Icon of the Seas Archives

Aquadome Market on Icon of the Seas

This post will share photos, menus and our review of the Aquadome Market on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.

The Aquadome Market is a new concept on Royal Caribbean ships starting with Icon of the Seas. It is essentially a Food Hall, with 5 stations, each offering a different type of cuisine. It is a great alternative to the Windjammer for food options. However, it is not a self-service buffet. Each station is manned by a crew member that will serve you the items you request.

Does the Aquadome Market have an Additional Charge?

There is no additional charge for the Aquadome Market and it is included in your cruise fare. As far as drinks go, there are free drink stations at each end of the market, offering water, fruit punch, lemonade, teas, etc. There is also a drink station at the end closest to the Aquadome offering canned alcoholic beverages for an additional charge (or included in your Drink Package, if you purchased that).

Aquadome Market Location

The Aquadome Market is located on Deck Fifteen Forward Starboard side. There are three entrance/exits…one by the Aquadome, one closest to the Lime & Coconut and near the elevators. This location was super convenient while hanging out by the pool. We could grab a drink, grab some food and sit at one of the outdoor tables to enjoy the cruise breeze and atmosphere.

Aquadome Market Menus

The menus for each station can be found at each entrance, in addition to each station having their menu displayed. You could also be like us and walk all the way down to see each station and make your decision and go wherever you want. You are free to walk around and then when you’re ready, go to the station you want and get it. During busy times, there may be a little bit of a line at a certain station, but we really liked how they were individual and not one long line to go through.

Let’s pretend we’re walking in from the pool deck…follow me through each station!

Crème de la Crepe

Creme de la Crepe offers freshly made sweet and savory crepes that are prepared to order right in front of you.

Savory Crepes:

Bacon and Eggs: Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, gooey cheddar, hash brown potatoes.
Ham and Swiss: Sliced ham, melted Swiss, cheese sauce.
Roasted Vegetables: Peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, corn, and melted mozzarella cheese.

Sweet Crepes:

The Classic: Lemon zested, dusted sugar.
Salted Caramel: Sweet toffee, creamy vanilla bean custard.
Hazelnut and Bananas: Nutella chocolate spread, ripe bananas.

GNGR

At GNGR, guests choose a base of rice or noodles and then select an entrée. Vegetable Egg Rolls are also available to add to your meal.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp with Pineapple
Chicken Teriyaki with Snow Peas
Ginger Beef with Bell Peppers
Vegetable Medley Stirfry with Tofu

Mac’s Mac and Cheese

Mac’s offers a variety of macaroni and cheese options.

Pepperoni Pizza Mac: Italian pizza sauce and pepperoni with melted mozzarella cheese.
Broccoli Mac: Creamy cheddar mac with steamed broccoli.
Chili Mac: Simmering beef, bell peppers, and onion chili tops aged white cheddar mac.
Bacon Mac: Cavatappi tossed in a creamy aged white cheddar sauce topped with smoky bacon and buttery breadcrumbs.
Classic Mac: Aged white cheddar tossed with cavatappi noodles topped with buttery breadcrumbs.

Feta Mediterranean

Feta Mediterranean offers a create-your-own dining experience. Guests pick a base, a protein, toppings, and a sauce.

Bases: Herb rice, lettuce, or fresh pitas.
Proteins: Pork, chicken, or falafel.
Toppings: Red onions, feta crumbles, pickled cabbage, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers.
Sauces: Toum garlic sauce, tzatziki, hummus, Greek vinaigrette, or harissa hot sauce.

Toast & Garden

Toast & Garden offers fresh sandwiches served with a choice of side salad.

Grinder: Turkey, salami, pepperoni, lettuce slaw, tomato, and provolone cheese on a hoagie roll (available toasted).
Harvest: Melted mozzarella, roasted apples, wilted arugula on ciabatta with balsamic aioli.
Provençal: Grilled zucchini, squash, and eggplant medley on a French baguette with sun-dried tomato aioli.
Monte Cristo: Ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, egg battered and served golden brown with powdered sugar and berry jam.

Side Salads:

Caesar Salad
Watermelon & Feta Salad
Red Bliss Potato Salad

What we love about the Aquadome Market

The Location: I’m a huge fan of any food or drink location close to pool/outdoor activities. However, I did get in trouble for going in with just my swimsuit and flip-flops and was told I needed to put something else on. No, I wasn’t wet and no, it wasn’t revealing, but perhaps I missed the sign – oops! But I definitely saw others more revealing or wet, so I guess it depends on the crew member at the entrance. Just note, it may be super easy to walk from the pool to the food without much thought, but put a coverup on!

Lime & Coconut: We loved grabbing a good drink from the Lime & Coconut to go along with our meal since they are right next to each other! In fact, we preferred to eat outside anyway, so we would sit right by the L&C and it was super convenient.

Seating Availability: Honestly, we NEVER felt crowded on Icon of the Seas. Which is crazy since it was the largest cruise ship at the time. But it’s worth pointing out that we never had to walk around looking for seats with our food, which is the WORST! There is seating inside and outside, but we always walked outside and there was always plenty of options…regular tables, high-tops, loungers and even comfy couches.

The food and options: Listen, my son LOVES the Windjammer. Like doesn’t want to go anywhere else ever kind of love…especially as the kids get older and they can go get what they want without me having to help. But he asked to go to the Aquadome Market over the Windjammer every time. He would even choose the Aquadome Market as a snack, walking in and coming out with some noodles just because it was there. GNGR was his favorite! He even asked for GNGR over grabbing an ice cream cone once…GASP!

Not only did he find his favorite, but we loved having choices without going through the larger Windjammer experience. I only wish that we had a chance to try more options throughout the week. I guess that means we need to go back ASAP!

Looking for more Icon of the Seas Posts? Check them out here!

Desserted Milkshake Bar on Icon of the Seas

This post will share our review and photos from our experience trying the Desserted Milkshake Bar on Icon of the Seas.

We absolutely love the free ice cream onboard all the Royal Caribbean ships. Between the kids and I, we go through multiple cones a day.

“Can I get ice cream?” (My son an hour after breakfast, an hour before lunch, and hour after lunch, an hour before dinner)

I do miss the days when I could make my own cone. The ice cream is my favorite part and sometimes I don’t even eat the cone. So when I make my own, I pile the ice cream as high as I can. However, I understand that not everyone is as neat and efficient, so having a crew member serve everyone is probably in everyone’s best interest.

I was thrilled to see that Utopia of the Seas offers sprinkles alongside their free ice cream cone stations. The Ice Cream location is called Sprinkles, after all! I kinda don’t think it will last long, though, as I’m sure a lot gets wasted, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed for when we are on Utopia in October and January.

Since we are pretty satisfied with our free ice cream, I wasn’t sure we’d be getting anything at the new Desserted Milkshake Bar onboard Icon of the Seas. But Trent was intent on getting something at some point during our trip, and on the second to last day we brought him to pick out whatever he wanted.

Desserted Milkshake Bar Location

The Desserted Milkshake Bar is located on Deck 16 on Icon of Seas, towards the aft by the Basecamp. If you come out of the elevators and go towards the aft, it is immediately on the right. The spot is conveniently located next to other food and drinks at the basecamp, as well as all the water slides.

Desserted location Deck 16 Icon of the Seas

Desserted Milkshake Bar Menu

They offer paper menus for you to grab and peruse while inside.

There are 5 specialty milkshakes, each with an option to “make it adult” as well as some classic milkshake and float options. Royal Caribbean has “Desserted Soda Floats” included in the Refreshment Package and the Deluxe Beverage Package.

My son chose the Chocolate Castaway, but we wanted the piñata that sits atop of the Stranded Burro too….look at how cute this mini piñata is!

We asked if we could add the piñata to the top of the Chocolate Castaway and were granted our request.

They also have these cool edible straws available. I found them on Amazon in several flavors!

All of the ice cream is in a display case, along with the toppings.

There were some unique and fun toppings, as well as some I didn’t see as part of the menu, so perhaps you can get a little crazy and make your own unique milkshake.

The price is pretty standard for a specialty milkshake in a regular restaurant. But it can be little difficult to justify the “standard” price when you’re on a cruise ship where everything else is included in your fare already.

It was a decent size and, get this, he couldn’t even finish it!

The thing I like most about it is that it’s different and something fun for the kids. Icon of the Seas had a lot of new features geared towards kids and it was fun experiencing it with them. The $14 milkshake with a mini piñata on top may not be something we do often, but he looked forward to it and enjoyed the experience.

If you go, be sure to visit Marty, the very lifelike animatronic parrot at the Basecamp!

Want more Icon of the Seas food posts? Check out this one!

Icon of the Seas Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony Stateroom 9698

This post will share our review and lots of photos from our stay in a Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony Stateroom onboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas!

When we first saw all the new stateroom types on Icon of the Seas, this room stood out to us the most. Sure, we would have loved to experience a suite in order to access the suite-exclusive areas of the ship that looked incredible, but with two kids, the bunk beds were a must-try.

We were in Stateroom 9698, which is located on Deck 9 towards the aft. It was a really convenient spot near the elevators, which is always nice not having to walk a mile down the long hallways multiple times a day.

Size

Total Stateroom: 335 sq. ft. (includes 50 sq. ft. convertible balcony)

Beds

One Royal King bed (can convert into two twin-size beds)
One double sofa bed
Bunk bed with 2 twin beds

Occupancy

Up to 6 guests

Stateroom Entrance

From the hallway, there is only one door for two staterooms. This is because these rooms were designed for families, especially families staying together in connecting rooms. You use your key to open the outside door and then walk into a foyer area with the two separate doors.

The benefit here would be if the two families knew each other, they could leave these doors open. We, however, did not know the family in the other room. The outside door can actually be locked from the inside. My first thought was “What if the other family accidentally locks the outside door from the inside and we can’t get back in?” We asked our stateroom attendant and all he could say was we would have to contact guest services to be let in. Yikes! Thankfully, this never happened to us, but the way he reacted when I asked told me that it has already happened (we were only on the 9th sailing!).

Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony Chalkboards

One fun feature about this area are the chalkboards. There are two chalkboards, one next to each room. This is a good way to communicate with each other your plans and locations throughout the ship if you knew each other. Since we didn’t know each other, we just thought we wouldn’t use them. Boy, were we wrong! There were kids in the other room and they would leave questions for our kids to answer, which they did and we would ask questions back. We never saw them, but this was a fun element of the trip for the kids to be able to “chat” with them.

Speaking of chalkboards, when you enter the room, you are greeted with a large chalkboard on the wall!

Kudos to Royal Caribbean for this idea. When we first booked this room, the photos showed a scrabble wall, which sounded so much fun. When we saw they changed to chalkboards, we weren’t sure how to feel about it. We get it, I’m sure the scrabble letter blocks would have mysteriously disappeared (free souvenir?) over time. But chalk? Sounds messy. Well, we found these chalkboard markers on Amazon in multiple colors that were PERFECT!

They left no chalkboard dust and it was like the kids were drawing on the wall. Royal only provided a few white chalk bits, so we were so glad we brought these. Their designs stayed intact throughout the week and when we were walking out on the last day, we took a wet washcloth and wiped it down easily.

No THIS is my kind of To-Do list!

Family Infinite Ocean View Bunk Beds

Turning left, the bunk bed area is sectioned off with a curtain.

This was a nice feature to provide privacy and block light and sound both ways.

Each bunk has its own tv and reading light.

The top bunk has a mini curtain, which was useful when my son, who was in the top bunk, still wanted the tv on but my daughter, in the bottom bunk, was sleeping.

The bottom bunk has large drawers underneath and the steps going to the top bunk have nooks for storage. I was grateful for the extra storage and the kids liked having spots for their stuff instead of it being out with our stuff.

Behind the steps, there is a cute reading nook with a cushy stool and light. My kids didn’t really use this spot because if they were lounging, they were usually laying down on the bed.

Family Infinite Ocean View Bathrooms

Turning right after going in the door, there are two bathroom doors. Yes, TWO bathrooms! But before you get too excited, it isn’t two full bathrooms, as it is just a way to separate the toilet and the shower.

In one bathroom, there is a toilet and sink/vanity. In the other bathroom, there is a shower and additional sink/vanity. This was another genius move by Royal. How many times are you waiting for someone else to finish showering before you can go in there and get ready? Or, dare I say it, someone goes to the bathroom and you do not want to go in there after to take a shower (this can also be helped with a little Poo-pourri!). With this setup, two people can accomplish tasks at the same time, resulting in quicker rotation and increased time efficiency. Time efficiency in the bathroom means more time having fun around the ship!

Starting with the first bathroom with the toilet.

Onto the second bathroom with the shower.

The shower itself had a decent amount of room, more room than the standard room showers on other ships, in my opinion. Here’s my then 9-year old for size reference.

It’s also nice to have a ledge.

Unfortunately, this leaves little room once out of the shower. The sink/vanity in this room is tiny, so we left this for hand-washing and teeth brushing and used the sink/vanity area in the other bathroom for getting ready.

Family Infinite Ocean View Main Room

Entering the main room, on the left, there is a decently sized desk with several drawers for additional storage.

Here’s a picture of the location of the blowdryer because for some reason, every single review I saw before going made sure to feature the blowdryer as if it was some treasure chest that you have to hunt for and celebrate when found. I saved you from hunting, you’re welcome 🙂

The cooler fridge has its own compartment.

To the right, there is a couch and closet area. The couch can convert to a bed, but we never needed it and don’t have any photos of it made up that way.

The closet was a decent size, but I would have liked some shelves instead of two hanging sections. Kids for size. 😀

The bins at the bottom were great to store our shoes and random things, but they made the loudest, awful sound when pulling them in and out. We avoided putting our sneakers in there because we would need them to work out early in the morning and didn’t want to wake the kids up with the noise. My son will sleep through a tornado, but my daughter would wake up for sure.

On the side of the closet, there is a narrow shelf area. Not wide enough for anything substantial, but a nice little spot for little things.

This is also where the tiny safe is. We put a piece of paper in there for size reference. No laptops or large ipads going in here!

Walking further into the room, you’ll find the bed and tv. We had the single queen bed configuration. I don’t recall if there was a choice when we booked, but wanted to call that out.

Each bedside has a table AND USB charger spots! We always have the hardest time charging everything in most rooms. Usually only one side has a charging spot and we have to use an external battery to charge at night, but this time we could both charge our phones next to us at night.

To each side of the tv, there are corner shelf nooks, great for quick grab things that you don’t want taking up table space.

Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony

Now for the main event! The “balcony”!!

Icon of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean ship to utilize this concept. Instead of a door to get out to the open balcony, the inside area of your room is extended, with a sitting area and table, and the top portion of the window comes down to enjoy as a balcony. You can sit and enjoy the view while still in the air-conditioning.

You can enjoy a balcony without having to open and close the door.

Balcony doors can be loud. Additionally, I liked being able to enjoy the balcony features while still being with my family if they were still inside. With a standard balcony, if you are the only one out there, you can sometimes feel alone.

Don’t get me wrong, that is sometimes a good thing, but not something I always want. If you do want to be alone, you can close the curtains! We also felt like there was more privacy. You couldn’t really see in the neighboring rooms even if you leaned out as far as you possibly could. Outdoor balconies also have cracks in the separators so you can see through them, but that isn’t a factor here.

One downside is the same as leaving your door open on a regular balcony room, when your balcony window is down, the air-conditioning is off. In hotter months, it would be best to not leave it open for extended periods of time, unless you are comfortable with just the ocean breeze. During cooler months, not a problem!

The room control unit is by the stateroom entrance door. It’s a very nice new feature, but we had the stateroom attendant give us some tips, which we were glad we did because he told us something that very first day that others didn’t know and we had to share it in our Facebook Group. DO NOT use Sleep Mode! He said using sleep mode turns off the air-conditioning. Others were saying how hot the rooms were and when we told them this tip, they were so grateful! Why wouldn’t you want A/C while sleeping??

Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony Safety

The balcony felt very safe, both to operate and to have my kids around. There are buttons on the wall to operate the window. They are pretty high up, so little ones can’t reach them on their own. Also, when closing the window, if something or someone is blocking, it will stop immediately, even if you are holding it down. We had my son rest on it as if he was looking out and it would not move to close while he was there.

It was also comforting being together in the room with them still being able to enjoy the view.

Overall Thoughts on the Family Infinite Oceanview Balcony Stateroom

We absolutely loved this room! It was almost like staying in a suite with the extra space, but even in some suites we can feel cramped as our kids get bigger (why do they keep growing so fast!?) but we aren’t quite ready to start buying two connecting rooms. The bunk beds were PERFECT, both kids fit in theirs and they didn’t have to sleep together or with us, on an inflatable mattress or on an uncomfortable couch that gets rolled away every day. They had their own separate space that felt like theirs, that they could set up how they wanted without being in the way.

I’ve seen mixed reviews of this type of balcony and I can see all points as valid. Our opinion? We really enjoyed it. Can you tell?

Well, I guess everyone looks happy when they’re arriving at Coco Cay, but you get the point.

Sometimes I feel like I don’t utilize a balcony enough when we have one. That was not the case this time. Every morning, we enjoyed our post-run/walk morning coffee and grab-and-go breakfast snack in that spot before the kids woke up. It was nice being able to glance over at any random moment and see a full view of the ocean.

Would we stay in a Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony again? Absolutely, yes!

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Want more Icon of the Seas posts? Check out this one!

Icon of the Seas Windjammer Embarkation Day Lunch

This post will share our review and photos of the embarkation day lunch in the Windjammer on Icon of the Seas.

The Windjammer is Royal Caribbean’s main buffet and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is something for everyone there and a perfect place for even the pickiest of little eaters. It’s also a great place to try new things. Or you can be like my son as ask the chef for chicken tenders, who gladly makes them and brings them out to your table.

Inaugural Sailing or Season Perk?

We were on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas during its inaugural season. This was the first time we had been on a ship during it’s inaugural season and we were surprised at some of the perks. One surprise and very welcome perk was the special lunch in the Windjammer on the first day of the cruise. When we watched videos of the very first sailing and saw this extraordinary lunch buffet, we thought it would only be for the first cruise and then it would be normal by our cruise. For timing, Icon of the Seas first sailed in January 2024 and our cruise was in March 2024 during our spring break.

When we got on the ship, it wasn’t long before an employee told us to make sure we did not miss lunch in the Windjammer. We thought that was a bit much for a normal lunch so we wondered if the Windjammer was indeed still serving a “special” lunch on the first day and couldn’t wait to find out.

Mr. Washy Washy

When we arrived at the Windjammer, we were greeted with everyone’s favorite Mr. Washy Washy! The level of enthusiasm he maintains throughout each meal service is beyond my comprehension, but we absolutely loved him and definitely washed our hands because he said so.

The Windjammer Buffet on Icon of the Seas is split into two sides, so when you enter, you choose to go left or right. Don’t worry, both sides are the same. During slower times, they will close one side so they don’t have to unnecessarily maintain two full buffets for less people.

Before I get to the food, let’s first appreciate all the special decorations! Carved cheese and ice sculptures!

Icon of the Seas Windjammer First Lunch Cheese Wheel

What’s so special about the First Lunch in the Windjammer?

What makes the first lunch at the Windjammer Buffet so special is the plethora of seafood options. There are several fish options, lots of shrimp, and even lobster! Yes, even those folks that are still upset that you can only get one free lobster tail on lobster night in the Main Dining Room can grab as many lobster tails as they want here!

We have never tried crawfish before and we were going to…we each brought one back to our table but just couldn’t do it!

What else is there in the Windjammer?

Of course, there’s other non-seafood offerings too, including salad, sides and meat-carving stations.

There’s lots of bread! My son wanted to just grab all bread.

And we can’t forget about all the dessert options. I wouldn’t say there was anything overly unique and special, but there were some dishes we hadn’t seen before.

When we sail on Utopia of the Seas next, we will be in a suite and plan on taking full advantage of Coastal Kitchen. However, since it will be in its inaugural season, we will definitely choose the Windjammer for lunch on the first day if it looks like this again!

Your thoughts

Have you been on a new ship during its inaugural season? What about a very first sailing? One day, we would like to try being on the first ever sailing of a new ship!

Want to know what we’re up to? Check out the Our Cruises page!

Icon of the Seas