Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas are the 2 greatest cruise ships on this planet, and they’re the latest cruise ships for Royal Caribbean.
Each cruise ships supply the newest and biggest Royal Caribbean options, like waterparks, ice skating spectacles, escape rooms, vacation spot elevators, and extra. Royal Caribbean classics just like the Royal Promenade, FlowRider, and Windjammer are additionally discovered onboard these ships.
Whereas Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas have quite a bit in frequent, there are some key variations between these two mega ships that potential cruisers ought to know.
Let’s check out how Icon of the Seas compares to Utopia of the Seas.
Overview of cruise ships
Icon of the Seas is the primary ship within the Icon Class whereas Utopia of the Seas is the sixth Oasis Class ship.
Cruisers who’ve been on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships will discover that Utopia of the Seas could be very comparable when it comes to format, design, and choices. In distinction, Icon of the Seas is a very new and completely different cruise ship since it’s the first in its class.
Each of those cruise ships debuted in 2024. The inaugural crusing of Icon of the Seas was on January 27, 2024, from Miami, Florida. This 7-night cruise visited Excellent Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, and St. Kitts. Utopia of the Seas’ first crusing was on July 19, 2024, from Port Canaveral, Florida. Throughout the 3-night voyage, friends visited Excellent Day at CocoCay and Nassau.
As the most important cruise ship on this planet, Icon of the Seas can maintain 5,610 friends at double occupancy, in addition to 2,350 crew members. In reality, Icon of the Seas can carry 7,600 passengers at most occupancy! Utopia of the Seas can maintain 5,668 friends at double occupancy and a couple of,290 crew members.
So far as different specs, Icon of the Seas is heavier, longer, and taller than Utopia of the Seas. Alternatively, Utopia of the Seas is wider than Icon of the Seas.
Listed here are extra stats for every cruise ship:
Learn extra: Royal Caribbean ship courses final information
Neighborhoods
Each Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas are cut up into eight distinct neighborhoods. These cruise ships are so massive that they should be damaged down into neighborhoods to assist passengers navigate them.
Utopia of the Seas has the identical neighborhoods as Surprise of the Seas, the third latest Royal Caribbean cruise ship and the third greatest ship on this planet. All the opposite Oasis Class ships (Oasis, Attract, Concord, and Symphony) have seven neighborhoods as a result of there is no such thing as a Suite Neighborhood.
Icon of the Seas has new neighborhoods that aren’t discovered on different Royal Caribbean ships, together with Surfside, AquaDome, Chill Island, Thrill Island, and The Hideaway.
Listed here are the neighborhoods on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas:
Eating and bars
All Royal Caribbean ships have The Principal Eating Room and Windjammer buffet, however Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas have so many different choices to select from, together with never-before-seen venues. With over 20 locations to eat on each cruise ships, you’ll not go hungry throughout your trip!
Eating places that may solely be discovered on Icon of the Seas embody:
- AquaDome Market
- Basecamp
- Pearl Cafe
- Surfside Eatery
- Surfside Bites
- Empire Supper Membership
- Celebration Desk
- Pier 7
- The Grove (for suite friends)
Venues that may solely be discovered on Utopia of the Seas embody:
- Royal Railway – Utopia Station
- The Spare Tire
Utopia of the Seas encompasses a new two-story Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar with a terrace that overlooks The Boardwalk neighborhood. Additionally, Utopia is the primary Oasis Class ship to have Izumi within the Park (Icon of the Seas was the primary ship to have Izumi within the Park on any Royal Caribbean ship).
Icon of the Seas’ Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar is the primary to be situated within the Royal Promenade.
Cruisers will discover a wide range of complimentary eating venues and specialty eating places on each ships. It’s potential to cruise on Icon and Utopia and never spend an additional dime on meals as a result of there are seemingly countless choices. However, visiting one of many specialty eating places onboard is certain to be a deal with with higher-quality meals and ambiance.
Here’s a full listing of the eating places and informal eating spots yow will discover on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas:
Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas share various bars, just like the Schooner Bar, Playmakers Sports activities Bar, and Boleros. Nevertheless, Icon of the Seas has extra distinctive bars whereas Utopia of the Seas has virtually the entire bars that the opposite Oasis Class ships have.
Bars that may solely be discovered on Icon of the Seas embody:
- 1400 Foyer Bar
- Bubbles
- Dueling Pianos
- Hideaway Bar
- Lou’s Jazz ‘n Blues
- Rye & Bean
- Swim & Tonic
- The Lemon Submit
- The Overlook
Pesky Parrot is a bar that’s distinctive to Utopia of the Seas. Just like The Bamboo Room on Mariner of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas, the Pesky Parrot is a tiki bar that serves fruity cocktails in a tropical setting. This bar changed the Bionic Bar.
Right here’s a listing of each bar discovered on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas:
Learn extra: Icon of the Seas vs different Royal Caribbean cruise ships
Leisure and actions
Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas have dazzling leisure choices for friends to take pleasure in within the Royal Theater, AquaTheater, and Studio B.
Utopia of the Seas has an outside AquaTheater whereas Icon of the Seas has an indoor one (the primary on any Royal Caribbean ship). Right here, Utopia of the Seas has a present known as Aqua80Too, which is a sequel to Oasis of the Seas’ Aqua80 present. On Icon of the Seas, there’s a present known as Aqua Motion! There’s presupposed to be one other present on Icon known as Pirates vs Mermaids, but it surely hasn’t premiered but as of mid-2024.
Each ships have an ice skating rink onboard with completely different names – Icon’s is named Absolute Zero whereas Utopia’s is named Studio B. Along with open ice skating, there are exhibits friends can attend through the cruise. On Icon of the Seas, there are two exhibits known as Starburst: Elemental Magnificence and As soon as Upon a Time: A King’s Royal Ball. The latter is a present meant for households with children. On Utopia of the Seas, the ice skating present is named Youtopia!
Lastly, there are numerous exhibits held within the Royal Theater on most nights of the cruise. Icon of the Seas has just a few featured productions, together with The Wizard of Oz, The Effectors: The Origin Story, and Showband. Utopia of the Seas has one manufacturing present known as All In!
Each cruise ships even have grownup comedy exhibits in The Attic. You should definitely make reservations for these exhibits as quickly as they open as a result of the venues are small with restricted seating.
Different actions yow will discover on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas embody:
Cabins and suites
Though Icon of the Seas is the most important cruise ship on this planet, she really has fewer staterooms than Utopia of the Seas. Utopia of the Seas has a complete of two,834 staterooms whereas Icon of the Seas has 2,805.
Right here’s a breakdown:
Icon of the Seas is the primary ship within the Royal Caribbean fleet to have infinite balconies, that are basically verandas. Don’t fear, Icon of the Seas additionally has conventional oceanview balconies.
Since Icon of the Seas is a cruise ship meant for households, there are a lot of new stateroom choices, just like the Household Infinite Ocean View Balcony and Surfside Household View Balcony, that may accommodate three to 4 individuals.
Utopia of the Seas options two Solarium Suites on the entrance of the ship above the bridge wings. These suites are solely discovered on Utopia.
Each ships supply Royal Suite Class cabins. This consists of Sea, Sky, and Star class suites with various ranges of perks. For these booked in a collection, a Suite Neighborhood will probably be out there. This neighborhood features a Suite Solar Deck, Coastal Kitchen, and Suite Lounge.
As well as, The Grove, a Mediterranean restaurant solely on Icon of the Seas, is out there for Sky and Star class friends.
Itineraries and pricing
Maybe the most important distinction between Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas is its itinerary choices.
Icon of the Seas is marketed as “The Icon of Holidays.” This cruise ship is closely geared in the direction of households due to the super quantity of actions and leisure onboard. Cruisers can choose from numerous 7-night choices that depart from Miami, Florida, and go to the Western and Japanese Caribbean.
Western Caribbean sailings go to Mexico (Cozumel and Costa Maya) and Roatan, Honduras. Japanese Caribbean sailings go to a mixture of St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, Labadee, and the Dominican Republic.
Each crusing on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas visits Excellent Day at CocoCay.
Alternatively, Utopia of the Seas is marked as “The World’s Greatest Weekend.” A primary for an Oasis Class cruise ship, Utopia solely affords 3 and 4-night sailings from Port Canaveral, Florida. These sailings go to Excellent Day at CocoCay and Nassau or Cozumel. Some sailings solely go to CocoCay.
Utopia of the Seas is being marketed in the direction of first-time cruisers who need to expertise a cruise for a brief time frame on a ship with the very best of the very best Royal Caribbean options. Nevertheless, in case you are a seasoned cruiser and need to spend extra time onboard the latest Royal Caribbean ship, you can e-book a back-to-back crusing that mixed could be a week-long journey.
Each of those new ships are thought of to be locations in and of themselves. Icon of the Seas affords extra unique itinerary choices in comparison with Utopia of the Seas as a result of Utopia’s sailings are shorter than Icon’s.
Now let’s evaluate pricing on each of those cruise ships. I’ll evaluate pricing on each ships for 3 sailings in July 2025. I seemed on the most cost-effective value for an inside cabin, oceanview cabin, and balcony cabin. I calculated the typical value per individual per day based mostly on the stateroom class.
Primarily based on the information I collected from the Royal Caribbean web site, it’s simple to see that on common, Icon of the Seas is costlier than Utopia of the Seas. This is sensible for just a few causes.
Icon of the Seas is the primary of its form. It’s the greatest cruise ship on this planet, and demand is excessive as a result of individuals need to expertise this huge, record-breaking ship for themselves. In distinction, Utopia of the Seas is almost equivalent to her sister ships within the Oasis Class. There isn’t a ton of new issues to see on this ship.
Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Worldwide, even commented that Icon of the Seas is probably the most profitable new ship that Royal Caribbean has ever launched. The hype is actual for Icon!
Primarily based on the information, a 3-night cruise on Utopia of the Seas can have a costlier nightly value per visitor in comparison with the 4-night itinerary. Nevertheless, paying for a 3-night cruise may nonetheless be cheaper general than a 4-night cruise as a result of the itinerary is shorter.
I additionally discovered that crusing on Icon of the Seas for seven nights in a balcony cabin was on common $500 extra per individual than spending seven nights on Utopia of the Seas (on a back-to-back crusing) in a balcony.
In the event you’re seeking to sail on a more recent Royal Caribbean ship for a smaller price ticket, Utopia of the Seas, and even Surprise of the Seas, is the best way to go. You’ll positively have an superior trip on both of those Oasis Class ships. However if you wish to sail on probably the most “iconic” Royal Caribbean cruise ship, you’ll have to pay a reasonably penny.