Calling a ship “the biggest cruise ship in the world” sounds impressive, but until you’re stood next to it in port you still can’t really get a sense of what that means.
Even better if you can see the ship docked alongside a smaller ship. That’s when you really are blown away by the size difference.
Star of the Seas shares the title of biggest ship in the world with her sister ship, Icon of the Seas. And hopefully, with the help of some stats, I can help you understand just how mighty she is.
Star of the Seas Size Explained
Star of the Seas matches her sister ship, Icon of the Seas, in terms of sheer scale.
Both ships boast an internal volume of 250,800 Gross Tonnes and measure 1,198 feet (365 metres) in length.
With 20 decks in total, 18 of which are open to guests, these vessels currently stand as the largest cruise ships in the world.
To put that size in perspective, Star of the Seas is about the length of three and a half football pitches. A stroll from one end to the other can easily take a quarter of an hour. Rising through 20 decks, she even surpasses the Eiffel Tower in height when measured from keel to funnel.
The ship features eight distinct neighbourhoods, housing more than 2,800 cabins and suites. Onboard guests can choose from over 40 dining and drinking venues, including 23 concepts that Royal Caribbean debuted on Icon of the Seas.
Despite accommodating thousands of passengers, Star of the Seas has been designed to spread the crowds.
Facilities include seven swimming pools, six headline-grabbing waterslides, and dedicated splash areas for young children and infants, ensuring there is space for relaxation as well as high-energy fun.
When Icon of the Seas entered service, she overtook Wonder of the Seas to become the world’s largest cruise ship by both tonnage and capacity, and edged out Harmony of the Seas in overall length.
Star of the Seas continues that legacy. Interestingly, the ships have been built to the same specification.
Previously when Royal Caribbean launched a new ship in the Oasis-class, the previous biggest ships in the world, it would typically add a couple of inches with each new ship, so that they could always talk about the new biggest ship in the world.
But with the Icon Class, they’ve decided against that. The ships can share the title!
Read more: Icon Class Vs Oasis Class
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Star of the Seas Specs
The best way to appreciate the size of Star of the Seas is to see how she measures up against other cruise ships.
Within Royal Caribbean’s own fleet, that means comparing her not only with Wonder of the Seas, one of the Oasis-class ships and former record holder before Icon came along, but also with Spectrum of the Seas, the largest vessel in the Quantum Ultra Class.
| Star of the Seas | Wonder of the Seas | Spectrum of the Seas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Icon Class | Oasis Class | Quantum Ultra Class |
| Gross tonnage (GT) | 250,800 | 236,857 | 169,379 |
| Length (feet) | 1,198 | 1,188 | 1,139 |
| Width (feet) | 219 | 210 | 162 |
| Total decks | 20 | 18 | 18 |
| Passenger decks | 18 | 16 | 16 |
| Maximum guest capacity | 7,600 | 6,988 | 4,905 |
| Crew capacity | 2,350 | 2,300 | 1,551 |
It’s also worth setting Star of the Seas alongside the flagships of rival cruise lines to get the full picture.
| Star of the Seas | Carnival Jubilee (Carnival) | Iona (P&O) | MSC World America (MSC) | Norwegian Encore (NCL) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross tonnage (GT) | 250,800 | 183,900 | 184,089 | 215,863 | 169,116 |
| Length (feet) | 1,198 | 1,130 | 1,130 | 1,093 | 1,094 |
| Width (feet) | 219 | 138 | 137 | 154 | 158 |
| Total decks | 20 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
| Passenger decks | 18 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Maximum guest capacity | 7,600 | 6,500 | 5,206 | 6,762 | 3,998 |
| Crew capacity | 2,350 | 2,000 | 1,762 | 2,138 | 1,735 |
These comparisons make it clear just how far ahead Star of the Seas and her sister, Icon of the Seas, stand.
Wonder of the Seas already gave Royal Caribbean a comfortable lead in terms of scale, yet the Icon-class design has widened that gap even further.
That said, size isn’t everything. For some travellers, a ship on this scale can feel overwhelming, both in terms of passenger numbers and sheer space to navigate.
There’s also the practical side to consider, since vessels of this magnitude cannot call at every port.
Smaller ships still have the advantage when it comes to reaching quieter harbours and more off-the-beaten-track destinations.
More on Gross Tonnage and What It Means
Star of the Seas is only the second cruise ship in the world to break the 250,000 gross tonne barrier.
Gross tonnage is often misunderstood as weight, but it actually measures internal volume – essentially, how much usable space a ship contains.
That makes it the most reliable way to compare the overall size of cruise ships, as it factors in length, width and height in a single figure.
At 250,800 GT, Star of the Seas is around 5% larger than Utopia of the Seas, newest and largest of the Oasis-class ships.
Five percent may sound modest, but it translates to roughly 13,000 GT of extra space.
To put that into context, the combined gross tonnage of the world’s ten smallest cruise ships is just under 10,000.
In other words, Star of the Seas carries the equivalent internal space of more than ten of those smaller vessels, on top of what Utopia of the Seas already offered.
Length of the Ship
Star of the Seas measures 1,198 feet from bow to stern, placing her about ten feet longer than Harmony of the Seas, which previously held the record for the longest cruise ship.
In the context of her overall scale, an extra ten feet may not seem dramatic, but the real difference comes from her additional decks, which add far more usable space than length alone could achieve.
Guest Capacity
Star of the Seas carries 5,610 guests at double occupancy, with a maximum capacity of around 7,600 when every berth is filled.
What’s striking is that she manages this despite having roughly 70 fewer staterooms than Utopia of the Seas.
The reason lies in her cabin design.
Royal Caribbean has introduced a wide range of family-friendly accommodation, such as Surfside Family Suites and Family Infinite Balcony staterooms, which are intended to house three, four, or even more guests in a single room.
This allows the ship to welcome far larger numbers overall without dramatically increasing the number of cabins.
Read more: Star Of The Seas Cabins To Avoid
Star of the Seas also has the highest crew number of any cruise ship at sea, with 2,350.
So the total maximum capacity, if completely full, is 9,950 – just 50 shy of 10,000.
I don’t know if Royal Caribbean will look to break that figure with one of the upcoming Icon-class ships. Maybe, or maybe they want to avoid it so that the ships don’t sound overcrowded.
20 Decks to Explore
Star of the Seas rises through 20 decks, with 18 open to passengers and two set aside for the crew’s living quarters and essential operations.
That’s two decks more than the Oasis-class ships which are already huge.
She isn’t the first cruise ship to be built with 20 decks, but she is one of the only ones where guests can explore as many as 18 of them.
Remember too that Star of the Seas has fewer cabins than some of the Oasis-class ships, despite that extra two decks worth of space.
The difference comes from the design: staterooms are larger on average, and more space has been devoted to dining, entertainment and leisure facilities, giving guests plenty to do beyond their accommodation.
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Final Word
Even armed with all this statistical information, it’ll be impossible for you to fully appreciate the scale of Star of the Seas until you stand alongside her.
Even those familiar with the largest cruise ships in the world will find she takes that sense of awe to another level.
Sailing from Port Canaveral, she is impossible to miss, dominating the skyline long before you step aboard.
Star of the Seas is every bit as impressive as her sister, and while she now shares the crown for the world’s biggest cruise ship, her place in cruising history is secure.
These Icon-class vessels are set to define what “big ship cruising” means for years to come.
Related Posts
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- Star of the Seas vs Utopia of the Seas
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