Forget the multiple environmental crises that threaten the future of the planet, the wars and misery that strike millions of human beings. Time will be for uninterrupted wonder on the cruise ship Icon of the Seasthe largest in history, which will make its maiden voyage in six months with more than 5,600 passengers who have all already reserved their seats.
This first week-long cruise, which will shuttle between Miami and the Caribbean, will be followed by dozens of others in 2024 alone. The multinational Royal Caribbean is also basing great profit ambitions on this ship “ revolutionary,” in the words of one of the company’s executives, Jay Schneider. With the promise of ‘the world’s best family vacation’ and ‘the time of a lifetime many times a day’, all in an environment ‘you never thought possible’.
Everything about this giant of the seas is surreal, as evidenced by the images that are already circulating, including that of its first sea trial, successfully carried out at the end of June.
The ship is over 365 meters long and weighs 250,000 tons, five times that of the titanic. However, it hardly exceeds three meters Wonder of the Seascompleted in 2022 and which also belongs to Royal Caribbean, which also owns the 10 largest cruise ships in the world.
THE Icon of the Seas will be able to bring an average of 5,600 passengers on cruise, but up to 7,600 at maximum occupancy capacity, not counting the 2,350 crew members.
These vacationers will be able to take advantage of 40 restaurants, seven swimming pools, the largest floating water park in the world and its many water slides, an ice rink, a surfing simulation pool, sites for practicing sports , a performance hall, an aquatic theatre, a casino, bars, various games rooms for children and teenagers, but also an area called “Central Park” and endowed with trees and plants. All this spread over twenty decks.
excess
THE Icon of the Seas wonderfully illustrates an industry that thrives on excess, according to Yves-Marie Abraham, professor in the management department at HEC Montreal. “The choice of the ship’s name seems excellent to me. This boat is truly the icon of the tourist industry today: a destructive and obscene monster, which feeds on all that remains of a little exotic in our world and on our rightful need to escape. an alienating and harassing daily life. It’s a caricature of this industry in general,” he argues.
“It’s a symbol of unbridled capitalism that represents everything that should not be done in terms of economic development,” adds Luc Renaud, professor in the department of urban and tourism studies at UQAM.
Same story on the side of his colleague Alain Adrien Grenier. “This ship tells us that the industry is out of touch with the reality of the environmental crisis, which would mean turning to smaller scale tourism. Before the pandemic, we decried overtourism and even if many believed that the pandemic was going to bring us back to better values, I did not believe it. That’s what we’re seeing right now: we’re going back to where we were before,” he explains.
Royal Caribbean assures that its new flagship is in a class of its own when it comes to reducing environmental impacts, since it does not run on heavy fuel oil, unlike the hundreds of giants of the seas which produce more greenhouse gases, in more polluting the air breathed by cruise passengers but also by the citizens of the cities where they stop.
THE Icon of the Seas is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel that will be mainly extracted in the United States through the use of fracking — a process that also releases significant amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas — , recalls Anna Barford, spokesperson for the environmental group Stand.earth.
consumerism
Environmental issues do not weigh very heavily in the balance anyway when making a reservation, at a base rate of $2,500 for seven days (up to $75,000 for the most luxurious suite), underlines Alain Adrien Attic. “It’s not just the industry that’s out of touch, but also a large part of the public, which is drawn to the spectacular and the social status of success. We therefore want to partner with the largest ship in the world, which represents novelty and the cutting edge of entertainment, at any cost, but especially at the cost of the environment. »
“Everything is done in the experience of the ship so that the citizen disconnects from reality. The ecological claims are there before the trip, to attract people and allow them to face their contradictions by thinking that the ship is at the forefront of technology. But it looks like a form of greenwashing,” adds this specialist in environmental issues related to tourism.
“Sustainable cruise tourism does not exist. It’s impossible, even if we say that there is no plastic straw and that the fuel is less polluting, ”also insists Luc Renaud. Not only does this type of tourism promote consumerism of all kinds, but these cruises generate significant amounts of waste, underwater noise pollution and waste water discharged into the sea after treatment on board.
An opinion shared by Yves-Marie Abraham, specialist in issues of decline. “This ship is one of those perfect devices to ensure that holidays remain above all a time of consumption, this consumption of goods on which growth societies rely to a large extent today, and which they must therefore stimulate and provoke in any way possible. That is to say that it does not actually offer any real escape outside our world. »
Mr. Renaud also argues that the claims of companies on the reduction of environmental impacts will be largely canceled out by the growth of the sector, which garnered revenues of more than 20 billion dollars last year.
From 30 million passengers annually in 2019, before the shock of the pandemic, we should increase to more than 40 million within five years, according to data put forward by the industry. To meet demand, around 100 new ships will be launched around the world. “Tourism is a reflection of society, so tourism will not change if society does not change”, summarizes Luc Renaud.