When it comes to kicking back and enjoying your vacation, the last thing you usually want to do is think about the stressors in life. 

But for one Redditor and a majority of the r/Anticonsumption community, the thought of spending an entire week on the largest cruise ship in the world didn't exactly scream "vacation" to them. They engaged in a lighthearted debate regarding the ethics and environmental impact of cruise ships.  

Officially christened in January 2024, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas weighs over 250,000 gross tons and measures a mind-boggling 1,200 feet long. With room for up to 7,600 guests and 2,300 crew members, the cruise ship is able to hold more people than some small towns.

"I mean it's pretty obvious it's absolute s*** for the environment and probably violates human rights/ethics from the various sources of materials they've used, but [I] wanted to hear what other things you guys have to say about it," wrote the original poster. 

Icon of the Seas is so massive that it is divided into eight themed "neighborhoods." These sections of the ship feature numerous amenities, such as a water park with multiple water slides, a surf simulator, a mini-golf course, rock climbing, and even a suspended infinity pool. 

According to a Royal Caribbean fact sheet, the gargantuan cruise ship is equipped with six dual-fuel engines with the ability to use liquefied natural gas. Since methane is the primary component of natural gas, it is released at every stage of the LNG life cycle. As one of the most potent carbon pollutants, methane has been linked as a major contributor to rising global temperatures.    

Bryan Comer, marine program director at the International Council on Clean Transportation, spoke to CNN regarding Royal Caribbean's choice to use LNG. "Royal Caribbean's decision to use LNG is their biggest climate blunder," Comer said. 

"LNG is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it's emitted," added Comer. "The Icon of the Seas uses engines that release methane to the atmosphere in the form of 'methane slip.'" 

In the comments section of the Reddit post, most users appeared to question the reasoning behind such a large cruise ship. 

"Looks like a unicorn threw up on an oil rig," joked one commenter.  

Would you live in a city where every road was underground? Sign me up 👍 Depends on how it looks 🤔 Only if you paid me 🤑 No freaking way 👎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"I've always loved cruises but I feel like the limit to how big they can be has already passed and the Icon is way past it," noted another user. 

"You would have to pay me a lot of money to go on that thing, it's my worst nightmare," quipped a third commenter. 

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