wow

I'm actually excited to see the reviews of Icon, I would love to go on her someday.

it is my understanding, that engineers are currently working on a platform /hull structure under the state of Florida. This will allow the state to be physically cut away from the rest of the country, thus becoming the worlds largest cruise ship.

I love the small and medium sized ones myself.

Lynn is wonderful.

Interesting how things have changed..there was a time way back in the day when we thought 3500-4k passengers was huge, compared to what we usually sailed on. Then we tried it, and discovered it wasn't bad at all...a few more venues, and depending on what you enjoyed doing, a "bit of a walk" wasn't a big deal...as long as you didn't do it 18 times a day...thats just poor planning..or lack of....but now...I agree theres a limit...the lines have reached ours...theres some ships we have no interest in booking...and the list is growing as we ....ahem...mature.....

For them, its the old "economy of scale" trick...bigger IS better...well...cheaper...more profitable...all they need to do is sail them at capacity...

I do rather enjoy them old gals as well...thats why I'm getting on Grandeur in a little over 48hrs!

I am in the camp (fleet?) of ableman and OldGreyWolf. The smaller ships best fit my desires, even with 2-3K fellow passengers. For those that love the biggest with 28/9 daily activities and 5,000+ fellow passengers - good for you.

Oops ! Maybe 24/7, but there are some ships with more than a full days worth of activities, THUS, 28/9.

As OpusTGreat inferred, the "old girls" will always have a place in the hearts of many of us cruisers. Myself -- being of a not-so-young age -- LOVE the "old girls". Less crowds, less waits, more personal attention.

Best wishes to all cruisers. Lovers of the huge, the small, and the average sizes.

(Keep your minds out of the gutter, I am ONLY replying about cruise ship sizes).

On paper and in promotions I think it looks great ... BUT ... port that behemoth at any island that already has a couple of other ships in port for the day and I foresee nothing but madness, crowds and chaos.

Maybe when looking for our next I cruise might need to also check the port schedules to ensure no behemoths are in port at the same time

I am excited, and not at the same time.

I love the smaller ships. I love the huge ships...lets be honest, I love any time on a ship.

Icon seems to be...different. While I am excited for another ship with the Hooked Seafood venue, I do not know how I feel about another Monster on the waves.

By the time Icon enters the fleet, Royal Caribbean will be up to 27 Ships in their fleet. By the time I get on Icon (Tentatively 2026) Royal Caribbean may have as many as 30 ships in the fleet (With the anticipated 2024 2nd qtr Delivery of Utopia of the Seas, and 2 additional unnamed Icon Class ships slated for delivery in 2025, and 2026) which makes me question if they have any planned fleet departures scheduled, or if they anticipate growing the fleet.

IMO I would not be surprised to see most of the Vision class gone by 2027, as those girls are all coming up on 30 years of age, with Grandeur 27, Rhapsody and Enchantment 26, and Vision 25, with the last major revitalization being Enchantment in 2016.

Oooof. My wife and I would feel like we endured the Bataan Death March (look it up youngsters-it's history) if we had to walk from stem to stern of that behemoth. Maybe if we were 10-15 years younger, but not any more.

We'll stick with the small ships. Either that or we'd have to take 5-6 cruises on that monster just to see everything. Hmmmmmmm....... maybe THAT'S what RCL has in mind when they build these gargantuan ships.

With no reference to this ship, I am wondering how Big will cruise ships get?

My own wish is that not too much bigger, and that the major cruise lines will build smaller ships, which will cost more to cruise on, I am sure.

Lynn doesn't agree that Bigger is Better