The world's largest cruise liner made its maiden voyage

The ship, operated by the Royal Caribbean Group, recently made its first of three stops, carrying approximately 8,000 passengers - twice the population of the beach town of Mahahual.

At the end of January, Icon of the Seas departed from Miami to the Caribbean after receiving the blessing of international football star Lionel Messi, who attended the mega-ship naming ceremony. This was reported by mexiconewsdaily.com.

Upon arriving in Quintana Roo, the ship was greeted by Governor Mara Lezama and several representatives of Royal Caribbean.

"The arrival of the Icon of the Seas is a testament to Quintana Roo's commitment to revitalizing cruise tourism, which has faced challenges in recent years and is now showing significant growth and development," Lezama said.

According to Governor Lezama, Icon of the Seas represents a "new era in tourism" for Quintana Roo, which is the result of "50 years" of work to elevate Quintana Roo's profile as a top travel destination.

The Icon of the Seas, which currently offers seven different week-long cruises around the Caribbean, is five times the size of the Titanic and features an indoor water park and waterfall.

The ship's Western Caribbean cruises include stops at two locations on the Mexican coast: Mahahual, where it docks at the cruise port of Puerto Costa Maya, and Cozumel. At both stops, passengers have the opportunity to disembark and enjoy the beach towns.

In 2023, 1,618 cruise ships arrived in Quintana Roo, with 462 of them making stops in Mahahual, where more than two million cruise passengers and crew arrived. The new route served by the Icon of the Seas is expected to reinforce Quintana Roo's status as a leading tourist cruise destination in Mexico.