People have one question as world’s largest cruise ship makes its grand entrance
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas cruise ship boasts a whopping 20 decks and weighs 248,663 GT
After watching the video of the huge cruise ship Icon of the Seas coming into a US harbor, everyone is wondering the same thing.
The Icon of the Seas, which is the largest cruise ship in the world, has been in the news a lot since it started its journey earlier this year. People are just amazed by how big it is!
The Royal Caribbean International ship first set sail on 27 January and constantly amazes people by the fact it’s so bl**dy massive.
The Icon is really huge, stretching 364.75 meters (1,196.7 feet) long and 66 meters (217 feet) wide at its widest spots. People like to call it a sailing city because it has a water park, a small shopping mall, and even an ice rink!
The mega ship even comes with its own waterpark. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A video recently captured the ship pulling into the Port of Miami, highlighting its incredible size for everyone to admire. This clip has been shared widely on social media, leaving most viewers amazed and wondering how such a massive ship can stay afloat in the ocean.
“How tf does this float,” one person wrote on X, while a second person added: “World’s largest Cruise Ship. Icon of the Seas, somebody tell me how does this thing manage to float.”
“You could explain it to me in a billion different ways… I still don’t understand how this thing can float,” a third person commented.
It’s true that cruise ships are built to stay upright, but when you look at a picture of the Icon of the Seas, it’s hard not to feel a little nervous about a big wave or a strong wind pushing the ship over.
Luckily, the internet is so amazing that there’s always an engineering expert around to explain things in a way that everyone can understand.
The insane height of ship leaves many people wondering how it doesn’t tip over. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In response to a tweet where someone wanted a simple explanation of how a ship stays upright and floats, an engineering student said, “The water pushes up on the ship with a force that matches the weight of the water the ship moves out of the way. Since the ship is really big, it moves a lot of water, which makes a strong force pushing it up.”
They explained that the bottom of the ship doesn’t have to be deep in the water. “The ship just needs to dip a little to stay afloat. The waterline shows where the ship sits, and everything below that pushes water aside, which creates the lift that keeps it on top.”
The icon of the seas
— Spellbinding Odyssey (@SpellOdyssey) March 14, 2024
Incredible entrance to Port Miami
🛂 Cruiseshipsailings pic.twitter.com/631lhIlVwe
Some parts of the ship, like the hull, are really heavy, but because most of the ship is empty inside, the whole thing is less dense than water. This is why such a huge ship can float easily on the surface.
The Icon of the Seas is totally safe for sailing across the oceans, even if it seems super huge!
Featured Image Credit: X/@TheFigen_
