Why is the world's largest cruise ship holding 10,000 people called 'monster'?

The Icon of the Seas superyacht, preparing for its maiden voyage in January 2024, has incredible specifications: nearly 365m long (Titanic 269m), weighs 250,800 tons, is 65m wide, has a total of 20 floors and a maximum capacity of nearly 10,000 people including passengers and crew.

However, when images of the stern of the cruise ship went viral in July, they caused mixed reactions, with many people pointing out the ship’s bright colors, large water park, and record-breaking water slides stacked on top of each other…

Superyacht stern

Not everyone found it interesting. Many called the ship a “monstrosity,” a “heap of decadence,” and one person suggested a better name for the superyacht: “Icon of Morbidity,” “extremely untidy, vulgar,” and compared it to “being stuck on a floating Walmart” or “a stack of barely balanced plates; chaotic, messy, possibly precarious.”

Some even juxtaposed the yacht with images of hell, noting its resemblance to the works of Hieronymus Bosch, the Dutch Renaissance painter known for his intricate hellish landscapes. Others made more contemporary cultural references, saying the ship looked like a Candy Crush version of the dark underworld in "Silo," a TV show in which humanity survives the apocalypse by retreating into an underground city hundreds of stories deep.

But what is it about that image of the ship that evokes such negative emotions?

The ship's design faces mixed reactions from public opinion.

Tom Davis, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama, told CNN : The photo of the cruise ship gives the impression of a short, tall ship piled high on rough seas, even though the ship is actually very long.

“For some people, a ship of this size with so much stuff on it can be a lot of fun, without getting bored. But for others, it's just too much to take in all at once,” he analyzed.

“The fear of social situations, open water, small spaces is the issue. Then this photo will trigger memories of everything from news stories about Covid-19 to movies like Titanic,” he added.

According to Adam Cox, a psychologist and expert on phobias, the general description of the Icon of the Seas as being “five times the size” of the Titanic may suggest a potentially larger disaster, especially after the recent tragedy with the submersible Titan. “This triggers a desire to protect to prevent a similar tragedy,” he said.

The ship was compared with negative words.

But Ross Klein, a sociologist at Memorial University of Newfoundland and a tourism expert, said the ship's design was a natural progression for Royal Caribbean, the Miami-based cruise line that owns the ship. "It's an extension of what they've been doing for the last 25 years with their cruise ship design."

The ship's upper decks also create a sense of claustrophobia in some people, he said, as they see the ship as a place where thousands of people are trapped, rather than enjoying their vacation. "For others, the candy-like colors make the ship look like a toy, leading to questions about safety that would not arise; if the ship were more neutral in color, it would be different," he added.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson, when contacted by CNN , did not comment on the response to this specific image, but said that since the Icon of the Seas was revealed in October 2022 there has been an "incredible response," resulting in the largest number of pre-bookings in the company's history when it went on sale.

Some trips have already sold out, with prices starting at around $2,000 per person for a seven-day cruise, making it a money-maker. “That ship will bring in $10 million a week,” a company representative said.

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