Lionel Messi gave the world’s biggest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, a strange name while he and his Inter Miami teammates showed off the team’s new away kit sponsor.
Messi, his friends, and the world’s second-largest cruise line operator held a ceremony at the Port of Miami on Tuesday to name the new ship. The ship will officially set sail for the first time this weekend.
At 1,198 feet, it is the longest ship in the world. It did, however, cost $2 billion to build, which paid for 20 floors that could hold up to 7,600 people and weigh 250,800 gross tons.
Messi, who has won the World Cup and the Ballon d’Or eight times, was the main attraction at the event. He put a soccer ball on top of a stand to “start” the custom of breaking a champagne bottle against the bow of the ship, which is meant to bring luck to the ship and its passengers.
The Argentine, who is 36 years old, later called it a “privilege.”
He said in Spanish, “It’s an honor for me and I know what it means for the city of Miami and the whole world.” “This ship will be called Icon of the Seas.” God bless you and everyone who is going to sail with her.
CEO and President of Royal Caribbean International Michael Bayley said, “We built the biggest and baddest ship in the world.” It’s exciting to add a new type of ship, but it’s even more exciting when it looks like it was made just right.
The company says there are many ways to have fun on board, such as seven swimming pools, six water slides, the world’s biggest waterfall, the tallest water slide, and the largest waterpark at sea.
There are also new ideas on the Bahamas-registered liner. There is a “Aquadome,” a diving and performance space under a glass dome on top of the ship; “The Pearl,” a structure designed as a moving work of art on a thoroughfare; “Absolute Zero,” an ice rink; “Surfside,” a family neighborhood; “The Hideaway,” a beach club with the first suspended infinity pool on any ship; “Thrill Island,” the largest waterpark at sea with six different water slides; and “Swim & Tonic,” the largest swim-up bar at sea.
The team showed off its new black kit for the 2024 season earlier at an event on the ship that took place in a theater. Messi and his friends took off their pink zippered sweatshirts to show off their black jerseys. The Royal Caribbean logo was sewn across the chest in the team’s traditional pink color.
In the middle of this week, Messi and Inter Miami will leave for Saudi Arabia and play two games next week as part of their international preseason trip. First, on January 29, they play Al-Hilal. The next day, on February 1, they play Al Nassr, whose star player is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been Messi’s competitor for a long time.
But Ronaldo’s health is very much in doubt. Two games that were supposed to happen this week in China for Al Nassr had to be canceled because Ronaldo was having “physical issues.” He is said to have hurt his calf and could take two weeks to heal.
That could mean that Ronaldo vs. Messi doesn’t happen. At a news gathering in China, Ronaldo told fans he was sorry for their injuries and that they were out of his control.
