Royal Caribbean builds the largest cruise ships in the world and fills them with more onboard amenities than you can get through in a week. Their base fares often run higher than mass-market competitors like Carnival or Norwegian, and that gap is real, but the ships are more ambitiously designed, with a broader range of included activities and a higher level of onboard investment than any direct rival. Royal Caribbean is also very good at selling additional items beyond the base fare. This article covers both sides of that equation.
Royal Caribbean's newest ships are built primarily for families and groups who want a high-energy vacation with plenty going on. If you're a couple looking for quiet evenings and space to breathe, the calculation is different, and the right ship for you probably isn't Icon of the Seas.
The ships: bigger than they feel
The newest ships — Icon of the Seas (2024), Star of the Seas (2025), and the Oasis class including Utopia of the Seas — carry between 5,600 and 7,600 passengers. They manage this through an eight-neighborhood layout that distributes guests naturally across the ship rather than funneling everyone to a single pool deck. In practice, the ships feel less crowded than the numbers suggest.
One rule applies regardless of which Royal Caribbean ship you're on: book extras before you leave home. Specialty dining, Broadway shows, shore excursions, spa appointments, FlowRider time slots, and My Time Dining reservations are all available pre-cruise through the Royal Caribbean app and the My Royal Cruise website. On the newer ships, popular restaurants and shows fill before the ship leaves port. Loyalty members with Crown & Anchor Diamond status and above get earlier access to booking windows — if this is your first Royal Caribbean sailing, act as soon as your booking window opens.
Prefer something quieter? The Radiance class ships sailing Alaska, Europe, and South America are a different product entirely: smaller, fewer crowds, ports the mega-ships can't reach.
Entertainment: what's included in the fare
Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line staging full Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals at sea, included in the fare. Current productions include Hairspray on Symphony of the Seas and Mamma Mia! on Allure of the Seas; Star of the Seas launched with Back to the Future: The Musical. AquaTheater high-dive shows, ice skating productions, and main theater performances are also included across the fleet. Pre-book through the Royal Caribbean app — seats go fast on the newer ships.
Dining: what's included and how it works
The main dining room
The main dining room is included in your cruise fare. You choose your table time when completing your booking: traditional dining (assigned early seating around 5:30 pm or late seating around 8:00 pm, same table and waiter each night) or My Time Dining (flexible, roughly 6:00–9:30 pm, reservations strongly recommended and bookable in advance via the app). Same menu either way. Show schedules are timed around the traditional seatings — worth knowing when planning your evenings. Switching formats once onboard is allowed once per cruise if space permits.
Kids' club
Adventure Ocean, Royal Caribbean's youth program for ages 3–17, is included in the fare and runs daily. For families with children in that age range it's one of the most significant included amenities on the ship — and one that most cruise guides overlook entirely.
Specialty restaurants
Cover charges of $50–$65 per person for dinner at Chops Grille, Wonderland, Giovanni's Italian Kitchen, Hooked Seafood, and Izumi Sushi. An 18% gratuity is automatically added on top. Specialty lunch at the same venues runs $25–$35 per person and is notably better value — it's also a useful way to sidestep the Windjammer buffet crowds on embarkation day.
Book pre-cruise through the app or My Royal Cruise website. Desirable time slots go early and onboard prices are higher. Fine print worth knowing: Royal Caribbean introduced a no-show fee in 2025 — up to $50 per person at Supper Clubs, Hibachi, Omakase, and Chef's Table if you don't cancel at least 24 hours in advance. Pre-paid online bookings are not exempt. Cancel rather than no-show.
What costs extra — on the ship
- Room service: Continental breakfast is complimentary via the door-hanger card. A hot cooked breakfast carries a $7.95 service fee plus 18% gratuity — roughly $9.40 in fees before any food pricing. All other room service orders carry the same charges.
- Licensed Starbucks outlets: Standard retail prices apply and are explicitly excluded from all beverage packages including the Deluxe Beverage Package. Budget an extra $70–$100 across a 7-night sailing for a couple with a daily specialty coffee habit.
- Spa and salon: A 20% gratuity is added automatically at point of sale. Not optional.
- Photos: Photographers are active throughout — embarkation, dinner, pool deck, ports. Pre-purchasing a photo package is cheaper than buying individual prints at the end of the week. Decline at each session if you don't want any.
Packages, gratuities, and Wi-Fi
The Deluxe Beverage Package runs approximately $70–$125 per person per day before an 18% gratuity is added at checkout. Daily gratuities are $18.50 per person per night for standard cabins (US and UK bookings), applied to every guest including children. Wi-Fi runs approximately $20 per device per day pre-cruise. All of these are cheaper when bought pre-cruise. If the price drops after you've purchased any Cruise Planner add-on, you can generally cancel and rebook up to 72 hours before sailing.
The drinks package, gratuity structure, Wi-Fi pricing, and The Key program each have detail worth understanding before you book.
Private island: how CocoCay compares to Carnival's islands
Perfect Day at CocoCay is Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, included as a stop on most Caribbean sailings from the East Coast. If you've purchased the Deluxe or Refreshment Beverage Package, it works fully on the island — every bar, including the swim-up bar at Oasis Lagoon. Your Wi-Fi package extends there too.
The island visit is included in the fare. Free: all beaches, Splashaway Bay kids' water park, Oasis Lagoon freshwater pool, beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, tram service, and the Chill Grill buffet. Charged separately: Thrill Waterpark ($55–$159 per person full-day pass), zip line, Up Up & Away helium balloon, Coco Beach Club, Hideaway Beach (adults-only), and cabanas. Book the Thrill Waterpark pre-cruise — peak-season pricing approaches $159 per person and it sells out.
For comparison: Carnival's CHEERS! package does not cover beverages at any of Carnival's private destinations — Half Moon Cay, Celebration Key, or Princess Cays. Every drink is a separate purchase. For a couple with two or three drinks each on a warm afternoon, that's $50–$75 in extra costs that Royal Caribbean guests with a package won't face.
Royal Beach Club Nassau: the new paid island
Opened December 2025. You board a dedicated water taxi from the Nassau cruise port — the ride is included in the pass price — and arrive at a 17-acre beach club on Paradise Island. Unlike CocoCay, access is not included in the fare. It's a purchased day pass, capacity is capped at 4,000 guests, and it sells out. Book in advance.
Day pass pricing as of May 2026: open bar, dining, and Wi-Fi (21+) from $169.99 per person; non-alcoholic drinks, dining, and Wi-Fi (13+) from $129.99; children 4–12 from $109.99; under 3 complimentary. If you hold a Deluxe Beverage Package, a bundle rate starts at $140 per person instead of $169.99 — check this before booking the standard day pass at full price.
Newer ships versus older ships
Icon and Star of the Seas are the right choice for families with children, anyone wanting the widest activity range, or guests who want the most current cabin product including Infinite Balcony staterooms. The neighborhood design, the included waterpark on Icon class, Crown's Edge, the AquaDome, and the newest Broadway productions are real additions that older ships don't have.
Freedom class and Voyager class ships, built 1999–2008, carry most of Royal Caribbean's signature included activities at substantially lower fares. The trade-off is an older cabin aesthetic and fewer restaurant options. For passengers whose priority is the itinerary or the budget rather than the newest hardware, these ships are the best value in the fleet.
Radiance class ships are the right choice for scenic sailings — Alaska, Europe, repositioning — where the destination is the point and the ship is the means of getting there. Smaller, quieter, and able to dock at ports the mega-ships can't enter.
What a 7-night sailing actually costs: the full picture
A realistic 7-night Caribbean sailing, two guests, standard balcony cabin, main packages bought pre-cruise:
| Item | How it's calculated | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cruise fare | Varies by sailing | Use the calculator |
| Port fees & taxes | $175–$195 per person — added at checkout | $350–$390 |
| Gratuities (US/UK) | $18.50 × 7 nights × 2 guests | $259 |
| Deluxe Beverage Package | ~$80/day × 7 × 2, plus 18% gratuity | ~$1,322 |
| Wi-Fi (VOOM Surf + Stream) | ~$20/day per device, pre-cruise | ~$280 |
| Two specialty dinners | $55–$65 per person plus 18% gratuity | $130–$153 per couple |
| CocoCay Thrill Waterpark | Pre-booked, if applicable | $55–$100 per person |
Skip the drinks package, drink selectively, and eat in the main dining room most nights — the total drops significantly. The fare gets you on the ship. The total above is what you'll spend if you use everything available to you.
Before you book, run the full numbers on your specific sailing — fare, gratuities, drinks, and Wi-Fi together — rather than budgeting for each item separately after the fact.