Icon-Class Ships: What Royal Caribbean's Newest Fleet Actually Costs

Royal Caribbean's two Icon-class ships — Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas — are the most expensive vessels in the fleet, and they're not subtle about it. Based on 81,535 tracked fares across 246 sailings, here's what you're actually paying.

The median fare across both ships runs $229-$537/night depending on cabin type — roughly 40-60% more than Oasis-class ships sailing the same Caribbean routes.

But "expensive" doesn't tell you much. What matters is what you're actually paying per night, how that compares to the rest of the fleet, and whether the premium is worth it.

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What Icon-Class Ships Cost Per Night

These are combined medians across both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, based on 81,535 price snapshots across 246 unique sailings.

Per-person, per-night rates. Suite figures exclude specialty inventory (Ultimate Family Suite, etc.) which can run $1,500+/night.

The inside-to-balcony gap is surprisingly small. You're paying $47/night more for a balcony — $658 total for two guests over 7 nights. On most other cruise lines, the balcony upgrade costs less in dollar terms but represents a similar percentage jump.

Suites are where pricing gets aggressive. The range between P10 and P90 for suites is $372/night — nearly double the inside cabin range. That volatility is driven almost entirely by Star of the Seas, which prices suites 20-39% higher than Icon depending on the season. For the full cabin-by-cabin breakdown, see our Icon of the Seas room prices guide.

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How Icon-Class Compares to the Rest of the Fleet

The question most people actually want answered: how much more does Icon-class cost than other Royal Caribbean ships?

Balcony Pricing Across RC Ship Classes

The premium is real but not uniform. Compared to Utopia (the newest Oasis-class ship), Icon-class runs just 8-15% more. Compared to the original Oasis of the Seas, you're paying 47-56% more for a balcony.

Volatility tells an important story. Icon-class ships have the lowest price volatility in Royal Caribbean's fleet — under 20% coefficient of variation versus 22-23% for Oasis-class. That means fewer price swings, fewer surprise drops, and fewer opportunities to catch a deal.

Lower volatility also means less risk of overpaying by a large margin. The price you see is close to the price most people pay.

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The Two Ships Aren't Priced the Same

Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas look the same on paper. In practice, there's a meaningful pricing gap — but only in one cabin category.

Inside, oceanview, and balcony are a coin flip. The differences are single-digit dollars per night. Your departure port — Miami for Icon, Port Canaveral for Star — matters more than the ship itself.

Suites diverge sharply. Star of the Seas suites cost $111/night more on average, peaking at $216/night more in spring.

We broke this down in detail in our Icon vs Star price comparison — including the likely reasons why (Port Canaveral's Orlando family demand, newness premium, and structural suite pricing differences).

For standard cabins, pick whichever port is more convenient. For suites, Icon is the better value by a wide margin. For Star-specific seasonal breakdowns and booking windows, see our Star of the Seas pricing guide.

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What You'll Actually Spend (Beyond the Fare)

The cabin fare is roughly 55-65% of your total cost on an Icon-class sailing. These ships are not all-inclusive. Here's what the add-ons typically run.

Mandatory Costs

Common Add-Ons

Total Cost Scenarios

All figures for 2 guests, 7 nights. Add-on costs assume pre-cruise sale pricing where available.

The drink package math deserves a note. At $90/day after gratuity, you need 6-8 drinks daily to break even. Most people don't drink that much.

If you do — or if you're counting specialty coffee, bottled water, and fresh juice throughout the day — it can work out. Watch for pre-cruise Cruise Planner sales where the beverage package drops 30-50%.

Cruise Radar Pro tracks Cruise Planner prices over time — it'll flag when your drink package, WiFi, or dining package hits a new low so you can reprice without checking manually.

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Icon-Class Pricing Doesn't Follow the Usual Rules

Most cruise ships get cheaper as the departure date approaches. Cruise lines discount unsold cabins to fill the ship. That playbook doesn't apply here.

Icon-class prices increase closer to departure. Suites are the most punishing: the average Icon suite at 0-60 days out is 52% higher than at 180+ days. Even balconies carry a 7-10% penalty for waiting.

Icon of the Seas booking window data. Star follows a similar pattern.

Inside cabins are the exception. Only a 2% spread between the earliest and latest windows. If you're booking inside, timing barely matters. For the full seasonal breakdown, see when to book Icon of the Seas.

Deals are essentially nonexistent. We've scored 4 total deals across both Icon-class ships in our tracking history. Royal Caribbean doesn't discount these ships because it doesn't have to — demand is strong enough to hold pricing.

For more detail on booking strategy and price thresholds, see our Icon of the Seas pricing guide and Star of the Seas pricing guide.

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Is the Icon-Class Premium Worth It?

This depends entirely on what you're comparing it against and what you value.

What the premium buys you: The world's largest waterpark at sea, eight distinct neighborhoods, more dining venues than any other ship class, and the newest onboard technology. Both ships stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay on every sailing.

What it doesn't buy you: A fundamentally different cruise. The core experience — Caribbean ports, Royal Caribbean service, big-ship entertainment, Broadway-caliber shows — exists on Oasis-class ships too.

You're paying for the latest version, not a different product category.

The Math on Alternatives

A balcony cabin on Wonder of the Seas (Oasis-class) averages $210/night. The same cabin type on Icon-class averages $276/night. That's $66/night more, or $924 for two guests over 7 nights.

What $924 buys you instead:

• A beverage package for both guests at sale pricing
• WiFi for the entire cruise plus two specialty dining experiences
• Nearly half the cost of a shore excursion package

The honest take: If you've never sailed a mega-ship and want the newest, biggest, most talked-about vessel on the water, Icon-class delivers. The premium is the price of admission to the latest generation of cruise ship.

If you've sailed Oasis-class before and the Caribbean itinerary is what you're after, Wonder or Allure at $60-90/night less buys nearly the same vacation — plus enough savings to upgrade your onboard experience significantly. For the full breakdown on what each Oasis-class ship costs and which ones are the best value, see our Oasis-class ships ranked by price.

We dug deeper into this question in our data-backed analysis of whether Icon is actually worth the premium.

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Bottom Line

Icon-class ships are Royal Caribbean's most expensive fleet segment, and the data shows they hold that position firmly. Inside cabins start at $229/night, balconies at $276/night, and suites at $537/night — with minimal discounting and almost no last-minute deals.

The real cost for most couples runs $6,000-$7,200 all-in for a 7-night balcony sailing once you add taxes, gratuities, and a drink package. Families of four should budget $10,000-$12,000.

These ships don't play the same pricing game as the rest of the fleet. Book early, use the P25 thresholds above as your "good price" benchmark, and don't wait for a sale that isn't coming.

Cruise Radar scores every Icon-class fare 0-100 based on 2.6M+ price snapshots, then shows you the score right on the booking page — so you'll know instantly whether the price you're seeing is worth booking.

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Methodology

This analysis draws from 81,535 price snapshots across 246 unique sailings (123 per ship) tracked October 2025 through February 2026. Fleet comparisons use our broader database of 2.6M+ snapshots across 9 cruise lines. Suite figures exclude specialty inventory. For our full data collection and scoring methodology, see how it works.

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Pricing data by All Aboard Analytics. Updated February 2026.