, dish by dish. Enticing food islands weave throughout, showcasing international fare while mapping your way between interactive stations. Here, staff prepare signature specialties to your specs— like fresh-pressed panini, juices blended before your eyes, fluffy omelets, pastas, salads, soups, sandwiches and tantalizing desserts— all part of a menu that changes daily.

Movie Screen

Why watch a movie inside? Lounge on the pool deck with an ocean breeze, the moon, and movie stars as big as all outdoors. The 220 square foot movie screen presents first-run movies, live sporting events and more at the pool area on select ships.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale.

Conference Center

Conference Center .

R C Online.

The pool deck is the place to be. And each ship has several to choose from. Bask in the sun or relax in the shade while you sip a cool tropical cocktail. From kids' aqua parks to the adults-only Solarium— and all the slides and cantilevered hot tubs in between— there's a splashy place to spend the day for every adventurer onboard.

Check your watch: It’s me time. Discover the Solarium, a relaxing indoor-outdoor retreat just for our adult guests. Perfectly positioned at the front of every Royal Caribbean® ship, the crystal canopy area presents fantastic views and stays warm while you enjoy swimming pools, whirlpools and lounge area, as well as cascading lagoons on select ships.

Discover a different type of hot spot. Each Royal Caribbean® ship has multiple whirlpools and several are designed with unique cantilevered whirlpools extending 13 feet beyond the side of the ship for a unique at-sea perspective. Find the warm and bubbly whirlpool that’s calling your name

Rock Climbing Wall

The view alone is worth every step. Climb forty feet above deck on the signature Rock Climbing Wall, where everyone from beginners to speed climbers can strap in and go vertical.

Photo Shop.

Shore Excursions

Shore Excursions.

Teen Center

The Royal Caribbean® teen program isn't some structured set of classes or rules. These "almost adults" deserve a vacation all their own. So we give them the freedom to join pre-planned events throughout the day, or simply hang out in teen-only spaces with our teen staff that keeps the good times coming. Including a themed dance party at the Teen Disco in the evening.

Loyalty Desk

Loyalty Desk.

Next Cruise

Next Cruise.

Centrum Shop

Centrum Shop.

Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center

Decks: 9 10

Emerge renewed, relaxed and rejuvenated at the Vitality? Spa. Professional spa products from acclaimed brands such as Elemis®, bliss®, La Thérapie and Ionithermie bring the most advanced services to the sea. Massages, wraps, facials and acupuncture, or choose medi-spa treatments to smooth wrinkles, lift and tone. A more brilliant smile is just a tooth whitening away, while a salon completes the perfect look with hair and nail services.

Masquerade Theater

Masquerade Theater.

Concierge Club

Concierge Club.

Art gallery

Whether you’re looking for a Renaissance work or a contemporary masterpiece, the Art on RoyalSM enrichment program invites you to browse and bid on original works and limited-edition prints from featured artists. Plus join us for art tours, seminars and special events, all while you sail.

Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery.

Adventure Ocean

When the kids are happy, parents are happy. And our award-winning Adventure Ocean® Youth Program is designed with that in mind. Tiny travelers ages 3-5 will have an education blast in the Aquanauts group. The Explorers program keeps 6-8 year olds entertained with activities like themed parties and more. And learning is a thrillfest for 9-11 year olds in the Voyagers group.

Video Arcade

If you find yourself fleeing a gang of ghosts, saving deep space from invaders, or starting a dance revolution, you might be at the Royal Caribbean Arcade. Your favorite games from the 1980s and 1990s are onboard, as well as Guitar Hero, Fast and Furious Drift, Skee-ball, air hockey and more.

Guest Services

Guest Services.

Café Latté-Tudes Ben & Jerry's

When you find yourself craving a coffee break, Café Latte-tudes has what you need. From a nice breakfast blend to get you going to an after-dinner cappuccino— or even a little pick-me-up and a pastry any time of day— just drop by this café for sweets, specialty coffee beverages, and a bit of people watching.

Distinct, sophisticated and retro, R Bar serves up classic cocktails garnished with vintage vibe.Whether your drink of choice is a dry gin martini,an Old Fashioned, or even a specialty drink.

Schooner Bar

Is the pianist playing your song? Join the fun at Schooner Bar, where a nautical theme, warm decor and perfectly mixed cocktails come together. Cozy up in a seat under the mast, by the portholes, or right by the gleaming grand piano. The sing-along's starting soon.

Diamond Club

Loyalty definitely has its privileges. Royal Caribbean® created the exclusive Diamond Club lounge to thank our valued Diamond, DiamondPlus and Pinnacle Club Crown & Anchor® Society members for their continued loyalty. our most loyal guests enjoy specialperks in a space reserved just for them.

Some Enchated Evening Lounge

Some Enchated Evening Lounge.

Viking Crown Lounge

Viking Crown Lounge.

Running Track

Running Track.

EXCLUSIVE MEMBER SAVINGS

• Forgot Password?

Often cruise lines offer special rates that cannot be displayed to the general public. By registering with Cruise.com you will be able to view these special rates and offers.

Register with Cruise.com to get access to:

• Exclusive Rates
• Special Amenities

Login to Your Account

There was an error! Please re-enter your credentials and try submitting the form again.

Reset Your Password

Please enter the email associated with your account so that we may send you a link to reset your password.

An email was sent to the address provided with instructions on how to reset your password.

Oops! There was an error with the email you provided.

• Find a Cruise​ Cruise Deals Cruise Ships Destinations​ Manage My Cruise​ FAQ Perfect Day at CocoCay​ Make a Payment Crown & Anchor Society​ Royal Caribbean Blog Royal Caribbean Group
• Back to Main Menu
• Search Cruises " id="rciHeaderSideNavSubmenu-1-1" class="headerSidenav__link" href="/gbr/en/cruises" target="_self"> Search Cruises
• Cruise Deals
• Last Minute Cruises​
• Family Cruises​
• 2024-2025 Cruises
• Mini Cruises
• First Time Cruisers
• What's Included
• Cruising Guides
• All Cruise Ships " id="rciHeaderSideNavSubmenu-3-1" class="headerSidenav__link" href="/gbr/en/cruise-ships" target="_self"> All Cruise Ships
• Deck Plans​
• Cruise Dining 
• Onboard Activities
• Cruise Rooms​
• The Cruise Experience​
• All Cruise Destinations " id="rciHeaderSideNavSubmenu-4-1" class="headerSidenav__link" href="/gbr/en/cruise-destinations" target="_self"> All Cruise Destinations
• Cruise Ports​
• Shore Excursions​
• Perfect Day at CocoCay​
• Mediterranean Cruises​
• Caribbean Cruises​
• European Cruises​
• Greece Cruises​
• Italy Cruises​
• Cruise Planner
• Book a Flight
• Check-In for My Cruise​
• Make a Payment
• Redeem Cruise Credit
• Update Guest Information
• Beverage Packages​
• Dining Packages​
• My Account​
• All FAQs " id="rciHeaderSideNavSubmenu-6-1" class="headerSidenav__link" href="/gbr/en/faq" target="_self"> All FAQs
• Boarding Requirements
• Royal Caribbean
• Celebrity Cruises

ADVENTURE IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT

Vision of the seas.

Discover the best cultural getaways for getting up close and personal with new shores.

There’s a great big world out there full of new places to explore, and Vision of the Seas® is the perfect ship to see it from. Wherever you wander, it’s full of ways to make memories in between onshore adventures – like West End-style shows, dining that always hits the spot and activities that make every moment onboard wow-worthy. 

Big Deals on Big Adventures

Save big on some of the best cultural getaways in the world with these sailings.

{{error.text}} {{error.link.label}}

SIGN UP TO STAY IN THE LOOP

Sign up to receive information about our special offers and deals. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more details about how we use your information, view our Privacy Policy .

WORLD TRAVELLING SCENE-STEALER

You need more than just epic ports to have an unforgettable adventure. Because the journey is as important as the destination. From rush-inducing activities to world-class dining and exhilarating nightlife, fill your sea days and your nights with more to do, taste and experience in between each new shore – on Vision of the Seas®. 

SEAS THE DAY

Spend your time between ports pumping up the adrenaline as you scale the Rock Wall, unwinding at the adults-only Solarium and taking a dip in the pool. Or get your game on at the arcade.

EXPLORE ONBOARD ACTIVITIES

EPICUREAN EXPLORATION

Settle in for a far east feast at Izumi Sushi and contemporary Italian fare at Giovanni’s Table. Or upgrade your dinner plans with a tasting menu presented by the Chef de Cuisine at Chef’s Table.

EXPLORE ONBOARD DINING

NIGHTS DONE PROPERLY

The adventure of a lifetime calls for a celebration. Whether yours involves classic cocktails at R Bar, a party by the pool or all your favourite Broadway tunes in one show, you’ll find it onboard.

EXPLORE ONBOARD NIGHTLIFE

BOREDOM BUSTING GETAWAYS FROM BALTIMORE

Adventure is always on the itinerary onboard Vision of the Seas®. From the sun-kissed beaches of Bermuda to the tallest waterslide in North America on our award-winning private island, discover endless ways to max out memories.

A BOLDER TROPIC TREK

Bustling Baltimore  is the perfect jumping-off point for unforgettable escapes to the tropics. Explore the best of Charm City before or after you set sail. Whether you indulge in the famous Chesapeake Bay blue crabs or wander through the historical Inner Harbour, you’ll discover the perfect mix of big-city bustle and laid-back vibes.

EXPLORE CRUISES FROM BALTIMORE

TROPIC LIKE IT'S HOT

Set out on an island-hopping adventure to the Caribbean ’s top destinations onboard Vision of the Seas®. Soak up the sun along the post-card perfect pink-hued shores of Bermuda. Snorkel in the turquoise waters of The Bahamas . And dial up record-breaking thrills and endless ways to chill at our game-changing private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay .

EXPLORE BERMUDA CRUISES

EXPLORE MORE

Previewing: Promo Dashboard Campaigns

My Personas

Code: ∅.

Vision of the Seas to Sail from Norfolk

• April 3, 2024

With the port of Baltimore closed until further notice , Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas is temporarily moving to Norfolk.

According to the company, the port in Virginia was chosen as the homeport for the vessel’s upcoming cruises, which were originally set to depart from the Cruise Maryland Terminal.

“After the recent bridge collapse, Baltimore will not be prepared to safely embark guests on April 4, 2024,” Royal Caribbean explained in a statement sent to booked guests.

“After exploring all options, Norfolk, Virginia, was the best temporary alternate homeport for the Vision of the Seas,” the company added.

All passengers must proceed directly to Norfolk, where check-in procedures will take place, Royal Caribbean added.

“Space in the terminal can only accommodate a specific number of guests, so it’s critical that you adhere to your arrival time,” the company added, noting that passengers need to arrive no later than 3:30 PM.

For the April 4 departure, passengers who booked flights and transfers through Royal Caribbean and have been impacted will automatically receive emails with updated arrangements.

Guests who pre-purchased air and transfers independently are being encouraged to reach out to their carrier to arrange alternate accommodations.

“If you currently have pre-scheduled transportation for your arrival (such as flight, train travel or car rental) and incur a change fee, we will cover up to $200 USD per person for domestic changes, or up to $400 USD per person for international changes,” Royal Caribbean said.

Any new travel that needs to be purchased will also be eligible for up to $200 USD per person reimbursements, the company added.

“We’re terribly sorry for the unexpected change, your safety is always our highest priority,” Royal Caribbean said.

The City of Norfolk website points out that all cruises onboard the Vision of the Seas scheduled to sail in April are currently expected to depart from Norfolk.

Homeporting in Baltimore on a year-round basis , the Vision of the Seas offers a series of five- to 12-night cruises to Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Canada & New England.

Cruise Industry News Email Alerts

• Breaking News

Get the latest breaking  cruise news .  Sign up.

54 Ships | 122,002 Berths | $36 Billion | View

Highlights:

• Mkt. Overview
• Record Year
• Refit Schedule
• PDF Download
• Order Today

• 2033 Industry Outlook 
• All Operators
• Easy to Use
• Pre-Order Offer
• Advertising
• Cruise News
• Magazine Articles
• Quarterly Magazine
• Annual Report
• Email Newsletter
• Executive Guide
• Digital Reports

Privacy Overview

Baltimore-based Royal Caribbean 'Vision of the Seas' cruise ship arrives in Norfolk

E arly Thursday morning, Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas traveled down the Elizabeth River in Norfolk docking at the Half Moon Cruise Terminal around 4:45 am. The ship was set to return to Baltimore but was rerouted to Norfolk due to the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

This is the second cruise ship to be re-routed to Norfolk due to the bridge collapse.

Throughout the morning, crews set up and buses parked around Nauticus preparing for passengers to disembark.

“We had a wonderful time," said Kathy Peterson, one of the passengers from the ship. "The ports were good. Entertainment was really good.”

The cruise ship left out of Baltimore. Passengers said they spent the last 12 days away in "St. Croix, St. Lucia, Barbados,” said Mychele Conway.

Though, Lucille Taylor says she’s ready to be home.

“Wonderful!" she said. "12 days was long. My first 12-day trip.”

While at sea, they heard about a cargo ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last week.

“I had took a picture when we pulled out just to let my family know I’m on the ship and I realized the bridge is right behind me in my picture,” Taylor said. “I just had to call and make sure my son was okay because he works in Baltimore.”

In the middle of their journey, cruise line executives decided to re-route the ship to Norfolk. According to Nauticus, 2,200 people got off the ship throughout the morning. The cruise line provided buses to take passengers back to Baltimore.

“I just appreciate how well Royal has worked and how exceedingly wonderful Norfolk has been,” Conway said.

Nauticus said 2,200 people will board for the ship's next journey at 5 pm.

This is the second ship to come to Norfolk this week. On Easter Sunday, Baltimore-based Carnival Legend carrying 2,600 passengers docked in Norfolk.

City officials anticipated more traffic congestion as passengers boarded and disembarked the ship. Norfolk Police, Downtown Norfolk Council Ambassadors and cruise terminal staff were there to direct and manage passenger traffic flow.

Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas arrives in Norfolk, diverted after Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

NORFOLK, Va. — For the second time in five days, a cruise ship diverted from Baltimore because of the March 26 bridge collapse docked in Norfolk Thursday morning.

Buses lined up outside Norfolk’s Half Moone Bay cruise terminal, waiting to take thousands of passengers debarking Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas back to Baltimore.

Around 8 a.m. Thursday, passengers began to disembark.

Those News 3 spoke to didn't seem to mind arriving in Norfolk instead of Baltimore.

“We just had to make some travel arrangement changes," Donna Bardin said.

“It wasn’t too surprising since we knew we’d get re-routed somewhere," Maria Posey said.

On March 31, Carnival’s Legend docked at the terminal.

Carnival Legend docks in Norfolk after Baltimore bridge collapse forces reroute

It dropped off and picked up thousands of passengers.

Like the Royal Caribbean passengers, those getting off were offered a complimentary coach bus ride back to Baltimore.

“We’re actually getting picked up," Posey said, heading to the car that would take them back to their destination in Burk, Virginia. "Norfolk seemed as good a place as any. It’s actually not too far from home, so it’s quite alright.”

“It took about 48 hours until things were finalized," Bardin's husband, Dennis, said about the ship adjusting to being diverted from Baltimore. "Unfortunately, the way things go there was a lot of speculation and then the rumors start. ‘Well, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that.’ In the end, everything was great.”

The ship wasn't just dropping off passengers. It was also picking up the next group of cruisers.

Heather Daly is among that group. She lives in West Virginia and drove into Norfolk Wednesday night to stay in a hotel ahead of the cruise.

She said the last-minute changes were stressful, but she never thought about canceling. She is traveling with her son who has autism and says the cruise offers a program that helps people traveling with someone with autism.

“I also used to own a company where I traveled the country working the comic con circuit, so I’m used to booking parking and booking hotels," Daly said. "Before Royal even announced which port they were going to go out of, there was a possibility of Jersey or Norfolk. As soon as the bridge got hit, I booked hotels and parking in both."

Dawn Strickler was another passenger sailing out on the Vision of the Seas Thursday afternoon.

She lives in Maryland. She and her friend she's cruising with planned to drive down to Norfolk on Thursday morning. She also never considered canceling.

"I’m going for my birthday and I’ve had a rough couple years dealing with my daughter and I really need this cruise," Strickler said.

As of Thursday, the Vision of the Seas was scheduled to return on April 12.

The Legend was scheduled to be back again on April 7.

Bringing the ships in on such short notice is easier said than done, especially with preparations underway at the cruise terminal for a major renovation scheduled to start in May.

“This is a community effort," Stephen Kirkland, executive director of Nauticus, said ahead of the Legend's arrival on March 31. "Customs and Border Protection, our stevedore services locally, the entire maritime industry has come together to pull this off."

Nauticus operates the Half Moone cruise terminal.

“For us, it’s just a minor inconvenience," said one passenger after getting off the Legend on March 31. "We’ll get home at some point."

With the new ships diverting to Norfolk temporarily, a lot of people are wondering if and how they can get on one of the cruises if any original passengers cancel due to the port change.

Royal Caribbean cruises rerouted from Baltimore to Norfolk

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," Chesapeake travel advisor Kim Keizer told News 3 in an interview on March 29.

Keizer said people will have to go online and get on a waitlist.

She emphasizes, though, that the ships could return to Baltimore at any time and may only notify you 24 hours in advance if you get a spot.

More stories from Norfolk

National Herpetology Conference to be held at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk

Foster Meyerson

1:19 PM, Apr 14, 2024

Man with life-threatening injuries after stabbing on N. Military Hwy. in Norfolk

4:46 PM, Apr 13, 2024

Norfolk Public Schools host inclusive event for kids with special needs

2:01 PM, Apr 13, 2024

Nauticus holds celebration ahead of Battleship Wisconsin's 80th anniversary

Anthony Sabella

12:36 PM, Apr 13, 2024

A safe passage home: Norfolk group takes back bus stops, interrupts violence

Erika Craven

11:46 PM, Apr 12, 2024

Old Dominion baseball tops JMU with strong all-around showing

10:00 PM, Apr 12, 2024

New vision for MacArthur Center includes 400-room hotel, mayor says

2:21 PM, Apr 12, 2024

Priority Toyota Charity Bowl helps fund school for kids with learning challenges

Beverly Kidd

5:47 AM, Apr 12, 2024

Sign up for the Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information.

Now signed up to receive the headlines newsletter..

St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

Listen to this article

Listen to more stories on curio

Updated at 2:44 p.m. ET on April 6, 2024.

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here .

MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

Explore the May 2024 Issue

Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.

“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

Kim Brooks: On failing the family vacation

The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

Read: The last place on Earth any tourist should go

I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

Ultrawealthy cruising: See inside Royal Caribbean's most extravagant upgrades and a $100,000-a-week cabin on its Icon of the Seas

• Cruise giants are putting more "pay-to-play" amenities on their new ships.
• Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas has high-end upcharge options like a $200-per-person dinner. 
• See what a vacation on the world's largest cruise ship is like for affluent travelers.

Are you looking to ball out on your weeklong vacation aboard the world's largest cruise ship ? Get ready to pay $200 for dinner and $100,000 for a cabin.

Vacations-at-sea can be a fairly affordable vacation option. With most cruise lines, your base fare already includes accommodations, unlimited food, endless activities, and the opportunity to see several destinations in one go.

But as more " pay-to-play " amenities show up on board, the more pricey these floating vacations could become. And there's likely no better example of this than Royal Caribbean's new world's largest cruise ship.

Forget tiny interior cabins and dinners at the buffet. On the 9,950-person Icon of the Seas, affluent travelers could have a vacation that rivals even the most luxurious small-ship cruise .

Guests interested in luxuriating in one of Icon’s 179 suites will be paying a minimum of $4,614 per person for a weeklong sailing.

The mega-ship's high-end suites range from 402 to 2,523 square feet, balconies included.

Some come with sweeping views of the AquaTheater . No need to scramble for the best seats when you can watch the show's divers, synchronized swimmers, and aerialists from your couch.

Others, like the floor-to-ceiling window-lined Icon Loft, are spread across two floors.

Guests in the most luxurious suites also get Starlink WiFi, laundry services, the best seats for on board shows, and a "Royal Genie" to help plan their trip.

But few compare to Icon’s most expensive cabin, the 2,523-square-foot Ultimate Family Townhouse.

Guests in the three-floor floating mansion get to wake up to sweeping ocean views and coffee on one of the three balconies.

The bottom floor has an open-air patio that opens into Icon's Surfside neighborhood.

The two bedrooms — one with a bunk bed — are back inside on the top floor.

Looking to watch a movie or flex your karaoke skills? Slide down to the second floor, where you can do just that at one of the several lounges.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told Business Insider that travelers have been 'quickly' reserving the giant cabin for an average of $100,000 a week.

But a cruise ship worker stationed at the Ultimate Family Townhouse in January told BI that some guests have been snatching up the multilevel townhouse for a whopping $200,000 a week, noting that the playground-like cabin was mostly booked for 2024.

The keycards to these plush suites also open up another exclusive side of the ship: the Suite Neighborhood.

Only guests staying in suites can access the 60,924-square-foot retreat and its two restaurants, sundeck, hot tub, pool, and bar.

The list of exclusive restaurants doesn’t end there, of course.

More than half of the Icon of the Seas' 28 eateries come at an extra cost.

Some are more affordable, like Izumi at the Park's grab-and-go sushi window. For $10, hungry travelers can pick between seaweed salad and edamame, plus two choices of sashimi, nigiri, and rolls.

Cruisers craving a formal, upscale dinner could instead reserve the rabbit-slinging $200-per-person Empire Supper Club.

The price is comparable to high-end, on-land Michelin-starred restaurants.

Empire Supper Club's American fare dinner flexes eight courses, a cocktail pairing, and live jazz. Appetizer options include butter-poached langoustine with Osetra caviar. For the main course, the aforementioned rabbit leg and loin could be a bun-tastic choice.

The latter will be paired with a New York Sour — not a hoppy beer.

There are 18 other places to drink on the ship. As usual, none are complimentary.

Expect to front New York City prices without a beverage package: The popular Rye and Bean bar serves coffee and tea-infused cocktails ranging from $12 to $14.

Looking for a pampering? Like alcohol, spa treatments are rarely complimentary on cruise ships.

Vacationing can be stressful. At the mega-ship's spa, guests can unwind with an almost $150 25-minute facial or a nearly $180 50-minute Swedish massage.

Or, book one of the exclusive casitas to relax with unobstructed ocean views.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to BI's request for casita pricing on Icon of the Seas. But for context, a casita on the cruise line's older Symphony of the Seas mega-ship can cost about $360 per day during a sea day.

Amenities like the six-slide waterpark and mini-golf course are complimentary to all guests.

But the same can't be said for Crown's Edge , one of the ship's most distinctive amenities.

Travelers must don a bulky jumpsuit and harness before they face their fear of heights at the thrilling agility course.

The half-walking, half-ziplining route, which leaves its sweaty-palmed participants dangling 154 feet above the ocean, could be completed in a minute or so.

That's $49 down the drain in one minute.

And why stop there when you can splurge during port days too?

Icon of the Seas will dock at Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay private island for all 2024 sailings.

As expected, the Caribbean getaway is full of upcharged activities.

Travelers with young children might want to drop $100 per head for an afternoon at the waterpark.

Meanwhile, those without kids can pay between $39 to $89 per person for a boozy day at the adult-only Hideaway Beach .

Nearby, the more exclusive beach club could be almost triple that cost.

A weeklong trip on the new world's largest cruise ship could quickly become an ultra-luxurious vacation.

But even travelers looking to spend modestly might be shocked by the new ship's prices.

Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, told investors in 2023 that Icon's inaugural season had commanded more bookings at "materially higher rates" than any of its previous ship launches.

Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure research analyst at Truist Securities, told BI in late 2023 that new cruise liners generally command a 20% to 50% pricing premium.

Three months before Icon of the Seas' launch , he estimated the new vessel was priced at a premium of "at least 50% if not more."

At the time, the least expensive 2024 itinerary had started at $1,820 per person for an interior cabin.

Pricing has since increased by $17. That's $262 per person, per day, for a windowless stateroom.

And no, it doesn't come with access to the Suite Neighborhood.

• Main content