Royal Caribbean has unveiled details of the world’s largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas.
With the largest water park at sea and the first suspended infinity pool on a cruise ship, the first Icon Class vessel will set sail in January 2024.
It will also be home to a 16-metre-high waterfall, a rock-climbing wall, the company's first swim-up bar and its very own "Central Park" neighbourhood, inspired by New York City's famed urban park.
Sailing on seven-night journeys around the Caribbean from its port city of Miami, the megaship will open for bookings next Tuesday.
At 250,800 tonnes, the new ship is more than five per cent larger in volume than Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class vessels, making it the largest cruise ship in the world. Spanning more than 365 metres in length, the vessel clocks in three metres longer than the Wonder of the Seas, the current largest ship in the world.
With 2,805 staterooms, the ship's focus is family-style holidays and it has a capacity for 7,800 passengers and 2,350 crew members.
Accommodation includes an array of family staterooms, suites and the first Ultimate Family townhouse. Spanning three levels, this spacious retreat includes a slide, cinema, karaoke, huge balcony and a private entrance to the ship's Surfside family neighbourhood.
“With each new ship, we raise the bar in the travel industry while enhancing what our guests know and love,” said Jason Liberty, president and chief executive at Royal Caribbean Group.
“From the moment they step on board, every experience is specifically designed to give them the best vacation anywhere on land and at sea. With Icon of the Seas, we’ve taken this to a new level and made the ultimate family vacation.”
Six water slides and an over-the-edge rope course
Spread across eight different neighbourhoods, each of which has themed entertainment, restaurants, bars and experiences, there are five new destinations on board, plus three zones that passengers will be familiar with from other Royal Caribbean ships.
Thrill Island is where passengers will find the largest water park at sea, with six water slides including Pressure Drop, the industry’s first open free-fall slide and the 14-metre-high Frightening Bolt, which the company claims is the tallest slide on the high seas. Travellers can also tackle Crown’s Edge, part skywalk, part rope course and part thrill ride, travellers dangle on a rope 45 metres above the waves.
On the opposite end of the scale, Chill Island is where four of the ship's seven pools are found, and it's the place to unwind and catch some rays. Here, there's the cruise line's first swim-up bar, plus an adults-only pool and Cove Pool which has comfy dome daybeds and uninterrupted ocean views.
Open-air Central Park and an Instagram-friendly beach club
Central Park, an open-air neighbourhood filled with live plants, is also back on the world's largest cruise ship and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is bigger than ever.
Families will be able to make a beeline to Surfside where Splashaway Bay and Baby Bay await alongside a carousel, arcade and children's clubs. The Hideaway neighbourhood will be home to an Instagram-perfect beach club and the first suspended infinity pool at sea, hovering eight stories high.
On top of the world’s largest cruise ship is AquaDome — which by day will have its own waterfall and wraparound ocean views; by night, it will transform into the ship’s social hub with restaurants, bars and aqua shows where athletes and artists will perform in transforming pools, robotic arms and cutting-edge technology.
The ship is set to be unveiled in the UK later next year and start sailings from the US in 2024. Icon of the Seas will offer itineraries inclusive of a stop at Royal Caribbean’s private-island retreat, Perfect Day at CocoCay and the soon-to-open adults-only island Hideaway Beach. Rates have still to be announced. It is set to be larger than the cruise line's Utopia of the Seas, also set to arrive in 2024, though it is an Oasis-class ship.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
