‘Biggest, baddest’ – but is it the cleanest? World’s largest cruise ship sets sail

Claims that Icon of the Seas, the vast new ship described as ‘human lasagne’, runs on clean fuel have been labelled greenwashing as LNG’s methane emissions are a more potent climate gas than CO₂

The largest cruise ship in the world, which embarks on its first commercial voyage from Miami on Saturday, was launched amid a fanfare of superlatives. Longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, the Icon of the Seas towers 20 decks above the waves, can accommodate more than 7,000 passengers and crew, and, at a quarter of a million gross tonnes, could swallow five Titanics for breakfast.

Coloured slides on its upper deck mark out “Thrill Island”, the largest waterpark at sea, and it boasts a 17-metre (55ft) indoor waterfall. The president of Royal Caribbean, Jason Liberty, told reporters it was the “biggest, baddest ship on the planet”, though it quickly became known on social media as “human lasagne”.