By now you’ve certainly seen the commercials advertising “the Icon of vacations” in a pitch to sell you on Royal Caribbean’s (almost) newest ship, Icon of the Seas. Our family of twelve – ranging from a preschooler to a grandma and everyone in between – set sail over winter break and I’m here to give you my real-world opinion.
In this Icon of the Seas review, you’ll get the inside scoop on the best – and worst – parts of this new mega-ship to help you decide if it’s the right option for your next family vacation. I’ll also give lots of Icon of the Seas tips to help you make the most of your experience if you’ve already decided to book.
One quick note: we sailed at the end of December 2025, at which time Icon’s home port was in beautiful Miami, Florida. We always enjoy heading down there because there are plenty of cool activities and tours, plus non-stop flights from basically everywhere.
Beginning in August 2027, Icon of the Seas will move to Galveston, Texas. You’ll most likely want to fly to HOU, which is a great opportunity to use your Southwest Companion Pass. If you want to stick with Florida departures, Icon’s twin Star of the Seas has started service from Port Canaveral near Orlando; nearly everything in this review will apply to Star as well. The third Icon class, Legend of the Seas, begins service from Fort Lauderdale in November 2026 so there are still plenty of Florida options!
Icon of the Seas ship layout
Icon of the Seas takes a huge space and makes it much more traveler-friendly by breaking it down into “neighborhoods”. While Royal Caribbean started doing this on its Oasis class ships, Icon has absolutely taken it to the next level. They’ve consolidated a lot of infrastructure and activities by interest, which makes it easier to enjoy what you’re interested in while keeping crowds under control.
How does the layout impact crowds? On a sea day, when more than 7000 people are roaming the ship, it’s easy for a family with young kids to spend much of their day hanging out in the Surfside neighborhood while those with older kids will plant themselves in the Chill Island or Thrill Island neighborhoods on the top decks. Guests who want a quieter experience might spend a few hours strolling the shops, eateries and music venues of the Royal Promenade or watching the waves with a good book in The Overlook.
It’s impossible to cover every single element of the ship – in fact, with a week on board it was impossible to even experience all of the spaces! But I want to point out a few important areas of the ship and how they factor into your overall experience on Icon of the Seas.
🎙️ Listen up!
Check out these two helpful episodes before you cruise Icon of the Seas:
Royal Promenade
First up, the Royal Promenade on Decks 5 and 6. This is the main artery of Icon of the Seas, and thanks some new engineering it’s now two stories that fully connect all the way along! This is where you’ll enter the ship, in front of the iconic Pearl structure and it’s definitely got the “wow” factor. The Royal Promenade has several eateries – both included and some specialties for an extra fee – plus plenty of bars and entertainment venues. There are also shops, Guest Services, the Crown & Anchor loyalty desk and few more kiosks.
Rather than being a dark, enclosed space the Royal Promenade on Icon of the Seas does a great job of bringing in natural light. There’s a huge seating area on the upper level (deck 6) behind The Pearl. You can also walk outside to the running track near The Pearl and there are large, inviting seating areas on both sides of the ship – you’ll see these through the Royal Promenade’s large walls of windows, and it was one of the first things I noticed when we were boarding the ship. Thankfully these changes make the Royal Promenade feel less claustrophobic than on other ships.
On the forward end of the ship, you can enter the Royal Theater from Promenade on Deck 5. Heading aft on Deck 6 brings you to the Adventure Ocean kids’ club, Social 020 teen lounge and Playmakers sports bar (plus the entrance to the Absolute Zero ice skating rink).
Surfside
The family-focused Surfside neighborhood on Icon of the Seas, located on Deck 7, is geared for the preschool and early elementary set. There are a few ways to get in: directly from the elevator bank on 7 (boring), from the stairs next to Adventure Ocean (ok) or via a slide from the entrance on Deck 8! Sadly the slide was closed the week we were on board, but our kids would have loved this for sure. The overall vibe in Surfside is kid-friendly fun ALL THE TIME!
There are a few kid-friendly eateries here at no extra charge, a lovely little carousel your kids can ride over and over, a climbing structure, a nice splash pad/water play structure with a pool of varying depths, the arcade, an over-priced candy shop and more.
If you have young kids, it’s easy to spend a few delightful hours here. My niece and nephew, 4 and 7 during our sailing, loved it and wanted to spend a lot of time in Surfside! I think the concept is great and it’s nice that on sea days you won’t find every single family congregating in a single area of the ship. That said, my older niece is 9 and wanted to be up on the main pool deck. The split can be inconvenient for families like theirs with a big age spread.
I also liked sitting in the back of the ship here for great sail-away views! There are plenty of chairs and it’s not crowded by around 4pm (when many young families are getting cleaned up for their 5pm dinner seating).
Chill Island
The main pool deck on Icon of the Seas is Chill Island on Decks 15 and 16, which has three pools, five hot tubs, a few bars, Mexican outpost El Loco Fresh, soft serve, several bars, a table tennis room, play equipment and tons of chairs. Seriously guys, across the two levels of Chill Island there are so many chairs that you really don’t need to be a hog and leave your stuff when you’re going elsewhere. The Chill Island staff will remove your things!
I don’t think there’s a cruise ship out there with more pool space than Icon of the Seas, but on a warm sea day it still got pretty packed up there. This photo shows the Royal Bay pool on deck 15, which is the largest of the pools.
We got chairs over by Sprinkles soft serve without an issue, and if we’d been willing to go up to Deck 16 (which is more adult-focused) we would have found even more.
We actually didn’t make it up to the pool on Deck 16 at all. It’s pretty small and is really more of a swim-up bar than a true pool. But this should be a great option to avoid kids without being too far away – and you can connect via a slide instead of the stairs if you’re feeling fun!
While it’s technically its own “neighborhood” The Hideaway (aft on Deck 15, but generally accessed by stairs coming down from Deck 16) is an adults-only swim area. My husband and I checked it out and appreciated that we could find a little bit of hot tub space that didn’t include kids, but the entire area felt pretty crowded and loud – particularly at the edge of the pool, which has great views off the back of the ship. It was also awkward to get to from Deck 15 of Chill Island because you have to go up stairs (try the hidden ones by the windows in El Loco Fresh), alllll the way to the other end of the ship and then down the stairs at Chill Island.
I love that you don’t have to go far for food: Deck 15 has the Aquadome market forward (and The Overlook to hang out right below), the massive Windjammer buffet aft and El Loco Fresh right in between. And if you’re already up on Deck 16, it’s easy to get to…
Thrill Island
Thrill Island is all-new for Icon of the Seas and it brings together a lot of activities that appeal to older kids and teens: the Category 6 water park, rock climbing, mini golf, Flowrider surfing experience plus Basecamp for included lunch and snack options and Desserted milkshake bar for spendy, trendy drinkable desserts.
I’ll talk most about the water park here, because it’s definitely the splashiest feature of Icon of the Seas (see what I did there?). There are six water slides: two vertical/drop slides, two head-first mat racing slides and two family family raft slides (one for three people and the other for four). The drop slides have a 52″ minimum and the others have a 48″ minimum so these are not meant for young kids. These are serious slides for thrill-seekers.
Honestly I thought that our crew would spend a ton of time enjoying the water slides, but that’s not how it worked out! On our first full sea day, which gave us beautiful weather, my son got in line for one of the drop slides and waited nearly an hour before changing his mind after the gal in front of him tossed her cookies from anxiety. The crowds were huge that day so I’m glad he didn’t try for a different slide at that point! The next day we were in port but got back while it was still warm and light so he went up and managed to go on a slide or two with minimal wait times – I think that’s the way to go. On another port day my sister in law and nephew went on a raft slide after our excursion.
Our itinerary only have two full days at sea (other than embarkation) so my plan was to check out the water slides on the second one. Unfortunately the whole day was too chilly and windy to swim! We found plenty of dry fun on Icon of the Seas but I’m bummed that I didn’t have a chance at the raft slides.
The lesson here is to strike while the iron is hot! My recommendation is to board the ship in your swimsuits and go directly to Category 6 if the weather is warm enough. You should have pretty short lines, as a lot of people leave their swimsuits in their checked suitcases and won’t get them until later in the day. Going late in the day after port excursions is also a solid bet.
Central Park
I’m saving the best (aka my favorite) for last: Central Park on Deck 8. This beautifully-landscaped oasis is peaceful by day and enchanting by night. It’s not crowded and it’s so special that it’s the only neighborhood offering a guided tour! Central Park also offers three of my favorite spots on Icon of the Seas: Park Cafe, Lou’s Jazz n Blues and Izumi Sushi. You’ll also find a few other specialty restaurants, some bars and interesting sculptures here.
Pro tip: If you need a snack while you’re taking in a set at Lou’s, there’s a staircase down to the Royal Promenade right in the middle of Central Park. It puts you right next to Pearl Cafe, which is a great spot to grab a late-night dessert and coffee!
Listen up!
Want to hear more behind-the-scenes from our Icon of the Seas cruise? Listen here!
You can also hear my tween daughter’s perspective in this fun companion episode:
Our Stateroom – Icon of the Seas Ocean View Balcony
Our family stayed in a series of three Ocean View Balcony staterooms on deck 8, right near the entrance to both Central Park and Surfside. We booked a pair of connecting rooms (two adults and two kids in one and two adults in the other) plus another adjacent room (two adults and two kids).
In reality, we shuffled the sleeping arrangements a little once we arrived at guest services – we moved our teen (one of the “adults” in the two person room) to our room and the two kids in our room into the room he was assigned to. That gave everyone plenty of space but decreased our cost slightly due to the pricing structure at the time when we booked. If you’re cruising with teens in your group, be sure to price out different options if you have flexibility!
All three of the rooms were basically identical and clocked in right at 200 square feet. While it sounds so tiny, it was actually a little larger than our Ocean View rooms on Wonder of the Seas plus each room had a ~50 square foot balcony. We also had a lot more breathing room because our daughter stayed on the couch next door with her grandma and cousin, so we only had three people and kept all of the floor space open rather than pulling out the sleep sofa. If I have one knock on Royal Caribbean’s newer ships for families, it’s that there aren’t any beds that pull down from the ceiling or wall over the sofa – doing that would make the cabins feel more comfortable for a family of four. The flip side is that rooms stay light and bright!
We had our room configured with the twin beds pushed together into a king and then our 14 year old using the sofa (not pulled out but with the back cushions removed). I’d read a lot of complaints about the sofa being too small but my son didn’t complain once it was cushioned with a folded comforter by our stateroom attendant. Our extended family pulled out the extension of their sofa and it worked great for their 4 and 7 year olds.
We felt that the amount of space and storage were totally fine for a tidy, organized group of three. It would have felt a little more snug if we had another person in there with us or if we were less diligent about putting things away – these space-saving cruise cabin hacks are a big help! My husband and I used the closet space and cubbies below for our clothing and shoes, while our son used the desk drawers for his. All four of our carry-on sized suitcases (including our daughter’s) and backpacks stowed nicely under the bed. The wall nook for the TV is incredible smart – not only does it mean that the TV doesn’t get in the way when you’re walking, but it also allows for a few extra small shelves in the room which we used for sunscreen and snacks.
Since Icon of the Seas (and its siblings Star and Legend) are brand new, the cabins do a great job with technology integration. There are USB ports (both A and C) throughout, in addition to regular outlets. We used one of our multi-port charging blocks but probably could have survived without it. And while I didn’t use the TV, it was big and worked perfectly for my husband and nephew to watch college football playoff games.
The “smart thermostat” has some designated programs to control the AC and lighting, but I preferred to control those separately as some of the programs deactivate the AC. One other critical note about the AC if you have a balcony cabin: it only works if your balcony door is 100% closed and locked. During our first night on Icon of the seas we thought the balcony was completely closed but we got incredibly hot and couldn’t figure out what to do. Eventually we realized that we had accidentally locked the balcony door in place just a hair before the fully closed position.
Our bathroom on Icon of the Seas was a surprise – in a good way! Apparently I didn’t photograph it very well, but we had more than enough space for storage and personal care. There are large shelves and a drawer under the sink, small shelves on the wall to the right of the sink and yet more small shelves tucked in the corner behind the toilet. While the shower door opens in a really inconvenient way that gets the floor wet every single time, once you’re inside it’s shockingly spacious and even includes a bench. If you’re bringing a baby or young toddler, this inflatable bath tub will fit without an issue and you can sit on the bench while using the detachable shower head to clean your little cruiser.
Having a balcony on this cruise was an absolute joy for a few reasons. First and foremost, I could sneak over to Park Cafe (just a few seconds from our room) to grab a coffee and sit outside to sip and read while my teen kept sleeping! But second (and more practically) our awesome stateroom attendant, Han, opened up the balconies across the three cabins our extended family had booked.
So while only the other two cabins connected inside, all three were connected outside! We treated the giant extended balcony sort of like a living room – it was a comfortable place to sit outside to chat in the fresh air, away from the chaos of some of the rooms (and kids). We could also run a sunscreen assembly line in the morning and put everyone’s wet swimsuits to dry in the evening.
On a practical note, we could also access all three rooms from the outside which was handy if we needed to grab something from a different room but didn’t have the key – obviously whether that’s a good thing or bad thing depends on how much you trust the people in the other rooms! From the sweeter side, it also let my little nephew come and wake up my soon with a giant hug and a smile most mornings… and those are memories you just can’t buy.
If you’re booking Icon of the Seas for your family, keep in mind that there are two types of balconies: the tradition style with a sliding door and the new “infinite” balcony style. The infinite balconies are interesting: the extra square footage of the balcony is incorporated into your stateroom, and you can push a button to drop the upper half of the window to open it up. Obviously there are pros and cons to both but personally I’d stick with a traditional balcony for a warm weather sailing. On a cooler sailing (like Alaska) I’d be more open to the infinite balcony. If you’re traveling with a group like we were, the infinite balconies don’t connect.
Also some of the balcony rooms are in the interior of the ship, facing the Central Park and Surfside neighborhoods. You can see these on both sides in the picture above – the deck just below the pool deck has traditional balconies, while the three decks below have infinite balconies. These interior balconies are less expensive than ocean view balconies but obviously a very different experience. While the soundproofing on the ship is really good, those balconies would be pretty loud during the day when music is playing on the pool deck above if you have your window open.
If you have a little more money to spend or you have a bigger family, Icon offers super awesome family suites that can sleep up to six people thanks to a separate nook with a bunk bed. I didn’t get to see one on our cruise but from the photos they look great! Clocking in at 290 square feet, they offer a lot more space than a standard room plus a very practical split bathroom.
Overall I have no complaints about our ocean view balcony on Icon of the Seas. And now that I’ve been spoiled by a balcony, it would be hard to go back to a room without one on future cruises.
Icon of the Seas Dining options
I won’t beat around the bush: we were really impressed with the diversity and quality of dining options. The fact that there are so many different free places to eat on Icon of the Seas meant that we didn’t get tired of eating on the ship despite being on board for a full week. As you’ll see below, there were a few places I didn’t even try!
Here’s a quick rundown of the free restaurant options we checked out and our thoughts on them:
- Main Dining Room – I’m sorry for the terrible picture above. Overall solid quality food with plenty of choices for adults, kids, allergies etc and excellent staff. Our waiters (Baghas and Isti) and the dining room manager (Leoncia) were incredibly attentive – when the kids asked for cherries one evening, our waiters brought them a huge bowl every other night! I also enjoyed brunch in the Main Dining Room on a sea day away from the enormous crowd of the buffet.
As someone who likes to sample a lot of different things, I like that Royal Caribbean allows you to order multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts. Ours were brought out as fast as the kitchen could handle it (since we were a big group) but there didn’t seem to be any issue receiving two entrees at the same time – other cruise lines will sometimes give you a hard time about that.
I suggest catching at least one sea day brunch in the Main Dining Room. There are some really nice options and it’s nice to start your day off at a leisurely pace!
A quick note on dinner timing for the Main Dining Room: The standard seatings offered are at 5pm or 8:30pm, with My Time Dining available at different times in between. We initially signed up for the early seating because we knew that the late option wouldn’t work for the kids… but 5pm is just way too early! Leoncia switched us to My Time but got us assigned us to 6:45 each day at the same table, which was perfect. We sometimes had to wait a few minutes for our table, but once seated our fantastic team made sure we were well taken care of – including managing our daughter’s pre-ordered gluten free meals without a hitch.
The Main Dining Room is split across decks 3, 4 and 5 so you have to pay close attention to where you’re supposed to be – it’s printed on your Sea Pass. In front of the Main Dining Room during the My Time Dining window was one of the few times we found big crowds on Icon of the Seas. At the beginning there are early seating guests who are leaving while My Time Dining guests are waiting for their tables to be ready, and toward the end of My Time Dining those folks are leaving while late seating guests are waiting for their tables. It’s fine and all managed well, but just be forewarned if you don’t like big crowds. If you’re doing My Time you can also send one person from your group to check in and they can text everyone else to let them know the ETA.
- Windjammer Buffet – Washy washy! Thankfully Royal Caribbean’s staff makes hand hygiene virtually mandatory and always fun every time you enter their buffet. The massive spread near the top of the boat has windows on all sides and in the middle, but in between those windows you’ll find station after station for three meals per day. They have everything from simple kid food to gourmet offerings, plenty of produce, sweets galore and always at least one Indian dish. While I don’t love the buffet experience overall, I was actually pretty pleased with almost everything I ate in Windjammer. One thing to know for gluten-free eaters: there’s an entire gluten-free section toward the back, but additional options are available upon request… they just take longer.
- Park Cafe – This is one of my two favorite casual eateries on Icon of the Seas, and it’s also on all of the other Oasis and Icon class ships. It’s perfectly located in the Central Park neighborhood and the perfect place to enjoy a sandwich or a coffee surrounded by trees and (artificial) bird sounds. My son speaks highly of the “kummelweck” (roast beef) sandwich. If I have one knock on Park Cafe, it’s that they only offer drip coffee – which is free – but not specialty coffees.
- Pearl Cafe – The Pearl Cafe is a new addition for Icon Class ships, located just behind the massive pearl structure on the Royal Promenade. It’s sort of a grab and go, with some items that the staff will warm up for you behind the counter. They have sandwiches, salads and desserts plus both free drip coffee and specialty coffee options. Thankfully Pearl Cafe is open 24/7! I was really impressed with the selection of options here – things like a warm apple and brie sandwich, curry chicken salad, hummus and veggie boxes and more. It’s nice to have some lighter fare available when you need a midnight snack. There’s also a huge seating area here with an entire wall of windows, so it’s a really pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by.
- Sorrento’s – This Royal Caribbean staple serves up pizza by the slice from lunch time until 2am – it’s every kid’s favorite late night option for second dinner! I’ve been known to enjoy a slice or two and it really is pretty good. Pro tip for gluten-free cruisers: they’ll provide a medium sized gluten-free pizza upon request, which is baked in a separate oven – you’ll just have to wait a few extra minutes while they make it.
- Aquadome Market – Another new addition to Icon, Aquadome Market is sort of a mini food hall. There are stations for crepes, mac and cheese, Asian food, Mediterranean bowls and more. Most of them have at least some gluten-free options available, including the crepes! Overall we really liked Aquadome Market (especially my kids) but personally I missed Solarium Bistro from Wonder of the Seas as an alternative to the man dining room.
- Surfside Eatery and Surfside Bites – These family-oriented eateries are in the Surfside neighborhood and full of food that kids will love, plus some additions their parents will enjoy. I didn’t eat there but our extended family brought their younger kids for a break during a splash pad session and really liked the selection. Think of it as a scaled-down Windjammer, with a scaled-up kids section. There’s also a soft serve machine inside the eatery… with toppings! Surfside Bites is a grab and go with fun options like hot dogs and churro bites.
- El Loco Fresh – There might be no better pool day snack than the Mexican food at El Loco Fresh in the Chill Island neighborhood. You can grab a pre-made quesadilla or burrito if you’re in a rush or stick around to build a custom taco – there are a variety of meat and vegetarian fillings offered, and gluten-free corn tortillas are available upon request. For a quick snack, don’t be afraid to grab a bowl of chips and load it up with guacamole from the salsa bar!
- Basecamp – My husband swears that if you’re a burger lover, you can’t miss the smash burger at Basecamp! They also have pretzel bites, chicken tenders and other good lunch options. This quick serve spot is perfectly positioned near the Thrill Island water slides, mini golf and rock climbing.
- Sprinkles – It wouldn’t be a Royal Caribbean cruise without this kid-favorite soft serve spot, right? Icon of the Seas levels up with two locations: one by the pool in Chill Island and one in the middle of Surfside, where younger kids will spend much of their time. The new Surfside location was probably our kids’ favorite part of being toward the back of Deck 8 – the round trip soft serve run was about three minutes!
Gluten-free tip: The Sprinkles stands only have cones to serve on, so either bring your own gluten-free cones on board or be like my brilliant daughter and go to the Surfside location. Since it’s right next to Surfside Bites and Surfside Eatery, it’s easy to pop over and ask for a cup or bowl and a spoon! Apparently there are toppings in there too.
We also chose to eat at one specialty restaurant, Izumi Sushi. I booked this for lunch Day 6, which was a sea day (and New Years Day!) on our itinerary – I figured it would be nice to have a little variety at that point in the cruise. Because I caught a sale, lunch was $38 per adult and $12 per kid including gratuity (my youngest niece was free because she’s only 4, but still got to order like the rest of us). For that money, everyone in our group got miso soup, tea, one small dish, two large dishes and a dessert.
The amount of food was unreal. For example, my 7 year old nephew got fried rice, beef teriyaki, chicken ramen and chocolate lava cake… for $12! And they weren’t small portions for the kids either. Most of us adults used our “large plate” options to get sushi rolls and sashimi. From the “small plates” I definitely recommend the crispy rice spicy tuna. Between all 12 of us, we tried a huge chunk of the menu and we were pleased with the quality of everything.
Izumi also offers a fun hibachi option at both lunch and dinner, but it’s much more expensive than the sushi option. You can also grab a la carte sushi and gyoza from the window next to the restaurant if you just want a quick treat.
Dad let the kids splurge on one trip to Desserted Milkshake Bar, which is not included. I’ll be honest and say I think they’re pretty to look at but not worth the cost. Shakes range from $9 to a whopping $18, and I really think they’re more for Instagram (or TikTok?) than anything else. The kids went without me so I only got to try the remnants (and couldn’t take any beautiful, colorful staged photos) but they just tasted like… milkshakes. If I got to choose for the gluten eaters in our family, I’d send them instead the Izumi take out window for $8 “bubble cones” – they look much better and more interesting!
We skipped on the rest of the specialty dining on Icon of the Seas. While I’m sure the quality is fine, most of the other menus aren’t that different than what you’ll get in the Main Dining Room over the course of a week. There’s so much variety in those menus – steaks, seafood, Italian – that we opted to save our dining budget for some special meals on land before and after the cruise!
Icon of the Seas Entertainment
Even though cruises aren’t my favorite type of travel, one thing they’re amazing for is evening entertainment! I love that after dinner you can bop around the ship seeing so many different live acts rather than heading to your room and turning on the TV.
Royal Caribbean has done a great job providing a wide variety of entertainment options on its newer ships. These are mostly split into two types: shows you’ll want to reserve in advance, and drop-in performances at smaller venues. Our ship set sail on December 27th and I was able to reserve for shows on October 31st; most of them didn’t end up being full but a few were totally packed or we would have gotten terrible seats if we had to wait in the standby line.
In terms of big shows, the main show you’ll see in the Royal Theater is The Wizard of Oz. It’s an impressive production: fully staged, detailed costumed and a live orchestra providing the music! I think a lot of people might be feeling some Oz fatigue but it was well done and worth watching.
One intriguing show I signed us up for was called “Headliner Showtime” but the description was so generic (and likely written by AI) that we couldn’t figure out what it was. But we figured we might as well go and see. Honestly it was one of our favorite shows on Icon of the Seas! We got a wonderful performance by The Passing Zone, a duo of juggler-comedians previously seen on America’s Got Talent and in the White House. The Headliner performers vary from week to week depending on who’s available.
Over in the AquaTheater, you can catch the impressive Aqua Action show several times through the sailing. The synchronized swimming, choreography and stunt work are really impressive and the show incorporates plenty of music that appeals to travelers of all ages. This show is really popular, so be sure to reserve and show up at least 15 minutes early to get seats toward the center. Even at the end of the week it was standing room only! One thing I noticed that is different than Oasis class ships like Wonder of the Seas is that the Icon class ships have moved the AquaTheater inside and to the front of the ship – there should be fewer weather-related cancellations, and it also made space for Surfside. The flip side is that the stunts don’t seem to be as high.
In the back of the boat – tucked away behind Playmakers sports bar – you can check out two different ice skating shows in Absolute Zero. The main show, Starburst: Elemental Beauty, is sort of period table themed and incorporates super cool lights and backgrounds. But to be honest, I wish the plot was clearer or that there wasn’t an attempt at a plot. The other show is Once Upon A Time: The King’s Royal Ball, which is meant to entertain the youngest cruisers so it has afternoon shows in addition to the evening performances. My son took his 4 year old cousin to this show and said she was entranced, so I’d call that a win.
Another show meant for kids is The Effectors. If I’m being totally honest, we saw the version of this on Wonder of the Seas two years ago and we weren’t into it (other than our nephew who was 5 at the time). The use of drones is pretty cool, but we skipped this time in favor of entertainment that appealed to everyone.
For the adults, you can send the kids to Adventure Ocean and enjoy the 18+ comedy show at The Attic comedy club. We had a showcase of three stand up comedians, one of whom we had seen on Wonder of the Seas. It was a great set! You absolutely need to reserve this in advance – it’s a pretty small venue and there are only a few shows during a week-long sailing so you probably won’t get in unless you’re on the list. At the end of the week the comedians also did a show at the Royal Theater, so it was another opportunity to laugh out loud.
Whew! I know that was a ton of info, but those are just the “big” scheduled shows. Icon of the Seas also has a huge selection of smaller musical aspects all evening, every evening. If you love music, you’ll definitely find something to entertain you.
My son, who’s a jazz trumpeter, couldn’t get enough of Lou’s Jazz n Blues. He hung out there every night listening to singer Joy Parris and the Boplicity Jazz Band or the High C’s Horns. This Central Park bar is new for Icon and its siblings and I think it’s a fabulous addition! The quality of the music here is just awesome and overall the vibe here is great. It’s a perfect fit for Central Park, and yet another reason we were thrilled with our Deck 8 location.
Grandma’s more of a piano and vocals lover, so she liked spending evenings bouncing between Schooner Bar (a Royal Caribbean classic) and the new Dueling Pianos bar. With two piano bars just down the promenade from each other, it seemed like Schooner Bar was a lot less popular than it was on Wonder of the Seas while Dueling Pianos was always packed. Personally I thought Anton in Dueling Pianos was very talented but I didn’t enjoy his partner Nicole nearly as much.
For sports lovers, you’ll find “entertainment” at Playmakers sports bar. While it was centrally located in the Boardwalk neighborhood on Oasis class ships, the design meant that there was no chance you’d wander in there by accident. The layout on Icon class ships takes the opposite approach: it’s tucked away between the Adventure Ocean kids’ club and Absolute Zero ice skating rink, but it’s a completely open walk-through space. And honestly? I kind of love it! There’s definitely a rowdy vibe (like your favorite sports bar at home) during big games, but it’s also got fun free games like fooseball, pool and shuffleboard plus paid arcade games, skiball, air hockey and pop-a-shot. This is a great spot for tweens and teens who can behave themselves around adults but aren’t into the kids programming, and for parents to enjoy activities with those older kiddos.
You’ll also be able to catch a solo guitarist at the Point & Feather pub, Latin music at Bolero’s – complete with a big dance floor to show off your salsa skills – or party music in the Music Hall. If you want to get on stage, show up early at Spotlight Karaoke to get on the list!
Icon of the Seas Activities
Tired yet? I hope not, because there are so many activities on Icon of the Seas – most of them free – that you can stay busy all week long without leaving the ship.
Kids can hang out in the Adventure Ocean kids’ club, which is free for kids from 3-12 years old until 10pm while there’s a small hourly charge for kids under 3. My high-energy 7 year old nephew was in the sweet spot for kids’ club and his 4 year old sister enjoyed the toddler area a few times, but the other kids either didn’t like it or refused to go. The 3-5 year olds have their own area, while everyone else – sometimes 100+ kids – is running around together. The space is awesome and the staff does a great job of planning fun activities but I really think that Royal Caribbean needs to reconsider the way ages are broken down – more on that in a second.
Teens get access to Social 020, which is for ages 13-17. There are some activities that take place in this cool lounge, which has video games, fooseball tables, hang out spaces and the like. But after the first night’s mixer a lot of the organized activities take place in the ship’s other venues and plenty of the teens break into packs that roam the ship and sit on any staircases they can find. My son went the first night to meet the other teens but left after getting dragged by a girl several years older than him.
That all brings me to why I think that the kids’ clubs are the weakest part of Icon of the Seas. Feel free to drop a comment below and let me know if you disagree, but hear me out: a 6 year old and 12 year old have very little in common, and many 13 and 17 year olds are literal oceans apart developmentally. Disney shifted a few years ago to kids’ club ending at 10 years old and a tween club serving 11 to 14 year olds; 14 to 17 year olds can go to teen club. While I’m sure Disney’s execution isn’t perfect, both of my middle schoolers would have been much better served on Icon of the Seas by a tween club. For a ship that’s totally focused on families, I think this is something they really need to get right.
For 18-25 year olds, the Hyperlink group has different activities throughout the week but no dedicated space. They’d have trivia in the Music Hall one night, board games in the Overlook another, dodgeball on the sports court and more. If you have a young adult in your group, there will be plenty of opportunities for them!
Let’s talk a little about the participatory group activities – trivia, contests, game shows, karaoke and more. My 19 year old nephew loves this stuff and was happy to see more of it than we had on Wonder of the Seas. He’s a very experienced cruiser and would love to see Royal Caribbean add more game shows like he’s found on Carnival and Princess. But trivia before dinner every evening was a great time! We only went to karaoke once because it’s incredibly popular and hard to get a spot.
For active kids, there’s no shortage of free things to do on Icon of the Seas. Beyond the pool-related activities I mentioned near the beginning of this review, there are plenty of dry activities too.
Up in Thrill Island you can check out the fun 9-hole mini golf course. This was much cooler than the one on Wonder of the Seas. Even with 7000 people on the ship, we didn’t have to wait more than a minute or two to play.
Behind mini golf there are two more fun, free activities: the sports court and climbing wall. I didn’t get on the sports court – not my scene – but the kids went to some scheduled dodgeball and soccer sessions. This space seems pretty heavy use between scheduled kid/teen/young adult activities, basketball tournaments and pickleball sessions. Be sure to have tennis or basketball shoes if you plan to get active here!
The climbing wall is shorter than on some other Royal Caribbean ships, but I think the location is much better and the layout allows more climbers for the same staffing because all of the lanes are in the same place rather than split into two totally disconnected areas. The staff provides climbing shoes and all the necessary gear, but you do need to bring socks and wear dry clothes.
Icon of the Seas also offers ice skating sessions throughout the week in Absolute Zero – you’ll need socks and long pants for that. I grabbed a reservation for a sea day as soon as we boarded, since this fills up early and we had a big group. The rink is pretty small, but with the tight capacity controls and limits on tricks it didn’t feel too crowded. That said, I wish they made the sessions a little longer – by the time I helped a few kids with their skates and helmets and laced up my own, it was only a few minutes until they called for our group to leave the ice! Fortunately they didn’t boot us so I got to skate for ten or fifteen minutes. Some of our group’s more novice skaters were just getting the hang of things and would have liked more ice time as well.
Supposedly there is laser tag on Icon of the Seas but we checked the app every day and never saw it listed. Given that ice skating was offered on both sea days – and laser tag usually takes over the rink – I suspect that it didn’t happen on our sailing. That’s a bummer because we thought it sounded like a blast (haha). On sailings when it is available, it’s usually just for one sea day and you’ll see it show up the day before. Be quick or you’ll miss the spots!
Speaking of the app, it’s definitely your lifeline when it comes to scheduled activities. There’s so much stuff in there! There are a lot of popular activities like the silent discos and karaoke that you’ll want to get to early to ensure you get a spot. All of the scheduled activities should pop up in the app a week before your sailing (give or take) but a few more might be added as the sailing goes on. Be sure to add things to your calendar within the app so you don’t miss out!
The one paid activity we did was the escape room, Rendezvous in Space. The minimum age for the escape room on Icon of the Seas is 12, so my 14 year old and I did it together. All of the escape room spots were full for the entire sailing, so I’m glad I booked it in advance (and at a discount). There’s always one [insert unking name here] in every group and ours was no different, but overall I thought the experience was well-crafted. Including the introduction, the whole thing was about 50 minutes and there were a variety of different puzzles to solve.
Another paid option for kids is the arcade, which is located in Surfside. I’m really not a fan… there are a lot of claw machine and “push a button for tickets” kind of games that are done in 30 seconds at $2.50 a pop. I bought discounted arcade credits online in advance, which I definitely recommend if you think your kids will want to play.
Pro tip: Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean makes it way too easy for kids to over-spend at the arcade. By default, kids’ accounts have a $50 per day limit at the arcade… which means that on a typical one week cruise your kids could rack up $350 in arcade charges without realizing it! Ask me how I know.
Do yourself a favor and message guest services the minute you get on board to change the limit to whatever you feel comfortable with – if you buy your kid $100 of arcade credit for $75, maybe cap them at $15 or $20 per day for the first few days and then adjust the daily limit based on how much credit they have left.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of everything we did – not even close – but hopefully it’s given you a sense for the huge range of activities you’ll find on Icon of the Seas!
Would I sail Icon of the Seas again?
So after spending one week on Icon of the Seas, would I sail again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat!
In fact, there isn’t much I would do differently other than checking out even more of the ship. I’d choose our Deck 8 Ocean View Balcony near Central Park, Surfside and the elevators again; pick one specialty dining option to try out, bounce around all the fun music venues and see all the shows.
And if everything in this review sounds good, you don’t have to limit yourself to Icon – its siblings Star of the Seas and Legend of the Seas should offer nearly identical experiences. Between those three ships, they cover the three major Florida ports and a variety of itineraries, so it’s just a matter of finding the dates and destinations that fit your needs and budget.
The other piece of the question is “Is Icon of the Seas worth the price?” I’ll say that Icon of the Seas (and its siblings) is not a cheap ship to sail on, especially over school breaks. If you haven’t booked yet and want to save money try to be flexible with your dates and open to any of the three ships – I checked prices for next winter break and Legend was actually the cheapest of the three despite being the newest. Right now you can snag a week in an ocean view balcony on any of the three ships for under $1000 per person if you book far ahead and aren’t picky on dates or ports!
Final thoughts on Icon of the Seas
Just like any vacation, cruising is what you make of it. You can keep busy for a solid week bouncing between activities, you can find peaceful spots to curl up with a book while you watch the waves go by… or you can complain you’re bored and a big ship is too crowded.
But if you like cruising or are at least open to it, Icon of the Seas is a fantastic option. There are endless options and plenty to enjoy for all types of travelers.
If you’re ready to plan your next cruise, whether it’s on Icon of the Seas or you’re still comparing your options, check out these helpful cruising resources: