7 Nights Western Mediterranean Cruise Cruise

Icon Spring break trip that topped them all!

A bit about us: Family of 4, covid transplants to Jupiter, FL in 2021, by way of California and Wisconsin thanks to remote work. DS, 20 chose to forgo this trip to "work on campus" (translation: party on campus) during his spring break, so DD, 17 1/2 going on 25 and a future UF Gator, got to bring her childhood friend from WI with us as her Senior Spring Break trip. Uneventful drive to the port, got to the parking garage at 9:30. Rock star parking at that time, so headed downstairs until suites were called. We stayed on Deck 17, in a Grand suite and Junior suite side by side. Had the balcony opened between the two rooms; result was a balcony approx size of OS. Loved deck 17 staterooms, because open to sky so it was sunny all the time. I know some prefer shade, but liked the direct sunlight. GS was very nice and spacious, balcony seemed a little narrow as compared to the room but was plenty for us. Wish they had lounge chairs on balcony, only had a "chaise" type of seat and table for four. Similar on JS balcony. Loved the location, near the Grove (up one flight) and Coastal Kitchen, both of which we frequented quite often. f there is one thing that stood out about Icon besides the beauty and size of the ship, it was the service. While we have not been on nearly as many cruises as many of you on CC, we've been on enough to notice the difference. The service was next level amazing. Yes, we were in suites, but that is usually where we stay, and just the caring, kindness and over the top willingness to go the extra mile was awesome. Shout out to: Yonis: Concierge. Never traveled Star class, but he is what I Imagine a genie would be like. Cannot remember every instance, but got us in to sold out shows and events, made my daughter's day more than once, and by far the best concierge we've ever had. Mustakeem: Waiter at Coastal Kitchen: anticipated our likes and dislikes after the first meal, photographic memory of what we have eaten, had nut-free versions of many entree's (I'm highly allergic) without asking, etc... fabulous. Jeff and Mark: Deck 17 stateroom attendants: wonderful! And they were actually able to make the girl's room look semi neat: a real challenge! Dining: As mentioned, we only did specialty dining twice, with the rest of the time being at Coastal Kitchen. Like many have said, there are so many options for non-chargeable food on icon that unless you have a particular liking for one of the restaurants, or want to try Empire, it's not really necessary to eat anywhere you have to pay more for. Don't miss the seafood buffet boarding day in the Windjammer if you are a shellfish lover. Amazing treat. We did a dinner at Izumi Sushi, and one at Pier 7, just because we got such a great deal on Black Friday. Izumi dinner was great as usual, same menu. But Pier 7 was just ok. (Should have listened to Yonis, who said we probably would be happier at another venue.). Pier 7, which I understand is not going to be included on Star, was empty other than us at prime dinner time. Wait staff hovered over us the whole time, making it a bit uncomfortable. Nothing really bad but would have been just as happy at the Jammer. Thoughts on the Beverage package: In the past I have always gotten the ultimate beverage package, more for convenience than anything else. This time, with only family (Husband does not drink and two girls were underage), just got the refreshment package and it was perfect. Now I like my champagne, wine with dinner and LOVE frozen margaritas (more on that below), but also am somewhat of a lightweight and cannot drink too much before 5 or won't make it to dinner. My opinion on suite guests and UBP: Unless you are a real "spirits" drinker and many on CC are, the UBP is not really needed. Now we were just Emerald on this cruise, so no daily drink tickets for us. But if you are in a suite, you can have as much beer, wine, champagne or soda from 11 am to 11pm. And full list of drinks, including spirits, between 5-8 pm. Saved a ton of $$ and never paid for one drink. Had my fill of Champagne and margaritas (drank virgin's during the day to stay awake). Would love to hear if people had similar experiences... One thing that I did suggest to Royal in the survey. I cannot have too much sugar daily or I get shaky and dizzy. So this time I brought two bottles of the sugar free margarita mix, and the bartenders kept one behind the bar at the Grove and one at CC. That saved me and let me drink to my margarita heart content. I am sure that there are a lot of folks that have sugar intolerances, diabetes, etc, yet all the mixers have over 50 grams of sugar per drink. I didn't mind lugging my two huge bottles, but it would be great if the bars offered a low sugar or sugar free alternative. Maybe it's just me, but I would think that many more would like that also?? Entertainment: Thrill Island very cool, the aqua action and Wizard of Oz were amazing. Missed the skating, Loved the quest, Classic Rock Band, and trying to remember what else. DD friend killed it in the Limbo contest at Quest! Jenna the Cruise director was EVERYWHERE! Do not know when she sleeps, but she was fantastic. And a great dancer also. Bars: Loved Dueling pianos, 1400, and others. Playmakers in a weird place: you have to go through one of the shops to get to it. And to all that have said Absolute Zero was in a very inconvenient place, you are right!! Surfside. Seemed underutilized. Spring break so lots of kids, but really did not feel it. In fact, the only time we EVER felt a crowd was at 9:30 one morning heading to the Windjammer. Other than that it was surprisingly easy to get around. Elevators: Genius. So much better. Tried to stick to our rule of not using them at all while cruising, but in heels all bets were off. We even saw the traveling piano player in our elevator once! Coastal Kitchen: Agree that I liked setup of Wonder CC a bit better, but still light and bright, and food was excellent. No complaints except that by the time Dinner came along was never that hungry! Rover: Saw Rover a couple of times at meet and greets, but unfortunately no sightings "in the wild". Might have at Coco Cay, but we couldn't stop bc of weather. (more on that later). Think it is genius to have a dog on ship, and I am a dog lover and noticed how well she is being treated, including not overwhelming her with too many people, etc... Overlook: probably my favorite quiet place on the ship. Nice to just chill out and relax, and gorgeous at night. Aquadome Market: Good addition for late night food. On past cruises, my husband has hated the lack of late night munchie food. On icon no problem between aquadome market, the pearl and Sorrentos, handled. Sorrento's pizza: meh. I know some love it. But how great would it be to have a Blaze pizza, or Mod pizza where you could build your own? Hear that other line's pizza's blow it away... Giovanni's, Hooked, Chopped, Playmakers, Empire: didn't try on this trip, but have eaten there on others and very good. Basecamp, El Loco Fresh: good, fresh fast food. Sugar Beach: checked it out and was very tired looking. Lack of selection bins half full. Not a huge candy fan, but think this would be a winner if it were staged better, especially in a kid filled area. Desserted: I also heard this may not be on Star; will not miss. Was invited on Bridge tour. Bridge Intern conducted it and sassy 10 year old girl overwhelmed him w questions of "what happens if the boat tips" and other what if's... But very impressive to see... I kept thinking about those wings on Oasis class that were turned into Suites. They must be amazing. Only area that seemed crowded was the Hideaway pool. I have a video, so it may not show up, but it was like "people soup". Here is a pic of it. While the view is beautiful, do not understand how that can be fun. Maybe if they took out the beds that no one seems to use it would be a little less crowded. Trying video, but no promises. Also, and this is probably just me, but does anyone else dislike the way the aft decks are stacked? See pic. We have been fortunate to have stayed in the ATS on Wonder, and loved it. One of the best things is the balcony. But the way these are stacked from biggest to smallest top to bottom (opposite of Oasis class), the coveted aft decks seem like they are so dark, and therefore the rooms would be dark. Has anyone stayed in one of those, esp. the corner sunset suite? Would love to know if it is sunnier on the outside corners than the inside. Long review, but in general was the best cruise we've ever been on. Relaxing when we wanted to relax, full of action when we wanted that also. Prices have tripled since we originally booked it, but still booking Legend for next summer~

Superb Icon!

My wife and I cruised on the Icon last week and came away very impressed overall. The ship is beautiful, the crew was helpful and very friendly and overall the food was great. We had sailed on the Wonder last year and were quite impressed with it as well. The only real negative we had was the lack of space for adults in the pool areas. Icon has resolved this with the adult only Hideaway area. This was a necessary and welcome change from the Wonder as there were literally thousands of kids on board. I must say I still don’t quite understand why RCI chose to have their new Swim and Tonic pool open to children. This should be the adult only pool. We had a balcony cabin on deck 12. It was very spacious overall with loads of plugs, USB ports etc and plenty of storage for anything you needed for a 7 day cruise. Probably adequate for a few more days as well. The bathroom was a bit on the smallish size, but the shower was quite large and water pressure/temperature was excellent. We had lunch in two of the specialty restaurants, Chops and Giovanni’s. Both were excellent. We ate in the Windjammer for the most part and I would give the food a very good rating overall. We also tried Aquamart and Chill Island, both were great. The crew was outstanding in all aspects. There was barely any time between finishing a course in the Windjammer and someone was right there taking your dishes! The bartending service was excellent, used various bars and never waited any length of time for a drink. I have to say this was a surprise considering the number of people on board. Our Cabin Steward, Gregory, was on top of his game. Room was clean as a whistle after being made up in the mornings as we requested. Obviously still being a new ship the room was in excellent shape. The entertainment was top notch as well, we really enjoyed the Aqua show, the Wizard Of Oz was surprisingly (for me anyway) very well done with awesome special effects and live musical accompaniment. Two of the 3 comedians we saw were hilarious. We very much enjoyed our week on the Icon, would not hesitate to recommend it especially a family with children. The Icon is really geared for their enjoyment, not so much for older folks.

Awesome Cruise!

The best ship I have ever cruised on. The food was an upgrade over Wonder and Symphony. The main dinning room was great in terms of food and service. Windjammer was excellent. Sure there a lot of kids, but there are so many places to go and be away from that, especially outside of Surfside. There were some teenagers having fun also, but honestly all the complaints about this is by grumpy old people. The ship is spotless. The cabins are tasteful. Excellent music, Jazz, Latin, reggae and classic rock bands. Great shows, with excellent aqua, ice and Oz shows. The comedians were not that funny to us. If you can afford it, choose Icon. It's not a party boat, Red and several late night events were basically empty. Coco Cay was a bit cold in February. Costa Maya is not fun. Roatan and Cozumel have great snorkeling. You will love it.