Inside the 'Cruisezilla' passenger ships have doubled in size since 2000
Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world
Cruise ships have doubled in size over the past two decades, a precedent that could lead to even bigger vessels plying our oceans in the future and bringing potential problems, a new report has warned.
The largest passenger vessels today are twice as large as they were in 2000, says a study conducted by European clean energy lobby group Transport and Environment (T&E), which warns of the environmental impact of the "rapidly" growing global cruise industry.
The report suggests that the biggest cruise ships setting sail in 2050 could be nearly eight times larger than the Titanic, the largest passenger ship in service when it set sail in 1912 (measuring 269 meters or about 883 feet), if the growth rate continues as it is.
The world's largest cruise ship embarked on its maiden voyage from its home port of Miami in January.
Royal Caribbean's 365-metres-long and 230,000-tonne Icon of the Seas left the Florida city amid a blaze of publicity for its first seven-day voyage.
The Icon of the Seas towers like a multilayered birthday cake and has a total of 20 decks, 18 of which are for guests.
The frosting on top is in the form of seven swimming pools, a whimsical striped carousel, groves of tropical greenery and twisting waterslides in green, pink, blue and orange.
The departure of the US$2 billion ($3 billion) ship was watched by hundreds of people lining the causeway to Miami Beach that parallels the cruise ship channel.
The ship can carry a whopping 7,600 guests at full capacity, along with 2,350 crew, equivalent to the size of a small Australian town.
Icon of the Seas' eight different onboard "neighbourhoods" are designed to appeal to cruising's multi-generational demographics as well as passengers with different interests, including families with young kids and adults-only travellers.
The 28 different kinds of onboard accommodations range from 14-square-metre interior plus cabins, to the three-storey Ultimate Family Townhouse, with its own wraparound deck, cinema, outdoor hot tub and spiraling slide to ride between decks that averages US$100,000 ($151,000) per week.
Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, centre, currently playing for Inter Miami in the US was in on the ship's early fanfare, christening the Icon of the Seas on January 23.
Impressive feats of engineering are on display everywhere on the ship.
The Overlook Lounge, located inside the 25-metre-tall steel and glass AquaDome that crowns part of the top of the ship, has elevated seating pods.
The ship's parabolic bow — a first for Royal Caribbean — is designed to help a ship move more easily through the water and does help reduce fuel consumption and emissions, the company said.
The ship is Royal Caribbean's first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). But not everyone is impressed with that choice. The International Council on Clean Transportation said the Icon of the Seas uses engines that release methane to the atmosphere.
But a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said Icon of the Seas is 24 per cent more energy efficient than required for ships designed today.
The company plans to introduce a net-zero ship by 2035.
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