” 8000 passengers?”
Think of the amount of sewage that thing will dump once offshore.
It’s about 100 feet longer than the biggest laker. So yeah that’s a lot of boat. Then imagine all those people hitting the sights at once at the different stops. That’s pretty overwhelming.
Actually it’s 7,600 passengers but once you approach 8k what’s another 400.
My wife and I have been on plenty and never caught as much as a sniffle, those were all before covid and I’m sure the hygiene practices have been fortified since then.
Having said all that, the largest one we went on was 3k passengers and that was too many for us.
Our 1st was on our honeymoon on the smallest ship we ever cruised on and it was also the most enjoyable.
At the end of the day, it’s not for everyone.
TUBE 1 ready in all aspects!
As a one time “Big U” passenger, I say no thanks. Las Vegas with a keel.
Most large ocean going vessels now use a collection, holding, and transfer (CHT) system to handle wastewater & sewage. None is dumped overboard, but pumped out pierside after reaching port.
Looks like the Wilhelm Gustloff’s record might be beat.
NO THANK YOU.
The advertising for ‘family’ cruises is surreal— go-kart racing, waterslides, etc. All while aboard a ship sailing the ocean blue, which apparently not interesting enough. . Weird. To me, anyways. But I’m Old School...
What’s the difference between a big hotel on land and a big hotel on water?
“Turku Meyer built the ship with eight “neighborhoods” for guests to explore.”
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Does it have a dystopian Democrat managed ‘hood for guests to explore when they’re feeling brave?
Interesting:
“Icon of the Seas will be the first cruise ship for Royal Caribbean to be powered by LNG-fuel, meaning it relies on liquified natural gas.”
https://cruise.blog/2023/01/icon-of-the-seas-cruise-guide
More:
“As for technical specifics, the boat is equipped with 17 lifeboats with the capacity for up to 450 people — meaning it has room for 7,650 people, despite its capacity for 7,960.”
World’s largest cruise ship labeled ‘monstrosity’ ahead of maiden voyage
https://nypost.com/2023/07/13/icon-of-the-seas-labeled-a-monstrosity-ahead-of-first-sail/
“The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) stipulates that a ship must have enough lifeboats to accommodate 75% of the people on board.”
https://cruiseshiptraveller.com/cruise-ship-lifeboats/
Who’s familiar with the “150 rule” (now superseded)?
There ‘was’ the 370-person CRV55 lifeboat
https://gcaptain.com/schat-harding-worlds-largest/
Now there’s the MPC 49 (450 capacity, believed to be lifeboat for the IOTS)
https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/palfinger-marine-gmbh/product-31453-511008.html
Growing up around the Great Lakes, we were always told that the 1200-foot-long ore boats on these lakes were the longest vessels on earth, and that they were limited to this only because the longest lock on the river between Lake Superior and Lake Huron was that length. The reason they were the longest was that ships that long could break apart because ocean waves were close enough together that a wave crest could pick up the bow of the ship on one end, and another crest could pick up the stern. The ship would then crack in half. I wonder how the Icon of the Seas is going to deal with that. I suppose owners could argue that present storm forecasting will keep the ship away from storms that create these crests. They should maybe watch the videos of the "Rogue Waves" that roughed up the Marshall Islands a couple of days ago.
RE: Cruise Ship “Black Water”/sewage...it is dealt with in multiple ways by the different cruise line companies...treated onboard and the dried “biomass” offloaded in port (what the “Icon of the Seas” does)...some ships pump the sewage off onto a sewage barge in port...and sometimes it is dumped at sea more than 3/12 miles offshore...all are options:
https://www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com/features/featurewhat-a-waste-9973923/
https://www.marineinsight.com/tech/blackwater-treatment-onboard-cruise-ships-explained/