The Largest Waterpark at Sea
cruises | ships | travel | water parks
Royal Caribbean launched the gargantuan Icon of the Seas, an over-the-top, maximalist combo of mega ship/floating city for 7,600 passengers. It’s so huge that cruisers will forget they’re on a boat. The cherry on top is Category 6, the largest waterpark at sea with six thrill rides covering 17,000 square feet.
Each of the six adrenaline-pumping Category 6 slides is named for a freak weather event and each sets a cruise-ship record. Frightening Bolt, for instance, is a double-dog-dare: the tallest waterslide on a ship, with a floor drop setting G-force propulsion into motion through a 360-degree loop.
Storm Surge wins another gold star as the first suspended group raft slide at sea, drenching up to four rafters at a time, at one point achieving zero-gravity. Similarly, the milder Hurricane Hunter soaks a quartet of rafters with downpours on a fun 435-foot-long track. Prefer height frights? Strap in for the Crown’s Edge, a daring adventure course that dangles you 154 feet above the ocean waves. Other outdoor thrills are the Adrenaline Peak rock climbing wall and Flowrider surf simulator.
Two challengers race to the splashdown finish line in Storm Chasers, the first duo mat-racing slides at sea. The heart-stopping Pressure Drop body slide makes stomachs plunge as solo riders plummet down a near-vertical incline in the first open free-fall waterslide at sea.
Based in Miami for 7-night Caribbean voyages, Icon of the Seas has 40 food and drink venues; an adults-only retreat; entertainment venues in the air, on ice and on water; and seven pools including the first infinity pool suspended over the ocean, and the largest pool at sea, the 40,000 gallon Royal Bay.
