With a tonnage of more than 250,000 tons and a length that reaches 365 meters, the “Icon of the Seas” regains the title of the world’s largest cruise ship. The liner, whose maiden voyage is scheduled for January 2024, will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 passengers, or 5,600 to 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew members. On board: seven swimming pools, dozens of bars and restaurants, an ice rink, a casino and even a water park and its slides.
But Royal Caribbean, which commissioned this new giant of the seas, does not intend to stop there. The shipping company will build another two giant ocean liners, the same size as its “Icon of the Seas”. They will accommodate the same number of passengers and will be distributed in similar plans.
The construction of the second sister ship was officially launched in February 2023 at the shipyard in Turku, Finland, from which the “Icon of the Seas” has already left. If all goes according to plan, this new ship (which has not yet been named) should set sail in 2025, one year after its predecessor. The third liner is expected to receive its first passengers in 2026, according to Royal Caribbean plans. However, construction has not yet started in Finland.
mass tourism
Royal Caribbean is a regular record holder. Her liner “Wonder of the Seas”, 235,000 tons and 362 meters long, for a maximum of 7,000 passengers, last year won the title of the world’s largest cruise ship. Built in Saint-Nazaire, it had itself supplanted the previous records of “Symphony of the Seas” (2018), “Harmony of the Seas” (2016) or “Oasis of the Seas” (2009), all owned by Royal Caribbean. .
Despite criticism of these colossal structures, often denounced for their carbon footprint but also for their contribution to mass tourism, the number of XXL liners is expected to increase even more in the future. After the “MSC World Europe”, one of the largest in the world with 215,000 tons and 333 meters in length, the MSC group will build another three similar ships in Saint-Nazaire. They will be able to accommodate up to 6,700 passengers on board.
Source: BFM TV
