First Look at Dining On the Largest-Ever Cruise Ship

Royal Caribbean International has released the thirteenth episode of its “Making an Icon” video series, detailing dining options onboard the upcoming Icon of the Seas.

The ship will feature more than 20 new eateries onboard, with a broad range of amazing tastes everyone can enjoy on their iconic oceangoing getaway.

Dining Aboard Icon of the Seas

The newest episode of “Making an Icon” explores “Creating Flavors for Everyone” and how different food and beverage venues were envisioned, designed, and ultimately, will be put into practice specifically for Icon of the Seas.

“I think our guests are going to look at all this variety of dining and beverage as almost an adventure,” said Jason Liberty, President & CEO of Royal Caribbean Group.

Two years of research took Royal Caribbean teams around the world for the best in culinary experiences in truly iconic, food-oriented cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Barcelona, and more to sample amazing tastes and brainstorm ways to bring them onboard the ship.

Furthermore, guest feedback with a desire for convenience, choice, and variety has helped guide the development of dining options onboard Icon of the Seas even as the ship is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Turku, Finland.

The result is more than 40 food and beverage venues on the 250,800-gross-ton ship, with over 20 of them as brand new experiences for the first-of-its-kind vessel.

“You name it, for every mood, for every kind of moment during your vacation, anything that you want to experience as it relates to dining is available on Icon of the Seas,” said Michael Bayley, President & CEO of Royal Caribbean International.

Testing to develop Icon‘s dining venues included more than 100 showcase and tasting events as different menus have been evolved and tweaked, with changes to preparation, presentation, ingredients and more to ensure the very best results.

New to Icon of the Seas

More than 20 venues will be exclusive to Icon of the Seas when the ship debuts in January 2024 offering 7-night Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami, Florida.

One of the most elite will be the Empire Supper Club, described as a “super premium dining experience” that pairs curated cocktails, dining menus, and specially-selected music for a holistic and elegant 8-course culinary event with a 1920s-style New York vibe.

For a more casual, grab-and-go dining, AquaDome Market will offer a food hall experience with Creme de la Crepe offering both savory and sweet crepes, GNGR with its Asian-inspired menu, Mac’s for a variety of macaroni and cheese dishes including Pepperoni Pizza Mac and Creole Mac, Toast and Garden for sandwiches and salads, and so much more.

In the new Surfside family neighborhood, Surfside Eatery is a buffet dedicated to families, with delicious choices for all ages, including the ever-popular ice cream machine.

Nearby, Pier 7 is the first-ever specialty restaurant created for young families with an all-day brunch experience, including a “Kids Eat Free” menu with grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken tenders, burgers, and other favorites, while Surfside Bites is a pick-up window with grab-and-go handheld snacks like fries, popcorn chicken, hot dogs, donut holes, and chocolate chip cookies.

Another pick-up window will be located with Izumi in Central Park, offering sushi and other Asian bites, along with soft serve bubble cones for an exotic dessert.

In the highly-anticipated Thrill Island neighborhood, the dining venue Base Camp is an outdoor, fast-casual venue with delicious choices like fried cheese curds, waffle chicken nuggets, crispy shrimp bao buns, smash burgers, and other foods to refuel between thrills.

Adjacent to the architecturally stunning Pearl, the Pearl Cafe will offer handcrafted sandwiches, specialty coffees, and bakery desserts, with plentiful lounge seating nearby for relaxing or meeting up.

Returning Favorites

Royal Caribbean fans won’t be disappointed as classic cruise favorites return on Icon of the Seas, including Sorrento’s, Giovanni’s, Playmaker’s, and more. Yet on Icon, each venue is reimagined for the new ship in new ways.

For example, the popular Trellis Bar will have a snack menu with elevated bar dishes such as crab cake fritters, steak bites, beet tartare, and crispy truffled fries, just to name a few.

Chop’s Grille, the cruise line’s signature steakhouse, will have a unique butcher’s display featuring specialty cuts for guests to choose from, showcasing the meat in a way that’s never been done before.

Even the main dining room has been updated and elevated, with a specially curated kids’ menu to give the youngest cruisers more connection to a full family dining experience. Likewise, Windjammer has also been updated with new options for families and cruisers of all ages.

Icon of the Seas is already breaking booking records for the cruise line, and with such an amazing dining lineup onboard, every guest on the ship – as many as 7,600 passengers per sailing when the vessel is fully booked – will certainly find delicious meals, snacks, and treats to make their vacation iconically memorable.