Royal Caribbean has prided itself on turning its cruise ships into destinations.
More than the old concept of floating hotels that take you to ports, the cruise line's Oasis, Icon, Quantum, and even Freedom and Voyager Class ships are destinations in themselves.
You can easily spend a week on Icon, Oasis and Quantum Class ships without ever getting bored or feeling the need to get off. Each of these ships offers numerous pools, restaurants and bars and a variety of entertainment venues.
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Icon of the Seas literally has what can truly be called an on-board water park in addition to the cruise line's signature rock-climbing wall, the Crown's Edge ropes course, a blinged-out minigolf course, and a new take on Royal Caribbean's Aqua Theater.
The biggest cruise ship in the world, Icon of the Seas, took that title from Wonder of the Seas, which Wonder claimed from its predecessor, Symphony of the Seas.
In fact, the six largest cruise ships in the world are all Royal Caribbean ships and when Utopia of the Seas sets sail in July, it will not be the new largest cruise ship in the world, but it will give Royal Caribbean the top seven largest cruise ships.
Currently, MSC Cruises claims the No. 7 spot with its flagship MSC World Europa. The cruise line, however, may be looking to come after Royal Caribbean's "world's largest cruise ship" crown.
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Image source: MSC
MSC looks at building bigger ships
In many ways, the title of "world's largest cruise ship" is just a bragging-rights thing.
The design of Icon of the Seas is notably different from that of Wonder of the Seas, but otherwise, the five, soon to be six, Oasis-class ships are all pretty similar. Each of the first five was slightly bigger than its predecessor. That progression ended with the sixth, Utopia of the Seas.
MSC Cruises, which is prominent outside the U.S. but is making a major push to attract American cruisers, appears to be looking into building a ship that's even bigger than Icon of the Seas. But that construction effort faces some hurdles.
The cruise line has been talking with Meyer Turku, the Finnish offshoot of Germany’s Meyer Werft Group. That would be a change from its usual partners, Fincantieri and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, "likely due to a lack of shipyard slots for new ships of the size it requires," Shipping Italy reported.
Options are being explored with Meyer Turku, with “well-informed market sources" being credited with the news.
And MSC may not be alone in pursuing a bigger-is-better approach.
“There are at least two players who are talking with shipyards to build larger ships than Icon of the Seas," the Italian-language website reported. "Within 12/18 months the first slots available in shipyards to build ships over 160,000 tonnes will have delivery dates of 2034/2035."
For cruise ships, bigger is not always better
Royal Caribbean started with a blank piece of paper when it built Icon of the Seas, and the ship isn't bigger just to claim the title. It has a remarkable flow designed to make it easy for passengers to move between public areas.
It also has innovative touches like The Pearl, a massive pearl-like structure housing a staircase to the Pearl Cafe off the Royal Promenade. Stunning to look at, the Pearl also is weight bearing, which enabled Royal Caribbean to offer floor-to-ceiling windows in the Pearl Cafe.
If MSC Cruises, or any other cruise line, comes for the "biggest cruise ship in the world" title, careful attention to design is important.
Icon of the Seas is huge, but it never feels overwhelming, and its distinctive neighborhoods make the ship seem smaller, even cozy at points, as it's generally easy to get around.
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