Just one year after entering service, one of Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ships has risen to the top of the the fleet rankings, with Star of the Seas becoming the cruise line’s highest-rated ship based on customer review scores.
The result comes from my my newly updated rankings, which analyse guest review data across Cruise Critic, CruiseLine.com and TripAdvisor to determine how Royal Caribbean’s ships compare.
While Royal Caribbean’s fleet now officially stands at 30 ships following the launch of Legend of the Seas, the rankings currently include 29 vessels, as it is still far too early for the newest ship to have accumulated enough guest reviews to be fairly assessed.
For a ship that only launched in 2025, jumping straight into first place is an impressive achievement. But perhaps even more interesting is where her closest sister ship currently sits.
Star of the Seas’ sister ship, Icon of the Seas, is now ranked 10th out of the 29 eligible ships, despite the two vessels sharing almost identical layouts, attractions and overall concepts.
The contrast may seem surprising at first glance. After all, Icon of the Seas was one of the most anticipated cruise launches in years and introduced Royal Caribbean’s entirely new Icon Class design when she entered service in January 2024.
When Icon first launched, she also held the number one position for several months before gradually settling lower in the rankings as more reviews arrived and the excitement surrounding the new ship began to level out.
That could mean Star’s current position is not necessarily permanent.
As more passengers sail and review the vessel over time, her average score could shift in the same way Icon’s did.
Why Star May Have An Early Advantage
Although Star of the Seas and Icon of the Seas are roughly 95% the same ship, Royal Caribbean did make several adjustments based on guest feedback from Icon’s debut.
Rather than redesigning the concept completely, the cruise line focused on refining areas that passengers felt could work better.
Among the changes were updates to Surfside, expanding the family neighbourhood to appeal to older children rather than focusing primarily on younger families. Royal Caribbean also introduced tweaks intended to improve guest flow around the ship, while dining received some changes too.
Star also added new venues and experiences, including the Lincoln Park Supper Club replacing Empire Supper Club’s New York-inspired theme with a Chicago concept, refreshed food options in AquaDome Market, and changes to entertainment including Back to the Future: The Musical becoming the headline production.
There were smaller changes as well, including an additional hot tub and revised children’s spaces with more traditional play areas.
Individually, many of these adjustments may seem relatively minor, but together they could help explain why guests appear to be responding even more positively to Star than they initially did with Icon.
Price may also play a role.
While Icon of the Seas remains one of Royal Caribbean’s most expensive ships, reviewers have sometimes highlighted that the premium pricing raises expectations considerably. Star faces similar pricing pressures, but with refined features and lessons learned from the first ship in the class, passengers may feel they are getting a more polished experience.
Of course, one year of data still represents a relatively small sample compared with ships that have been sailing for decades.
Some of Royal Caribbean’s strongest performers have built reputations over many years and thousands of reviews, making Star’s early lead notable but still very much a developing story.
The Next Chapter for Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class
The next big test for Royal Caribbean’s newest ship class has already begun.
Legend of the Seas, the third Icon Class ship, has now debuted, becoming the latest evolution of the cruise line’s largest and most feature-packed vessel design.
If Star of the Seas has demonstrated anything, it’s that Royal Caribbean isn’t simply replicating the same ship over and over. Instead, the line appears to be refining and improving the formula with each new launch.
That raises an intriguing question.
If Star took what Icon introduced and climbed straight to the top of the rankings, where will Legend end up after her first year in service?
By this time next year, Royal Caribbean could have yet another new number one.
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- Star of the Seas Vs Icon of the Seas – Identical Twins? Not Quite!
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