30 Must-Read Tips for the Icon of the Seas Cruise Ship

Have you seen the amazing Icon of the Seas in the news and in your social media feed? Royal Caribbean has taken family cruises to the next level with this iconic ship, the largest ship in the world! Let me share 30 helpful and practical tips for making the most of your family cruise vacation.

Icon Cruise Ship

If you are planning a cruise on the Icon Cruise ship, there is a lot to consider. From itinerary to stateroom, time of year to deal, and so much more. Let me help you with some of the details. Our family loves cruise vacations and we recently went on the Icon of the Seas. We have over 30 tips and tricks for making the most of your cruise trip.

Plus don’t miss our Icon of the Seas Review, learn about the amazing private island and things to do at Cococay, plus find lots more tips and tricks for you as you plan a family cruise!

Icon of the Seas Tips

Book Early for best availability of staterooms, adjoining rooms, and lower rates
Shop the Deals for disocunted fare, kids sale free, discounted excurions, drink package promos, etc to save a significant amount of money
Reserve shore excursions immediately or the most popular will sell out!
Before leaving home make sure you’ve made reservations for the shows as they are required to see the fabulous entertainment onboard. they are free and will sell out quickly.
Download the App before leaving home to allow you to see not only all that is happening onboard, but deck plans, menus, reservations, and more. You can add activities to your list to get notified when they are about to begin.
Be in the waterpark the moment it opens to drastically cut down on wait times. You can also go at the very end of the day or on port days for much shorter lines.
Don’t miss the windjammer buffet on the last evening of your cruise for a chocolate fountain fairwell that is really special.
If you leave your infinete balcony window open to turn your oceanview room into the balcony, the air conditioning in the room will shut off until you close the window. It can take a long time for those rooms to cool back down. Be warned.
Contrary to what we saw posted, the Icon of the Seas does have a formal night, dress your bess night, and a wear white night you should be aware of if you want to head to the dining room or take pictures with the rest of the passengers.
If you are sensitive to loud noises, bring ear plugs to the Aqua Dome show. The show if absolutely mesmerizing, but they have the sound up ridiculously loud. All 8 of us left with headaches and ears ringing.
Royal no longer does daily towel animals in your stateroom, although they might if you ask. The ones they make are also much smaller and fit in your hand. Not saying it is a deal breaker, but it was dissapointing and I wish I knew ahead to set my expectations.
Pool towels must be checked out like you do with library books. You will show your card and tell them how many towels you are borrowing. When you finish they must be returned to the towel desk or you will be charged for each towel. The towel counter is only open certain hours from 8 until pool closing.
If you like seperate shampoo and conditioner make sure you bring it with you. The staterooms only offer a combined shampoo body wash in the bathrooms. It smells nice, but we ladies needed the conditioner!
Arrive at least 30-45 minutes early for shows even if you have a reservation to get the best seating. In the ice skating arena there are poles that may block your view, in the theatre the main floor seating is best for experiencing the special effects, and in the Aqua Dome there are seating choices – tradtional bench, bench with back, cushioned seat, couch, lounge chair, and full view or side view.
To help avoid dehydration and headaches on port excursions I highly recommend travleing with IV pouches you can add to your water bottle. They work so well!
The candy store in the Sufside neighborhood sells cotton candy for just a couple bucks!
There are lots of fun and unique places to sit and relax on your cruise vacation. If you are looking for a fabulous place to relax, don’t miss out on all the comfy seating options in the Aqua Dome behind the theatre!
The windjammer not only serves a wide variety of yummy food, but also features cheese carvings, fruit and vegetable carvings, chocolate sculptures and more at various of the food pods.
You don’t need the drink package. You can find complimentary lemoande, ice tea, juices, strawberry kiwi, and other beverages at the Windjammer buffet and drink stations in the complimentary restaurants in Central Park and Surfside neighborhoods.
Make sure you walk around the entire ship to appreciate not only the beautiful design and decoraitons, but all the hidden figures throughout the ship. It’s like a fun game of I Spy.
There are dry slides in various places around the ship – make sure to be on the lookout in the main pool area and sufside neighborhood for a chance to delight your kids.
Bring your kindle or ipad charged up with movies you like to watch! The tvs in your room have very limited news, weather and one kids station. Other than that you have about 6 choices of movies that cost $11.99 to rent. And even if you are willing to pay that, you may not like the choices – we didn’t like a one of them.
The elevators try to group people going to the same floor so you enter what floor you are going to and then the screen will tell you a letter of the elevator you should take. It works well for the most part, but there are plenty of times you will have to wait a while just to get a full eleveator because the system doesn’t take into account how many people are traveling in your party. You cannot re-enter your floor number to try to game the elevators, it will just repeat the same letter. And their are no override buttons for guests in the elevator.
There is a balloon drop in the ain promenade on the first night at midnight. It is fun, but insanely crowded!
Royal is allowing guests to avoid the traditional Muster Station drills! Yeah! All you need to do is watch the safety video and then check in at your muster station where they wil note you were there and dismiss you. No waiting in the hot sun with all other 7600 guests anymore.
Don’t miss out on the fabulous live music thorughout the ship, check your app for times and locations. If you aren’t intentional, you will miss it.
Explore the ship to find hidden gems like ping pong tables on deck 15, soccer tables on deck 16, mini golf, and your favorite hidden pools and hot tubs.
Ride the carousel as much as you want to, it’s included in the cost of your cruise vacation.
If you plan on spending most of your time out exploring the activities and common spaces, save money on you room.
Our famiy of 8 had two staterooms – one in the forward and one in the aft. We consistently found the aft stateroom was more convenient for most things on board.
I know it sounds weird, but have an idea of your weight before getting on the cruise if you plan on going on the water slides. They will weigh you (and your party) before boarding. It is better to know who can go with whom before you get to the top and are dissapointed. They mean the posted weights. Also note that you cannot go by yourself on the raft rides.