For most surfers, the waves created naturally by Mother Nature pack enough of a thrill – but one professional surfer was looking for something more extreme.
Ben Gravy, a professional surfer and online personality, travelled to Miami, Florida, over President’s Day Weekend to catch the waves created by the wake of Royal Caribbean’s massive Icon of the Seas.
Over that weekend, the mega-ship was in the port on February 15, 2025, to disembark a 7-night Eastern Caribbean sailing and embark on a new 7-night Western Caribbean voyage.
“This could be the biggest moment of my novelty career. Right here, in front of our eyes people, she is coming in hot. The Icon of the Seas, biggest cruise ship in America,” Gravy excitedly said to kick off a YouTube video documenting his endeavor.
With a maximum guest capacity of 7,600 guests and coming in at 250,800 gross tons, the Icon-class flagship is currently the largest in the world – not just the United States.
Gravy’s 206,000 YouTuber subscribers got to watch as the surfer performed the stunt – which took place just outside of PortMiami’s harbor. Swimming (and surfing) is prohibited inside of the cruise port for safety reasons.
As the massive mega-ship sailed into view, Gravy excitedly, and perhaps somewhat nervously, watched her approach – even comparing her to the Death Star from the “Star Wars” franchise and singing the tune of “The Imperial March” as he took in her size from the water below.
As the ship approached, she sounded her horn and the waves around Gravy grew visibly larger and choppier – even with the vessel sailing at a relatively slow speed.
Before long, the cruise ship’s wake had created large enough waves for the influencer to get up on his board.
“That was nuts…Dude, I was standing in ankle deep water and that was a head-high wave. I can’t believe it,” the athlete told his support team when it was all said and done.
While Gravy’s goal was to surf in Icon of the Seas’ wake, he did a couple practice runs using MSC Seascape and Norwegian Bliss – which sailed by first. Carnival Horizon was also in the port that day, but the YouTuber didn’t surf behind it.
Watch Gravy surf Icon of the Seas’ wake – as well as his warm-up rides – below:
A Risky – But Impressive – Stunt
As surfing the wake of a massive cruise ship is not something you see every day, Gravy’s fans were naturally impressed and intrigued.
“I really enjoyed watching that, from a 40 year old Skater & Snowboarder in New Zealand. Mahalo,” one person commented on his video.
“You really outdid [yourself] this time Mr. Gravy,” another piped up. “That was sick.”
Read Also: Can a Rogue Wave Sink a Cruise Ship?
However, let me be the first to say not to try what Gravy pulled off at home, in PortMiami, or really any other cruise port around the world.
As a professional surfer, the New Jersey resident has years of experience catching waves and was supported by a qualified team that was out on the water with him.
He has also pulled similar stunts on a smaller scale, as he went on a mission to surf the biggest and best ferry wave in 2024.
But cruise ship wakes are no joke, and Gravy could have been seriously harmed if something went wrong.
In January of this year, for example, a couple and their dog had to be rescued after their personal boat got caught in a cruise ship’s wake and sank near Florida’s Port Tampa Bay.
It’s not clear which ship the couple got too close to, but Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas were in Florida’s Port Tampa Bay that day – and both are quite a bit smaller than the 2024-launched Icon.
Radiance of the Seas can sail with up to 2,466 passengers, while Enchantment of the Seas can accommodate 2,370 cruisers – which isn’t even half of the capacity onboard Icon of the Seas.
Considering the wake of these smaller vessels was strong enough to sink a boat, one can only imagine what the wake produced by the world’s largest ship could do to a person in the wrong circumstances.
