Inside new record-breaking mega cruise ship with ice rink and huge waterpark
There will also be some brand new food stations available, including the AquaDome Market, serving smoky pulled pork and beef brisket, Southeast Asian regional favourites such as pad thai and panang curry and South American staples including empañadas and arepas.
Royal Caribbean's speciality Lincoln Park Supper Club is also being refreshed, serving intimate meals with live entertainment in a 1930s Chicago-inspired setting.
Michael Bayley, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean, said: 'We're incredibly proud to welcome Star of the Seas to the Royal Caribbean family as we continue to revolutionise how families and adventurers vacation.
"It's a true team effort with so many talented individuals coming together to make the new Icon Class vacation a reality, and we're excited to debut this incredible achievement with a star-studded celebration this August.'
The ship has space for 5,610 passengers in regular rooms and up to 7,600 when fully booked and there are 20 decks, and around 2,350 crew members are expected to work onboard.
After almost two years of construction costing two $2billion, the Icon class ship was handed over to Royal Caribbean at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. It started construction in February 2023 and completed sea trails in May 2025.
A ceremony was held at the Finnish shipyard with more than 1,250 crew members and partners to honour the team of engineers, designers and architects who built the ship and helped install key features such as the 327-ton glass-and-steel AquaDome and the six unique waterslides.
Star of the Seas will now make its way from Turku to Cadiz, Spain, where Royal Caribbean will add some finishing touches before its August debut in Port Canaveral, Florida, when new godmother Diana Ross will christen it.
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Telegraph
19 hours ago
- Telegraph
‘I earn over £100k but travel the world on a shoestring – here's how'
With a six-figure salary and a three-bedroom London flat, Maria Lagutina seemingly has little need to be thrifty. But the 43-year-old swears by travelling the world on a budget, using home swapping websites which allow her to stay in strangers' houses for free. Maria, who works for NatWest, has travelled to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Kent via home swapping agreements – and she claims to have saved as much as £15,000 in less than a year. 'I feel like we're holidaying now like people who have much higher salaries than us,' she says. 'We're being given an opportunity to holiday in a way that richer people don't think about.' Maria is part of a growing generation of Henrys (high earner, not rich yet) who earn six-figure salaries, yet find their cash swallowed up by high living costs every month. Such workers, who were once known for their aspirational lifestyles, are increasingly looking to cut back – especially on luxuries such as travel. Enter home swapping. The deal allows travellers to stay in someone else's property for free while also opening up their own, again for free. The idea was popularised by the 2006 film, The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as two characters who switch homes for Christmas. It has gained greater traction in recent years as families look to take more holidays per year while also grappling with the increasing cost of travel. In the 12 months to August 2024, British holidaymakers took an average of 3.9 trips per person, according to ABTA, up from the 3.4 holidays taken the year before. Meanwhile, a survey by consumer body, Which?, found the price of a package summer holiday in 2025 is now £50 per person more expensive than last year. Home swapping has also been praised for minimising the effect on local communities as the home is already in use, so it doesn't lead to local anger linked to second homes. But, for Maria, who originally hails from Russia, the biggest advantage is how much money she saves. She earns more than £100,000 a year, but still has a £400,000 mortgage on her £750,000 flat in Greenwich, south London. She claims she and her partner, Oleksandr Chudinov, 41, have been able to take more lavish breaks by using the home swapping website, Kindred. The site works on a 'credit' system. For every night a homeowner hosts a traveller in their property, they earn one credit, which allows them a onenight stay in somebody else's home. All properties hold the same value, regardless of whether it's a studio flat in London or a 10-bed villa in Mallorca. Home swappers do not necessarily stay in each other's properties, like in The Holiday. Instead, owners put their properties on the website and choose for themselves where they want to visit. The couple typically let out Oleksandr's mortgaged townhouse in the Amsterdam suburbs while they are travelling. They first began home swapping when Maria took part in the Chicago Marathon last year. The average cost for overnight accommodation in Chicago in September 2023 was $305 (£227), according to Statista. It meant that a week's hotel cost alone would have been $2,135 (£1,590) – and that may have been further inflated due to the popularity of the marathon. Maria says: 'It was a flat, but it was downtown Chicago and the architectural style was that of older town houses with wooden staircases. 'There would have been no chance we could have rented that if it had been on the open market. It would have been too expensive.' After a week, they flew to San Francisco where they also stayed in a home swap property, before renting a car and driving to Los Angeles with friends. In total, they spent 17 nights in the US and estimated it would have cost them a minimum of £12,000, excluding flights, had they not home swapped. Over the last 10 months, they have taken seven trips totalling 43 nights. Their travels have included a staycation to Penshurst in Kent and a week-long stay in Majorca in a four-bed villa, which would have cost them at least £300 a night. The pair also went to Reynès in France this year too but paid for that holiday. Oleksandr, who is on a break from a 15-year career in corporate banking, said: 'I feel like it gives us more opportunity to travel. If you are willing to open your house to other people, the world is much bigger to you. 'But in a way you are paying for it by hosting guests. You still have your own costs in terms of a mortgage. In the past, we'd have double costs – you'd pay a hotel and at the same time your house would be empty but you'd still be paying your rent.' Home swappers should be aware of increasing regulatory red tape which means they could attract a bill from the taxman. Rules enshrined in the 2016 Budget by the then-Conservative government mean that non-monetary property income can still be taxed. This means home swappers may be liable for a bill, depending on the estimated value of the stay they received in return for letting out their property. Lindsey Wicks, of Tax Policy at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, says: 'Casual letting of property counts as a taxable property business. So even if a person doesn't receive money for letting out their property, they are taxable on the equivalent of the value received – in this case the value of staying in another property. 'If these home swapping transactions are done on a small scale, there may be no tax to pay.' Homeowners can earn up to £1,000, or equivalent, tax-free from renting their property. Wicks recommends that anybody who thinks the value of their home swapping stays exceed £1,000 should contact HMRC. She adds: 'Taxpayers should also be aware that online platforms have obligations to report details of goods and services to tax authorities where transactions exceed certain limits.' A spokesman for Kindred said it encouraged home swappers to seek guidance from qualified tax advisers if they have questions about their situation.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
These are the cities where college graduates are actually landing jobs
Landing a job after graduating college can be daunting — knowing where to look for one can help. Amid a volatile economy, a tough job market and a trend of AI eliminating some entry-level jobs, New York City and Chicago may not be the best places to job hunt. Smaller cities and their surrounding areas can serve as a great place to find a new gig, new research from payroll services company ADP suggests. The job market in Raleigh, North Carolina's metro area ranked at the top of the list in terms of annual wages, hiring rates, and affordability, the study found. To rank each place, the study analyzed the annual wages of 140,000 people in their 20s, the cost of living in 55 U.S. metro areas with at least 1 million residents, and how often people in their 20s with a bachelors degree were hired within the last 12 months compared to the number of people employed in those jobs. The metro areas of Raleigh, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Austin, and Birmingham, Alabama claimed the top five spots. Raleigh, Baltimore and Austin, for example, are saturated with technology, health and financial firms, Ben Hanowell, ADP Research's director of people analytics, told the Wall Street Journal. Each of these five regions boast hiring rates of 2.8 percent or greater; Raleigh has a hiring rate of 4.2 percent, the highest of all locations analyzed. The so-called Research Triangle has been providing an influx of new jobs at nearby universities. 'We've seen this stream of office projects over the last 18 months, and North Carolina State University and some of our private colleges are all supplying this great pipeline of workers,' Kyle Touchstone, director of Raleigh Economic Development, told the Journal. Jordin Young, who graduated in 2024 from Bowdoin College, told the outlet that he took a job in Raleigh despite just knowing one person who lived there. 'I knew I wanted to explore a new city,' Young told the Journal, noting he appreciates the city's social scene, affordability, and accessibility to parks. The promising finds come as the nation's unemployment rate lingers at 4.1 percent, but jobless rates for recent grads hovers at 7.3 percent. 'There's a lot more great people than there are great jobs,' Susan De La Vega, a senior vice president at global consulting firm Korn Ferry, told the outlet. The study also looked at locations that were affordable with robust hiring but offered lower wages. These included the metro areas of Tucson, Arizona, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Cleveland, Ohio. Then there are the more expensive cities that offer high wages, but work is harder to find. Places around Boston, San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey offer high-paying jobs, but have low hiring rates.
Western Telegraph
a day ago
- Western Telegraph
We stayed at the newly renovated Imperial Hotel, Tenby
The clifftop Imperial is a stunning listed building that has been a hotel for 120 years, opening in 1905. It closed as owners Shearings Hotels went into administration during lockdown, but bounced back strongly in the summer of 2021 as part of the Coast & Country Hotel Collection. (Image: Western Telegraph) Last year it was sold to Crest Hotels and since then has undergone an extensive renovation, reopening in April. (Image: Western Telegraph) The hotel now offers 52 refurbished bedrooms and the newly renovated Essence restaurant. (Image: Western Telegraph) The kids and I arrive on a sunny afternoon and head through the be-foliaged entrance way to reception where we are given a warm welcome. Our room is situated on the third floor at the front of the hotel and when we open the door all three of us gasp. The room is well-appointed, beautifully furnished and facing out to sea. (Image: Western Telegraph) Sweeping open the net curtains reveals an uninterrupted sea view over to Caldey Island and miles and miles of beautiful blue sea- it is stunning and truly good for the soul. The room is equipped with some big brand appliances, Smeg mini fridge with welcoming soft drinks inside, Smeg kettle and Dyson hairdryer. (Image: Western Telegraph) A sumptuously comfy double bed and sofa bed await. The ensuite is equipped in gleaming white with double sinks, bath and a shower, all spotless. (Image: Western Telegraph) Tenby-inspired art adorns the walls and we really like the beach-themed carpet. The room is probably better suited for a couple with a child rather than an adult and two kids. It is set up for two people in terms of cups and glasses and we draw straws over who will share the double! (Image: Western Telegraph) On the terrace below, the Tenby Rocks party is in full swing, a Saturday afternoon shenanigan featuring a DJ blasting out Ibiza classics, with cocktails on the terrace. When I pop back down to reception, the floorboards are reverberating under my feet and the older couple checking in look a bit concerned. The music dies down just after six and the girls in their miniskirts and bikini tops and boys in bucket hats head elsewhere. (Image: Western Telegraph) Once the terrace is restored to tranquillity, it is a truly lovely place to be. Nestled into the ruins of the old town walls with sweeping views over South Beach and out to sea, it's the perfect place for a drink in the sun. (Image: Western Telegraph) After settling in, we head to South Beach, a mere few minutes' walk away, and spend a delicious time in the sea. Back at the hotel, we scrub up for dinner in the hotel's Essence restaurant where we have a sea view table - it is a bit like being on a boat with nothing but the sea beyond us. (Image: Western Telegraph) For our starters we order the Tenby Bay Basket to share, two mini baskets of deep-fried deliciousness with a small salad and garlic and thermidor dips. There are cries of 'I'm obsessed' and 'can we have this every week' as we tuck into the baskets of lobster tail, crayfish, tiger prawns , mussels , shrimp and cockles. For my main, I order the herb-crusted sea trout with confit potatoes, samphire and a white wine and laverbread sauce. There are no herbs, but the sea trout (or sewin) is very nicely cooked, just on the verge of rare without being slimy. The salty samphire sets it off nicely but the laverbread in the sauce makes the whole dish a little too salty. I swipe the tween's uneaten salad and the pea shoots balance out the saltiness. (Image: Western Telegraph) The tween has an Imperial chicken burger with extra bacon and proper chips. He particularly likes the dressing and wolfs the lot down saying it's 'an orchestra of flavour in my mouth'. The teen orders pulled crab and lobster pappardelle, ribbons of pasta in a crab and lobster bisque topped with a lobster tail. She is a bit perplexed as to the absence of cherry tomatoes as they are on the menu, but enjoys the pasta and the succulent lobster flesh. (Image: Western Telegraph) We chose our puddings and wait for someone to take our order and wait …. and wait. The restaurant staff are also taking drinks out to a very busy terrace. Eventually I catch the barman's eye and he sends the manager over. We order a chocolate brownie bomb and a Cointreau and orange crème brûlée, only to be told the kitchen has closed. The dessert disaster is somewhat saved by two bowls of ice cream and an affogato. I would have liked to have tried that crème brûlée though. After dinner, we head out through Tenby's bustling evening streets and catch live music at a venue or two before making our way back. We are grateful for the air conditioning in the room and are lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves as the Buck moon reflects in the sea. (Image: Western Telegraph) The next morning, we are in the sea before breakfast, the tide is high but there is a scrap of sand at the beach by the Paragon with only a couple of people on it. The sand is golden, the water clear and I have that real 'on holiday' feeling. It's bliss. (Image: Western Telegraph) Back at the hotel and we find out that check out isn't at ten, as written on the guest info, but at eleven. What a relief! This gives us time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. At Essence there is a buffet with cereal, yoghurt and fruit, pastries and toast as well as a hot menu to order from. (Image: Western Telegraph) After a delicious bowl of yogurt, raspberries and granola (why had I never thought of adding seeds and walnuts to mine at home? Yummy!), we order a full Welsh, scrambled eggs and salmon and eggs royale. (Image: Western Telegraph) All are perfectly-proportioned, not too big to overwhelm but big enough to set us up for the day. (Image: Western Telegraph) The Welsh breakfast is well presented and not at all greasy, there is no laverbread with it - which is a shame as I was looking forward to it - and the poached eggs, though looking gorgeous, were a bit overcooked. However, those are my only niggles and the salmon and eggs in both their breakfast manifestations were very well received. (Image: Western Telegraph) Once packed, the staff kindly say that we can leave our bags at the hotel and we divide a few more jolly hours between the beach and the terrace before heading home. So what of the Imperial? Well, it still needs a couple of tweaks in the kitchen and restaurant, but it's in a cracking spot with unparalleled views, it is child and dog-friendly, the staff are lovely and the rooms gorgeous. I'm still a bit unsure about the incongruity of the Ibiza party on the terrace, but it is only on a Saturday afternoon and finishes early enough. Maybe next time I will have to ditch the mummy dungarees, put on a mini skirt, order a cocktail and join in! (Image: Kayak PR) To stay at the Imperial Hotel, Tenby, visit linked above.
