Earlier this week, I traveled to Miami to board the brand-new Icon of the Seas for a sneak peak of the world’s newest and biggest cruise ship. Although I had just 7 hours onboard, I was able to explore most of this exciting cruise ship!
While the ship has been heavily hyped by Royal Caribbean over the last year, we’ve heard and seen very little about Icon’s standard staterooms. Of course, Royal Caribbean has shared plenty of content about Icon of the Sea's biggest suites, including the luxurious Ultimate Family Townhouse with three levels, two bedrooms and over 1,770 square feet.
Icon of the Seas features 28 stateroom categories, so there are many different accommodations for guests to choose from. In fact, Icon of the Seas has 14 new stateroom categories, including eight new suites, four new balconies and two new inside cabins.
Read more: Icon of the Seas cabin guide
The newest cruise ship from Royal Caribbean also has more staterooms that can accommodate three to four guests. You can find double the number of cabins that can sleep four guests in comparison to Oasis Class ships.
In addition, more than 70% of the rooms onboard Icon of the Seas have a balcony. In comparison, only 12% of cabins on Grandeur of the Seas, the oldest ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, have a balcony. Needless to say, Royal Caribbean has come a long way with balcony availability!
During my short time onboard Icon of the Seas, we were invited to see what a balcony cabin looked like. I was eager to get inside one of the ship's standard cabins, as this is more representative of a typical cabin experience onboard. While Icon of the Seas’ suites are certainly impressive, a balcony cabin is where you can find the majority of guests.
Read more: First look Inside the World's Biggest Cruise Marvel, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas
If you're wondering what to expect from your stateroom onboard Icon of the Seas, look no further. Here is an overview of a standard balcony cabin on Icon of the Seas, along with my initial impressions of the stateroom.
Cabin Overview
While exploring Icon of the Seas during a media preview event, I had the opportunity to look inside cabin 14672. Located on Deck 14, this specific cabin is considered an Ocean View Balcony Stateroom. Icon of the Seas has new Infinite Balcony staterooms to book; however, this cabin featured a traditional balcony.
The stateroom measures around 200 square feet while the balcony measures an additional 50 square feet. While many staterooms on Icon of the Seas can sleep up to four guests, this balcony cabin was designed for two guests only. Because of this, there was no bunk bed or sofa couch.
Upon entering the balcony stateroom, I noticed the small touch screen next to the bathroom door. This small control panel is where guests can change the temperature of the cabin and adjust the lighting setting. This is similar to the digital control panel that we had onboard the new Celebrity Ascent and is very common in new cruise ships.
The balcony was configured with a king bed, although guests can always separate the bed into two separate twin beds. Overall, I found the stateroom to be quite spacious with plenty of room for two guests.
In addition, this balcony cabin had a full-size couch adjacent to the bed. Since this cabin only sleeps two guests, the couch was not a sofa sleeper. But, the couch was large enough that someone certainly could sleep on it! Some might even find the couch to be a tad too large for the space; however, I prefer to have more seating in a cruise cabin than not enough.
Design
Standard balcony staterooms on Icon of the Seas are both stylish and functional. I would describe the cabin’s design, in my personal opinion, as minimalistic. The cabin’s color scheme is very light with colors of grey, tan and a few pops of yellow and blue. Surrounding the television, there are a few tropical designs that are quite subtle.
Above the vanity, there is a small pop of yellow under the mirror. The vanity’s chair is a light blue with a tropical design that matches the throw pillows on the couch. Although very cute, we theorized the shape of the vanity chair could lead to quick wear and tear.
I loved the warm lighting that illuminated the balcony stateroom. From the ring light around the mirror to the mood lighting around the TV, the balcony cabin felt very warm and inviting.
Aligning with modern design trends, the cabin’s carpet is also lightly colored with hues of grey and blue. While this keeps the room feeling bright and airy, we discussed how the carpet could stain easily over time.
In comparison, I just sailed on Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship, Norwegian Viva. We cruised in an affordable inside cabin, but found the stateroom’s design to be especially aesthetically pleasing. However, the cabin on Norwegian Viva also featured very light colored carpet and stains were already visible around the four-month-old cabin.
(Photos above show standard inside cabin on new Norwegian Viva, along with carpet stains on lightly colored carpet)
Connectivity
Connectivity is one of the biggest themes in this balcony stateroom. I was very impressed by how many outlets were available throughout the stateroom. Cruisers can often find that older cruise ships only have a few outlets available for charging devices, which can be frustrating. For this reason, I always bring a European adapter with USB plugs so I have more charging outlets.
However, Royal Caribbean guests likely won’t find any issues with having enough outlets on Icon of the Seas. To start, there are USB outlets on the lamps on both sides of the bed! This is super handy and means that guests won’t need to fight over a single outlet by the bedside. One side of the bed also has a US outlet for charging.
Additionally, the vanity features a large charging strip with multiple outlets and plugins. There is a US and EU plug for guests to use. In between, there is a USB-A and USB-C charging port available. On the opposite end of the vanity, there are two additional USB-C plugs. The addition of USB-C plugs is a recent trend on newer cruise ships and provides more options for connectivity.
Finally, guests can find additional USB ports next to the television. There are small shelves for storage, which makes great use of the space. Above one of the shelves, there are two USB-A ports for charging even more devices.
Bathroom
Cruise cabin bathrooms have come a long way in terms of design and space! If you’ve sailed on an older cruise ship, you know how small the bathrooms used to be. I was pleased to find the bathrooms on Icon of the Seas to be very spacious and efficient.
The cabin’s shower was also impressive and especially large with plenty of space. The glass door maneuvered inward and sideways to keep the bathroom less cramped. I appreciated the size of the shower, as cruise cabin showers have been notoriously small in older ship designs.
Something very notable in the cabin bathroom was the seat in the shower. I have never seen a cruise ship shower with a seat before, so this is very unique to Icon of the Seas. Those who are looking for a little more comfort can now enjoy a shower seat as a seemingly standard feature for Icon of the Seas' cabins.
I also noticed that the shower included body wash, conditioner and shampoo. Normally, Royal Caribbean only provides its 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash hybrid for standard cabins. I will be interested to see if all cabins on Icon of the Seas are provided with these three amenities. I would love not having to bring my own cosmetics for showering, so this would be a great improvement for the cabin experience.
Storage
Looking around the balcony cabin on Icon of the Seas, it appears there is no shortage of storage. Royal Caribbean did a great job utilizing the space for its newest cabins.
For this balcony stateroom, the main storage comes from the closet. However, this was a uniquely designed closet unlike anything I’ve seen before on a cruise ship. One panel of the closet was full length while the other half had exposed shelving on the bottom.
This design reminded me more of a European-style wardrobe than a traditional cruise cabin closet. The cabin’s vanity featured three drawers for more storage. In my personal opinion, more shelving would have amplified the vanity storage even more. Although the vanity is a good size, having additional shelving is always helpful to keep the vanity less cluttered.
In terms of shelving, there are tall strips of small shelves throughout the balcony cabin. As mentioned, there are a few shelves alongside the TV. These are pretty small, so you won’t be able to store much; however, I don’t think you can have enough storage in a cruise cabin! You can find similar sized shelving alongside the closet and also in the bathroom behind the toilet.
Balcony
When cruising on Icon of the Seas, you can choose from many different balcony cabins. There are balconies available both inward and outward facing, with some balconies overlooking neighborhoods like Central Park and Surfside while others face the ocean.
In addition, Icon of the Seas is the first ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet to feature Infinite Balconies. These balconies are considered more flexible since the balcony space can be utilized as an outdoor space by lowering the top-half of the window. I would compare this to a sunroom with an open window, whereas a traditional balcony is more like an outdoor deck.
This balcony stateroom was a traditional balcony rather than an Infinite Balcony. The cabin provides two deck chairs with foot rests, along with a small table. At 50 square feet, the size is just enough for guests to enjoy the ocean breeze and views from their private verandah.
Final thoughts
Icon of the Seas has a variety of staterooms to accommodate a wide range of budgets, from affordable inside cabins to expensive, multi bedroom suites. One of the most common types of cabins to book on Icon of the Seas is a standard balcony cabin. With both inward and outward facing cabins, along with traditional and infinite verandas, guests have many different balcony staterooms to choose from.
Compared to other new cruise ships that I’ve sailed on - including Carnival Celebration, Celebrity Ascent, Odyssey of the Seas and Norwegian Viva - I found the design and decor on Icon of the Seas to be very minimalistic. I personally wish the cabin had a bit more character and color, although some might prefer the very modern, light design.
When it comes to storage, I do wish there was a little more shelving around the stateroom’s vanity. Guests will find plenty of areas for storage around the cabin, although most of the shelving is quite small.
I was impressed by the amount of connectivity available in the balcony cabin. There were more USB ports available than any cabin I’ve stayed in. Guests will also appreciate the USB-C charging ports available for the latest technology and devices.
Within the bathroom, I appreciated how spacious and well designed the bathroom was. It was very modern with a large shower for guests to enjoy. The shower seat is especially progressive, as I’ve never seen this before in a standard cruise cabin.
Overall, I think most guests will be satisfied with their balcony cabins onboard Icon of the Seas. The cabin is comfortable, functional and modern. With so much to do on the ship itself, I am sure most people will be spending their time exploring everything that Icon of the Seas has to offer for activities, amenities, restaurants, production shows and onboard thrills.
