Angry cruise passengers say frustrating issue should have been disclosed before booking

A major cruise company is under fire from guests and travelers after reportedly shutting down key attractions and not alerting guests before their voyages.

Frustrated passengers onboard Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas and Icon of the Seas have been taking to social media to complain that they were not notified that several water slides are closed.

The ships, which debuted in the last two years, are famous for their massive water parks. Located in the Thrill Island neighborhoods, the Category 6 water park areas are 17,010 square feet each. Both ships feature six slides.

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Passengers on different sailings claim that up to four water slides have been closed for months.

When Fox News Digital reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment, the company confirmed that a few slides are closed on two of the ships for maintenance. 

In August 2025, a guest aboard a Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas ship captured video of frightened passengers as water poured from a damaged section of the ship’s water slide, Fox News Digital previously reported.

At the time, the cruise line said one passenger was injured in the incident.

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"Our team provided medical care to an adult guest when acrylic glass broke off a water slide as the guest passed through the slide. The guest is being treated for his injuries," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Fox News Digital after the incident.

"The water slide is closed for the remainder of the sailing pending an investigation," the company statement continued.

The current slide closures are unrelated to the August 2025 incident, but repeated issues in the last eight months have become a topic of discussion among Royal Caribbean loyalists.

Guests on multiple sailings say several slides were out of service simultaneously, sometimes for days — limiting access to the ship’s highly advertised water park.

Several people flocked to Reddit this week to voice their frustrations.

"Last week on Icon every slide but one was closed by Thursday. Two slides never opened at all," one commenter said.

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"They advertise the slides on these ships. … I can't imagine what the kids would have been like if nothing was open. It's really a bad look," that Reddit user added.

Another Reddit user said, "The two race slides in the tower with the gravity drop were closed. The green tube slide and the yellow short one were closed as well. So basically we waited an hour and a half to ride two slides."

A third chimed in, "This is something that should be disclosed prior to sailing."

On the Royal Caribbean Blog, one passenger disagreed — citing safety concerns.

"The kids might be bummed that the water slides were closed, but better than the kids getting injured," the reader commented.

Icon of the Seas launched in January 2024 as the first Icon-class ship, featuring eight neighborhoods, seven pools and a suspended infinity pool. 

Star of the Seas debuted in August 2025. It features eight neighborhoods, more than 68 dining options and the iconic water park. 

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Alex Nitzberg of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.