Business
Longboats: The longest cruise ship in the world, in context

Longboats: The longest cruise ship in the world, in context

Iconic

Royal Caribbean recently announced that its new mega cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, passed its first round of sea trials, successfully navigating the open ocean for the first time ahead of its maiden voyage in January 2024. As far as response on social media goes, however, things haven't exactly been plain sailing.

With 20 decks, 15 bars, 2,350 crew members, space for 5,600 passengers, 7 pools, a neon-heavy color scheme, 6 “record-breaking water slides, and a gross tonnage of 250,800, Royal Caribbean’s latest offering is either a “game changer” or a “hellish monstrosity”, depending on your perspective.

Longboats

The Icon of the Seas is just the latest instalment in Royal Caribbean's fleet of gargantuan cruise liners — the Norwegian company, which is actually based in Miami, has been leagues ahead of competitors when it comes to mega ships for years now. The company first began to pull away from the competition in the 90s with its range of Voyager Class ships, and they’ve been building them bigger ever since.

Royal Caribbean dominates the cruise liner game in terms of overall length, with ships occupying every one of the top 10 spots, and that’s not even including the Icon and its staggering 1,198ft (365 meter) span — more than double the length of the Washington Monument. The cruiser’s magnitude is hard to get your head around, but when laid flat, for example, the Eiffel Tower is a full 115ft shorter than the Icon.

More Business

See all Business
business

Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

business

Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

business

Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.