Icon of the Seas Blocks Are In The House!

[erby2283]

2 hours ago, topanga49er said:

Hi.  I think this news article is confusing "the hideaway" pool with Hideaway Beach on Cococay.   Hideaway Beach is adults only as is Cloud 17 pool.  Unless they changed something drastically and that would take a lot more than one article: it would be a PR nightmare.  In fact Matt stated that Cloud 17 was adults only in his video...

I asked Matt in the comments on the Royal Carribean blog video he posted to YT and he replied back tonight that it was indeed confirmed that Hideaway on the ship is now the adults only area. 🥲

[Twenty2020]

After watching Matt's video I'm not really that excited about going out and booking this ship. It looks like basically a glorified Oasis class ship. And to be honest Boardwalk looks better than Surfside and Central Park looks nicer on Oasis class ships. I also don't think the Solarium trade off for Aquadome is a positive. 

 

Only positive additions I see are the increased number of casual dining spots, such as the food hall. Which basically is copying ideas that have already shown up on other lines.  The Pearl and Promenade area look really good. The rest of the place looks like a Margaritaville resort. Down to the fake palm trees. 

 

 

Edited January 15 by Twenty2020

[cr2000]

10 hours ago, Twenty2020 said:

After watching Matt's video I'm not really that excited about going out and booking this ship. It looks like basically a glorified Oasis class ship. And to be honest Boardwalk looks better than Surfside and Central Park looks nicer on Oasis class ships. I also don't think the Solarium trade off for Aquadome is a positive. 

 

Only positive additions I see are the increased number of casual dining spots, such as the food hall. Which basically is copying ideas that have already shown up on other lines.  The Pearl and Promenade area look really good. The rest of the place looks like a Margaritaville resort. Down to the fake palm trees. 

 

 

Agree, I think there's a lot of disappointments on this ship compared to how it was portrayed in the renderings. We're already booked and will make the best of it. On multiple fronts they have issues, the adult only situation in Cloud17 was a royal (no pun intended) screw up. Lots of guests were promised a quiet secluded area and that was taken away from them. There's questions about overcrowding given how much of the deckspace is covered by stuff (furniture, decorations, etc.). Items people thought were included (basecamp) is not - you have to pay extra for a chicken sandwich by the pool, really? The main dining room  looks like it's something out of a ship from 20 years ago with the color pallet (cranberry and mauve, seriously?). Meanwhile the suite area doesn't have a lounge (it's and afterthought inside coastal kitchen) with no views, and the suite pool deck has a small bath tub for it's pool, not sure why suite guests would pay a premium for that experience (compared to what's offered on Wonder). In time Royal may have to make some changes on this ship as reviews come out and bookings fall off, time will tell.

[JemzRoo]

I booked Sky Jr Suite for access to the suite area thinking this will be Royal's first decently done suite concept. The more footage I see the more disappointed I am. I'm really, really annoyed about Cloud 17. I was annoyed when it was announced we'd get no Solarium, but figured Cloud 17 had the potential to be a decent replacement. I have absolutely zero excitement for Hideaway. None. The child free area is now 10 decks above the children screaming in the surfside neighborhood? Fun. Awesome. 

Edited January 15 by JemzRoo

[Kid in me]

I purchased the UDP and trying to see where I can use it besides  Chops,Hooked, Givonii and Izummi

[cr2000]

26 minutes ago, JemzRoo said:

I booked Sky Jr Suite for access to the suite area thinking this will be Royal's first decently done suite concept. The more footage I see the more disappointed I am. I'm really, really annoyed about Cloud 17. I was annoyed when it was announced we'd get no Solarium, but figured Cloud 17 had the potential to be a decent replacement. I have absolutely zero excitement for Hideaway. None. The child free area is now 10 decks above the children screaming in the surfside neighborhood? Fun. Awesome. 

 

The suite area is an absolute disaster given the premium they are charging. No view outside (actually looks very closed in) - the "lounge" is a glorified waiting area in Coastal Kitchen (interesting the lounge isn't even listed on the deck plans, almost like they forgot about it), the color/furnishings look about as cheap as you get both inside Coastal Kitchen and out on the sundeck. The "pool" isn't much bigger than a small jacuzzi. Have you noticed RC has been limiting photography up on that deck the past couple days? They know they've got a problem. Kinda late to change the furnishings, they could probably reconfigure the lounge space a bit. One way to address the abysmal suite deck pool would be to claim Cloud17 as the suite sky/star class pool (it's already doored access at the aft end). That would at least give suite guests an actual premium pool, but given the screw up with Hideaway they already have customers fuming. Pictures speak volumes, look at the space on Wonder (below), then go look at the limited pictures coming out of Icon. Wonder (below) looks like a premium experience, Icon looks like they ran out of budget and creativity by the time they hit the suite deck.

[RFerrington]

I think the furnishings in ALL of the Oasis class suite lounges/CK are cheap-looking.  No idea why they picked those barrel chairs...both ugly and uncomfortable.

[Lloyd555]

Wonder of the Seas & Icon of the Seas at CocoCay. 

📷 Mercury Chester Jorge Carson

[madiaka]

42 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

Wonder of the Seas & Icon of the Seas at CocoCay. 

📷 Mercury Chester Jorge Carson

Thanks for the comparison picture. I’m booked on Icon in one of the aft junior suites. I got it for a good price,  but in looking at the ship beside Wonder, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be as nice of an experience as being in an aft suite on Wonder. The Surfside neighborhood seems closed in compared to the Boardwalk. I can ignore the screaming kids. That doesn’t bother me, but I still don’t like the top-heavy look that Icon has in comparison. The fact that there is a pool above my suite is something that I hadn’t thought about either. We’ll see how the reviews are after the inaugural sailing. 

[Newcruiser215]

1 hour ago, cr2000 said:

 

The suite area is an absolute disaster given the premium they are charging. No view outside (actually looks very closed in) - the "lounge" is a glorified waiting area in Coastal Kitchen (interesting the lounge isn't even listed on the deck plans, almost like they forgot about it), the color/furnishings look about as cheap as you get both inside Coastal Kitchen and out on the sundeck. The "pool" isn't much bigger than a small jacuzzi. Have you noticed RC has been limiting photography up on that deck the past couple days? They know they've got a problem. Kinda late to change the furnishings, they could probably reconfigure the lounge space a bit. One way to address the abysmal suite deck pool would be to claim Cloud17 as the suite sky/star class pool (it's already doored access at the aft end). That would at least give suite guests an actual premium pool, but given the screw up with Hideaway they already have customers fuming. Pictures speak volumes, look at the space on Wonder (below), then go look at the limited pictures coming out of Icon. Wonder (below) looks like a premium experience, Icon looks like they ran out of budget and creativity by the time they hit the suite deck.

You seem really passionate about this suite area. 

[Fairsky84]

1 hour ago, Lloyd555 said:

Wonder of the Seas & Icon of the Seas at CocoCay. 

📷 Mercury Chester Jorge Carson

Surprising how much darker the blue hull looks on Icon. I thought RCI would maintain the same livery color on all of their new ships. Or is the Wonder's hull just faded after a year in the sun.

[PrincessCatarina]

Regarding the "Suite Lounge," does anyone know if they will be offering a happy hour there with complimentary drinks and snacks? One of our favorite memories from the Allure is visiting the suite lounge during happy hour and enjoying the complimentary drinks, often during the sail away. Is this a thing of the past? 

[Eekaksi7]

https://www.instagram.com/pdeboer_photos

 

 

[Newcruiser215]

7 minutes ago, Eekaksi7 said:

https://www.instagram.com/pdeboer_photos

 

 

From this angle, Wonder looks bigger to me. 

[BecciBoo]

16 hours ago, Jenna said:

I feel like the shrieking of all the children on surfside will be audible from hideaway?

You might hear something, but most of the sound will go out behind the ship down there.  But I'm sure there are plenty who'd try real hard to.🙄

[BecciBoo]

54 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

You seem really passionate about this suite area. 

Nothing but negativity from certain posters if you get my drift.  There are always some.  Unfortunately, they make their own angst.

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, JemzRoo said:

I booked Sky Jr Suite for access to the suite area thinking this will be Royal's first decently done suite concept. The more footage I see the more disappointed I am. I'm really, really annoyed about Cloud 17. I was annoyed when it was announced we'd get no Solarium, but figured Cloud 17 had the potential to be a decent replacement. I have absolutely zero excitement for Hideaway. None. The child free area is now 10 decks above the children screaming in the surfside neighborhood? Fun. Awesome. 

Fortunately for you, there are lots of other ships....enjoy.  We'll be on Icon thank you.

[BecciBoo]

14 hours ago, Twenty2020 said:

I also don't think the Solarium trade off for Aquadome is a positive. 

Aquadome is a tradeoff for Surfside not a Solarium.  The area behind Aquadome, the Overlook is more a tradeoff for Solarium, just no water, but then Harmony doesn't have that either.

[JemzRoo]

15 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

Fortunately for you, there are lots of other ships....enjoy.  We'll be on Icon thank you.

As I stated, I booked a Sky Jr Suite - so clearly I will also be on Icon. That doesn’t somehow negate my disappointment. 

[BecciBoo]

I would much rather have had Cloud 17 also, but they may still make changes and I'm not worried.  I think the first few months of exit questionnaires will help them rethink things.  I will certainly let them know my true sentiments.  But the other features on this exceptional vessel are more than worth any disappointment I have about this latest development.  I don't think Hideaway are is large enough to provide an adult only pool venue, but the bar and lounging areas are pretty appealing.  That pool isn't any smaller than the average Oasis  sister has in Solarium anyway.

[cr2000]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Nothing but negativity from certain posters if you get my drift.  There are always some.  Unfortunately, they make their own angst.

 

I think a lot of people try to justify what they spent and can't look objectively. They will sing Icon's praises regardless perhaps to soothe their wallet, I do think it's fair to be critical where appropriate. I think they really screwed up the suite neighborhood and I think the reviews will reflect that in the next few weeks (and pricing will plummet accordingly). The overall ship deck space looks very problematic, when they are at or near capacity. They messed up with the adults only situation, how's that fair to people who booked with an understanding of having a quiet relaxing area on the ship? The beverage package excludes milk shakes (they priced the drinks at the ice cream place just outside the $14 limit). Then they market basecamp as the place for kids to fuel up after the water slides, but up-charge for burgers and sandwiches? Of course they appear to have done things right as well, the rooms look great, they added some nice family suite concepts, the waterpark looks absolutely incredible and sure to be a big hit with kids. The venues along the promenade seem well thoughout too. I really like the Pearl Cafe and layout in that area, looks beautiful. Net-net, I don't think it'll be worth the premium they are trying to collect over sailing on Wonder.

[Tree_skier]

On 1/12/2024 at 5:44 PM, cr2000 said:

 

The reality is that here will NOT be an adult only pool on Icon, who's going to enforce that? The ship was designed with families and kids in mind, if you're traveling as a couple during any period when school is out, you're going to be out numbered with kids. Families are going to want to be together on the ship, that means kids stopping in and out of whatever pool their parents might be using. 

They certainly enforced the no kids policy on Harmony in December.  The ship was jammed with kids but the Solarium was great!

[Tall-Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Newcruiser215 said:

From this angle, Wonder looks bigger to me. 

I was just thinking the same exact thing.

[eroller]

Having watched ICON’s maiden arrival into Miami, she looked very impressive but not the biggest in the world to me.  Both the Oasis Class and even Carnival’s Excel Class look bigger to me.  It might be because ICON is so chopped up.  Both the slab of balconies and the upper decks.  Perception is sometimes deceiving.  

[davidrlewis2302]

14 minutes ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

I was just thinking the same exact thing.

Wonder looks wider - I've thought all along Icon looked quite slim. But she's 0.9m wider at the top than Wonder and 1m wider at the waterline.  She's 2m longer.  I think she's just got a sleeker design that makes her not look as wide.  Some humans are the same.

Edited January 15 by davidrlewis2302