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The “Icon of the Seas” has 20 decks and is 365 meters long. The ship can carry 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members at full capacity.

Photo: Marco Bello / AFP

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The largest cruise ship in the world left the port of the US metropolis of Miami on Saturday evening for its first cruise.

Photo: Marco Bello / AFP

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Waterfall and ice skating rink on board: The demand for the first trip on the “Icon of the Seas” was “unprecedented,” said Royal Caribbean. Guests can choose between 40 different restaurants and bars.

Photo: Marco Bello / AFP

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Interested observers: The first cruise takes the US shipping company's ship to the Caribbean. The “Icon of the Seas” was built by the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku and runs on liquefied natural gas. The two billion dollar ship is five times larger than the Titanic.

Photo: Marco Bello / AFP

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World footballer Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates officially christened the ship on Tuesday. The shipping company advertises it as the “largest water park at sea,” with “seven pools for every mood.”

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell / AP

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Environmental organizations criticize the megaship. "If you really thought about sustainability and not about your profit, you wouldn't build a cruise ship with a capacity of almost 10,000 people," the New York Times quoted Marcie Keever from the organization Friends of the Earth as saying.

Photo: Maria Alejandra Cardona / REUTERS

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