Icon of the Seas vs Star of the Seas Price Comparison

The assumption most people make is that the newer ship costs more. Across 81,535 tracked fares, the data tells a more interesting story.

Inside and balcony cabins cost almost the same on both ships. The median difference is $3-9/night depending on season. Where the pricing diverges — sharply — is suites.

Star of the Seas suites run up to 39% more than Icon suites in certain seasons. That's a $216/night gap on what should be a comparable product.

This guide breaks down every cabin type, every season, and where the real savings are hiding between these two ships.

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The Quick Comparison

Weighted medians across all seasons, 7-night sailings. Based on 81,535 price snapshots.

The bottom line: If you're booking inside, oceanview, or balcony, the ship you choose should come down to departure port preference — not price. If you're booking a suite, Icon is meaningfully cheaper. Not sure which cabin type to target? See our room price breakdowns for Icon and Star.

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What You're Actually Comparing

Before getting into the numbers, context matters. These ships aren't identical bookings.

Both are Icon-class. Both do Caribbean itineraries. Both are 7-night cruises in the vast majority of cases.

The port difference matters. Miami is Royal Caribbean's flagship homeport. Port Canaveral draws a different market — Orlando-area families, theme park combos. That demand profile influences how Royal Caribbean prices each ship, especially for suites.

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Inside Cabins Are a Coin Flip

If you're booking an inside cabin, there's no pricing reason to choose one ship over the other.

Median per-person, per-night rates.

Fall and holiday pricing is identical — to the dollar. Spring shows the only meaningful gap at $16/night, which works out to roughly $224 more for two guests on a 7-night sailing.

Volatility is also comparable. Icon inside cabins carry a 4.9% coefficient of variation versus 5.3% for Star. Neither ship offers dramatic price swings in this category.

For inside cabins, pick your port and book. For deeper pricing benchmarks, see our Icon of the Seas pricing guide and Star of the Seas pricing guide.

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Balcony Cabins Are Close, With One Exception

Balcony is where most people expect to see the biggest action. The data says otherwise.

Winter and spring are identical. Holiday is virtually identical. Summer shows a modest $10/night gap.

Fall is the only season where Star consistently costs more for a balcony — $19/night, or roughly $266 more for two guests over 7 nights. Not nothing, but not the gulf people expect from a newer ship.

Both ships hold their balcony pricing. Volatility sits at 8.7% for Icon and 8.8% for Star — nearly identical. Neither ship discounts balconies aggressively.

If you're waiting for a big balcony drop on either ship, the data suggests you'll be waiting a while. For month-by-month timing on Star, see when to book Star of the Seas.

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Suites Are Where the Pricing Splits

This is the headline. If you're pricing suites, Icon and Star are not interchangeable.

Spring suites on Star cost $216/night more than Icon. For two guests over 7 nights, that's $3,024 in additional cost for what is essentially the same ship class, the same cabin category, the same Caribbean itinerary.

Winter and summer gaps are substantial too — $134/night and $128/night respectively. The only season where suites converge is holiday, with a negligible $6 difference.

What About Suite Volatility?

Star suites are also more volatile. The coefficient of variation for Star suites is 14.3% versus 12.4% for Icon.

That means Star suite prices swing more — but those swings tend to be upward. Of the 52 detected price spikes on Star suites, the average increase was 30.6%.

Icon suite spikes averaged 107.7%, but those were rarer events driven by specialty suite repricing.

For suite shoppers: Icon is the better value in every season except holiday (where it's a wash). If you want an Icon-class suite experience without the Star premium, book Icon — especially for spring sailings where the gap is largest. For full seasonal suite breakdowns on Star, see our Star of the Seas pricing guide.

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Oceanview Fills the Middle

Oceanview pricing follows the same pattern as balcony — close, with Star carrying a slight premium.

Interesting twist: Star oceanview is actually cheaper than Icon during holiday and winter. It's the only cabin type where Star undercuts Icon in any season.

The fall gap of $21/night is the widest for oceanview. Otherwise, differences are modest — $12/night or less.

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How We Know This Isn't Just Launch Pricing

A common argument: "Star is new, so of course it costs more. Wait a year and it'll normalize."

The data complicates that narrative.

Icon launched in January 2024. We've been tracking it since October 2025 — well past the initial launch hype. Icon's pricing has stabilized. It's no longer the shiny new thing.

Star launched in August 2025. Our tracking covers its first full year of availability.

Here's the thing: Icon didn't carry a dramatic premium over Oasis-class ships when it was new, and it still doesn't. Icon costs roughly $70-100/night more than Wonder of the Seas for balcony cabins — the same gap we measured months ago. (We mapped the what Icon-class ships actually cost across RC's fleet if you want the complete picture.)

The premium is structural, not temporary.

Star's suite premium over Icon appears to be the same kind of structural pricing. Royal Caribbean is pricing Star suites to a different market (Port Canaveral / Orlando families) and that's unlikely to change.

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The Decision Framework

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Bottom Line

These ships are priced more similarly than most people assume — until you get to suites.

For 75% of cabin types and seasons, you're looking at single-digit percentage differences. The port you depart from matters more than which Icon-class hull you're on.

But if you're suite shopping, this isn't a close call. Icon of the Seas delivers the same Icon-class experience at $82-216/night less, depending on when you sail. That's real money — up to $3,024 for two guests on a spring sailing. Still deciding whether the Icon-class premium is justified? Our value assessments for Icon and Star break down what the premium actually buys you on each ship.

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

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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. 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.