World's largest cruise has theatre, water park; costs this much: Details

The 'Icon of the Seas' was built in Finland at a cost of about $2 billion. The ship weighs about 250,800 tonnes and is about five times larger than the Titanic

The world's largest cruise ship - 'Icon of the Seas' - embarked on its maiden voyage from the United States' port of Miami on Saturday. The Royal Caribbean Group owns the 365m-long cruise and will offer a first seven-day island-hopping voyage in the Caribbean.

The trip will culminate in Saint Kitts and Nevis and Charlotte Amalie in the US Virgin Islands.

5 things about world's largest cruise- Icon of the Seas

1)The 'Icon of the Seas' was built in Finland's Turku at a cost of about $2 billion. The ship weighs about 250,800 tonnes and has a length of about 365 metres. That's about five times larger than the Titanic.

 

2)Adorned with luxurious amenities, the Bahamas-registered ship has seven swimming pools and six water slides. It has more than 40 restaurants, bars and lounges.

3)The cruise is divided into eight neighbourhoods across 20 decks. The cruise also has an ice-skating rink and a theatre.

4)The cruise ship can house up to 7,600 passengers and accommodate 2,350 crew members as well.

5)According to Royal Caribbean's website, the tickets for this voyage range from $1,723 to $2,639 per person.

The cruise was first revealed in October 2022 and lodged the single largest booking day and the highest volume booking week in Royal Caribbean's then 53-year history, according to the company.

Environmental concerns around luxurious voyage

However, many environmentalists have flagged concerns surrounding the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship's methane emissions in the air. Notably, the greenhouse gas methane traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over 20 years and is a key contributor to global warming.

(With agency inputs)