TheMaxRebo

Part 3 - Aquadome, The Wizard, And Rover, oh my! After dinner we stopped back at the room and it was made up for night time - since we only had one person for the couch bed, they just made it up that size, it didn't pull out to a full size bed. Definitely helps to leave some more walking room. Also got some nice sunset views out the "balcony" We then went to the Aquadome/overlook area to check it out and we're able to get one of the pods. Very cool area and just feels like a totally different place than rest of the ship. We also got to meet Rover - who is definitely a good girl We then went to see the Wizard of Oz and it was a fantastic show. Well, my wife and oldest went, the younger two didn't want to so my youngest went to Adventure Ocean and son just went off exploring. Huge cast that was very talented and the little be orchestra makes a big difference. The effects/staging was amazing, can't recommend enough, it's a must do (we definitely may try to see it again) Only issue is the show starts at 8:30 and is 1 hour 40 mins lon so we were anxious about picking up yh you get for AO since now a bit after 10, but the line to pick up kids was super long so wasn't an issue Thus ends a great first day - definitely feel like we got a lot done and yet parts of the ship we didn't even step foot in yet Coming up next, a cloudy / raining but very fun day - including the (official) start of the bar crawl!

I asked our server last night if the lobster on might 2 in the main dining room was permanent for Icon or just limited time - he said he wasn't sure but the thought only first 1 to 2 months

Part 2 - Drinks, Food, and Getting our Bearings While set up on Thrill Island I did order my first drink of the trip from a passing bartender: got the Category 6 from th Basecamp Bar. This was really good, but definitely has that floater of Kraken at the top - strong first sip! Kids wanted to go swimming so we went to the main pool in Chill Island which was quite nice and bounced between the pool and hot tubs. Picked up margaritas from Cantina Fresco which were quite tasty! We then went to Windjammer for lunch - or, considering they still have the steak and l better and other seafood, it is definitely the Wind Jahmehr! Good way to start off the cruise foodwise Rooms were ready at 1pm so we went there and also able to locate all our suitcases, which was great. Kinda were enjoying the infinite veranda part - my son definitely liked playing with the window (probably more than his siblings enjoyed him playing with it.) We are a full day now in the room and the space is really nice - the you get two having there separate area is really nice and kinda keeps them and their stuff contained. The infinite veranda area is nice for relaxing in - the chairs are comfy. One negative so far is there isn't enough storage - struggled a bit to put away all the stuff for 5 people. Could use more drawer space especially. Having the split bathroom is really nice but it does result in each part feeling a bit tight. We will see how we feel at the end of the cruise but so far more positives than negatives but not perfect. Oh, and as a size comparison, this is my 5'5" wife on one of the bunk bed beds - she fits no issue and they are great for my 12 and 9 y ah old but would be tight for like a teen who is like 5'10" or more We then heard they were selling Wow bands so we went to get two for the younger two and then went to check out Adventure Ocean and the Teen Club. They said my 12 year old could use either - but had to pick one, he couldn't be registered at both. He decided on Adventure Ocean as he met some kids his age there and there is a ton to do there and so much space - definitely a big step up from the club on our last cruise which was on Symphony of the Seas. I then got another drink and hung out with my sone in the Peal Cafe area - this is quickly becoming one of his favorites spots and he enjoyed watching the other ships leave port before ours left. Unfortunately we missed sail away as we had 5pm dinner and it didn't happen until then - we could actually see us start to move out the windows int h Main Dining Room which was cool. Dinner was good the first night - I got escargot and the prime rib. My son tried the escargot and went back for a 2nd so guess he liked them Coming up, evening entertainment, enjoying the Overlook, and a cloudy start to day 2

Part 1 - Travel Day a.k.a. planes, trains, automobiles, and one giant ship We started our travels the morning of Friday, February 16th. Because basically all of the Northeast has schools off flights were crazy expensive into Miami or Ft Lauderdale - I was afraid we would have to drive from NY but we found a good rate on a flight from Westchester Airport (local to us) to West Palm Beach. Photo of my son wearing merch for his favorite airport Flight was a bit bumpy to start but we arrived on time and picked up a rental car to start the journey south to Miami. About 2/3rds of the way we stopped to see my wife's cousin which was nice to spend time with them and my.kids played with her daughter for a bit. We then made it the rest of the way and spent the night at the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North. It was ... Fine. Got the job done and room for the 5 of us and included breakfast, but nothing special. We then returned the rental car in the evening, taking the fake-o-rail back to the terminal (the "trains" part of this journey) and then shuttle back to hotel They offered a free shuttle to the port but the times were either 9am or 12:30pm, which really didn't work for our 11:30am boa ding time, so we reserved an Uber. That worked out really well - and the driver referred to the Icon as a "monster". We got to the port about 10:50 and got on within 5 minutes - fortunately we were selected for Express after we completed the safety videos in the app, but even without it it would have only been a few minutes more, all was very efficient It felt a bit surreal to be on the ship 478 days after having booked it. But first impressions were that it was beautiful and the openness of the promise with the Pearl and the windows is really nice. We went to our muster station and then put to Thrill Island to do some water slides. The area is amazing and the slides are legit (we did 3 of them, the mat slides were my favorite Coming up next, food, drinks, more drinks, room tour, and meeting Rover!

Hello all, thought I would do a trip report/live blog for our cruise on Icon of the Seas - which is in only 3 days (eek!) This is the February 17-24, 2024 sailing and is doing the Western Caribbean itinerary: Day 1 - Leave Miami Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Sea Day Day 4 - Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico Day 6 - Sea Day Day 7 - Perfect Day at CocoCay Day 8 - Return to Miami (sad face) Who we are - we are a family of 5 from New York that are looking forward to escaping the cold and snow we currently have on the ground. It is me (Phil), my wife (Judi), daughter Olivia (14), son Peter (12), and daughter Emma (9). Here is a photo of us from our cruise the same time last year (on Symphony of the Seas) having completed a Pirate Scavenger Hunt we did on St. Thomas (which was tons of fun) (we look basically the same, just a year older) As the title implies, we are staying in one of the new classes of rooms, a Family Infinite Oceanview Balcony. I was excited to try out this room mostly due to the space for fitting all 5 of us - we shall see if we like the Infinite Balcony (a.k.a. window) or not. We have a few fun things planned - including celebrating both my birthday and Olivia's - she is turning 15 and I am, well, more than 15. For her birthday we have booked Izumi Hibachi for lunch (first time doing that) and for my birthday Judi and I are doing the Empire Supper Club (very excited for that). We also have booked lunches at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen and Hooked - last cruise my kids had a combined 42 oyesters at Hooked so figure we will get our money's worth there, especially as we got these 40% off during Black Friday sale. I have also been planning a bar crawl with members of a Facebook Group for this cruise and ~60 people have expressed interest, so we will see how that goes. I made up lanyards with required drinks based on suggestions from JJ Cruising. Our travel day down to Florida is in 2 days - due to this being a school holiday week in New York the flight prices to Miami and Fort Lauderdale were just crazy so we are actually flying from Westchester (our local airport) to West Palm Beach and then getting a rental car to drive down to Miami to stay over for one night. I have watched tons of videos on the ship and have my spreadsheet ready! ... just hope we are.

Icon has been much less notice than other ships It just opened two days ago for the Feb 10th sailing and I am still waiting for it to open for my Feb 17th sailing

according to the "Making an Icon" videos it was the Chairmans idea/mandate to "build me this"

I was watching a live stream and they were at the Rye and Bean and they mentioned getting cold foam (like at Starbucks) on the espresso martini - and it looked pretty tasty.

That's really cool - as we are doing the Supper Club when we cruise next month it would be nice if they continue to provide those for guests and not just for this sailing (but not keeping my hopes up)

How were the drinks? Definitely intrigued by a few of these

I've watched a ton of ship your videos and the placement of Absolute Zero is the one things that seems really poorly designed - all the other areas seems to flow well with multiple ways to get there but the ice rink you seem to have to go through Playmakers and then down stairs to get there (besides the one small elevator)

I think it is just b/c of the size and the fact it fits up to 6 - just not a lot of rooms that can (saying this as a family of 5 and has booked one of these - though glad I booked early as got it for much less those prices quotes above) So when booking it, almost have to compare to the price of 2 rooms as that is what larger families/groups often have to do

Hope everyone has an amazing trip! Will be following along, hoping to gain some insights for my cruise next month

But if Royal had to pay the employees more (basically they cover what is currently paid by gratuities) it would still fall back to the customer as they would increase the cost of the cruise to cover that - potentially more as it would get taxed differently (Royal would have to pay more in taxes on more income vs the employees paying tax on the gratuities) The difference is it would make their cruise rates look higher compared to competitors who would still have it separate so unless the whole industry changes it's unlikely to change for Royal to role that in

BTW - here is the menu. My understanding is there are two additional appetizers and one additional dessert not on the menu

Best bet for that might be in the Aquadome area, at least during the day Probably not really much of an area for that outside

Naming convention wise this makes a ton of sense Downside is the adults only area is right down from all the water slides and above the family area so definitely won't be a quiet area Will be very interesting to see how it works out

Just a heads up, looks like they have switched which areas are the adults only area on the ship - was to be Cloud 7 but now will be the Hideaway ... saw it mentioned in a cruise critic article and now appears that way in the app

Saw it mentioned in an article by cruise critic and it is now showing this way on the app - while initially indicated to be the Cloud 7 area, it is now the Hideaway that is the 18+ only area and if you want to rent a day bed there you can't for anyone in your party undier 18 Definitely helps avoid confusion given the new Hideaway area on Coco Cay but feels like this area is a bit small and right below the Water Park so won't be very quiet Thoughts?

She's all docked at Miami - very cool watching the live streams this morning - very impressive watching the ship make the turn around to come back to the dock. Just over a moth til we board, can't wait!!!

According to a video I saw from a crew member there the beach will open with the first Icon sailing (which departs Miami on the 27th) - they had a party there fore the crew yesterday though for them to test things out One thing i noticed was the DJ music was quite loud so at least for the event, definitely going for a party/Las Vegas pool vibe

Noticed some of the menus for the Aquadome Marketplace places were posted My kids are going to get a lot of those Nutella and banan crepes lol

I do like how on Icon they have added a number of new complimentary food options, like the Aquadome marketplace But also like how NCL took a place that was underperforming as an upcharge and just made it included vs retheming it

I noticed that aspect too which makes it seem unique and should provide even just good people watching and stuff even if no show going on

I will say, a big reason we booked it was for the space and # of beds as we are a family of 5 - but it was also something new to try with the infinite balcony, so definitely will report back on both aspects!