By Hannah Sampson
Is it a dream vacation or nightmare scenario? Depictions of the world's largest cruise ship - the Icon of the Seas, setting sail in January - have the internet in an uproar.
One image especially seems to have captured the public's imagination: a rear-end view that looks like a towering layer cake topped with silly string.
"The physical manifestation of Barbenheimer," wrote one Twitter user, referring to the release of the Barbie movie and "Oppenheimer," about the development of the atomic bomb, on the same day. "Nightmare clown lasagna," wrote another.
Many invoked the Northern European painter Hieronymus Bosch, Dante's "Inferno" and hamster cages. A smattering said it looked like actual fun.
Tanner Callais, founder and editor of cruise information site Cruzely, said in an email that it's no surprise the behemoth is creating buzz.
"Looking at those renderings, I think the ship almost looks like a cartoon with the huge water park at the back," he said. "It's just unreal that something like that can be built to sail the ocean."
Whatever the impression it's leaving, cruise line Royal Caribbean International says Icon, which completed initial sea trials in June, is selling like mad.
The company reported its single largest booking day when reservations opened in October; sales have since set two more records.
The Miami-based company is no stranger to setting records: Royal Caribbean has brought several "world's largest" ships to market, notably the Oasis of the Seas in 2009, which dwarfed all others in its wake.
Additional iterations have been slightly larger than the original, and even Icon of the Seas will only be 10 feet (about 3m) longer than its closest runner-up.
Travel adviser Danny Genung, CEO of Harr Travel, said he was up in the middle of the night booking trips for clients when reservations opened. He snagged a spot on the inaugural voyage for himself.
"There's never been a ship launch like this in the industry," he said.
Here are seven stand-out stats about the ship.
1. It can hold 5 610 passengers
That's not including crew.
Crew adds another 2 350 to the total. And because ships are designed to accommodate more than two people per room with additional beds for families or groups, the total guest capacity is actually a whopping 7 600.
When Oasis of the Seas was introduced as the biggest ship in the world in 2009, its capacity at double occupancy was 5 400 guests.
The average capacity for the 44 ships being introduced between this year and 2028 is 2 749 passengers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.
2. It's nearly 365 metres long
The ship is only 10 feet (about 365m) longer than previous biggest-ship record-holders at 1 198 feet. That's the equivalent of more than three football fields or nearly four Statues of Liberty, pedestals included.
To visualize another way, the ship's length is just 52 feet shorter than the height of the Empire State Building, not including the spire.
3. It has more than five times the tonnage of the Titanic
Cruise ships are ranked according to gross tonnage, the measure of internal volume. This is where Icon of the Seas really outshines the competition, at 250 800 gross tons. The next-closest is Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, which comes in at 235 600.
To compare, the Titanic was 46 329 gross tons.
4. It has more than a dozen decks
Icon of the Seas will feature 20 decks, 18 of which are for guest use.
Those decks encompass eight "neighbourhoods," including a Central Park packed with live plants; a massive water park; a three-deck cluster of pools; a massive dome featuring a waterfall and performances and an area for families with young kids to play and eat.
The next-largest ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet, Wonder of the Seas, has 18 decks, all but two of which are for guests.
5. There's a pool for every day of the week
There will be seven pools on the ship, including a swim-up bar, suspended infinity pool and what Royal Caribbean describes as the "largest pool at sea."
Voyager of the Seas, which was the world's largest in 1999 when it launched, has three pools.
6. It has the biggest water park on the water.
Royal Caribbean is boasting that Icon will have the "largest waterpark at sea," called Category 6.
That refers to hurricane strength (which tops out at Category 5) but also the six slides on board. There's an open free-fall slide, a 46-foot drop slide, family raft slides and a pair of mat-racing slides.
"Everybody now has a waterslide or two but having a water park with six slides that would be as good on land as they are on sea, it's really unheard of," Genung said.
In a 2022 roundup of best cruise ship water parks, Cruise Critic highlights Carnival. Many of its ships offer a trio of slides.
MSC Cruises comes close to Icon's number on some of its recent ships, offering four or five slides, and the cruise site notes that some of Norwegian Cruise Line's ships have up to five waterslides.
7. There are 40 places to eat and drink yourself silly
Cruise ships have expanded their food and beverage options in recent years far beyond just a buffet, main dining room and pool bar.
Icon will offer more than 40 ways to "drink, dine and be entertained," including 15 bars and nightlife experiences and more than 20 dining options.
Restaurants on board run the gamut from an eight-course supper club experience to an all-day brunch spot to sushi and street food, a steakhouse and, yes, buffets.
Reflecting cruise passengers' appetite for variety, this total is actually on par with the current record-holder, Wonder of the Seas.
For a land-based comparison, Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas says on its website that it offers 21 restaurants and 19 bars and lounges.
Genung, the travel agency CEO, said he has clients who say the ship looks amazing but too big for them.
"You get all the scope of reactions: 'That's cool, that's crazy; I can't wait to do it, I would never want to do that,'" he said. But he said especially for multi-generational families who want to travel together, it's a great fit.
"The thing with this is it's a perfect cruise for lots at different people at different times in life," he said.