When you’re the largest cruise ship in the world, you get a lot of attention. You also get a lot of cruise passengers checking you out on a vacation, for better or for worse. Some passengers are now asking if the ship is too crowded, despite its immense size.
With a double occupancy of 5,610 passengers and a max capacity of 7,600 passengers, Icon of the Seas, at 248,663 in gross tonnage, is the largest cruise ship–for now. We will see if that title changes hands when Star of the Seas debuts in August of this year.
Read more: Star of the Seas vs Icon: 10 Differences
After cruising for over a year now, Icon of the Seas has sailed about half a million passengers around the Caribbean. But some have started asking if the ship, in spite of its size, feels too crowded at times.
Too Crowded for Some
A recent discussion started on Reddit when a cruiser using the name mtbv08 shared their experience after taking a cruise on Icon. Their post, titled “Hot Take: Icon is too crowded,” explained that while their children thoroughly enjoyed the vacation, the sheer number of passengers – around 7,000 – was a significant drawback.
The user explained how everyday experiences were affected by the crowds.
“Every place one would want to be required pre-planning, jostling… to make things work,” they wrote. To illustrate, they mentioned that for the waterslides, “Get there at 9:00 AM because the line is 45 minutes by 9:15.” The Reddit user also explained just how crowded the pool can get, with a humorous line about being ready to be on the receiving end of some kicks.
Attending the Aqua Theater show also required some effort to nab a less-than-ideal viewing spot: “Show up 40 minutes early, get a seat in the back left corner, and still fend off people trying to steal your seat while a kid runs to the bathroom.”
The cruiser also alluded to a common problem with getting a decent deck chair by the pool, which is the bane of any regular cruiser’s existence.
A few others in the comments agreed with the post’s sentiment.
One comment stated, “This is exactly why I won’t go on the larger ships. I tried it once and encountered all of this. Now I prefer the smaller, older ships.”
I recently wrote about this issue, with some preferring older cruise ships because of their size and affordability.
Sometimes, a ship’s “crowdedness” all comes down to that particular sailing as well. During summer months or other times of year when kids are out of school, more cabins are above double occupancy.
One user that was on the same cruise on Icon of the Seas put it this way:
“The crowds were overwhelming, and we were all feeling ‘peopled out’ by the end of the week. The number of unsupervised kids and teenagers running around didn’t help either.”
Not Everyone Agrees
However, not everyone felt this way. One cruiser disagreed, saying, “We were just on Icon for spring break and never had a problem with crowds. We could easily get into every show and activity. The only wait was for the water slides.”
And just to show that a cruise experience is unique for every passenger, another comment from a person who was also on the same sailing as the original poster, mentioned not experiencing long lines for the waterslides when visiting at less popular times. Go figure.
These differing opinions highlight the trade-off with larger cruise ships. While they offer a wider variety of amenities and experiences, they can also feel more crowded, but only in certain places at certain times.
Avoiding the Crowds
I recommend you check out our article on the 12 best tips for avoiding crowds on a cruise, for a deeper dive into finding seclusion and peace on any ship.
With so many people on board, as is the case with Icon, it pays to do things at unpopular times, which is easier said than done when it comes to shows and entertainment.
I sailed on the Icon of the Sea’s inaugural sailing and really loved the ship’s layout. This was not a jam-packed sailing though, and I’d imagine things like a water park would be a lot more crowded during times of the year when kids are not in school or during breaks.
We have broken down the passenger to space ratios on every ship with 9 different cruise lines, but even this metric is not perfect or even ideal. It only compares the volume of a ship’s space with how many passengers it can hold. And a lot of how crowded a ship feels comes down to flow and design.
