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I can't be the only super excited even though the cruise is so far away! Lets chat & connect. It's 2/21/24 at the time of this posting. I'm still not seeing lots of booking options available (Coco Cay, Drink Packages, etc.)

Just like us, there are many potential travelers wondering if the Star Class service will compare to other high end vacations. We just got off the Icon of the Seas sailing from Miami on Oct 5th. Here are my 5 cents. Would I recommend it? Yes, depending on your lifestyle As a couple on our 50s we still love to have entertainment and late night fun. We are regular guests at Four Seasons, Rosewood, Ritz Carlton, St Regis etc. so we understand what a high end service should be. We even run a small luxury hospitality business in Los Cabos. We knew a 7500 passenger cruise is not exactly a private retreat, but other smaller luxury vessels would not offer the entertainment we were hoping for. The Star class cabins are a good match of service-entertainment The cabins themselves are nice but don’t expect a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons yacht cabin. Ours was a loft and having 2 full baths make our life easier, but the decoration look more like a regular Hyatt than a high end hotel. The veranda has a decent size but we never considered having any meal inside or outside. I personally don’t think it’s worth it, as our objective was to try as many places in the ship as possible. The speciality restaurants are included except one. We tried almost all, including the multi course and pairing dinner. The food was above our expectations ( for a massive cruise), without being spectacular. The wine list is short compared to high end cruises but they still have 3 good ones ( at a price) : Opus One, Caymus and Duckhorn. No real good europeas, though. Also they are short on high end digestive like cognac. I found an XO ( for a charge) on one of the bars and was able to get it sent to other venues where there are none. The Genie concept is what it really makes it work. She or he will take care of your reservations and will escort you to every show where reserved seats will be waiting for you. This is a real treat as opposed to be there 30 minutes before the show, to avoid the rush hour. There is a dedicated dinning room and pools for Suites. The food is good in both the general dinning and suite dinning restaurants but service is a premium on the suite’s venue. While on the swimming pool, forget about someone helping you to install yourself in a lounge or a waiter coming every few minutes, or asking for additional towels. Here is all about self service. I found this to be a shortcoming that could really be improved. The best: the shows on the Icon are world class. The wizard of Oz, the skating spectacle, the Effectors and the water show are all really professional productions. Broadway or Las Vegas quality. They even have a 16 musicians orchestra and a music Director. Include top of the line L-Acoustics electronics setup, stunning lights and laser and you’re immersed into a really great show. The Music Hall also had great live music. Phoenix rock band covers are amongst the best I’ve heard. The sound equipment of the venue is there to match. So again, should the discerning traveler get on board of this ship? If you can manage a week in Universal Studios and Disney World with a behind the scenes personal assistant to guide you, the answer is yes. As for the island visiting we rented nice cabanas at Four Seasons Neves and Ritz Carlton St John and that way we had both of best worlds in the same trip. Anna our Genie and Christian in charge of housekeeping, were always there to help with a sincere and warm heart. Thank you so much to both. Congratulations to the Entertainment group. You’re advertising doesn’t do justice to the type of production you have in place. I hope with some feedback, RCL will be able to cater to other discerning travelers, but as for us, I’m really happy we decided to book this one.

Booked.

Phew! All done! The most stressful part of committing to a live blog is naming it! @Lovetocruise2002 sets the bar so high! I waffled between “ICON Sea Clearly Now” and “ICONic Anniversary Cruise”. I hope I made the right choice! Once again, starting the blog a little early to get a head start. We set sail in 7 days! It’s so crazy how time flies… we booked this cruise almost 19 months ago back in late OCT 2022 when they first opened up the bookings for Icon! My wife (Christine) and I (John) will be celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary a little early on this cruise. Our actual anniversary is June 4th… the not so clever “6404” in my screen name! It will be just the two of us this time since none of our cruising cohorts could make this sailing due to scheduling conflicts (both couples booked, but had to back out early on… they are soooo jealous! ). Our last “solo” couple cruise was back in OCT 2021 on Oasis shortly after the return to cruising. There will be a number of new experiences during this vacation both on land and on the cruise. Of course, Icon is completely new to us! So excited and ready to go! This itinerary has eluded us to date. We had booked this itinerary on Harmony prior to the shutdown. Harmony turned into Symphony (moved us as Harmony’s planned dry dock was moved up at that time), but when Covid hit, that sailing was of course cancelled. This will be our first visit to Costa Maya and Roatan! * Time for some trip details… Cruise Details: Icon of the Seas, 7-night, Western Caribbean & Perfect Day itinerary Out of Miami, FL 5/11/24-5/18/24 Itinerary: Day 1 (5/11): Miami, FL Day 2 (5/12): * At Sea * Day 3 (5/13): Roatan, Honduras Day 4 (5/14): Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Day 5 (5/15): Cozumel, Mexico Day 6 (5/16): * At Sea * Day 7 (5/17): PDCC, Bahamas Day 8 (5/18): Miami, FL Cabin Details & General Plans/Stuff: Ocean View Balcony Stateroom (Deck 12, Midship, Starboard side) Selected Traditional Dining (5:00 PM) Purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package Purchased VOOM Surf+Stream Package Purchased 10-Photo Package Purchased a-la-carte specialty dining lunches (Chops Grille, Hooked, and Izumi Hibachi) Purchased Chef’s Table... wanted to try Empire Supper Club, but the $472 charge for the 2 of us was a little too steep this time around! Purchased the Day Pass to Hideaway Beach (CocoCay) Purchased “Semi-Sub Glass Bottom Boat and Monkey & Sloth Park” excursion in Roatan (Christine insisted) Purchased “Chacchoben Extreme Tour” through Native Choice in Costa Maya Purchased admission to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel Purchased Crown’s Edge for both of us (Note: Christine is terrified of heights, but insisted on joining me when I booked it! ) Booked all major entertainment via Cruise Planner (The Wizard of Oz, Starburst: Elemental Beauty, Aqua Action!, Headliner: Adam Kario, The Effectors: The Origin Story, Adult Comedy LIVE! (x2) What did we skip this time? The Key… we do not feel it’s worth it right now with all of the changes and price increases. We’ve purchased it 4 times since 2019 – very familiar with the changes to the program over the last 5 years. It’s also been holding at $49.99/day pp for our sailing! Unlimited Dining Package… tried it for the first time last OCT/NOV on Wonder. We enjoyed it, but we don’t feel it’s necessarily worth purchasing every cruise (our decision will likely be based on cost and itinerary). Will try it again down the road. Currently selling for $420.99 pp! We traditionally purchase the 3 Night Dining Package, but also skipped it this time and elected to go with specialty lunches and Chef's Table for a change. Miscellaneous Stuff: Flight on Southwest Airlines out of Islip/MacArthur Airport (ISP) on Long Island (NY) very early on FRI (5/10) morning to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL). Taking a shuttle (SAS Transport Service) from FLL directly to our hotel. Staying overnight at the InterContinental Miami (booked a Bay View room). Plan on exploring Bayside Marketplace and some other local areas as time permits. Our current plan is to use Uber or Lyft from the hotel to the port on SAT morning. We booked the earliest boarding period available (11:30-12:00) for our sailing (completed check-in right after midnight). We likely will arrive a little earlier just in case! We love to start our vacation and exploration of the ship ASAP! * Oh yeah! We'll finally be Diamond after this sailing! I think that’s it for the synopsis... now we just need to pack this weekend! *** As always, please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to post pictures of something you are interested in... I'll do my best to keep up throughout the sailing! My current iPhone lockscreen… always a pic of the next ship we’ve booked! Having at least one in the hopper, even if it's a year away, helps soften the pain of disembarking the ship! Have a good night everyone!

We're so excited! Using our 20th wedding anniversary as the excuse for booking this one! Also excited because we never sailed this itinerary and have never been to Costa Maya or Roatan! This sailing will also finally make us Diamond... unless I can squeeze a 3-nighter in before this sailing!

Besides the normal is there anything unique or different you can get on Icon with the Refreshment Package? I did love me a Johnny Rockets milkshake on other cruises. Curious if there is anything similar?

Does anyone have the list/ map photo of where muster stations are on Icon? thxs

Hello fellow cruisers! We are so exited to sail on the Icon. She looks amazing! Let me know if you are also going.