Jill

Matt - Did you use your UDP discount for the Empire Supper Club?  If so,  when were you able to book the reservation?  I am getting mixed answers on this.  Thanks - Rose

Hello,
We just got off Icon earlier this morning. Thought I'd provide a quick review while we're waiting for our flight back home...
About Us - Me (49), my wife (48), and our two boys (13 and 15).
Embarkation - Our boarding time was 11:30 AM. We arrived at the pier at 10:20 AM and we were onboard by 10:30 AM. I had a drink in-hand by 10:35 AM. LOL! Royal has the embarkation process down perfectly! Hats off to Royal! We were super impressed!
Capacity & Crowds - A crew member told me there were 2,400 kids on our sailing, and the ship was at roughly 85% to 90% capacity. The crew member said they're going to 100% by the March 30th, 2024 sailing. The ship didn't feel too crowded to me, except for a few areas on the pool decks. We sat at Cloud 17 the whole week, since they have padded loungers up there 🙂. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a drink. On the other hand, Coco Cay seemed very crowded. We arrived at South Beach around 10:15 AM and all the loungers were taken. We should have gotten off the boat earlier, but no big deal. We went back to the ship by 1:00 PM and had the ship to ourselves and went on a bunch of the slides. I think next time, we'll stay on the ship 🙂.
Food & Dining - We had the Unlimited Dining Package. I was able to lock in all our reservations right when we got on the ship at Izumi. The process took roughly 30 minutes, since the people in front of me were taking forever. Once it was my turn, I gave the lady my print up of all my desired reservations (used Google Calendar). She loved the print out and quickly locked in all my options. Only bummer was Hibachi only had 9:00 PM available, other than that, we were able to get all the times we wanted. We did not eat in the Main Dining Room at all. We ate at all the Specialty Dining venues except for Pier 7. The food was great! And the service was great, too! Only place I would not go back to is Hibachi. Guess it's more for the show, but we agreed the food was not very good 😞 . Way too much butter and salt (at least that's what we thought). My wife and I also did Empire Supper club and it was spectacular! What a great dining experience!
Room & Accommodations - My wife and I had cabin 14756, and our boys were in an inside cabin 14747. Our room was on the aft of the ship, directly below the Hideaway. We had an unbelievable view of the back of the boat (please see pic I took from our cabin). My wife did not like the rattling and shaking feeling in the cabin. She said she would not want the same cabin again. There definitely was a lot of rattling and shaking going on, but I was ok with it b/c of the view. We also heard them moving around chairs each morning around 7:00 AM - 7:30 AM presumably cleaning the deck above us. We also noticed we felt the ship moving a lot more (overall) than we had expected. For comparison, we were on the Wonder of the Seas two years ago and we did not feel that ship move at all. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say Wonder was about a 1 or 2 while Icon was about a 6 or 7. My boys were also complaining about it. One of the crew members also said she was surprised to feel the boat move so much and agreed it was more than Oasis class ships like Wonder. But overall, our room was fantastic! 
Shows & Entertainment - We saw Wizard of Oz on the second night and it was excellent! We were super impressed! We also did Starburst and the headliner show. Both were good, but Wizard of Oz took the cake! The comedians were also very funny! 
Disembarkation - Getting off the ship this morning was a breeze. We walked off with our luggage around 8:45 AM. However, complete chaos ensued when we got outside the terminal to hail a taxi, Uber, Lyft. People all over the place trying to hail their Ubers, Lyfts, etc. It took about 30 mins to finally get a Lyft out of there and then 20 mins to the Miami airport. The airport is also crazy busy, with very long security lines. It took us almost 1 hour to get through security and to our gate. We are on Southwest.
That's all I can think of right now... Hope this helps! If you have any questions, please give me a shout!
Thanks!
Matt

Priority boarding would be nice. Pretty much did away with it during Covid when they switched to check in times which no one follows anymore and rarely enforced. I have heard that Galveston is doing priority boarding again. Costs nothing but to me a nice perk 

It still amazes me how so many parents let their kids wander all over the ship unsupervised. When we cruised with our young girls, they never left our sight. Sexual assault on cruise ships (by crew or passengers) does happen. 
 
Now we have to worry about the cabin itself. 

We were cancelled at Labadee back in September of 1991 on Song of America when the military overthrew the government 

You actually go up a flight of stairs, go around near the helipad, then go back down on the other side. So you get steps and flights in one session

In your cruise planner on the website, go into to the cruise, click on your initials in upper right corner and from the drop down menu choose order history. Soda package should show up there 

That was a good read. I saved the article to share when I come across posts about how poorly crew is paid.  
 
He made a months salary in 2 days. 

You actually go up a flight of stairs, go around near the helipad, then go back down on the other side. So you get steps and flights in one session

You actually go up a flight of stairs, go around near the helipad, then go back down on the other side. So you get steps and flights in one session

Make him cough up the big bucks! LOL.

We just finished up an amazing week on Icon of the Seas, sailing from February 17th to the 24th of 2024. We were a family of 5, staying in an Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony room, and there were definitely some things we learned along the way and since lists are always fun thought I would share some of them in a Top 10 format
Obviously this is all just based on our experience and everyone cruises differently, but thought this could create some discussion and would be interested to hear tips from others who have cruise on Icon as well. Also should mention the ship was not at full capacity yet - there were about 6,000 total guests, with 1,200 of them being children. Also, we were seeing them making some tweaks to schedules and what is included in various packages, pricing for things .... basically, your experience may differ from what ours
With that out of the way, here we go ....
 
10. You Will Need to Prioritize What You Want to Do
This goes without saying but this is a massive ship with a ton to do and a ton of new stuff not seen on other Royal Caribbean ships. Because of that at the end of the week my wife and I were commenting about the things we didn't get to. For example we never ate at El Loco Fresh and never visited the Sports Court - whereas on our last cruise those were two locations we spent a lot of time at. A week goes really fast and if there is something you are really looking forward to checking out, make it a priority / add it to you "calendar" in the app. 
 
9. Consider Skipping a Port To Stay On the Ship
On a related note, you may want to take advantage of a less crowded ship when in port to accomplish more of your priority list. We found on sea days the pool decks to be very crowded and longish lines for water slides and crowded venues. We decided to not get off the ship when it docked at Perfect Day at Coco Cay and it turned out to be a great call as we got to check out multiple pools and hot tubs, ride the water slides a bunch, attended a trivia session with only 3 total groups, not lines at bars, minimal folks in the Hideaway Area pool, ... you get the idea. Just to give you an idea, here is a photo of the Royal Bay Pool, the main pool in Chill Island, at about 11am:

It was just really nice to explore this ship with low crowds and made for a really relaxing day. 
 
8. You Don't Need to Pack as Many Mutli-Port Adapters
One thing the rooms on Icon have is outlets, especially USB ports. Between the desk, the shelf near the TV, in the bathroom, by the beds - there are outlets all over the room. Our room also had multiple USB-A outlets near the bunkbed area. If I counted correctly, we had 4 US Outlets, 1 European Outlet 10 USB-A Outlets, and 2 USB-C outlets.  We did utilize one multi USB-A plug on the desk just to keep things more organized with phones and battery packs, etc. but we absolutely could have made it through without anything. This is very different than other ships where we felt like we had multiple multi-port adapters in use at all times.
There are also outlets out around the ship with the Overlook area having an exceptional amount and a great place to go if you need to get on a laptop or similar.
 
7. You Will Want to Pack Magnetic Hooks to Hang Things From in the Room
One negative things we found about the rooms (and heard from others as well) is the lack of storage compared to other ships like the Oasis class. For our family of 5 we struggled to fit everything on the hanging racks and just ran out of shelf space. We fit everything, but was tight. Additionally, there is no close line in the bathroom for hanging up bathing suits or other wet items - only a couple of knobs to hang a few things from. We are glad we brough a number of magnetic Hooks to use on the walls (which are metal) as it allowed us to hang things like hats up but also put nearly-but-not-quite dry bathing suits to air out and finish drying - and just not get other stuff damp.
Bonus tip: Bring at least 1 more swimsuit than you think you might need, but also try to not overpack other items as storage is at a premium.
 
 
6. Bring Ear Plugs if You are a Light Sleeper
While we overall really liked the room we had and the rooms in general on Icon, thought I would mention another slide negative thing we found which is that the walls appear to be quite thin as we could definitely hear our neighbors on both sides - with one group being rather loud with quite a bit of screaming (from both kids and adults). If you are someone who needs things really quiet to sleep or just wants quiet when relaxing in the room, consider bringing ear plugs or headphones or something that can block sound out
 
5. If You Are Debating It, Get the Drink Package
I know the drink package, especially for this ship, is expensive - but if you are someone who is contemplating getting it, go for it. There are sooooo many unique bars and drinks on this ship that we got so much use out of our package and really enjoyed trying different things that we might not be as open to ordering (for fear of not liking it) if we were paying per drink.
Also, consider doing a bar crawl as motivates you to check out the different bars and different drinks - and you can spread it out over the course of the cruise, you don't need to do it all in one day

 
4. Similarly, If Contemplating The Empire Supper Club - Book It!
Speaking of things that are not cheap, we got to experience the Empire Supper Club and it did not disappoint - one of the best meal experiences i have had in my life. The food was wonderful and creative, really interesting cocktails - with some pairings I would never have thought of but worked - and excellent music that absolutely complemented the meal without taking away from being able to have conversations. And probably the best service I have ever had on any cruise ship.
It's probably not something you are going to do every cruise but for a special occasion or if just something you think will appeal to you, go for it! A meal like this on land, when factoring the cocktails and entertainment, would likely cost 2-3x what they are charging. 

 
3. Pearl Cafe is a Game Changer
One of the best changes they made for this ship was the opening up of the promenade and the addition of the pearl Cafe. I cannot overstate how much of an upgrade this is over Cafe Promenade. The setting is lovely with the large windows, view of the Pearl, and the artwork above your head. The food is really, really good - the steak and egg breakfast sandwich become an everyday item for me - and it is open 24 hours a day.
I will say the line for the coffee where you can get lattes and the like made with Starbucks coffee can get rather long - the crew there is working hard, just lots of people want their coffee!
 
2. Seating for the Shows - Including Non Reserved Seating for the Aqua Show.
Royal Caribbean entertainment is generally amazing and what is found on this ship is no exception - probably don't need me to advise you to go see the Wizard of Oz, the Ice Shows, or the Aquashows ... but for each, here are a few tips for where to sit.
Wizard of Oz - do you best to sit in the lower section, as close to the middle as you can, but if only thing available is on the side that is fine too. Just being closer to the stage is great and a number of effects will, literally, go over your heads and really adds to the experience
Ice Shows in Absolute Zero - Outside of a few seats that may have a pole impacting your view, there really aren't "bad" seats, but I would advice to get as close as you can and even going for the front row. Especially for the secondary show which is aimed at families as we had the kids in our group sit in the front row and at times the performers would come by and give them high fives and they loved that.
AquaAction - this is probably my best tip overall all. The reservations for the shows in the aqua theater (there was only one ready on our sailing) are just for the wooden benches and chairs within that area, NOT for the chairs behind the benches. We wanted to see the show twice and just showed up early and found we could just sit in the chairs at the back and they are way more comfortable than the wooden benches (plus have tables for your beverage or a crepe from the Aquadome Market). While slightly further away, the view is just as good and I would take these over the area the reservations are for

 
Before my #1 tip a quick bonus: Ranking the Water Slide
We did get a chance to ride all of the water slides in Thrill Island and I would rank them in this order
1a/b - Storm Chasers Mat Slides: These were definitely my favorite as they were fast, fun, long, and had great lighting effects in the tubes. The lighter blue colored slide was my favorite, but both were excellent
2 - Hurricane Hunter: This is the pink colored family raft slide and was an absolute blast - also very long and with a lot of different lighting effect. Just not as fast/adrenaline filled as the mat slides, but really, really fun
3 - Storm Surge: This is the green colored family raft slide with the "leaf" that goes out over the edge of the ship. This was also quite fun but just noticeably shorter than Hurricane Hunter. Also, they were only allowing 3 people in this one vs 4 for Hurricane Hunter.
4 - Pressure Drop: The yellow drop slide that is located with the raft slides. This is a straight forward drop slide and rather short, but gives a kick of adrenaline and is overall a positive experience. 
5 - Frightening Bolt - I feel a bit bad listing this one last as it does what it says it will do, which is dop you, and then is a nice long ride after the drop, but the drop was pretty severe/hard and I wound up banging my head some. Just was one of those "well I did that and don't need to again". By far the most "extreme" of the slides

 
1. Dueling Pianos is an Absolute Must Do - But Get There Early!
One of the most fun experiences I have had anywhere let alone on a cruise ship was at Dueling Pianos on Icon of the Seas. The level of talent and engagement with the crowd is off the charts and just singing along with hundreds of strangers/new friends and laughing with the antics of the performance, you just can't not smile. The "bit" they do for Piano Man was one of the funniest things we have experienced in quite a while.
That said, it is really popular - you will want to get there at least 30 minutes prior to showtime if you want a seat and you will, unfortunately, see people "Saving" seats with drinks for an hour or prior like they are deck chairs. You can see the large crowd reflected in the mirror of this photo

 
Also, the earlier shows seem to attract more kids and they try to go with the crowd (I mean, they did take a request for Baby Shark) so I would suggest going to a later show for the full experience where it gets a bit more "PG-13"
 
And there you have it - my top 10 list of tips and thoughts from our week long cruise on Icon of the Seas. I could probably add 10 more but this post is already more than long enough.
 
If you have sailed on Icon of the Seas, what tips to you have for new cruisers? If you have a sailing upcoming what other advice would you want to know?

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!  

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!  

Matt posted a pic from this weekend. Nothing started 

Definitely St Augustine. It’s such a fun city with excellent restaurants. Not sure if it’ll be available but we’ve stayed here and walked to downtown. We live about 30 minutes from st Aug and go play there often. It won’t let me post the link but here’s the place 


 
 

Many people are reporting glitches with trying to book dining on Wonder and a couple people mentioned Icon (some standard venues showed sold out like 9 months out, if you go to put something in your cart you get an error, etc.)
The booking UDP in advance feature was my guess but ya never know with Royal IT.
In any case, I highly doubt it's just you based on all the glitch reports I've seen.

Definitely St Augustine. It’s such a fun city with excellent restaurants. Not sure if it’ll be available but we’ve stayed here and walked to downtown. We live about 30 minutes from st Aug and go play there often. It won’t let me post the link but here’s the place 


 
 

Interesting to hear that the 10 drink package was available onboard.  It has been rare, lately.  You do realize that it is not always available ?  In fact, it's fairly rare.  

Matt posted a pic from this weekend. Nothing started 

I really wish they’d sail out of port Canaveral again. 

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!  

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!  

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!  

I got the email also. 
Here’s my advice if I could bend an ear to the powers that be: 
There’s a subgroup of RC cruisers who are “seasoned” and comprise the upper tiers. This group is somewhat over the whole “big ship” thing along with St Thomas, St Maarten, Cozumel and Costa Maya (and the other islands that the big girls go to)
This group is BEGGING for a new smaller class that visits somewhere other than above. 
Well…..give us our RC benefits on a Celebrity ship and you won’t have to build a new class. Just transfer us to Celebrity. I’d be happy with that. 
We have our first celebrity booked to Norwegian fjords in 2025 because the itinerary was way better than Indy but it was hard giving up our 5 free drinks anytime, anywhere. 
Deep fjords beat alcohol but I shouldn’t have to choose!