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Royal Caribbean Is the New Owner of the World's Largest Cruise Ship The 1,198-foot Icon of the Seas weighs 250,800 tons and has 20 decks.

By Sam Silverman

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Royal Caribbean has added the world's largest cruise ship to its fleet.

The cruise company has taken ownership of the Icon of the Sea, a 1,198-foot-long vessel that cost approximately $2 billion to build, according to the cruise website Go Port.

"Today, we are celebrating more than a new ship; it's also the celebration of the culmination of more than 50 years of innovation and dreaming at Royal Caribbean to create the ultimate vacation experience," said Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group president and CEO, in a press release. The transfer of ownership took place on Monday, November 27, at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, with 1,200 crew members and workers in attendance.

Jouni Niskakoski/Shutterstock | Worlds largest cruise ship ICON OF THE SEAS departing for sea trials from Meyer Turku shipyard assisted by tug boats.

RELATED: Royal Caribbean's 'Icon of the Seas' Completes First Sea Trials, Sets Sail Towards 2024 Debut

The Icon of the Sea took 900 days to build and weighs 250,800 tons, according to a press release from Royal Caribbean. It has 20 decks and can hold 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members.

Its maiden voyage is set to depart from Miami, Florida, on January 27, 2024, and will travel around the Caribbean for seven days.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean | June 2023 – Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas is on the move to sail the open ocean for the first time and reach its next construction milestone.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean | November 2023 – Following eight days and hundreds of tests and inspections at sea, Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas successfully wrapped up its final sea trials.

RELATED: See Where the Thousands of Workers Aboard the New World's Largest Cruise Ship Will Spend Their Free Time

The vessel features eight "neighborhoods" for passengers to explore and 40 dining and drink options, plus it has 28 different options for accommodations. The ship's AquaDome is the largest glass and steel structure to be lifted onto a cruise ship, it also has the most water ever on board with seven pools and six record-breaking waterslides.

The Icon of the Sea is powered with liquified natural gas, making it the first waste-to-energy plant at sea, per CNN.

Sam Silverman

Content Strategy Editor

Sam Silverman is a content strategy editor at Entrepreneur Media. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and her work can be found in The US Sun, Nicki Swift, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and Health. She writes for our news team with a focus on investigating scandals. Her coverage and expertise span from business news, entrepreneurship, technology, and true crime, to the latest in entertainment and TV news. Sam is a graduate of Lehigh University and currently resides in NYC. 

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