Party-packed weekend vs family trip: How the world's biggest cruise ships compare (2024)

• Royal Caribbean launched its second biggest cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas, on July 19.
• Utopia is targeted more towards a slightly younger crowd that wants to escape for a 3 or 4 day weekend.
• Both ships feature a similar eight-neighborhood layout, but along with Surfside, other new additions to Icon such as the AquaDome and the adults-only Hideaway didn’t make their way onto Utopia.

Royal Caribbean International broke records this year when it launched the biggest cruise ship in the world, Icon of the Seas.

Six months later, the cruise line is back with the second-biggest. Utopia of the Seas launched July 19 from Florida’s Port Canaveral.

But while the two vessels have a lot in common, there are key distinctions between them. “Besides the overall feel of the Utopia not being quite as ‘ginormous’ as the Icon (in the way that a 36oz steak is not as large as a 48oz one), there are other important differences,” Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure analyst with Truist Securities, said in a report earlier this month.

Here’s how to know which one is right for you.

Party-packed weekend vs. family vacation

Royal Caribbean billed Icon as “the ultimate family vacation” ahead of its launch, while Utopia’s tagline is “the world’s biggest weekend.”

Icon offers weeklong itineraries from Miami, while Utopia sails shorter three- and four-night cruises from Port Canaveral. “Notably, while the Icon is geared more towards families, the Utopia is targeted more towards a slightly younger (a bit more millennial, slightly less Gen X) crowd that wants to escape for a three- or four-day weekend, and the length of the Utopia’s itineraries are structured as such,” Scholes said.

With less time for passengers to spare, Utopia leans into the weekend theme. A stacked schedule of parties – planned well into the early morning hours, with some exclusive to that ship – offers guests ways to let loose at nearly any time of day.

Those different identities are evident elsewhere, too. Icon – the first in the Icon Class – launched with Surfside, the line’s first neighborhood designed for young families. But Utopia, the sixth in the Oasis Class, has the same nostalgic-feeling Boardwalk as its predecessors.

That said, both are prime products for multigenerational families. Icon has plenty of parties of its own, and Utopia has a wide range of kid-friendly activities (including in the Boardwalk, which like Surfside is anchored by a full-size carousel).

The different itinerary lengths have pros and cons, too. The extra days Icon’s sailings offer count on ships that big; I was still getting lost even on my third day aboard Utopia. But Utopia can serve as a lower-commitment teaser for longer Royal Caribbean cruises.

“The volume of new-to-cruise (passengers) is significantly higher on short products than it is on longer products for very logical reasons. … It's just a much easier product to purchase,” the line’s president and CEO Michael Bayley said during an earnings call on Thursday. “It's only a few days, it’s less investment of time for new-to-cruise.”

Is Utopia or Icon more expensive?

Pricing per day on Utopia is similar to Icon, Scholes told USA TODAY in an email. But given the shorter Utopia itineraries, its sailings are likely to cost less.

Cruises through the end of the year on Utopia start at $764 to $819 per person based on double occupancy, according to Royal Caribbean’s website, and starting prices for Icon range from $1,382 to $1,402.

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How else do they compare?

Both ships feature a similar eight-neighborhood layout, a design type that originated with the Oasis Class. But along with Surfside, other additions to Icon such as the AquaDome and the adults-only Hideaway didn’t make their way onto Utopia – though the Solarium, an area for passengers 18 and older enclosed in glass and steel at the front of the ship with loungers, whirlpools and a bar, offers elements of both.

The ship also has fewer new venues than Icon overall, relieving some of the pressure to try all the latest spots.

And while Icon borrowed elements of the Oasis Class, Utopia incorporates some features that launched with Icon, such as smart elevators that allow passengers to select their floor from outside and help cut down on crowding, and Izumi in the Park, a walk-up companion to Japanese restaurant Izumi that serves sushi, dumplings and more.

They also both feature many Royal Caribbean staples, such as the Chops Grille steakhouse, Schooner Bar and the Windjammer buffet.

Though each ship has its own personalities, each offers a something-for-almost-everyone vacation experience. Bayley said during the earnings call that the line has “a really good, strong range of products that we can offer the customer, and they're booking it.”

The reporter on this story received access to Utopia of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.