Royal Caribbean just took delivery of a cruise ship so big it can hold nearly 10,000 people. Really

It's official: There's a new record-setting giant in the cruise world.

Royal Caribbean on Monday took delivery of Icon of the Seas — the new world's largest cruise ship — from the Finnish shipyard that has been building it for nearly three years.

At 250,600 tons, the much-awaited new vessel is the first in a new series of ships at the line that will be bigger than anything seen before.

Icon of the Seas is, notably, more than 6% bigger than the current size leader among cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's 1-year-old Wonder of the Seas. It's able to hold up to 7,600 passengers — a new record for a passenger ship.

Add in 2,350 crew, and it could sail at times with nearly 10,000 people on board — a new all-time record for a ship.

"Welcoming Icon of the Seas to the Royal Caribbean family is a remarkable accomplishment years in the making for thousands of innovators, engineers, architects and designers," Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean president and CEO, said in the wake of the delivery of the ship from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. "Seven years ago, we had an ambitious idea to create the first vacation truly made for every type of family and adventurer; now, it's in our hands, and in this final stretch, we'll bring it all to life for the biggest debut in our history in January."

The Meyer Turku shipyard is one of the only shipyards in the world big enough to construct a vessel of Icon of the Seas' size.

Sailings begin in January

The first sailing of Icon of the Seas with paying passengers is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2024, out of Miami.

The ship will be based in Miami year-round for seven-night voyages to the Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean. It'll rotate between four different itineraries that visit such destinations as St. Thomas; St. Maarten (the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin); Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

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Related: Peek inside Icon of the Seas under construction

Every sailing of Icon of the Seas also will include a stop at Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Cruising fans are particularly excited about the arrival of Icon of the Seas as it will mark the first time a cruise line has launched a new class of ship that will eclipse all others in size and amenities in 15 years. The last time that happened was in 2009 when Royal Caribbean unveiled its much-ballyhooed Oasis Class of vessels.

The Oasis Class included the previous size leader in the cruise world, Wonder of the Seas.

Icon of the Seas size and features

Icon of the Seas boasts 18 passenger decks — two more than Wonder of the Seas.

It's also longer than Wonder of the Seas, by a tad. It measures 1,198 feet long — 10 feet longer than Wonder of the Seas.

But its biggest difference may be in the number of passengers it holds. Its maximum capacity of 7,600 is about 7% higher than Wonder of the Seas' maximum capacity of 7,084 passengers.

The bigger passenger capacity is in part due to the ship's greater focus on family travelers. Icon of the Seas was built with a lot more cabins that have plenty of extra bunks to accommodate families with many children. It also has more amenities geared to families, including a new-for-the-line outdoor "neighborhood" called Surfside, dedicated to families with young children.

Related: TPG's ultimate guide to Icon of the Seas

Surfside, notably, features splash areas for babies and kids, pools and lounge spaces for parents, family-friendly eateries and shops, and a bar with "mommy and me" matching mocktails for kids and cocktails for grownups.

Icon of the Seas also features the largest water park ever built on a cruise ship, with a record six decktop waterslides.

In all, the ship offers eight neighborhoods, as Royal Caribbean calls distinct areas of its bigger ships themed around specific activities. Five are new to Icon, and three are returning from the line's last series of giant ships, the five-vessel Oasis Class.

Icon of the Seas is just the first of three sister ships Royal Caribbean has on order for delivery by 2026 that will make up its new Icon Class. The line also has one more Oasis Class ship on order for delivery in 2024.

The arrival of the Icon Class is one of the biggest stories in the cruise world in more than a decade — on a scale with the debut of the Oasis Class in 2009.

Royal Caribbean's first Oasis Class ship, Oasis of the Seas, began sailing in 2009. The line added additional Oasis Class vessels in 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2021, with each of the vessels being a little bigger than the last.

Ranging from 226,838 to 235,600 tons, the five Oasis Class ships are, in turn, more than 10% bigger than any other cruise vessels afloat.

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