Royal Caribbean just finished installing an architectural and engineering feat onto its new cruise ship.

The AquaDome is one of the signature areas onboard Star of the Seas, which will be one of the biggest cruise ships in the world.

The ship is being built at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, where Icon of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, and Allure of the Seas were also built.

The installation of Star of the Seas's AquaDome made history as the largest glass and steel structure ever lifted and installed onto a cruise ship, a Herculean task that took 80 hours to complete.

Photo by Niko Alakoski.

The multiple-day process took months of planning for a single feat of huge proportions.

Now, its completion marks the beginning of the next phase of construction. 

Royal Caribbean can start to bring it all to life, building out neighborhood restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues.

Star of the Seas will debut in August 2025, out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

Even lifting the dome off the ground was a massive undertaking. 

Photo by Niko Alakoski.

Royal Caribbean had to build a custom, 155-ton rig to move the dome into place.

1,640 feet (500 meters) of suspension cables connected the rig to the dome. These cables are longer than the height of the Empire State Building!

To complete the lift, the shipyard had to rely on the wind to stay calm. If wind speeds reached 10 miles per hour (or 16 kilometers per hour), the entire operation would come to a halt.

In the end, the dome traveled over 1,200 feet (366+ meters) in the air and rested on top of the vessel.

Workers completed 6 hours of precise welding and other work to fully attach the dome.

The dome was first built alongside Star of the Seas, a process that allowed it to be constructed in tandem with ship construction.

This strategy is commonly used in cruise ship building to complete multiple facets of the process at the same time.

Read more: Royal Caribbean unveils changes to make Star of the Seas even better than Icon of the Seas

Cabins, ship blocks, neighborhoods, and other features are often built elsewhere, then assembled and added later at the shipyard.

The AquaDome is 82 feet (25 meters) tall, 164 feet (50 meters) wide, and weighs 367 tons (332 tonnes). 

The dome has 12 modules that were assembled over 8 months, composed of 673 glass panels and 712 aluminum panels.

But installing the dome is just the beginning. 

Next, the cruise line will work to bring the AquaDome to life.

Construction must add all the interior pieces, such as lighting, bars, lounges, restaurants, sculptures, seating, the central waterfall, and the AquaTheater.

The innovative, beautiful space will serve as a peaceful gathering place during the day and a lively, entertaining spot at night.

Once the AquaDome is complete, guests will experience 220-degree ocean views, restaurants, bars, nightlife, stunning entertainment, and a 55-foot-tall waterfall.

The AquaDome was first introduced on Icon of the Seas as a completely new neighborhood concept that was built on the AquaTheater in Oasis-Class ships.

Located atop decks 15 and 16, the neighborhood includes innovative features like the brand-new AquaTheater and the cruise line's first AquaDome Market.

Photo by Mediascope Productions.

Construction on Star of the Seas began in February of 2023 when steel was first cut in the shipyard.

Once construction is complete, Star of the Seas will sail to Port Canaveral, Florida.

The ship was originally scheduled to be delivered in mid-August of 2025, but delays in production and construction forced the cruise line to push back her original inaugural sailing.

Photo by Mediascope Productions.

The inaugural sailing will now take place on August 31st, 2025.

Cruisers can expect Star of the Seas to stay around the same dimensions as Icon of the Seas.

Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer has stated that the ship's attractions are more important than the total size. 

"That's never been a focus for us," he said. "The world's best family vacation was never about size for us. It still isn't."

That places the cruise ship at around 250,800 gross tons total, with a capacity for 5,610 passengers (or up to 7,600 passengers at maximum occupancy).

The Icon Class has been specifically marketed to draw in the family vacation market, especially appealing to families with younger children.

The cruise line has already ordered another Icon Class ship, due to be delivered in 2026. No further details have been revealed about Icon 3.

How do you top an already record setting cruise ship? Royal Caribbean has big plans for its next big ship to follow up on Icon of the Seas' incredible success.

Star of the Seas will launch in August 2025 and be the second Icon Class ship in the fleet. Royal Caribbean isn't content with making a carbon copy of Icon, as they've outlined key areas how the next ship will be different.

The new cruise ship will offer 7-night cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida to destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Just like Icon, Star will be packed with lots to do for everyone, leaning heavily into the family cruise segment.

Picking a homeport less than an hour from the tourist hub of Orlando is no coincidence. Royal Caribbean wants to bring the world's best family vacation to one of the biggest family markets.

Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer, said his team took a deep dive into the incredible success of Icon of the Seas to find ways to go beyond that with Star, "we've looked at Star and we've kind of identified a series of big focus areas for us through that lens of ship destination and home port."

Doubling down on family

Royal Caribbean has made it no secret the Icon Class ships are positioned to be direct competition to land vacations in Orlando at Walt Disney World.

Star of the Seas will sail from Port Canaveral in order to draw families away from a typical land trip and instead take a cruise.

Mr. Schneider said one goal has been making the family component of Star of the Seas even better for families, "the first focus area has been really doubling down on youth and family."

Surfside is an entire neighborhood designed with kids in mind and Royal Caribbean has a few ways they'll make it even better.

Fundamentally, they're going to make Surfside appeal to slightly older kids too.  Mr. Schneider said Icon's Surfside was meant for ages 0-6, but Star will bring that up to about 10.  That's because the area drew families with slightly older children.

Splashaway Bay and the Playscape will get new features, "more play activations really to kind of make kids of all ages happy with the offering."

The Water's Edge pool was originally meant to be an enclave for parents, but in practice has become an extension of the kids pool.

"What we found over time is it really is just expanded play for kids with parents, too. And so programmatically, we continue to lean in to that," Mr. Schneider said.

The kids clubs on Star of the Seas will get updates too. In addition to evolving the look and feel of Adventure Ocean, Mr. Schneider said there will be more "analog play" offered instead of relying on video and computerized games.

"While we're not taking anything away, one of the things we've heard is more analog play and so more kind of classic analog games," he said in talking about the impetus for the improvements.

Royal Caribbean will reboot the teen offerings to match what they're seeing in guests feedback.

Mr. Schneider said teens, "really want places to meet up and then kind of move around the ship to try to be more adults."

"We're rebooting based on that feedback the look and feel of the teen space and then reevaluating our programming for teens, how we activate them elsewhere in the ship as well."

Photo by Shannon Sinclair

Some other initiatives first introduced on Icon of the Seas will continue with Star of the Seas.  

The Kidfinder option will be rolled out of testing and into full offering on Star of the Seas. This is a waterproof bracelet that allows parents to track the bracelet's location via the Royal Caribbean app.

Fear not, Star of the Seas will have a family dog onboard, named Sailor.

Introducing facial recognition cabins

Royal Caribbean is going to test facial recognition stateroom doors on Star of the Seas.

This was an idea the cruise line had in play just before everything shutdown in 2020, but will get implemented in a small capacity on Star of the Seas.

Read more: Royal Caribbean patents facial recognition cruise ship cabin doors

Mr. Schneider said this will be a pilot program, and was not sure how many cabins will be equipped with it.

One other stateroom change is an update to the epic family suite on Star of the Seas, known as the Ultimate Family Townhouse.

This is the most expensive suite ever that covers three floors and has an in-suite slide, movie-viewing room, karaoke machine and a "backyard" with a ping pong table, outdoor seating and a white picket fence leading directly to the Surfside area.

Mr. Schneider said the townhouse will get an "uplift" and "will get really a new look to it."

Based on guest feedback so far on Icon, the cruise line felt changes were needed.

Upgrades to dining

Royal Caribbean has said the top two reasons people go on a cruise with them is for destination and food, and that drives a lot of the offerings on Star of the Seas.

There will be a sequel to the glitzy Empire Supper Club dining experience.  On Star, the focus will shift west to Chicago and become the Lincoln Park Supper Club.

"It's our flagship intimate fine dining entertainment concept [that] will bring forward that same formula that's worked so well in the Empire Supper Club. But again, themed menu, music, all paired to the Chicago and Chicagoland area."

Royal Caribbean also wants to improve on one of its most well-received complimentary venues, Aquadome Market.

On Icon of the Seas, it's located inside the ship’s AquaDome neighborhood, and offers five food stands offering everything from chicken pita wraps to bacon mac n’ cheese and a variety of paninis. 

"We're currently in the concept testing of how to evolve for Star, and eventually Icon Three, kind of the offering in the market," he said.

Don't worry, the fundamentals of the Aquadome Market won't change.  There will still be great complementary grab and go food served in a food hall.

One restaurant that will be overhauled is Pier 7. Mr. Schneider said called it, "a successful concept for us" but they want to keep it a "white space" to tinker with a new offering.

Located in the Surfside neighborhood, it serves California inspired cuisine and kids eat free there.

Mr. Schneider said they have not picked a final idea for the space yet, "We won't probably announce that until much closer in because we're going to do the same thing we did on Icon, which is we're going through the concepting as a result of it being a white space."

Read more: Royal Caribbean surveys customers for a new restaurant idea on its Icon class ships

Combining a new ship and a new beach club

When Star of the Seas launches, you can eventually look forward to cruises that take you to a day at Royal Caribbean's new beach club in Mexico.

Opening sometime in 2026, the Royal Beach Club Cozumel will be the second Royal Beach Club to open, following Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island in The Bahamas.

An extra cost beach available exclusively to Royal Caribbean passengers, admission will include access to swim-up bars, pools cabanas to rent, snorkeling, kayaking, restaurants, and street markets.

"We're excited about that kind of combination of new ship, new homeport and then... the continued expansion of our destination product."

More tweaks and enhancements

Mr. Schneider highlighted a few other improvements Royal Caribbean has planned for Star compared to Icon.

The Pearl will be improved to be more spectacular visually, "instead of a single color light ring in the back of each of those 3500 plus tiles, they go to full multicolor rings."

"That allows us to get a much richer color, wash throughout the entire Pearl, and gives us kind of a broader canvas to play with as we think of the stories that we want to tell."

There will also be more more pool space on Star. That's because Mr. Schneider's team was worried about "water weight", but it's practical to add it back, "we are adding a little bit of incremental water weight back in a hot tub that will be adjacent between Lime and Coconut, and the Aquadome Market that was originally planned on being there, but got pulled at the last minute due to water weight."

"It turns out we had enough weight to play with, and that was my quick ten minute, maybe longer run through of our our focus areas."

"The world's best family vacation was never about size for us"

Star of the Seas won't be slightly larger than Icon of the Seas, and Royal Caribbean doesn't necessarily care about that title.

When asked about if Star will be bigger than Icon, Mr. Schneider talked about the importance of what the ship offers rather than dimensions, "that's never been a focus for us. The world's best family vacation was never about size for us. It still isn't."

"The reality is the things that we expected in our kind of hyper focused guest research needs, we've continued to look at through the lens of what we're actually seeing in operation. And all of it is, is just working so well."

He sees tremendous success with how Royal Caribbean has positioned its Icon Class ships to offer the very best experience, and offering many ways for families to bond and create memories.

The Product Development team focuses on the diverse options for guests to enjoy onboard, and while that may move the needle to require a bigger cruise ship, it's not simply size.

Expect another family dog on Royal Caribbean's second Icon Class cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean made headlines when it announced a golden retriever puppy would live on Icon of the Seas as a crew member, and it garnered a lot of attention.

The "Chief Dog Officer" on Icon of the Seas is Rover, who joined the ship at just 6-months-old.

Rover will soon be joined by a second dog in the fleet when Star of the Seas debuts in 2025.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed to travel agents on a webinar on Wednesday that Star of the Seas will have its own dog, "Rover is super happy on Icon. And of course we're going to have Sailor on Star of the Seas."

There's no word yet which dog breed Sailor will be, but Star of the Seas will indeed continue the trend of having a "family dog" on the ship.

Having a dog on a cruise ship is a symbol for the fun and family-centric nature that Royal Caribbean wants for its Icon Class vessels. If you're going to appeal to families and be a game-changer in terms of being different from other ships, a dog onboard is one way to do that.

Royal Beach Club groundbreaking scheduled

Mr. Bayley also confirmed the Royal Beach Club will have its groundbreaking next week.

"Next week we're going to the Bahamas for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Royal Beach Club in Nassau, which will be another new and exciting product for Royal Caribbean guests," he said during the webinar.

Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive Michael Maura told local media last week the ground-breaking ceremony will take place on Monday, April 22. 

The goal is for a summer 2025 opening.

Royal Beach Club will be a new type of shore excursion experience opening in 2025, exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests.

Read more: Everything we know about the Royal Beach Club at Nassau

Once opened, it promises to create, "the ultimate beach day" for its guests. The Royal Beach Club is exclusively for Royal Caribbean cruise passengers, but unlike its private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay, admission is not complimentary. Instead, it will cost extra to visit the beach club and space is limited to about 2,750 guests per day. 

Full details have not been announced for the new beach club, but Mr. Bayley added during the webinar the cruise line will share more news about that destination experience over time.

Construction equipment was spotted last week arriving to the site of the club, and the confirmation of a groundbreaking ceremony means formal construction will begin soon.

Ready to shake up the short cruise market

While hyping the launch of Utopia of the Seas later this summer, Mr. Bayley talked about the significance of having a new Oasis Class ship start off with short cruises.

He began by explaining why a new Oasis Class ship makes a difference, "If you look at the kind of the history of the short product in the cruise industry, over time, it kind of degraded. There was older hardware placed into the short market, and it was really a bad representation of the industry in terms of new to cruise."

"We decided to turn that upside down some time ago when we started taking ships like Freedom and Navigator and investing significant significantly into upgrades of the product."

"Bringing Utopia, a brand new Oasis class, straight into the short product market is just literally putting the best hardware in the planet into this market. And it is absolutely a green light for new to cruise."

Royal Caribbean thinks dominating the short cruise market means big opportunities given the numbers they're looking at.

"Our statistics tell us that in the United States, the market of potential cruisers is around 120 million people," Mr. Bayley explained.

He said about 15-20 million people cruise right now in the United States.

"We've only really touched 20% of the potential market in the United States and this kind of product, and you combine Utopia with with Icon, for example the seven night product, we've really got this stunning lineup of products that are really exciting and really tick the box, particularly in this multigenerational family."

He also said the current makeup of cruisers is evenly distributed among generations, "if you look at our demographics at Royal Caribbean International, we're kind of evenly split across all generations, and that's something that's quite special."

Royal Caribbean's second Icon Class cruise ship will take a little bit longer to arrive.

On Tuesday, guests booked on the inaugural sailing of Star of the Seas received notification today by the cruise line that the sailing is cancelled.

The 7,600 passenger vessel was scheduled to debut on August 17, 2025 from Port Canaveral.

According to the email Royal Caribbean sent out, the ship will not be ready in time for that sailing, "after a review of the work that remains to be done, we’re unfortunately forced to delay the ship’s delivery date."

"As a result, we must cancel our inaugural 7-Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day August 17th, 2025 sailing."

The new inaugural sailing of Star of the Seas is scheduled for August 31st, 2025.

They went on to apologize for the change in plans, "We’re truly sorry for the impact that this delay has had on your vacation plans."

Royal Caribbean did not specify exactly the reason for the delay in the new ship's delivery, but the fall out will affect those booked on the inaugural.  However, it's not unheard of for a new cruise ship to be delayed because it won't be ready on time.

The cruise industry shutdown of 2020-2021 delayed the delivery of Odyssey of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and Icon of the Seas.  Other cruise lines have delayed starts too from time to time with their new ships.

Guests booked on the cancelled August 17th sailing have the choice to be automatically moved to the new Star of the Seas inaugural sailing on August 31.  If selected, guests will be moved to a like-for-like stateroom onboard Star of the Seas. This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities (where applicable), and other non-cruise fare items.

Alternatively, guests can move to the Wonder of the Seas sailing departing on August 17th or the Icon of the Seas departing on August 16th. Guests' original stateroom category price will either be protected at their original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

If that's not satisfactory, guests can be moved to re-book any other Royal Caribbean International sailing, but they'll be responsible for any difference in pricing for your cruise fare, taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

The final option is to cancel and get a full refund.

Guests must decide by March 12th, 2024 which choice they want, or they'll be automatically moved to the new Star of the Seas inaugural sailing.

Star of the Seas follows up on the tremendously positive reception the public has had for Icon of the Seas, which is the first ship in the Icon Class.

When Star does arrive, she will feature the same neighborhoods that offer lots for passengers to enjoy, including Thrill Island, Chill Island, AquaDome, and the open-air Central Park. 

You can expect more than 40 ways to dine and drink, cutting-edge entertainment across the ship’s four signature stages – air, ice, water and theater – and a lineup of activities for adults, kids, teens and the whole family.

Without a doubt, Star of the Seas will have other features that will distinguish her from Icon.  Royal Caribbean typically tweaks a few venues and changes up offerings to make new ships stand out from others in the class.

At 250,800 gross tons, Star won't be bigger than Icon.  Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider talked on the inaugural voyage about what to expect with Star, and the Icon Class will not follow the Oasis Class trend of subsequently increasing the size of each new ship just enough to make it the biggest in the world.

Read more: Royal Caribbean ship classes ultimate guide

"That isn't the case on Icon. Star will not be a foot bigger. It will be 1198ft long. The third ship in the icon class, yet to be named publicly, will also be 1198ft long."

According to Mr. Schneider, there's no point in continuing that pattern, "We don't feel a need to do that right now. Maybe we'll change our mind. Never say never. But that isn't the design intent."

Under construction in Finland

Star of the Seas is being built at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, which is where Icon of the Seas was built, along with other ships such as Oasis and Allure of the Seas.

Star should be right around the same dimensions as Icon of the Seas, so it should be about 250,800 gross tons and carry approximately 5,610 passengers at double occupancy or up to 7,600 passengers at maximum occupancy.

When you add crew members, that brings the theoretical maximum amount of people onboard up to 10,000.

The Icon Class is a deliberate effort on Royal Caribbean's part to appeal to the family vacation market, including as many attractions as they've ever thought of in one ship. 

There's still one more Icon Class cruise ship on order, due in 2026. No details have been revealed yet about Icon 3.

Icon of the Seas is about to set sail on her maiden voyage later this week, and Royal Caribbean is already working on ways to improve on a ship that has barely sailed.

Star of the Seas will be the second Icon Class cruise ship and will debut in 2025 to sail from Port Canaveral.  Not only is the ship well into construction, but improvements and updates from Icon are in the works.

Icon of the Seas will have her first voyage with paying passengers on Saturday, but the ship has had employees, media, and travel agents onboard for short preview sailings to fine tune everything in the lead-up to the maiden sailing.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider is leading the charge to innovate with Star.

While the cruise line is not ready to reveal everything that will be different on Star, we have a few ideas what they have in mind.

Star of the Seas will not be the biggest ship in the world

With the Oasis Class ships, Royal Caribbean made each subsequent ship just a little bit bigger so that it could take the title of biggest in the world.  The Icon class will not follow that trend.

"That isn't the case on Icon. Star will not be a foot bigger. It will be 1198ft long. The third ship in the icon class, yet to be named publicly, will also be 1198ft long."

According to Mr. Schneider, there's no point in continuing that pattern, "We don't feel a need to do that right now. Maybe we'll change our mind. Never say never. But that isn't the design intent."

Update to the supper club

Royal Caribbean opened its first ever supper club experience on Icon of the Seas with Empire Supper Club, but expect a new motif on Star.

On Star of the Seas, the venue will be Chicago themed (Icon has a New York theme to it). And there's more ideas after that.

"It'll actually become Chicago themed, but same DNA," said Mr. Schneider. " "On Icon three, it becomes Hollywood themed."

"Great music choreographed to the delivery of the food and the service, with cocktails paired but all wired for the theme that goes with it. So Chicago will be more Midwestern themed, Hollywood will be Hollywood themed, and the decor and the venue will match, and the food and music will twist to again match that theme."

"If we build future versions of icon, we'll just keep going around the world assuming that concept remains successful."

Star and Icon 3 are being built at the same time

With Star of the Seas coming in 2025 and Icon 3 in 2026, work is happening concurrently. 

"The ships are essentially being built in parallel," which is a necessity in order to keep the ship on schedule for delivery.

While work is underway, that doesn't mean tweaks can't be made in the process.

"As we operate this with real guests over the next three, four months, that will also really help inform what we want to adjust on Star and what we want to adjust on Icon three."

A hot tub will be added

Mr. Schneider alluded to a hot tub idea that was cut from Icon due to weight concerns, but will be on Star.

"When we initially were pulling out in sea trials, we thought we were at maximum weight."

"We are not as it turned out so, we did have some room. And so the hot tub that I that painfully cut is now coming back on Star of the Seas."

The pricing for any new cruise ship will usually cost more than other ships, and it appears Royal Caribbean's new ship will continue that trend.

Bookings for two brand-new cruise ships from Royal Caribbean Group were recently released - and prices for the 2025-2026 cruise season are surprising. Based on anecdotal data Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas is coming out to be more expensive than Celebrity Cruises’ new premium ship, Celebrity Xcel. 

Read more: Star of the Seas: Itinerary, features, and more

Following the announcement of the next vessel in the Icon class of cruise ships, Royal Caribbean also released the first sailings for prospective guests to book. Just a few weeks prior, sister-brand Celebrity Cruises released sailings for its newest cruise ship, Celebrity Xcel. This will be the fifth ship in the award-winning Edge class of ships for the cruise line. 

Both ships are set to debut in the second half of 2025, with Star of the Seas’ inaugural sailing taking place on August 17, 2025 from Port Canaveral, Florida. Similarly, Celebrity Xcel will set sail for the first time on November 18, 2025 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Keen Royal Caribbean fans on Reddit noted the apparent price discrepancy between the two brand-new cruise ships debuting in 2025. One user on Reddit shared various cabin prices for two 7-night itineraries onboard each ship. In the post, Celebrity Xcel had notably lower prices for most stateroom categories compared to Star of the Seas. 

Celebrity Cruises is a considered a premium cruise line, whereas Royal Caribbean is a contemporary cruise line. What this means is a premium line tends to be more sophisticated and high-end, whereas a contemporary line might be more casual. Royal Caribbean targets families while Celebrity Cruises caters to an adult-centered experience. 

Although Celebrity Cruises is a premium cruise line, prices for Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas are consistently more expensive. I wanted to see if this trend was consistent for all current sailings available for both Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel, prompting further analysis.

On average, Celebrity Xcel is 41.24% cheaper than Star of the Seas when comparing the base fares

During the winter season of 2025-2026, Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel will both be sailing 7-night Caribbean itineraries from Florida. This creates a nearly perfect scenario to compare prices between the two brand-new ships. 

For this basic analysis, I looked at prices for an interior guarantee, outside guarantee and balcony guarantee for both Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel. I priced out five different itineraries from each ship between November 2025 and March 2026. Each itinerary was a 7-night Caribbean sailing for two guests. 

Overall, the average cost to sail on Star of the Seas was $4,755 while the average cost of Celebrity Xcel was $2,794 for the five itineraries I looked at. Here’s how the average cabin prices compared between the two ships; 

Average Interior Cabin:

• Star of the Seas - $4,076
• Celebrity Xcel - $2,487

Average Outside Cabin: 

• Star of the Seas - $4,728
• Celebrity Xcel - $2,694

Average Balcony Cabin: 

• Star of the Seas - $5,463
• Celebrity Xcel - $3,201

Even with Celebrity’s All Included pricing, Celebrity Xcel’s average cost was still 23.07% cheaper than Star of the Seas

One way that Celebrity Cruises differentiates its brand from Royal Caribbean is by offering an inclusive pricing option. If you book the All Included cruise fare with Celebrity, you will receive a drink and internet package at a bundled discount. This creates a more all-inclusive style of cruising with Celebrity Cruises with basic drinks and wi-fi included with your cruise purchase. 

Surprisingly, even when comparing a base cruise fare from Star of the Seas with an All Included pricing from Celebrity Xcel, the new Celebrity ship was still cheaper. 

Overall, the average cost for Celebrity Xcel was $3,658 across the five itineraries, which is still cheaper than the average cost for Royal Caribbean’s newest ship at $4,755. Here is the breakdown of the cabins for Celebrity Xcel’s All Included price.

Average Interior Cabin:

• Star of the Seas - $4,076
• Celebrity Xcel: All Included - $3,323

Average Outside Cabin: 

• Star of the Seas - $4,728
• Celebrity Xcel: All Included $3,530

Average Balcony Cabin: 

• Star of the Seas - $5,463
• Celebrity Xcel: All Included- $4,122

In the graph below, you can see the consistent trends of Celebrity Xcel’s more affordable pricing compared to Star of the Seas

To ensure the pricing example on Reddit was not an outlier data point, I priced out the three different cabins for five itineraries. For each month, Star of the Seas is more expensive than Celebrity Xcel for the base cruise fare and All Included pricing. 

Since Celebrity Xcel’s deployment schedule is not available after March 2026, this was as far out as I could price the comparisons. Historically, Celebrity Cruises has sailed their newest Edge class ships in Europe during the vessel’s inaugural season. Star of the Seas only has sailings available to book through April 2026, although it would not be surprising if Star of the Seas sailed year-round from Port Canaveral. 

Many users on social media shared their thoughts regarding the pricing between Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel

Reading the Reddit thread, it was interesting to hear the multiple perspectives regarding Star of the Seas having a higher price point than Celebrity Xcel. 

To start, some users felt that looking at the two ships was not necessarily comparable; Royal Caribbean’s newest ship is packed with amenities and onboard thrills while Celebrity Xcel targets an entirely different audience. 

One user commented, “This is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Celebrity doesn’t have the waterpark, Aquadome, Central Park, Surfside, etc. Royal Caribbean saw a market for higher-income families, which is not targeted by Celebrity, and is going for it. If prices are too high, then they will come down. It’s supply and demand.”

Many responded that Star of the Seas shows similar pricing to Disney Cruise Line - and Royal Caribbean is likely looking to tap into this potential segment of cruisers. “Key words here are family and kids. Royal Caribbean is going after families with children who are willing to pay a premium to have a once in a lifetime vacation,” responded one user.

Others on social media were not surprised by the pricing discrepancies. One user commented that Star of the Seas would be the biggest ship in the world with the most to do on it. In addition, Royal Caribbean has a broader market than Celebrity’s and the pricing makes more sense.

Continuing, the user said, “There is some branding specialization here too. You go on Celebrity to go to cool places and have a nice elegant time when you’re on the ship, but the ship life is pretty chill. Icon class, the ship is the destination and the ports are secondary.”

Royal Caribbean states that demand is through the roof for the new Icon Class of ships

It’s no secret that Royal Caribbean designed Icon of the Seas to appeal to the family vacation market. There is more included than ever before on Icon of the Seas - and Star of the Seas is sure to be very similar. 

Icon of the Seas will be the biggest ship in the world at a whopping 250,800 gross tons. When you include crew members, Icon class ships will be able to hold nearly 10,000 people. 

With so much hype around the newest ship class from Royal Caribbean, the cruise line shared that demand was unprecedented. Guests are booking cruises on Icon of the Seas at prices that the cruise line has never experienced before. In fact, the cruise line shared that Icon of the Seas has been its best performing product in the company’s history. 

When the name of the ship was announced, Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International president and CEO, commented, “The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas.”

Celebrity Xcel is the fifth cruise ship in the very popular Edge-class for Celebrity Cruises

Although not targeting families, Celebrity Cruises’ Edge Series has been wildly popular for the cruise line. The mid-sized cruise ship was innovative and revolutionary for Celebrity Cruises. Picture a resort-style cruising experience that whisk away cruisers to more than 50 countries and 120 ports of call. 

Celebrity Cruises states, “We’re changing the game again. Celebrity Xcel does exactly that. Our newest ship combines all the greatest hits of our Edge Series and adds even more—and entirely new—experiences that will change the game all over again. This ship truly excels into a class of its own”.

Similarly, the president Laura Hodges Bethge promises that Xcel will excel beyond her sister ships with new experiences that have yet to be revealed. The cruise line promises new exciting details in the coming months with ‘visionary new spaces’ and ‘delicious new food and drink concepts’ for Celebrity Xcel.

Celebrity’s Edge-class ships sail around the world with destinations in Alaska, Australia, Europe and the Caribbean. 

The first sailings of the second Icon Class cruise ship are now available for booking.

Royal Caribbean on Tuesday began taking reservations for Star of the Seas, which will be the second in a new type of vessels that are aimed at dominating the family vacation market.

Bookings for the new ship are only open to members of Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society loyalty program on Tuesday and the general public gets access on Wednesday, but in practice, anyone can book it on Tuesday as well as anyone can sign up to be a Crown and Anchor member.

Royal Caribbean has not posted any details yet of what will make Star of the Seas different from Icon of the Seas, but typically Royal Caribbean changes certain venues and introduces new concepts on subsequent ships that it's likely the ship will not be a direct copy of Icon.

As previously announced, Star of the Seas will sail from Port Canaveral, Florida. The new ship will offer seven-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean, starting in August 2025.

The very first sailing of Star of the Seas available for booking is scheduled for  August 17, 2025. As of early Tuesday, the least-expensive cabin price was starting at $2398 per person for an inside cabin guarantee, or $5,081.58 total. Balcony cabins started at $3298 per person, or $6,881.58 total.

The inaugural sailing will visit three ports of call: Perfect Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, and St. Kitts.

Based in the family vacation capital

The fact Star of the Seas is sailing just an hour away from Orlando, Florida is likely no coincidence.

Both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas are ships that were designed to cater to families, and placing Star of the Seas in Port Canaveral is another move to provide a compelling alternative to a theme park trip.

Cruise line executives have talked about how an Icon Class cruise ship has experiences onboard that they think can rival anything you can find in Orlando.

An entire area of the ship is for just young families, known as Surfside.

There's pools for adults, pools for kids, restaurants and bars for kids and adults. The idea is there's enough to keep you entertained throughout the day.

There are three water experiences to choose from, with the idea that families can hang out together:

• Splashaway Bay: Kids water slides and water features
• Baby Bay: Water splash area for very young children
• Water's Edge: The pool pressed up against the glass on the very back of the ship 

Then there's the beach-themed carousel, arcade with over 30 different games, and a Playscape area.

"Icon will be the best family vacation in the world," is what Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said about the plans for this ship.

Star of the Seas features

Under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, Star of the Seas will follow-up on her sister ship's already impressive legacy.

It will be the second in the Icon Class, so she should be right around the same dimensions as Icon of the Seas, so it should be about 250,800 gross tons and carry approximately 5,610 passengers at double occupancy or up to 7,600 passengers at maximum occupancy.

When you add crew members, that brings the theoretical total amount of people up to 10,000.

Royal Caribbean has deliberately built this class of cruise ship to appeal to the family vacation market, including as many attractions as they've ever thought of in one ship. You'll find a water park, thrill attractions, multiple shows, more pools than ever, and plenty more.

Read more: Royal Caribbean ship classes ultimate guide

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley's commented on this direction when the ship name was announced, "The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas."

The demand that Mr. Bayley referenced has been nothing short of incredible for the cruise line thus far. Royal Caribbean has reported Icon of the Seas has more cabins booked and at higher prices than the company has seen with any other ship.

"Icon is literally the best performing new product launch we've ever had in the history of our business," is what Mr. Bayley said in May 2023 to Wall Street investors.

Star of the Seas has a good chance to follow that trend, especially when Icon launches in January and the excitement for this new type of cruise ship accelerates.

Royal Caribbean has not yet announced what will be different about Star of the Seas, but we know she'll be bigger than any Oasis Class cruise ship, which are currently the largest ships in the world.

The maximum capacity for Star is about 7% higher than Wonder of the Seas' maximum capacity of 7,084 passengers.

Star of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's third ship powered by liquefied natural gas. 

There's still one more Icon Class cruise ship on order, due in 2026. No details have been revealed yet about Icon 3.

Royal Caribbean's second Icon Class cruise ship will call Port Canaveral home.

Star of the Seas will begin sailing in 2025 and offer cruises from the popular Central Florida port, located just an hour from Orlando.

The new bookings will go on sale on December 6, 2023.

Star of the Seas is schedule to debut in summer 2025, although its not clear yet exactly when. Royal Caribbean did not divulge when her first sailings will be.

Star of the Seas will be built around the same design as Icon of the Seas, so it will be approximately 250,800 gross tons and carry roughly 5,610 passengers at double occupancy (two passengers per cabin). With crew, the ship could sail with nearly 10,000 people on board.

Read more: Icon of the Seas guide and features

Following up on the already incredibly successful Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas will be the second ship to launch and her position near Orlando is at the heart of Royal Caribbean's strategy to dominate the family vacation market.

Orlando is one of the top family vacation destinations in the world, and Royal Caribbean executives have said they intend to go after this lucrative market.

"The Icon product, along with Perfect Day, with the kind of experiences that we're offering, with the kind of new accommodations that we have on Icon and the experiences that we have for young families, older families and of course couples and singles and what have you, is really squarely standing shoulder to shoulder with Orlando and those kind of destinations," said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley in 2022 call with investors.

Mr. Bayley sees the Royal Caribbean International brand being more "aggressive" with how it competes with the Orlando attractions, "And what we're beginning to see is us moving certainly the Royal brand into that space far more aggressively."

"We're really focusing on this target market, which is family and of course has many new neighborhoods, including a neighborhood called Surfside, which is absolutely focused on young families and those young families with children six and under travel all year round, because obviously parents can pull their kids out of pre-K."

A game changing ship

Icon of the Seas hasn't started sailing yet, but the market has met it with eager anticipation.

Sales for Icon have blown past the cruise line's expectations, and it's selling faster than any new ship has in the past.

It's about 6% larger than the Oasis Class ships and has two more decks than them too.

The vessel has a groundbreaking indoor AquaTheater beneath an expansive glass dome, a designated area specifically designed for young families, an increased selection of family-centric accommodations (including a unique three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse), a cantilevered infinity pool, and an onboard water park featuring six slides.

Additionally, passengers can enjoy a swim-up bar, an extended suite enclave, and a novel supper club, enhancing the overall experience on board.

It's likely Star of the Seas will have differences, given that Royal Caribbean usually enhances each new cruise ship with changes.  It could be new restaurants, different activities, and almost certainly different shows onboard.

Construction of the new ship began in February 2023 when the keel was laid at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

Royal Caribbean has an order for a third Icon Class ship as well, which has a delivery date in 2026. All three of these ships were ordered and financed prior to 2020.

Star of the Seas will be the second of Royal Caribbean's Icon Class cruise ships when she launches in 2025.

Star of the Seas will be a close follow-up to the wildly successful Icon of the Seas, although Royal Caribbean announced a few ways she will be different, such as improvements to the family features, dining changes, and more. 

After Star of the Seas, there will be one more Icon Class cruise ship. This ship is on order and due in 2026. No details have been revealed yet about Icon 3.

Here is a look at the most important things we know about Star of the Seas.

This page will be updated periodically when Royal Caribbean reveals what the ship will offer to guests.

Star of the Seas facts

Star of the Seas will be the second Icon Class cruise ship when she's built.

She will be based in Port Canaveral, Florida, and offer 7-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

Homeporting Star of the Seas near Orlando was a purposeful choice, as Royal Caribbean is targeting one of the biggest family markets for its ultimate family vacation cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean has changed the date of the inaugural sailing a few times, and it's a bit confusing.

The official inaugural voyage is a 7-night cruise on August 31, 2025. This will be a 7-night Western Caribbean sailing that visits Perfect Day at CocoCay, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.

However, there are two preview sailings that are 4 nights each that have been added to the schedule.

• August 23, 2025
• August 27, 2025

Each of these "showcase sailings" will visit Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Star of the Seas should be right around the same size as Icon of the Seas.

Icon of the Seas is 20 decks high, 1,198 feet long, and measures 250,800 gross tons. She has more than 40 dining venues and bars, a waterpark, seven pools, and can handle 9,950 people (2,350 crew and 7,600 guests at maximum capacity).

Royal Caribbean is fond of making new ships just a little bit bigger than the previous vessel so they can market the new ship as the "biggest cruise ship in the world." However, this will not be the case with Star of the Seas.

According to Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer, Star of the Seas will not be slightly larger than the world's biggest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas. He said, "The world's best family vacation was never about size for us. It still isn't."

New Star of the Seas features

Family

Much like Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas will have a heavy focus on the family experience.

Surfside, a neighborhood just for families, appeals to those 0-6 years old, but on Star of the Seas, the age will increase to 10 years old. Splashaway Bay, Playscape, and The Water's Edge Pool will be updated to reflect this change. 

Located near Surfside is Adventure Ocean, where there will be more "analog play" offered. The teen club will also be rebooted. In addition, Royal Caribbean is experimenting with a kid-finder option so parents can track where their kids are on the ship.

And don't worry, there will be a family dog on Star of the Seas named Sailor! Sailor will become the second Chief Dog Officer in the Royal Caribbean fleet, after Icon of the Seas' Rover.

Dining

There will be a supper club on Star of the Seas, but it won't be the same as the one on Icon of the Seas. Instead of the Empire Supper Club, which had a New York City theme, Star of the Seas will have a Lincoln Park Supper Club with a Chicago theme.

Schneider said, "It's our flagship intimate fine dining entertainment concept [that] will bring forward that same formula that's worked so well in the Empire Supper Club. But again, themed menu, music, all paired to the Chicago and Chicagoland area."

Royal Caribbean is also looking to improve one of its new restaurants, AquaDome Market. Don't expect any drastic changes, as there will still be food stall options such as crepes, mac and cheese, and sandwiches.

Lastly, there will be a new restaurant in the Surfside neighborhood instead of Pier 7. The name of the restaurant or what the menu will look like hasn't been released.

Cabins

Royal Caribbean is testing out facial recognition cabins on Star of the Seas. This is a pilot program, so Royal Caribbean isn't sure how many cabins will have this new feature.

Also, The Ultimate Family Townhouse will receive a "new look" and "uplift" according to Schneider.

Entertainment

Cruisers can expect to find similar onboard amenities as Icon of the Seas, including Crown's Edge, Category 6 waterpark, multiple swimming pools, and more.

There will be an extra hot tub onboard. "We are adding a little bit of incremental water weight back in a hot tub that will be adjacent between Lime and Coconut and the AquaDome Market that was originally planned on being there [on Icon of the Seas], but got pulled at the last minute due to water weight," Schneider said.

Star of the Seas construction progress

The ship is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

In February 2023, a steel-cutting ceremony was held for Star of the Seas, which is when the first piece of steel is cut. This is an important milestone in the construction of any new cruise ship.

In December 2023, the keel was laid at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The hull assembly of Star of the Seas followed shortly thereafter in late December.

The laying of the keel means a crane lowered a massive steel block to the bottom of the construction pool on trestles to signal the start of assembling the ship's hull.

Read more: How long does it take to build a cruise ship

When will Star of the Seas be delivered?

According to filings Royal Caribbean Group made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, delivery of the ship from the shipyard to the cruise line should take place in the second quarter of 2025.

The delivery date represents when the cruise ship would be handed over from the shipyard to the cruise line, but that is not when the ship is ready to enter service.

When a new cruise ship is delivered, formal construction is complete, but the ship still needs to be staffed, and amenities brought onboard as the ship prepares to enter service.

Incredible demand

The demand for this new ship has been incredible because of its follow-up to the ultra-successful Icon of the Seas.

The company saw the largest booking day in its history when reservations for the Icon of the Seas opened in October 2022. Royal Caribbean President & CEO Michael Bayley said Icon of the Seas was "the best-selling product in the history of our business."

Michael Bayley thinks Star of the Seas will build on the impressive legacy Icon of the Seas has already. "The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for Icon of the Seas."

Read more: Royal Caribbean ship classes

Next-gen power

Like Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas will take advantage of cleaner fuel options.

This will be Royal Caribbean's third cruise ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as using some of the cleanest-burning marine fuel available to date with a proven lineup of industry-leading environmental programs on board.

With applications ranging from waste heat recovery systems to shore power connection, Royal Caribbean’s most sustainable ship will advance parent company Royal Caribbean Group’s journey to introducing a net-zero cruise ship by 2035.

When do bookings open for Star of the Seas?

Royal Caribbean opened bookings for Star of the Seas on December 5, 2023.

You can now book a cruise on Star of the Seas between August 2025 and April 2026. The new ship will offer 7-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. All sailings visit Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

There are four different itineraries:

1. Perfect Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten
2. Perfect Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, St. Kitts
3. Perfect Day at CocoCay, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten
4. Perfect Day at CocoCay, Cozumel, Roátan, Costa Maya

Read more: Royal Caribbean's new cruise ship prices are more expensive than Celebrity's new premium ship

Royal Caribbean has a name for its second Icon Class cruise ship.

The cruise line announced on Thursday that the name of its next Icon Class ship to launch will be called Star of the Seas.

While the first Icon Class ship is about 100 days from entering service, Royal Caribbean is already eagerly looking towards the future with the second ship.

Royal Caribbean has orders in place for three Icon Class ships: Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, and an unnamed third Icon Class ship.

Why Star of the Seas? Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley thinks it's the perfect name for a ship that embodies the level of anticipation this new class has, "The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas."

Star of the Seas was one of four ship names the cruise line put up for a vote on social media back in January of 2023. Other names included Idol of the Seas, Love of the Seas, and Queen of the Seas.

Star of the Seas did indeed win the poll on Twitter, garnering 44% of the vote.

Star of the Seas will debut in summer 2025, although there's no other details yet as to what will make this ship different or where she will sail from.

One detail we do know about Star of the Seas is she will be the third ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), combining the use of the cleanest-burning marine fuel available to date with a proven lineup of industry-leading environmental programs on board. With applications ranging from waste heat recovery systems to shore power connection, Royal Caribbean’s most sustainable ship will advance parent company Royal Caribbean Group’s journey to introducing a net-zero cruise ship by 2035.

How Royal Caribbean picks a ship name

The decision of picking a ship name is not a simple one, as Royal Caribbean often considers dozens of names before settling on one.

Royal Caribbean will commonly register many trademarks for new cruise ship names with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

As an example, in December 2021, the company registered 24 new cruise ship names.

Why so many?

Part of the process is not only reserving names they intend to use, but also names they know they will not use. Because trademarks are a matter of public record, from a competitive advantage standpoint, they'll include other names to prevent tipping their hand in which direction they'll go.

In November 2022,  Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider talked about naming the next two Icon Class ships, "I'm still taking ideas on Icon two and Icon three. I feel really confident in the name we have for Icon three, it's actually two that we're still working on."

Star of the Seas is already under construction

We now know the name of the second Icon Class ship, but construction has been underway for a while now.

In February 2023, a steel cutting ceremony was held, which when the first piece of steel is cut, it marks a pivotal point in the ship building process.

Other milestones include keel laying, floating out, and delivery.

Sky-high demand for Icon

The hype surrounding Icon of the Seas is unparalleled so far, with sales for the new ship through the roof and equally high intrigue surrounding the new features and ship design.

Royal Caribbean actually opened bookings up three months early for more Icon of the Seas cruises through 2026 due to how well-booked the ship is at the moment.

The cruise line saw the single largest booking day and highest volume booking week in its history when Icon was first revealed in October 2022. 

In May 2023, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty talked about the incredible demand the ship has experienced so far, "Despite being on sale for only five months, Icon is significantly more booked for her inaugural season at materially higher rates than any other Royal Caribbean ship launch."

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about this fact, "Icon is literally the best performing new product launch we've ever had in the history of our business, and we're delighted with volume and rate and that really is a full 24 product."

"Since Icon of the Seas was revealed almost a year ago, the response has been unprecedented by every measure."

Icon of the Seas will be 250,800 tons and hold up to 7,600 passengers, both of which are stats that eclipse the current largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas. Icon will also be about 10 feet longer than Wonder of the Seas, coming in at 1,198 feet long.

Icon of the Seas will remain in Miami, Florida and offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages, with all of them visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

Currently under construction at the giant Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, Icon of the Seas will have her first sailing begin in January 2024.