Royal Caribbean Cruises: Ships, Prices & Deals

Who Royal Caribbean is for

Royal Caribbean International is the biggest brand in Royal Caribbean Group, the Miami-based company that also owns Celebrity Cruises and the luxury line Silversea. Royal Caribbean is the group's mass-market, high-energy brand: the ships are built as resorts with water slides, surf simulators, climbing walls, ice rinks and Broadway-style shows.

That makes it a natural fit for families with children, multi-generation groups and anyone who wants the ship to be the destination. The kids' program, Adventure Ocean, runs on every ship. If you want quiet decks and a slower pace, Celebrity is the calmer sister brand, and true small-ship luxury sits with lines on our luxury cruise lines list.

Two other things define the line. Most Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries call at Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line's private island in the Bahamas. And short cruises are a big part of the schedule: 222 of the 600 sailings we track in the next 12 months last four nights or fewer.

Royal Caribbean ships by class

Royal Caribbean names almost every ship "of the Seas" and builds them in classes, so ships of the same class share most venues and cabin types. The fleet table above lists all 31 ships we track; here is how they group.

• Icon class: Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and the upcoming Hero of the Seas. The largest ships afloat, with a full water park and neighborhoods aimed at young families.
• Oasis class: Utopia of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Known for the open-air Central Park and Boardwalk neighborhoods and the AquaTheater.
• Quantum and Quantum Ultra class: Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, plus the slightly larger Spectrum of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas. Indoor-outdoor venues, the North Star observation pod and skydiving simulators make them good for cooler climates.
• Freedom class: Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. A Promenade shopping street, FlowRider and an ice rink.
• Voyager class: Navigator of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas. The ships that introduced the Promenade and onboard ice skating.
• Radiance class: Radiance of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas. Lots of glass and sea views, and small enough for longer port-intensive routes.
• Vision class: Rhapsody of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas. The smallest and oldest ships, with fewer attractions but easier boarding and a quieter feel.

Newest and biggest Royal Caribbean ships

Sorted by age, the newest ship in service in our data is Legend of the Seas (2026), followed by Star of the Seas (2025), then Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas (both 2024). Hero of the Seas, the fourth Icon-class ship, is already in our catalogue with its first sailings from Miami in August 2027. At the other end, Grandeur of the Seas (1996), Rhapsody and Enchantment (both 1997) are the oldest ships still sailing.

By size, the three Icon-class ships share the top spot at 248,663 gross tons and 5,610 passengers each. Utopia of the Seas (236,473 GT) is the largest Oasis-class ship, and Wonder of the Seas carries the most passengers in our data at 5,734. Sort the fleet table by GT or year to see the full order.

Newer is not automatically better value. In our price data the newest ships cost the most per night: the median for Legend of the Seas is €307 and Icon of the Seas €243, while older ships such as Voyager of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas sit at €112.

Where Royal Caribbean sails and from which ports

Royal Caribbean is above all a Caribbean line. Of the 600 sailings we track, 241 go to the Caribbean and 133 to the Bahamas, followed by Mexico (57), Europe (47), Asia (46) and Alaska (40). Smaller programs cover Australia and the South Pacific, Bermuda, and Canada and New England.

Florida dominates the departure ports. Port Canaveral (90 sailings), Miami (73) and Fort Lauderdale (70) lead, with Tampa, Los Angeles and Galveston next. Short Bahamas runs usually stop at Nassau and CocoCay. Outside the US, the ships sail from Barcelona and Civitavecchia for the Mediterranean, from Shanghai and Singapore in Asia, and from Brisbane and Sydney. The bars above show the full regional split.

What is included and what costs extra

The fare covers your cabin, the main dining room, the Windjammer buffet, several casual venues, most shows, pools, slides, sports decks and the kids' clubs. Basic drinks such as water, drip coffee, tea and some juices are free.

The main extras are:

• Drinks packages: an alcoholic package plus non-alcoholic options for soda, specialty coffee and juices. If one adult in a stateroom buys the alcoholic package, everyone of drinking age in that cabin is normally required to buy it too.
• Specialty dining: steakhouse, Italian, sushi and other restaurants charge per meal, and dining packages bundle several meals.
• Wi-Fi: sold as packages per device, per day or for the whole cruise.
• Gratuities: a daily service charge per guest is added to your onboard account automatically unless you prepaid it.
• Other extras: shore excursions, spa treatments, some attractions and The Key, a paid package with priority boarding and perks.

Suites come with Royal Suite Class benefits in three levels (Star, Sky and Sea), with Star Class the most inclusive. The minimum drinking age is 21 on sailings from North America.

Crown & Anchor Society loyalty

Crown & Anchor Society is Royal Caribbean's loyalty program. You earn points for each night you sail, with extra points when you book a suite, and you move up through six tiers: Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club. Perks grow with each tier, from member events and onboard discounts at the lower levels to lounge access and free drinks at Diamond and above.

Because Celebrity belongs to the same group, members can often match their status between the two brands. If loyalty matters to you, compare per-night fares across both lines before booking.

Check-in and the Royal Caribbean app

Royal Caribbean's online check-in runs through its app and website. You add passport details, a security photo and a payment card for the onboard account, pick an arrival time at the terminal and get a digital boarding pass. Do it early: popular arrival slots fill up.

Once aboard, the same app shows daily schedules and lets you book dining and shows. It does not show where your ship is right now or what other markets charge for your sailing. For that, use the Royal Caribbean fleet tracker and the price tables on each ship page.

Royal Caribbean prices and the cheapest market

Royal Caribbean sits in the middle of the mass-market lines on price. The median cheapest fare across its next 12 months is €181 per person per night, above Carnival (€132), MSC (€160) and NCL (€165) but below Celebrity (€215) and Princess (€218). By cabin, the median is €130 per night for an inside cabin, €152 oceanview, €181 balcony and €328 for a suite.

Destination moves the price as much as the ship does. Mexico runs have the lowest median at €131 per night and the Caribbean €167, while Alaska and Europe both sit above €240. The cheapest fare we hold right now is €174 per person, for a 4-night Ovation of the Seas sailing from Los Angeles to Mexico in an inside cabin. All prices are the cheapest cabin, per person, captured on the date shown on the page.

The same cabin on the same sailing is often priced differently on Royal Caribbean's US, UK, Irish, Australian and European booking sites, because each market sets its own fares, currencies and promotions. Pro shows which market is cheapest for each sailing and keeps 12 months of price history.

Royal Caribbean deals and when prices drop

Royal Caribbean reprices constantly. Fares tend to fall on sailings with unsold cabins and during the line's large seasonal sales. Short cruises from Florida and Texas come up most often because there are so many of them.

The Royal Caribbean deals feed lists the latest drops for this line, and find a cruise lets you filter by ship, port and price. If you have already booked a fare that can still be changed before final payment, keep watching it: when the price of your cabin category falls, ask the line or your travel agent whether the new rate can be applied. A price alert on the plans page does the watching for you and emails you as soon as the fare moves.