Icon of the Seas Steps Up the Adult Entertainment

Royal Caribbean’s upcoming Icon of the Seas will be a massive game-changer for the brand. The largest ship in the world will have a 6-slide water park, more pools than ever, a dedicated family neighborhood, and so much more. Now Royal Caribbean has provided some insight into the bars and nightclubs that will be available for adults. 

New Bars for Icon of the Seas

Dueling Pianos

One of the exciting new venues that will be aboard Icon of the Seas is a Dueling Piano Bar. While other brands like Norwegian have done it before, it’s a first for Royal Caribbean and an exciting addition to the ship. Located on Deck 6 in the Royal Promenade, it will be hopping with energy and fun every night. 

All Royal Caribbean ships have the popular piano bar, the Schooner Bar, but that typically skews to older, more classic piano tunes. The Dueling Piano bar will bring a new kind of energy that a more modern piano bar needs. If you’ve ever been at a Howl at the Moon, you know the type of energy you can expect here. If you’re a fan of the Schooner Bar, don’t worry, Icon of the Seas will have one as well, just a bit further down the Royal Promenade. 

Lou’s Jazz ‘N Blues

Another new addition to Icon of the Seas, Lou’s Jazz N’ Blues, will be located at the end of the Central Park neighborhood. This small venue will have live performances of soulful classics and jazz-pop throughout the evening. Lou’s Jazz ‘N Blues will be open to the Central Park area, theoretically allowing live music to drift through while people stroll around at night. It’s a nice upgrade from the lone musicians you usually see stationed in Central Park on the Oasis-class ships in the evenings.  

Rye & Bean

Rye & Bean is a dual-purpose bar that will be open day and night. In the morning, guests can stop by for their premium coffees. However, it’s also a full-functioning bar so guests can get cocktails at night, like an espresso martini. Rye & Bean is located in the AquaDome on Deck 15.

1400 Lobby Bar

The 1400 Lobby Bar is located on the Royal Promenade directly across from the mysterious “The Pearl” attraction (we still don’t know what The Pearl will be). It gets its name from the Icon of the Sea’s shipyard number, 1400. 

The bar shows one of the most significant improvements of the Icon of the Seas…connection with the ocean. On almost all Royal Caribbean ships, the Royal Promenade is completely cut off from the outside, with no windows out to the ocean. As a result, it feels more like a mall than a cruise ship. This new bar will be on the Promenade but will feature huge windows overlooking the ocean. It’ll also feature an exit from the Royal Promenade to an outdoor promenade area, a first for Royal Caribbean. 

Bubbles 

Bubbles is a new walk-up window stationed in Central Park where guests can grab a quick drink. They’ll have glasses and bottles of champagne or sparkling wine, mimosas, and bellinis. It’ll be open from 7 am to 10 pm, so if you’re someone who gets a mid-day campaign craving, it’s the spot for you. 

The Overlook and Overlook Pods

When Royal Caribbean gave us details on the brand-new AquaDome (replacing the Solarium on Oasis-class ships), they said guests would use it both day and night but didn’t say how. Now we get a better picture of what they meant.

The Overlook Lounge in the AquaDome will be a two-level lounge with floor-to-ceiling views. Witnessing a sunset here will be an amazing experience. 

The space also has new “pods” to lounge in, but Royal Caribbean hasn’t provided a lot of information on them. The pods will hold only 52 people in total, so it’s safe to say they will be hard to get. 

Reimagined favorites for Icon of the Seas

Trellis Bar

The Trellis Bar is always a great spot to grab a drink on a quiet evening in Central Park, but it always felt a little small. The Trellis Bar on Icon of the Seas will be redesigned to be a bit bigger. It’ll also offer elegant pre-dinner appetizers. It’ll be open from 11 am to 11 pm, so it’s great for late afternoon pre-dinner drinks and snacks. 

Spotlight Karaoke

If you like karaoke, this is the place for you. Spotlight Karaoke is built specifically for karaoke with optimized sound setups, screens, and seating. 

The space gets supersized on Icon of the Seas, holding 30% more people than the Spotlight Karaoke on Wonder of the Seas. It’ll also have private karaoke rooms available (it’s not clear if there’s an extra charge for the rooms, but it’s highly likely). It’ll be on Deck 5 of the Royal Promenade right across from Sorrentos. 

Music Hall

Like its Oasis-class and Quantum-class siblings, Icon of the Seas will feature a Music Hall. This two-story venue is one of the best performance spaces at sea, lightyears ahead of performance spaces from other cruise lines. It’s perfect for powerful live performances from bands and has room for dancing and lounging. It’ll be tucked out of the way on Decks 3 and 4. 

Playmakers Sports Bar

Playmakers Sports Bar also appears on Icon of the Seas, but it’s moved from the Boardwalk neighborhood on Oasis-class ships to the end of the Royal Promenade on Deck 6. It’ll be the go-to place for watching live games while at sea and should have the same excellent bar food available (for an extra charge). 

Point & Feather

Royal Caribbean will also have a traditional “English Pub” on this ship. For some reason, they like to change the name on every ship; on Icon of the Seas, it’ll be called “Point & Feather.” Here you’ll find a variety of draught beers and traditional cocktails as well as dart games to play (for free, unlike Norwegian). 

The Attic

Royal Caribbean’s comedy club, The Attic, will also be found on the Icon of the Seas. Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean has downsized the space. It has chairs for only 159 people, only 3% of the total number of guests on the ship. That’s also 10% fewer people than the Wonder of the Seas. On Oasis-class ships, it’s incredibly difficult to get into comedy shows, and it seems it’s going to be even worse on Icon of the Seas. 

Icon of the Seas steps up the adult entertainment

One of the biggest complaints about Icon of the Seas is that it seems way too focused on children. It makes sense because Royal Caribbean has really played up the angle of the “best family vacation at sea.” However, this recent announcement shows there will also be tons for adults to do.