- Royal Caribbean lowered the Icon of the Seas’ funnels to sail beneath a bridge.
- The cruise line just lately took supply of the world’s largest cruise ship forward of its 2024 maiden voyage.
- Royal Caribbean’s Icon, Oasis, and Quantum class ships all have retractable funnels.
The new world’s largest cruise ship has a little-known trick that permits it to move beneath shorter bridges: retractable funnels.
In late November, Royal Caribbean welcomed the Icon of the Seas to its 28-ship fleet in a ceremony on the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Shortly after, the 1,198-foot-long, 250,800 gross-ton vessel started crusing to Cadiz, Spain to obtain some ultimate touches forward of its 2024 maiden voyage.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
During its journey from Finland to Spain, the 20-deck ship needed to face one obtrusive impediment: Denmark’s 11-mile Great Belt Bridge.
Most small ship operators do not must suppose twice about crusing beneath such infrastructure. But because the world’s largest cruise vessel, doing so was a collaborative engineering feat.
Ahead of the passageway, Royal Caribbean’s staff needed to “lower and secure” the Icon of the Seas’ funnels, permitting it to clear the Great Belt Bridge on December 1 with just a few toes to spare. Take a have a look at the thrilling second:
While momentous, passing beneath this bridge was no new feat for the cruise operator. The Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas — each virtually as tall as this new vessel — have already performed so, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson advised Business Insider.
The cruise line’s Icon, Oasis, and Quantum class ships all have retractable funnels.
After its time in Spain, the Icon of the Seas will head to Miami for a collection of back-to-back seven-night Caribbean cruises beginning in late January 2024.
Since the ship’s announcement in 2022, Royal Caribbean has been touting onboard facilities just like the over 40 meals and beverage venues, seven swimming pools, and a water park with six water slides. But entry to this floating resort will likely be expensive: The least expensive 2024 itinerary at the moment begins at $3,023 per individual, which breaks all the way down to over $430 per day.