the royal caribbean cruise activities

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41 Must-Do Activities Aboard Royal Caribbean Ships

When it comes to things to do on a cruise ship, Royal Caribbean is arguably the leader in the industry. Whether you’re wanting something relaxing (spa day, anyone?) or something more active (waterslides, rock climbing, and more), the cruise line offers more to do than anyone out there.

If you’re planning to take a cruise on Royal Caribbean, you should know that it offers something for everyone – from kids to teens to active adults and even grandparents. No one of any age can feel bored with so many activities to choose from, whatever your taste in fun.

If you’re new to cruising, or haven’t sailed with Royal Caribbean yet, here’s a preview of the many things you can enjoy while sailing with this cruise line.

One thing to note is that the list below represents the things you can do across the cruise line. Unfortunately, not all the features listed are available on every Royal Caribbean ship . Don’t worry, however. You can ask your travel agent or call the cruise line to see which ships offer the features you want. (If you want the most options, then we suggest sailing the newest and largest ships in the fleet.)

We’ve broken down this list into broad groups to help you decide in advance which of the many cruise experiences you absolutely don’t want to miss…

Thrills: Get Your Adrenaline Pumping!

There’s no better way to kick off your cruise than with some high-energy fun. You can skydive, zipline, rock climb, soar above the ship, ride standing waves… and more. What other type of travel offers so many options?

Plunge down a waterslide If you can’t remember the last time you felt exhilarated, you owe it to yourself to enjoy one of Royal Caribbean’s waterslides. They are a fun way to get wet while on the ship while also getting a shot of adrenaline. You’ll find them across the fleet, with larger ships having more options.

Want to stay dry? Check out the Ultimate Abyss on the cruise line’s largest Oasis-class ships. While not a waterslide, it still takes you plunging down ten stories, making it the tallest slide at sea.

Skydive without an airplane If you’re attracted by the adrenaline rush of skydiving, but not sure if you want to jump out of an airplane, try RipCord by iFly on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships. This skydiving simulator lets you experience the excitement of defying gravity, safely floating on air within a wind tunnel on the deck of your ship. Don’t worry, you’ll have an instructor with you the entire time. There is a charge for this activity, however.

Go rock climbing Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced climber, you can strap in and go vertical – as high as 40 feet above deck. This complimentary activity will give you bragging rights when you tell your friends that your vacation had you climbing the wall in the middle of the ocean. While kids will love it, there’s no rule that adults can’t climb too!

Polish your surfing skills on Flowrider Royal Caribbean’s popular surfing simulator allows guests to experience what it’s like to ride a wave… without having to plunge into the ocean. You simply “surf” on a thin layer of fast-moving water. The Flowrider supports both traditional surfing and boogie board style surfing. Surfing on a Flowrider is complimentary with your fare. For an additional fee, you can also book private surfing lessons. Just keep in mind that the lines can be long during prime time in the middle of a day at sea.

Zipline across the ship Imagine flying across the ship, suspended from a zipline ten decks up. You can do it on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels such as Harmony of the Seas. Strap in and ride across the decks below. It’s a short ride, but also an unforgettable experience you can’t replicate anywhere else.

Ride the North Star If you’re sailing aboard one of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, make sure you experience this unique attraction. The North Star observation pod extends upwards and even over the side of the ship so passengers can take in a 360-degree view from 300 feet in the air. If you’re scared of heights, then it’s not for you. If you’re ok with being up over the ship, it provides a great view (and thrill).

Fun: Sing, Shop, Skate – and More!

Being on a cruise means feeling carefree. Sing your heart out, shop ‘til you drop, glide across the ice.

Indulge in some retail therapy Royal Caribbean’s Royal Promenades are one of the things fans love about this cruise line. Aboard a Royal Caribbean vessel, you’ll find a wide range of shopping options here, including souvenirs, fine jewelry, fashion, luxury watches, liquor, and beauty items. No need to bring cash. You can put everything on your room keycard and pay at the end of the trip.

Join in a piano sing-along The Schooner Bar, one of the Royal Caribbean signature venues found on every ship, offers a relaxed, nautical vibe along with a piano. Enjoy your favorite beverage as you enjoy the piano music playing well-known songs that are universally loved.

Sing your heart out in karaoke One of the nice things about a cruise is that you don’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself. After all, once the cruise is over you won’t likely see these people again. So let your talent shine onstage. Karaoke is available at different spots, such as Spotlight Karaoke on Oasis of the Seas. Grab a mic and show off your vocal chops, singing one of your favorite hit songs.

Twirl and glide across the ice One of the many ways Royal Caribbean offers passengers more than they is expect is by doing things that seem impossible on a cruise ship. In this case, how about a shipboard ice-skating rink? Everyone from kids to grownups can strap on a pair of skates and glide (or wobble) across the ice. There are also ice shows put on by the entertainment staff. Be sure to bring long pants.

Try your luck in the casino Gambling on the cruise ship is one of the most popular activities. All your favorite games are available (slots, craps, roulette, blackjack, etc.), plus some that you may not be used to seeing in a casino like coin pusher machines and “skill crane” type machines that can win you money.

Casinos are open normally when the ship is sailing from port to port, and can get pretty busy in the evenings.

Explore the art around the ship One unique thing about Royal Caribbean is that the cruise line loves to place art around the ship. Every stairwell that you travel will have art pieces. There’s also art lining the walls near the elevator lobbies as you head to the cabin. And then there is just art sprinkled around. Take a few moments to appreciate these touches as there are some definitely unique pieces you won’t see anywhere else.

Relax: Ways to Unwind

A Royal Caribbean cruise lets you enjoy the best of both worlds – fast-paced fun and/or slowing down to savor some quiet time.

Enjoy some private romantic time Order room service for you and your significant other so the two of you can have meal together on your stateroom balcony. Toast each other as you watch the sun rise or set. (If you opted for shipboard accommodations without a balcony, Royal Caribbean ships offer plenty of spots where you can lounge on the pool deck with great views.)

Play shuffleboard If you’re in the mood for some laid-back fun, a game of shuffleboard gives you something fun to do with friends, family and fellow cruisers without taxing your muscles or energy level. It’s a perfect way to wind down, especially if you’ve been engaging in high-energy activities all day. Plus, it’s about as classic a cruise ship activity as you will ever see. You’ll see the courts painted with boxes nearby holding the equipment.

Relax at the spa If you crave relaxation, Royal Caribbean’s spas have you covered. Enjoy a massage or pamper yourself with a facial or mani-pedi. You can also just purchase a day pass to use the facilities. The menu of spa services also includes wraps, teeth-whitening, hair-styling, and makeup. Just know that there are extra charges for spa services. Still, the relaxation can be well worth the cost.

Grab a towel and head for the pool As you would expect, every Royal Caribbean ship offers swimming pools, and usually we’re talking multiple options. Choose the pool that suits your style.

The main pool, open to all cruisers of all ages, enables the whole family to relax together. Kids’ pools provide splashing and spraying fun for children. The Solarium, open to adults, offers a quieter vibe – plus this pool is typically covered giving a warmer option if it’s chilly out.

No matter which pool you pick, you can soak up some sun or relax in the shade while sipping your favorite beverage.

Let the kids go wild in Splashaway Bay We mentioned it in passing above, but Splashaway Bay on Royal Caribbean is a can’t-miss if you have kids. Instead of a pool, it’s an entire splash pad with water spraying everywhere, slides, interactive water features and more. If you have a kid that can’t swim yet, it’s the perfect place for them to get wet while you relax (or join in the fun).

Eat: Food, Glorious Food!

With so many delicious options to choose from, your only problem will be deciding which spot to eat at first.

Dine on gourmet Italian fare at Jaime’s Italian With a menu of Tuscan specialties designed by famed chef Jaime Oliver, Jaime’s Italian is a favorite dining venue among Royal Caribbean fans. Start with the Meat Plank, the shareable appetizer piled with mortadella, salami, prosciutto, pickles and cheeses. Then choose from fresh pasta, fish and seafood dishes, chicken, or burgers. 

Taste a little of everything at the Windjammer Royal Caribbean’s buffet — Windjammer — enables you to sample all your favorites, plus try some tempting dishes. Breakfast offerings include a selection of everything from omelets to bacon to French toast, pastries, and more. Lunchtime options range from sandwiches, salads, and soups to fresh-pressed paninis and various carving stations. For dinner, you can eat just about anything you can imagine, including salads, burgers, dogs, tacos, chicken, and beef dishes. Don’t forget to save room for the dessert, which include a number of options.

Get some sushi at Izumi Fans of Japanese cuisine can enjoy expertly prepared, impeccably presented sushi and sashimi, as well as a wide variety of Asian-inspired appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Just know that like many restaurants outside the buffet and main dining room, there is an extra charge.

Savor the taste of the sea at Hooked Seafood Choose from a menu of New England-style seafood classic dishes including crab cakes, crab claws, lobster rolls, plus raw-bar favorites like just-shucked oysters.

Chow down on Italian favorites Giovanni’s Table Even if your cruise doesn’t sail anywhere near the boot-shaped peninsula, you can satisfy your craving for fresh pastas, and braised meats and classic Italian dishes (lamb, chicken, shrimp, and veal) at this upscale Italian spot. One tip — try it for lunch for a cheaper price than what’s charged at dinner.

Dine in elegance at 150 Central Park Available on Oasis-class ships, 150 Central Park serves farm-to-ship cuisine using carefully sourced ingredients to create handcrafted gourmet experience. Dishes include halibut, duck, lobster, veal, and more. 

Let your taste buds experience Wonderland In the mood for a culinary adventure? Take your taste buds down the rabbit hole to enjoy magical elixirs and sensory surprises. Wonderland is an Alice in Wonderland-inspired restaurant, right down to the menu you have to paint to reveal its contents. Meanwhile the entrees served also have a unique take on what you eat. Consider it one of the most memorable meals you’ll ever eat.

Grab a slice of pizza at Sorrento’s Sometimes you just want a slice of pizza. Sorrento’s serves up pies around the clock. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic cheese or pepperoni pizza or want to try one of the daily specialty toppings like chorizo or Hawaiian-style pizza, Sorrento’s will satisfy your cravings for pizza in a casual setting for lunch, dinner, or a late-night snack.

Compete: So Many Ways to Challenge Yourself

On a Royal Caribbean ship, you can choose from the latest game trends or go old-school to compete with others and prove who is the best.

Get in a game of mini-golf Playing mini-golf is a great way to have fun with family members and/or friends. Shipboard mini-golf means you get to enjoy an ocean view while you play! It’s completely free and the good news is that the courses don’t usually get too crowded. It’s something you can play anytime, day or night.

Test your wits in an escape room Are you up to a brainteasing challenge? Can you and your team solve the clues and escape before the clock runs out? Whether you’re already a fan of the escape room trend or eager to try this challenge for the first time, you’ll have a blast racing against the clock to find clues so you can solve the escape room puzzle on many Royal Caribbean ships. The “Apollo 18” escape room, for example, gives you an hour to figure of the clues to launch the rocket… and is set in a control room that looks straight out of the 1960s.

Play video games in the arcade Ok, maybe you don’t think about playing video games on vacation, but your kids might. On the ships there are arcades with all sorts of games – from air hockey to skill cranes to shooting games. Royal Caribbean’s onboard video arcades vary from ship to ship, but they all offer the lure of parent-free fun amidst flashing lights. Of course, parents can play too.

Try your skill in trivia and sports If you love a little competition, then surprisingly a cruise ship can scratch that itch. Royal Caribbean puts on lots of games where you can test yourself against others. This includes trivia covering all sorts of topics from famous logos to flags of the world. As well, sports contests like free-throw competitions and soccer skills are also happening during the cruise.

Entertainment: Enjoy the Show

There’s something magical about watching a live performance; something you can’t get from streaming your favorite show or movie at home. Royal Caribbean gives guests a wide range of choices of live entertainment to enjoy.

Enjoy world-class entertainment at a Broadway at Sea production Royal Caribbean offers Tony award-winning Broadway shows. Recent productions offered onboard include Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Cats, and Grease. If you love razzle-dazzle shows with world-class performers singing and dancing with the full panoply of professional costumes, lighting, and sets, a voyage aboard a Royal Caribbean ship is your ticket to great entertainment. Best of all, these shows are free to watch.

Be amazed at the skills of AquaTheater performers Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels feature the Aqua Theater, unique performance spaces where two 30-foot diving platforms flank the deepest pool at sea. Watch in awe as aerialists, acrobats, and high divers perform amazing feats as the ship sails. There is simply no other cruise line that has anything like this.

Listen to live music Royal Caribbean’s live music venues feature world-class musicians performing a wide range of sounds, from cover bands and acoustic to Latin and live jazz. You can take in a live concert every night of your cruise. They perform at venues around the ship in the evening, adding a nice soundtrack to the evening of entertainment.

Laugh your stress away with some comedy If you like comedy, you can laugh and enjoy yourself at sea. Just about any cruise will have a comedian. Sometimes they perform in a small venue and sometimes they are headliners in the main theater. No matter, the comedians will help put you in a good mood, with performers that have appeared on major broadcasts and venues.

Toast the official start of your cruise at the sail-away party Aboard every trip to the Caribbean is the sail-away party. To celebrate the moment your ship leaves port, Royal Caribbean hosts a party at the pool deck. All guests are invited to enjoy the festivities, which include drinks, dancing, and music. Don’t miss the fun, especially if you’re cruising for the first time.

Drink: I’ll Toast to That!

Quench your thirst, learn about wines, enjoy the way your favorite drink tastes accompanied by ocean air.

Root for your favorite team at Playmakers If your favorite team is playing during your cruise, you can watch the action at Playmakers. Drink your favorite brew while snacking on Playmakers’ menu of sports bar favorites like burgers and wings. If you’re traveling during football season, then there is no better place to be. 

Let a robot bartender serve you at the Bionic Bar In a cool twist on traditional drink service, many Royal Caribbean ships have the Bionic Bar. Here, you order your favorite cocktail via an iPad, then have it prepared and served to you by robotic arms. It’s a mix of mixology and technology as your perfectly prepared drink is put together.

Take a mini-tour of the ship from your bar stool It’s perhaps the most unique bar on any cruise ship anywhere. The Rising Tide Bar on Oasis-class ships is an elevator bar, gliding slowly up from the Royal Promenade on deck 5 to Central Park on deck 8. Don’t worry, you haven’t had too much to drink. The bar really is moving.

Have a fruity cocktail from The Bamboo Room A tiki-inspired bar with all sorts of fruity concoctions? The Bamboo Room isn’t on every ship, but is a favorite for those that enjoy a tropical feeling. Step in and be transported back to mid-century when tiki bars were all the rage. It’s lively (especially near the action of the bar), but also offers spots to sit and enjoy the company of others in a cozy atmosphere where you don’t have to yell to be heard.

Enjoy poolside beverages at Lime and Coconut Perhaps the most popular bar on any Royal Caribbean ship will be Lime and Coconut. This is the poolside bar. Here you can get all the fruity tropical concoctions you’re dreaming about, all with barely having to leave your sun lounger. 

Let Loose: Show Off a Little

You’re on vacation, so loosen up. Move your body on the dance floor, let your inner pop (or rock, or country) star cut loose on stage, put on your fanciest duds and/or a playful costume.

Enjoy an evening of elegance with formal nights If the elegance of cruising’s past makes you feel you were born too late, you’ll love this opportunity to wear your finest attire. Formal nights happen on each cruise and are perfect to get all dressed up and have a romantic evening. Be sure to take a photo so you can show all your friends back home how amazing you look on this special evening at sea.

Wear a fantastic costume at theme nights If you like to dress up but prefer a more playful atmosphere, you’ll enjoy Royal Caribbean’s theme nights. These festive evenings vary from voyage to voyage. Your cruise might offer ‘70s Disco Night, White Out, Caribbean Night, Country & Western, Latin or a Sock Hop. Don’t worry, you don’t have to dress up to enjoy the theme parties.

Play (or just watch) interactive game shows Watch – or participate in – one of Royal Caribbean’s shipboard game shows, based loosely on TV classic shows. One is a take on The Newlywed Game where contestants try to win by showing how well they know their spouse. Other game shows offered onboard include Battle of the Sexes and the adults-only Quest scavenger hunt.

More on sailing Royal Caribbean:

• Complete Guide to Sailing Royal Caribbean (What It’s Like)

Worth It? Complete Guide to Royal Caribbean’s Drink Package

• 15+ Royal Caribbean Tips, Tricks, and Things to Know

Popular: 39 Useful Things to Pack (17 You Wouldn't Think Of)

Read next: park & cruise hotels for every port in america, popular: 107 best cruise tips, secrets, tricks, and freebies.

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Cool! I wonder what activities Icon will have (besides the ones already announced).

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Royal Caribbean Activity Schedule

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Want to know what activities are scheduled on a Royal Caribbean Cruise? Here is the schedule from our 7-Night cruise on the Harmony of the Seas including pictures of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass!

This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on these links, I get a small percentage back at no cost to you! For more information see my  disclosure policy .

Right now you can get 30% off every guest + Kids Sail Free on Royal Caribbean Cruises! Call 855-GET-AWAY to get a quote and tell them Mommy Mouse Clubhouse sent you or click the button below!

It’s hard to know what to do on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. With so many activities scheduled each day, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.

This guide includes pictures of the daily schedule, so you can know what to expect and easily plan your days in advance. Plus, I’ve included information about dining times and what to expect on port days!

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Day 1 Cruise Compass & Activity Schedule

Good To Know

• 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Show Reservation Assistance for the Royal Caribbean App (Bring your smart device), On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Box Office – Entertainment Reservations, book via the Royal Caribbean App or Dial 2323
• Noon – Midnight Welcome Aboard Video Address with your Cruise Director Jeffrey, Stateroom TV, Channel 1
• Noon – 4:00 pm Mandatory Safety Briefing, check in at your assigned Assembly Station, Decks 4/5/6
• 4:00 pm All Aboard
• 1:00 am Curfew for Guests 17 & Under

Smoking Only Permitted in Designated Outdoor Areas

Things to Do

• 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Meet Your Port & Shopping Experts Dee & Chantal, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Carousel, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 11:00 am – 9:00 pm Guess the Weight of the Sculpture, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Adventure Ocean Open House & Registration, Adventure Ocean Deck 14
• 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Royal Babies & Tots Registration and Reservations, Adventure Ocean Deck 14
• 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Teens Open House, Living Room Deck 15
• 5:00 pm – 5: 30 pm Learn to Play, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Carousel, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Collect your Complimentary Raffle Tickets for the Port & Shopping Show, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 7:15 pm – 9:00 pm Pick up your Complimentary Effy Pendant, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 10:00 pm Snowball Raffle Draw, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 10:00 pm – 10:30 pm LGBTQ+ Get Together (Self led), Schooner Bar Deck 6

Spa, Fitness & Shops

• 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Vitality Spa Tour & Complimentary Massage Taster, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• Noon – 5:00 pm Vitality Spa Tour and Complimentary Raffle, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• Noon – 7:00 pm Meet Your Onboard Personal Trainer, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm Free Footprint & Posture Analysis, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm Complimentary Scalp & Hair Consultations, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm Complimentary Acupuncture Consultations, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm Medi Spa Facial Rejuvenation Consultation, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:00 pm Complimentary Raffle Draw, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm Evening Stretch, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 6:00 pm – 10:30 pm Tissot Showcase Event, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm Diamond Shopping Party 40% Off Fine Jewelry Sale, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – `10:00 pm Cruise Line Lanyards – Special offer, The Shop, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Liquor & Tobacco Sale, Save up to 35%, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Diamond Jewelry Raffle, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Hublot Travel Exclusive Collection Unveiling, Central Park Deck 8

Entertainment

• 11:00 am – 10:00 pm Open Play Games, Sorts Court Deck 15
• 3:00 pm – 3:15 pm FlowRider Safety Demonstration, FlowRider Deck 16
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm First Time Cruisers with Shop Orientation Tour wit your Cruise Director’s Staff, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm Let’s Get Loud Sail Away Party, Poolside Deck 15
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Welcome Aboard All Ages Comedy Show Starring Royal Comedians Derek Richards & Rocky Osborn, Royal Theater (Reservations Required) Decks 4, 5
• 8:00 pm – 8:45 pm Majority rules Game Show, The Attic Deck 4
• 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Teen Meet & Greet (Ages 12-17), Living Room Deck 15
• 8:15 pm – 9:00 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show (Reservations Required) Aqua Theater Deck 6
• 8:30 pm – 10:20 pm Movie: Sing 2 (PG), Royal Theater Deck 4
• 9:15 pm – 9:45 pm Name That Tune: Motown, On Air Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 10:45 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show (Reservations Required) Aqua Theater Deck 6
• 10:15 pm – 11:00 pm Finish That Lyric Game Show, The Attic Deck 4
• 10:30 pm – Midnight Welcome Aboard Adult Karaoke (Ages 18+), On Air Deck 5
• 12:15 pm – 4:00 pm Caribbean Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Poolside Music with DJ Eddie, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Guitar Music with Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm Let’s Get Loud Sail Away Party with DJ Eddie, Poolside Deck 15
• 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Jazz Waves Quartet in a Groove, Top Stage, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Guitar Music with Dmytro, Central Park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Jazz Waves Quartet in a Groove, Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm LIVE Music with Temperature Band, Top Stage Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – 12:30 am Latin Music with Mirage, Boleros Deck 5
• 9:15 pm – 12:30 am Piano & Vocal Entertainment with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 9:30 pm – 1:00 am Guitar & Vocal Entertainment with Andre, Boot & Bonnet Pub Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm A Tribute to Billy Joel with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• `10:00 pm – 12:15 am LIVE Music with Temperature Band, Dazzles Decks 8 & 9
• Night Club Opens with DJ Eddie (18+), The Attic Deck 4

Available Hotels Near Cape Canaveral Florida

Day 2 cruise compass.

• Midnight – Noon Entertainment Today with your Cruise Director Dan, Stateroom TV, Channel 1
• Midnight – Noon Box Office- Entertainment Reservations, book via the Royal Caribbean App or Dial 2323
• 10:00 am – 10:30 am Destination Talk, On Air Deck 5
• 10:00 am – 11:30 am Guess the Weight of the Sculpture, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:00 am – 10:00 pm Carousel, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 11:00 am Sit & Go Texas hold Em Tournament, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 11:00 am – Noon Port & Shopping Show, Royal Theater Deck 4
• 11:30 am – Noon Learn to Play, Casino Royale
• 12:15 pm – 12:30 pm Art Auction Registration, The Attic Deck 4
• 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Champagne Art Auction, The Attic Deck 4
• 1:00 pm Slot Tournament, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 4:00 pm Taste of the Caribbean Cocktail Seminar, The Attic Deck 4
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Friends of Bill W Gathering (Self led), Car Room Deck 14
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Women of Wine, Wine Tasting, Vintages Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 7:15 pm Singles Get Together (Self led), Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Collect Your Complimentary Raffle Ticket for the Diamond & Gemstone Seminar, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Pre-Order Your Complimentary St. Maarten VIP Card, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 11:00 pm – Midnight Hot Seat Promo, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 7:00 am – 7:30 am Vitality Stretch, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 7:30 am – 8:00 am Abs Class, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 8:00 am – 8:30 am Trilo3y Boot Camp, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 9:00 am – 9:45 am Pure-Form Yoga, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 10:00 am – 10:30 am Seminar: Slimmer You With CoolSculpting, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• `10:00 am – 3:00 pm Certified Pre-Owned Rolex Sale, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 10:00 am – 10:00 pm Diamond Jewelry Raffle, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 11:30 pm Seminar: Chinese Medicine, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 10:30 am – 2:00 pm Little Switzerland Grand Unveiling, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 3:00 pm $15 Fashion Accessories Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 11:00 am – Noon Health Seminar: How to Increase your Metabolism, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 11:00 am – Noon Complimentary Spa Tour & Free Massage Taster, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm LIVE! Hair Master Class, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Complimentary Health Seminar: Improving Your Posture, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Seminar: Hair Restoration, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm A Toast to Savings at the Champagne Boutiques Event, Central Park Boutiques Deck 8
• 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm World of Exotic Gemstones Event, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm Complimentary Ladies Pamper Party, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Thermage Skin Tightening, Vitality Spa
• 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm Ladies Night with Handbags, Fragrances and Fashion Jewelry Sale: Up to 50% Off, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Seminar: Arthritis and Back Pain, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm TRX Suspension Training, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm Evening Stretch, Vitality Fitness Center
• 8:00 am – 11:00 am Pickleball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 9:00 am – 9:30 am Morning Stretch, Boleros Deck 6
• 9:45 am – 10:15 am Morning Crossword Challenge, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 10:00 am – 10:15 am FlowRider Safety Demonstration, FlowRider Deck 16
• 10:00 am – 10:30 am Fun Fitness Class, Poolside Deck 15
• 10:00 am – 10:45 am Cash Prize Royal BINGO: Pre-Sale, Outside On Air ($) (Games at 2:00 pm in Royal Theater) Deck 5
• 10:00 am – 11:00 am Table Tennis Competition (18+), near Sports Court (Athletic Shoes Required) Deck 15
• 10:30 am – 11:00 am Morning Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 11:00 am – Noon Open Play Basketball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 11:15 am – 11:45 am Flash Mob Dance Class (Session 1 of 3), Boleros Deck 5
• Noon – 1:00 pm 3×3 Basketball Competition (+18), Sports Court (Athletic Shoes Required) Deck 15
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Cash Prize Royal BINGO: Cards on Sale (Games Begin at 2:00 pm), Royal Theater ($) Deck 4
• 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm World’s Sexiest Man Competition (18+), Poolside Deck 15
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm Visual On Screen Trivia: Canadian Celebrities, On Air Deck 5
• 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Open Play Volleyball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 3:00 pm – 3:15 pm FlowRider Safety Demonstration, FlowRider
• 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Salsa Dance Class #1, Boleros Deck 5
• 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm Afternoon Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm True or False Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Open Play Soccer, Sports Court Deck 15
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm 5×5 Soccer Competition (+18) Sports Court Deck 15 (Athletic Shoes Required)
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Family Activity: Hula Hoop Challenge, On Air Deck 5
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Name That Tune: Billy Joel vs Elton John, Boleros Deck 5
• 5:45 pm – 6:30 pm iSkate Ice Showcase, Studio B (Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm Teens Abyss (ages 12-17) Ultimate Abyss Deck 16
• 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm Open Play Games, Sports Court Deck 15
• 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Name That Tune 50’s & 60’s, On Air Deck 5
• 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm A Royal Mystery, The Attic (16+, max 10 teams) Deck 4
• 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Family Karaoke, On Air Deck 5
• 7:45 pm – 8:30 pm iSkate Ice Showcase, Studio B (Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 8:45 pm – 9:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic (Reservations required) Deck 4
• 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm 50’s & 60’s: The Rock & Roll Event! Harmony High, Dazzles Decks 8,9
• 9:45 pm – 10:30 pm The Perfect Couple Game Show, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 10:00 pm – 11:30 pm GREASE: The Broadway Musical!, Royal Theater Decks 4, 5 (Reservations Required)
• 10:45 pm – 11:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic Deck 4 (Reservations Required)
• 10:45 pm – 11:45 pm Adult Karaoke Super Star: Round 1 (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 11:45 pm – Midnight Adult Karaoke Open Microphone, On Air Deck 5
• 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Caribbean Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 2:00 pm – 3:45 pm Caribbean Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 3:45 pm – 5:00 pm Sunset Chill Down Tunes with DJ Mossfine, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Cocktail Hour Guitar Melodies with Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Cocktail Hour Guitar Melodies with Dmytro, Central Park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 10:45 pm Jazz Waves Quartet LIVE!, Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 7:45 pm – 8:30 pm Party Music with Temperature Band LIVE!, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm 50’s & 60’s Warm up with DJ Eddie, Dazzles Decks 8.9
• 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm 50’s & 60’s: The Rock & Roll Event! “Harmony High” with Temperature Band, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 9:15 pm – 12:30 am Piano & Vocal Bar Entertainment with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 9:30 pm – 1:00 am Pub Entertainment with Andre, Boot & Bonnet Pub Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm Tribute to Elvis Presley with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 10:30 pm – 12:15 am Party Music with Temperature Band LIVE!, Dazzles Decks 8,9
• 11:45 pm – Late Nightclub with DJ Eddie (18+), The Attic Deck 4

Day 3 Cruise Compass

• Midnight – Noon Entertainment Today with your Cruise Director Dan, Stateroom TV Channel 1
• 10:15 am – 11:00 am Exclusive Crown and Anchor Top Tier Event, (Platinum Members and Above), Royal Theater Deck 4
• 10:30 am – 11:15 pm Seminar: How to Buy Diamonds & Gemstones, On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am Sit & Go Texas Hold Em Tournament, Casino Royale ($) Deck 4
• Noon Sake & Sushi Pairing, Izumi ($) Deck 4
• 12:15 pm – 12:30 pm Lightning Fast Auction Registration, The Attic Deck 4
• 1:00 pm Blackjack Tournament, Casino Royale ($) Deck 4
• 4:00 pm Mixing through the Decades Cocktail Seminar, The Attic Deck 4
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Californian Wine Tasting, Vintages ($) Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Collect Your Complimentary St. Maarten Shopping VIP Shopping Package, Port & Shipping Desk Deck 5
• 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm Singles Get Together (self led), Schooner Bar Desk 6
• 10:00 pm – 10:30 pm LGBTQ+ Get Together (self led), Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 7:30 am – 8:00 am Total Body Condition, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 8:00 am – 8:45 am Pure Form Pilates, Vitality Fitness Center ($) Deck 6
• 9:00 am – 9:45 am RDYE Indoor Cycling, Vitality Fitness Center ($) Deck 6
• 10:00 am – 11:00 am Seminar: Back Pain & Sciatica, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Certified Pre-Owned Rolex Sale, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 11:30 am Seminar: Slimmer You, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 10:30 am – 2:00 pm Kallati Jewelry Unveiling, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 10: 30 am – 10:00 pm Designer Watch Sale Up to 75% Off, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 11:00 am – Noon Seminar: Secrets to a Flatter Stomach, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• Noon – 1:00 pm Complimentary Eye Treatment, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Seminar: hair Restoration, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm Zultanite Exclusive Gemstone Event, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 3:15 pm – 4:00 pm Complimentary Ladies Pamper Party, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Seminar: Thermage Skin Tightening, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Seminar: Chinese Herbal Remedies, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm TRX Suspension Training, Vitality Fitness Center ($) Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tag Heuer Professional Diver Collection Watch Event, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 9:30 am – 10:00 am Morning Stretch, Boleros Deck 5
• 9:45 am – 10:15 am Morning Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 10:00 am – 11:00 am Table Tennis Competition, near to the Sports Court (Athletic Shoes Required) Deck 15
• 10:30 am – 11:30 am Adult Scrapbooking, Boleros Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 11:30 am Latin Fit Dance Class, Poolside Deck 15
• 11:00 am – 12:15 pm Family Activity: Family Fun Fair, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 11:15 am – 11:45 am Flash Mob Dance Class Session 2, Dazzles Deck 8
• 11:15 am – 11:45 am Lost at Sea Survival Challenge, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• Noon – 1:00 pm 3×3 Basketball Competition (+18), Sports Court Deck 15 (Athletic Shoes Required)
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Open Play Basketball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm General Knowledge Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm The Hunt Game Show, Poolside Deck 15
• 3:00 pm – 3:14 pm FlowRider Safety Demonstration, FlowRider Deck 16
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm 90’s Dance Class, Boleros Deck 5
• 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm 1887 – A Journey in Time Ice Spectacular, Studio B (Reservations required) Deck 4
• 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Afternoon Trivia, OnAir Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Name That Tune: 90’s, Boleros Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Dodgeball Competition (+`18), Sports Court Deck 15 (Athletic Shoes Required)
• 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm 1887 – A Journey in Time Ice Spectacular, Studio B Deck 4 (Reservations Required)
• 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Open Play Games, Sports Court Deck 15
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic (18+, Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm Tri-bond Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 7:45 pm – 8:00 pm Visual On Screen Trivia: Name That Flag, On Air Deck 5
• 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm GREASE: The Broadway Musical!, Royal Theater (Reservations Required) Decks 4, 5
• 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm 60 Seconds or Less Game Show, On Air Deck 5
• 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic (18+, Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm Teens Boogie Boarding (ages 12-17), FlowRider Deck 16
• 9:45 pm – 10:30 pm Totally Awesome 90’s Party, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 11:00 pm – 11:45 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic (18+, reservations required) Deck 4
• 11:30 pm – 12:30 am Adult Karaoke Sing-A-Long (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 11:30 am Boardwalk Tunes with DJ Mosfine, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 11:30 am – 12:15 pm Dixieland High C’s Horns on the Boardwalk, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 12:30 pm – 2:15 pm Caribbean Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Caribbean Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm Guitar Concert with Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Sunset Chill Down Tunes with DJ Eddie, Poolside Deck 15
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Guitar Concert with Dmytro, Central Park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 9:15 pm Latin Music with Mirage, Boleros Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 10:45 pm Cocktail Music with Jazz Waves Quartet LIVE! Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 8:00 pm – Midnight Party Music with Temperature Band LIVE! Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 8:30 pm – 9:15 pm Pub Guitarist Andre, Boot & Bonnet Deck 5
• 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm Stevie Wonder Tribute with Temperature Band LIVE! Dazzles, Deck 8, 9
• 9:15 pm – 9:45 pm 90’s Music Warm Up with DJ Eddie, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 pm – Midnight Latin Music with Mirage, Boleros Deck 5
• 10:30 pm – 1:00 am Pub Guitarist Andre, Boot & Bonnet Deck 5
• 10:30 pm – 1:00 am Piano Bar Entertainment with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 11:00 pm – Midnight A Tribute to The Beatles with Kelly, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 11:45 pm – Late Night Club Experience with DJ Mosfine (18+), The Attic Deck 4

Day 4 Cruise Compass

• 8:00 am Ships Arrival in Phillipsburg, St. Maaarten
• 8:30 am Gangway Open Deck 3 (Estimated, based on clearance by local authorities, Please use the gangway button in the elevator)
• 5:30 pm All Aboard
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am Collect your Complimentary St. Maarten VIP Shopping Package, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Friends of Bill W Gathering (Self led), Card Room Deck 14
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Connecting Continents Wine Tasting, Vintages ($) Deck 8
• 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm Carousel, Boardwalk Deck 6
• 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Guess the Price of the Artwork, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Collect your Complimentary St. Thomas Shopping VIP Cards, Port & Shopping Desk Deck 5
• 9:00 pm The Macallan Quest Collection Tasting Experience, Vintages ($) Deck 8
• 7:00 am – 7:30 am Morning Stretch, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 9:00 am – 9:45 am Pure Form Yoga, Vitality Fitness Center ($) Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Complimentary Eye Treatments, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Medi-Spa Walk-in Clinic, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Complimentary Spa Tour & Free Massage Taster, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm Trilo3y Boot Camp, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Targeted Wrinkle Treatments, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm Diamond Jewelry Raffle, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm Beauty Gifts Under $40, Solera Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Swarovski Jewelry Sale – up to 10% off, Prince & Greene Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm $15 Fashion Accessories Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm Tag Heuer Formula 1 Event, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm Exclusive Blueberry Tanzanite Event Starting From $199, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Omega Swiss Watch Special Sale, Omega Boutique, Central Park Deck 8
• 8:00 am – 11:00 am Open Play Pickleball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 10:30 am – 11:00 am Specialty Trivia: Food & Spirits Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 3:00 pm Open Play Soccer, Sports Court Deck 15
• 11:15 am – 11:45 am Visual Trivia: Monuments & Places of the World, On Air Deck 5
• 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm Arts & Crafts: Scrapbooking Workshop, Boleros Deck 5
• 2:15 pm – 2:45 pm General Knowledge Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Scattergories Game, Boleros Deck 5
• 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Open Play Basketball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm Specialty Trivia: Cities Around the World, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Name That Tune: Country Hits, On Air Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm 3 Points Basketball Competition (18+), Sports Court Deck 15
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Latin Dance Class, Boleros Deck 5
• 6:00 pm – 8:05 pm All Skates (long pants and socks required), Studio B Deck 4
• 6:15 pm – 6:45 pm Name That Tune: Broadway Musical, On Air Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 7:50 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show, Aqua Theater Deck 6 (Reservations Required)
• 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Headliner Showtime Starring Jason Garfield – World Champion Juggler, Royal Theater (Reservations Required) Decks 4, 5
• 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm Game Show: Who Wants to Feel Like a Millionaire, On Air Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – 9:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic (18+, Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 9:00 pm – 9:50 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show, Aqua Theater Deck 6 (Reservations Required)
• 9:15 pm – 10:00 pm Country Western Hoedown Throwdown Line Dance Party, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 pm – 11:15 pm Game Show: Battle of the Sexes (18+), Studio B Deck 4
• 10:45 pm – 11:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic Deck 4 (18+ Reservations Required)
• 11:00 pm – 11:45 pm Adult Karaoke Superstar Round 2 (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Chilldown Top Hits with DJ Mosfine, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Cocktail Hour with Classical Guitarist Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Cocktail Hour with Classical Guitarist Dmytro, Central Park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Piano Melodies with Grease Conductor Tyler, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Latin Music with Mirage LIVE!, Boleros Deck 5
• 8:00 pm – 8:45 pm Pub Entertainment with Andre, Boot & Bonnet Pub Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – 9:15 pm Warm Up Country Music with DJ Mosfine, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – Midnight Party Vibes with Temperature Band LIVE!, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm Earth, Wind, and Fire Tribute with Temperature Band, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 10:00 pm – Midnight Latin Music with Mirage LIVE!, Boleros Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 1:00 am Pub Entertainment with Andre, Boot & Bonnet Pub Deck 5
• Midnight – Late Night Club Top Hits with DJ Eddie (18+), Dazzles Decks 8, 9

Day 5 Cruise Compass

• 7:00 am Ship’s Arrival in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• 7:30 am Gangway Open
• 3:30 pm All Aboard
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Friends of Bill W Gathering (self led), Card Room Deck 14
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Old World Wines vs. New World Wine Tasting, ($) Vintages Deck 8
• 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Thomas Kinkade Seminar, The Attic Deck 4
• 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Thomas Kinkade Exhibition & Sale, Art Gallery Deck 4
• 11:00 pm Bags of Cash Draw, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm Pure Form Yoga, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Complimentary Spa Tour 7 Free Massage Taster, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm 10 Minute Face Lift, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Complimentary Health Seminar: Detox to Health and Weight Loss, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm Beauty Gifts Under $40, Solera Deck 5
• 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm Diamond jewelry Raffle, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm Engrace Lab Grown Diamond Event, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sparkle & Bling Fashion Jewelry Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Watch Gift Sets Sale for $19.99 Only, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm Swiss Watch Sale Under $500, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm Kate Spade Sale – up to 30% off, Royal Promenade, Deck 5
• 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm Cartier Grand Opening, Cartier Boutique, Central Park Deck 8
• 10:30 am – 11:00 am Word Search Challenge, On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 3:00 pm Open Play Games, Sports Court Deck 15
• 1:15 am – 2:15 pm Arts & Crafts Workshop: Scrapbooking, Boleros Deck 5
• 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Cornhole Tournament, Royal Promenad Deck 5
• 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Afternoon Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Open Play Soccer, Sports Court Deck 15
• 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Hullabaloo Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Red White and Blue Scavenger Hunt, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm Beer Pong Tournament (with water), Boardwalk Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Family Mini Golf Competition, Harmony Dunes Deck 15
• 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Visual On Screen Trivia: Actors & Movies, On Air Deck 5
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Table Tennis Competition (18+), near to the Sports Court Deck 15
• 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Open Play Basketball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Brainteaser Trivia: Riddle Me This, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Family Activity: Scavenger Hunt, On Air Deck 5
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm 70’s Line Dance Class, Boleros Deck 5
• 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm Marvel Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 6:00 pm – 8:05 pm All Skates Ice Skating Session, Studio B Deck 4
• 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Open Play Games, Sports Court Deck 15
• 8:00 pm – 8:45 pm Headliner Showtime Starring Jason Garfield – World Champion Juggler, Royal Theater Decks 4, 5 (Reservations Required)
• 8:15 pm – 8:45 pm Name That Tune: Abba, On Air Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – 9:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic Deck 4 (18+. reservations required)
• 9:15 pm – 10:00pm 70’s Disco Inferno Dance Party, Aqua Theater Deck 6
• 10:15 pm – 10:45 pm The Blankety Blank Game Show (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 10:15 pm – 11:00 pm Headliner Showtime Starring Jason Garfield – World Champion Juggler, Royal Theater Decks 4, 5 (Reservations Required)
• 10:45 pm – 11:30 pm Adult Comedy Show, The Attic Deck 4 (18+. reservations required)
• 11:00 pm – 12:15 am Adult Karaoke (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 pm – Late RED – The Nightclub Experience, Studio B Deck 4
• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Happy Vibes with DJ Eddie, Poolside Deck 15
• 6:30 pm – 8:15 pm Piano Melodies with Grease Conductor Tyler, Central Park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Caribbean Vibes with Harmoneez LIVE! Top Stage Promenade Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 10:45 pm Jazz Waves Quartet LIVE! Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 8:15 pm – 10:00 pm Big Band ‘n Funk Sounds with Harmony of the Seas Orchestra, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 8:45 pm – 9:15 pm 70’s Warm Up with DJ Eddie, Aqua Theater Deck 6
• 8:45 pm – 11:00 pm Caribbean Vibes with Harmoneez LIVE! Boleros Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm A Tribute to Bab Marley Harmoneez LIVE!, Boleros Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm Tribute to Elton John with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar, Deck 6
• 11:00 pm – Late RED – The Nightclub Experience (18+), Studio B Deck 4

Day 6 Cruise Compass

• Midnight – Noon Entertainment Today with your Cruise Director Dan, Channel 1
• 24 Hours – Departure Video with your Cruise Directory Dan, Channel 7
• 9:15 am – 10:00 am Up, Close & Personal with your Entertainment Family (for Key, Diamond Guests and above), Royal Theater Deck4
• 10:30 am – 11:15 pm Captain’s Corner, Royal Theater Decks 4, 5
• 11:00 am Sit & Go Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament, Casino Royale Deck 4 ($)
• 11:30 am Taste of Royal, 150 Central Park ($) Deck 8
• 11:30 am – 11:45 am Veterans Tribute, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 11:45 am – Noon Art Auction Registration, The Attic Deck 4
• Noon – 1:30 pm Grand Finale Art Auction, The Attic Deck 4
• 1:00 pm Slot Tournament, Casino Royale Deck 4 ($)
• 2:30 pm LGBTQ+ Get Together (Self led), Solarium Bar Deck 16
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Italian Wine Tasting, Vintages ($) Deck 8
• 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm Sabbath Service, Windjammer (Self led) Deck 16
• 10:30 pm – 10:45 pm 1 Bet Raffle Draw, Casino Royale Deck 4
• 8:00 am – 8:45 am Pure Form Yoga, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 9:00 am – 9:30 am RYDE Indoor Cycling, Vitality Fitness Center ($)
• 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Zultanite Exclusive Gemstone Event, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 11:00 am Seminar: Chinese Herbal Remedies, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 10:30 am – 2:30 pm 2 for $25 T-shirt Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 10:00 pm Designer Watch Sale, Up to 75% Off, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 10:00 pm Fashion Jewelry Sale: Up to 50% Off, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 10:00 pm $29.99 & $39.99 Fragrance Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 10:30 pm Manager’s Clearance Event up to 60%, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 11:00 am – Noon Complimentary Massage Taster, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 11::00 am – Noon Seminar: Burn Fat Faster, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm Kallati Jewelry Event, Regalia Fine Jewelry
• 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm Complimentary Ladies Pamper Party, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Seminar: Go Home Looking 10 Years Younger, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Seminar: Chinese Medicine, Vitality Fitness Center Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm VIP Art Expo & Sale, Art Gallery Deck 4
• 9:30 am – 10:00 am Fun Fitness Dance Class, Poolside Deck 15
• 9:45 am – 10:30 am Cash Prize Royal BINGO: Cards on Pre-Sale, Outside On Air Deck 5
• 11:00 am – 11:30 am Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 11:00 am – 11:45 am Brazilian Axe Dance Class, Poolside Deck 15
• 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Open Play Basketball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 11:45 am – 12:15 pm Towel Folding Demonstration, Dazzles Deck 8
• 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm Family Activity: Cartoon Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Cash Prize Royal BINGO: Cards on Sale, Studio B Deck 4
• 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm International Belly Flop Contesnt (18+) Poolside Deck 15
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Basket Hot Shots Competition, (18+) Sports Court Deck 15
• 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm Flash MOB Dance Recap, (Session 3 of 3), Boleros Deck 5
• 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Specialty Trivia: Star Wars , Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Open Play Volleyball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 2:15 pm – 2:45 pm If You Know it Dance It Game Show, Boleros Deck 5
• 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Teen Speed Climb (ages 12-17), Rock Climbing Wall Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm 6×6 Volleyball Competition (18+) Sports Court Deck 15
• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm GREASE The Broadway Musical!, Royal Theater Decks 4, 5
• 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm Name That Tune: American Idol, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 3:15 pm – 4:00 pm Adult Arts & Crafts Workshop: Paper Boxes, Boleros Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Afternoon Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Open Play Soccer, Sports Court Deck 15
• 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Name That Tune: Beatles vs. Queen, On Air Deck 5
• 5:00 pm Flash Mob Dance Guest Performance, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Specialty Trivia: It Happened in the 1980’s, OnAir Deck 5
• 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm A Royal Mystery (16+) The Attic Deck 4
• 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm Visual On Screen Trivia: Superheroes, On Air Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm iSkate Ice Skating Showcase, Studio B (Reservations Required) Deck 4
• 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Teen Karaoke (ages 12-17), On Air Deck 5
• 8:15 pm – 9:00 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show, Aqua Theater (Reservations Required) Deck 6
• 8:30 pm – 9:15 pm The Liars Club Game Show (18+), The Attic Deck 4
• 9:15 pm – 10:15 pm The Love & Marriage Game Show (18+), Royal Theater Decks 4, 5
• 10:30 pm – 11:15 pm The Fine Line Aqua Show, Aqua Theater (Reservations Required) Deck 6
• 10:30 pm – 11:15 pm Tropical Poolside Dance Party, Poolside Deck 15
• 11:00 pm – 11:45 pm Adult Karaoke Superstar: Finals, On Air Deck 5
• 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm Caribbean Live Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck15
• 1:30 pm – 4:15 pm Caribbean Live Music with Harmoneez, Poolside Deck 15
• 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm Classical Guitar Music with Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 4:15 pm – 5:30 pm Chilldown Top Hits with DJ Mosfine, Poolside Deck 15
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Live Music with Temperature Band, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Classical Guitar Music with Dmytro, Central Park Deck 8
• 8:00 pm – 11:30 pm Jazz Waves Quartet LIVE! Jazz on 4 Deck 5
• 8:45 pm – 12:30 am Live Music with Mirage, Boleros Deck 5
• 9:00 pm – 12:15 am Live Music with Temperature Band, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm A Tribute to Neil Diamond with Kelly, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm Michael Jackson Tribute with Temperature Band LIVE! Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 11:00 pm – Midnight 80’s Music Hour with DJ Eddie (18+) The Attic Deck 4
• Midnight – Late Dance Party with DJ Eddie (18+) The Attic Deck 4

Day 7 Cruise Compass

Good to Know

• Midnight – Noon Entertainment with your Cruise Director Dan, Channel 1
• 24 Hours – Departure Video with your Cruise Director Dan, Channel 7
• 10:30 am – Ship’s Arrival in Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Bahamas
• 11:00 am – Gangway Open
• 6:00 pm – All Aboard
• 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Silent Auction & Last Chance Art Sale, Art Gallery Deck 4
• 10:00 pm – 10:30 pm LGBTQ+ Get Together (Self led), Vintages Deck 8
• 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Seminar: Chinese Medicine, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Hair Recovery Clinic, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm Trilo3y Boot Camp, Vitality Fitness Center ($) Deck 6
• 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Medi-Spa Walk-in Clinic, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Complimentary Footprint & Posture Analysis, Vitality Spa Deck 6
• 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Liquor & Tobacco Sale – Save up to 35% Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm 2 for $25 T-shirt Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – `10:00 pm Clearance: Swiss Timepieces Under $500, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – `10:00 pm Last Chance Designer Watch Sale, up to 75% Off, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – `10:00 pm Last Day Special Fine Jewelry under $1000, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm The Royal Shops Clearance Sale, Royal Promenade Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm Manager’s Clearance Event – up to 60% off, Regalia Fine Jewelry Deck 5
• 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm Swiss Watch Sale Under $500, Regalia Fine Watches Deck 5
• 8:00 am – 2:45 pm Open Play Games, Sports Court Deck 15
• 10:30 am – 11:00 am Movie Quotes Trivia, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm Arts & Crafts: Card Making, Boleros Deck 5
• 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Name That Tune: 2000 Hits, Boleros Deck 5
• 3:00 pm – 4:51 pm Movie: The Lost City (PG-13) Royal Theater Deck 4
• 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Open Play Pickelball, Sports Court Deck 15
• 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm Line Dance Class, Boleros Deck 5
• 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm FlowRider Safety Demonstration, FlowRider Deck 16
• 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Scattergories Trivia, On Air Deck 5
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm Family Activity: Muffalo Potato (Pelican) On AirDeck 5
• 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm General Knowledge Trivia, Boleros Deck 5
• 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm FlowRider King of 360 Competition, FlowRider Deck 16
• 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm 1887: A Journey in Time Ice Spectacular, Studio B Deck 4 (Reservations Required)
• 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Best of the Best Competition, FlowRider Deck 16
• 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Hullabaloo, On Air Deck 5
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Farewell Comedy Showtime (All Ages) Royal Theater Decks 4, 5
• 7:15 pm – 7:30 pm Visual on Screen Trivia: Broadway Musicals, On Air Deck 5
• 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm Name That Tune: Elvis Presley, On Air Deck 5
• 8:15 pm – 9:00 pm 1887: A Journey in Time Ice Spectacular, Studio B Deck 4
• 8:45 pm – 9:15 pm Adult Majority Rules Game Show (18+), The Attic Deck 4
• 9:30 pm – `10:15 pm Royal Family Feud Game Show, On Air Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 10:45 pm Last Laughs Adult Comedy Show (18+) Royal Theater Deck 4
• 10:30 pm – 11:45 pm Hush! Silent Disco Party (18+), The Attic Deck 4
• 10:30 pm – Midnight Farewell Karaoke (18+), On Air Deck 5
• 10:30 am – 11:30 am Calypso Rhythm with Caribbean Force, Arrivals Plaza Island
• 10:30 am – 11:30 am Captain Jack’s Guitarist Nathan Good, Captain Jack’s State Island
• 10:30 am – 4:00 pm CocoCay Party Jams with Island Resident DJ, Oasis Lagoon Island
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Captain Jack’s Guitarist Nathan Good, Captain Jack’s State Island
• 3:00 pm – 5:45 pm Deck 15
• 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm Captain Jack’s Guitarist Nathan Good, Captain Jack’s State Island
• 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Guitar Melodies at the Cocktail Hour with Dmytro, Boleros Deck 5
• 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm Deck 15
• 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Deck 6
• 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Deck 8 Guitar Melodies at the Cocktail Hour with Dmytro, Central park Deck 8
• 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jazz Waves Quartet in a Groove, Jazz on 4 Deck 4
• 7:15 pm – 11:00 pm Latin Music with Mirage, Boleros Deck 5
• 9:00 pm – Midnight Party Vibes with Temperature Band Live!, Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 9:15 pm – 12:30 am Piano Bar Entertainment with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 9:30 pm – 1:00 am Guitar & Vocal Pub Entertainment with Andre, Bonnet & Boot Pub Deck 5
• 10:00 pm – 1`1:00 pm A Tribute to Whitney Houston with Temperature Band LIVE! Dazzles Decks 8, 9
• 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm Tribute to Jimmy Buffet with Kelly Goodrich, Schooner Bar Deck 6
• 10:30 pm – 11:45 pm Hush! Silet Disco Party (18+) The Attic Deck
• 11:45 pm – LateNight Club Opens with DJ Mosfine (18+) The Attic Deck 4

Perfect Day Island Happenings

• 10:30 am – 1:30 pm Open Play Beach Volleyball, Breezy Bay & South Beach Sports Zone
• 10:30 am – 4:00 pm Open Play Games: Bean Bag Toss, Giant Jenga, Giant Chess, Table Tennis, Foot Billiards, Connect four, Walleegolf, Island
• 11:00 am – 11:45 am Basketball Free Throw Competition, South Beach Basketball Court
• 11:30 am – Noon Pirate Show with Captain Jill & Captain Jack
• 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Open Play Basketball, Breezy Bay & South Beach Basketball Court
• 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Pirate Show with Captain Jill & Captain Jack, Captain Jack’s State
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm Adult Volleyball Competition, South Beach Volleyball Court
• 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Open Play Volleyball (16+)
• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm CocoCay Celebration with our Island Entertainment Family, Arrivals Plaza

More Royal Caribbean Tips

• Royal Caribbean Kids Club
• Main Dining Room Menus
• 150 Central Park Menu
• Solarium Bistro Menu
• Sabor Taqueria Menu
• Room Service Menu
• Johnny Rockets Menu
• Jamie’s Italian Menu
• Izumi Sushi Menu
• Izumi Hibachi Menu
• Coastal Kitchen Menu
• Chops Grill Menu
• Chef’s Table Menu
• Windjammer Buffet Menu

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The best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for every type of traveler

What's the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship? We get this question a lot, and our answer always is the same: It depends.

It depends on what sort of traveler you are. Royal Caribbean is the world's biggest cruise line, and it has more ships than any other major line, including vessels in a wide range of sizes and with a wide range of amenities. While they all have a lot in common, they have some major differences, too, that make them more or less appealing to different types of travelers.

Some Royal Caribbean ships — such as the line's Oasis-class vessels and recently launched Icon of the Seas — are built with far more family-focused activities than others. Some, such as the two-year-old Wonder of the Seas, have added features that appeal to luxury-loving travelers. Other Royal Caribbean ships operate on particularly low-cost itineraries that are best for budget travelers.

For more cruise guides, news and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

In short, the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for you, if you're traveling with children, might not be the same as the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for a solo traveler or the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for a retiree.

Here, we list our top picks for the best Royal Caribbean cruise ships for five different types of travelers.

Icon of the Seas: Best ship for families

The best Royal Caribbean ship for families, in the unanimous view of TPG's cruise editors, is a ship that just debuted earlier this year: Icon of the Seas.

Sailing since January 2024, Icon of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship in the world — more than 6% bigger than the next-biggest ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet. That means greater space for the family fun zones that are a hallmark of Royal Caribbean ships, from children's clubs to water parks.

But it's not just its larger size that makes Icon of the Seas the best Royal Caribbean ship for families. As TPG saw during an early sneak peek at Icon of the Seas in January, Royal Caribbean has designed the vessel — the first of a new class of ships — specifically to cater to families in a bigger way.

For starters, Icon of the Seas has an increased number of cabins that offer extra bunks to accommodate families with multiple children, including new room designs. Some family suites even feature separate rooms for the kids.

Related: The 5 best cruise lines for families

Many of these family-friendly accommodations are near a new-for-the-line outdoor "neighborhood" called Surfside, which is dedicated to families with young children. Surfside features splash areas for babies and kids, pools and lounge spaces for parents, family-friendly eateries and shops, and a bar with "mommy and me" matching mocktails for kids and cocktails for grownups.

Icon of the Seas also features the largest water park ever built on a cruise ship, with a record six top-deck waterslides and a cool new ropes course. Your teens will never want to sail on another ship.

Related: The ultimate Icon of the Seas review and guide

Icon of the Seas is just the first of three family-focused sister ships Royal Caribbean has on order for delivery by 2026 that will make up its new Icon class. The second ship in the series, Star of the Seas, will debut in 2025 and already is open for bookings.

Wonder of the Seas: Best ship for luxury lovers

There's no doubt about it, Wonder of the Seas is the Royal Caribbean ship to book if you're looking to live the high life (and are willing to spend big bucks to do so). Unveiled in 2022, the world's second biggest cruise ship (after Icon of the Seas) was the first Royal Caribbean vessel with a private suite complex for the fancy set — a swanky hideaway with an upscale private lounge, restaurant and sun deck (the new Icon of the Seas has one of these, too, but we still rank Wonder of the Seas as our top Royal Caribbean ship for luxury).

If you book a suite in the complex on Wonder of the Seas, you'll be getting a luxury experience of the sort you won't find almost anywhere else in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Related: What's it like in Wonder's suite complex? We spent $11,000 to find out

Called the Suite Neighborhood, the complex offers some of the biggest (and priciest) suites at sea, including the sprawling, two-deck-high Royal Loft suites that measure more than 1,500 square feet.

A booking for one of the suites also comes with a bevy of perks, from complimentary Wi-Fi to private beach access at Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private beach destination in Haiti. Among the best perks: Access to private concierges who set up shop daily in the suite complex and will ensure you get prime seats at the ship's shows or a table at the always crowded Mason Jar eatery . On a ship that can carry more than 6,000 people, such reservations are a must.

Note the suite complex is a gated community — one where you'll only be surrounded by other swells who have paid top dollar for exclusivity. Nobody can get into the area unless they have a keycard showing they're a resident.

Related: The 8 best cruise lines for elegance and exclusivity

With access to a stylish rooftop pool, loungers at the suite area's private sun deck and higher-level food in its private Coastal Kitchen eatery, you may never want to leave the enclave. However, this being Royal Caribbean, you'll also have access to a seemingly endless array of amusements from waterslides to aerial water shows just steps away.

Freedom of the Seas: Best ship for budget travelers

Freedom of the Seas is the Royal Caribbean ship to pick when you're looking for a quick and affordable getaway — something that isn't a big commitment and won't break the bank.

Based in Miami, the 16-year-old vessel operates short three- and four-night voyages to the Bahamas that are often on sale for just $250 per person or less. That's not per day, mind you, but for the entire cruise. It's a lot more affordable per day than the two ships mentioned above, which are the belles of the ball in the Royal Caribbean fleet and command significantly higher rates.

For would-be Royal Caribbean cruisers, Freedom of the Seas serves as a sort of "test the line" ship. Its short sailings and low pricing mean you're not out a lot in time or money if you don't have the time of your life. It caters heavily to first-time cruisers as well as Florida locals who can book on short notice and drive into the port for a quick escape.

One of three ships in the line's Freedom class that date to the mid-2000s, Freedom of the Seas is no longer the creme-de-la-creme of the Royal Caribbean fleet (though it was when it debuted). At around 156,000 tons, it's about 30% smaller than Royal Caribbean's newer Oasis-class ships and has fewer venues, from bars and restaurants to entertainment spaces.

Related: The 7 classes of Royal Caribbean ships, explained

That said, Freedom of the Seas still has a huge amount to offer for all sorts of travelers, from couples to families with kids. The ship was, notably, the first in the Royal Caribbean fleet to feature a FlowRider surfing simulator on its top deck — now a signature attraction for the line.

The vessel also has multiple pool areas, a water park, a miniature golf course and a rock climbing wall on its top deck. It also has one of Royal Caribbean's signature Royal Promenades in its interior — a mall-like space filled with eateries, bars and shops.

The only things you won't find are the most over-the-top Royal Caribbean attractions found on newer Royal Caribbean ships, such as zip lines, skydiving simulators and bumper car pavilions.

Quantum of the Seas: Best ship for solo travelers

Royal Caribbean isn't particularly known as a major draw for solo travelers. In recent years, it's doubled down on the family market more than ever. That doesn't mean that solos aren't welcome on its ships or won't have a great time.

If you're looking for the best Royal Caribbean ship for solo travelers, you'll want to start with Quantum of the Seas and its Quantum-class sisters. It's the class of ships where Royal Caribbean made the most effort to appeal to solo travelers.

In designing the vessels, Royal Caribbean took a page from solo-targeting Norwegian Cruise Line 's playbook and added several cabins specifically for solos. Quantum of the Seas offers 28 of these dedicated studio cabins, each measuring from 101 to 119 square feet.

What's more, unlike Norwegian's solo digs, some of these cabins are ocean-view rooms with balconies. Others have a virtual balcony that, at first glance, looks like a veranda but is actually a digital screen projecting a real-time view of the outside. (It may sound corny, but it works.)

Related: The best cruise ships for solo travelers

While the solo cabins on the Quantum-class ships don't come with a dedicated solo lounge as they do on Norwegian ships, solo travelers will find Royal Caribbean-hosted meetups for solo travelers on the vessels. It's a great way for single travelers to find others in the same boat, so to speak.

There's also quite a bar scene on Quantum-class ships, with a lot of counter-style seating in bars that are a great place to find other solo travelers. We recommend one of the two large bars at the Music Hall, where you can make new friends while sipping musically inspired cocktails and listening to live bands. If the Music Hall is too noisy for chatting up other solos, head to the sometimes quieter Schooner Bar.

In addition, Quantum of the Seas ships is particularly known for its unusual range of activities, from skydiving simulators to bumper cars that you can enjoy just fine as a solo traveler.

Rhapsody of the Seas: Best ship for retirees

For older travelers looking for a Royal Caribbean ship that isn't jammed full of children, it's hard to beat Rhapsody of the Seas.

Dating to 1997, Rhapsody of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's oldest and smallest vessels, and it lacks nearly all the gee-whiz attractions for families found on newer Royal Caribbean ships. You won't find big water parks, kiddie splash zones, zip lines or bumper car pavilions on this ship.

For the most part, its top deck only offers pools, whirlpools and sunning areas, as is typical for ships built in the 1990s. As a result, it draws far fewer families than the vessels above and caters more to an older crowd of mostly couples.

Rhapsody of the Seas is also the ship that Royal Caribbean deploys on some of its most destination-focused itineraries, the type that have particular appeal to retirees looking to see more of the world.

Related: The 7 best cruises for seniors who love to travel

Over the next two years, for instance, Rhapsody of the Seas is sailing out of such less-common home ports as Colon, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The sailings out of Colon and Cartagena offer the chance to visit Southern Caribbean ports such as Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao that aren't on most Royal Caribbean itineraries in the Caribbean. The sailings out of San Juan will also get you into the Southern Caribbean, while the sailings out of Israel and Cyprus offer a destination-heavy tour through the Eastern Mediterranean, including stops at multiple Greek islands.

At 78,808 tons, Rhapsody of the Seas is a third the size of the biggest Royal Caribbean ships. Expect a more intimate experience than what you'll find on the bustling Icon-class, Oasis-class, Quantum-class and Freedom-class ships mentioned above.

The vessel is one of four in the line's Vision class, featuring ships much smaller than the typical Royal Caribbean vessel. With this class, the experience has more to do with the ports the ships visit than the onboard experience.

Bottom line

Royal Caribbean is the world's largest cruise line, with a large fleet of ships that cater to a wide range of traveler types.

While its biggest focus of late has been on the family market, it has ships that will appeal to luxury travelers, budget travelers, solo travelers and retirees as well.

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The Top Things To Do Onboard Grandeur Of The Seas

This cruise ship makes it easy to fill sea days with fun onboard attractions.

By Amanda Mesa | Published on March 18, 2024

When it comes to putting together a wow-worthy vacation, I’m all about research, planning and pre-booking. I’m the kind of person who believes that being prepared can make a huge difference in your travels, helping you maximize every moment of your vacation while reducing the potential for hiccups along the journey. That said, even a type-A planner like me enjoys a break every once in a while. That’s when I turn to cruising. 

As far as vacations go, cruises — in my opinion — require the least amount of planning and effort. Everything is pretty much taken care of for you, from the itinerary to the dining options onboard. You can even book excursions to fill every moment of your time onshore with organized, carefully curated fun. 

One of my favorite cruise ships, hands down, is Grandeur of the Seas. The longest-sailing cruise ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet holds a special place in my heart. I love the history that surrounds this particular cruise ship. I also prefer the more intimate, laid-back vibe it offers compared to its much larger sister ships in the Oasis and Quantum Classes. 

That said, don’t let its smaller size fool you. Grandeur of the Seas is kitted out with plenty of great onboard attractions and activities to fill all your sea days with new discoveries and opportunities to chill — including a 40-foot rock-climbing wall, a tranquil adults-only hideaway called the Solarium, epic pool parties and game shows and plenty more. Here are just some of the top things to do onboard. 

1. Get An Insider’s Look At The Ship

2. Scale The Rock-Climbing Wall

3. Unwind In The Solarium

4. Enjoy A Movie Under The Stars

5. Turn Up On The Pool Deck

6. Keep The Party Going After Dark

7. Drop The Little Ones Off At Adventure Ocean®

8. Enjoy A Dazzling Musical Or Broadway-Style Performance

9. Get Cozy In The Library & Card Room

10. Spend A Few Hours In The Ship’s Arcade

11. Discover A New Favorite Wine

If you’re a wine lover, ask onboard about the ship’s wine tastings (or check your Cruise Compass). These free sampling events are held throughout sailings and feature a diverse array of vintages from iconic and lesser-known producers. You might even find some bottles that can only be purchased on Royal Caribbean sailings. 

These are just some of my favorite things to do onboard Grandeur of the Seas. You can view an entire list of offerings , or if you’re ready to start planning an amazing cruise getaway on this Vision Class mainstay, browse a full lineup of dates and itineraries .

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Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

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Updated at 2:44 p.m. ET on April 6, 2024.

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MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

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“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

Kim Brooks: On failing the family vacation

The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

Read: The last place on Earth any tourist should go

I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

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I sailed on Royal Caribbean's 2 largest cruise ships. They were shockingly similar for the $1,000 difference

Posted: April 3, 2024 | Last updated: April 3, 2024

• Royal Caribbean operates many of the cruise industry's biggest ships.
• Icon of the Seas  launched in January, dethroning its predecessor, Wonder of the Seas, as the world's largest.
• Here's how the two mega-ships compare in size, neighborhoods, amenities, dining, cabins, and costs.

Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's new mega-cruise ship darling, was deemed a success before it was even built.

In January, the highly anticipated vessel — complete with more than 40 bars and restaurants, a six-slide waterpark, and a waterfall — set sail, dethroning its less than two-year-old precursor, the Wonder of the Seas , as the world's largest cruise ship.

Before its debut, Michael Bayley, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, had already repeatedly called Icon its "best-selling product" yet. The company experienced its largest booking day ever when reservations opened for Icon of the Seas more than a year before its launch, it said

Despite all of this fanfare, you might be surprised by how similar it is to its predecessor.

I've sailed on both ships. Let's see how Icon and Wonder compare in six categories: size, neighborhoods, amenities, dining, cabins, and costs.

Both ships stunt the size of their competitors.

Wonder of the Seas debuted in 2022 as the then-world's largest cruise liner, measuring 235,600 gross-tons, 1,188 feet-long, and 18 decks-tall. The ship can accommodate up to 9,288 people, including 2,204 crew.

Icon of the Seas is, comparatively, 13,063 gross-tons heavier, eight feet longer, and two decks taller. It can sail up to 9,950 people, including 2,350 crew, although it's 52 feet less wide than its predecessor.

Both vessels feel more like amusement parks than traditional cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean invited me on complimentary, non-revenue sailings on both ships: two nights on Wonder in late 2022 and three nights on Icon in January.

I spent most of my time lost, overwhelmed, and exhausted.

It's no surprise both ships are operating weeklong itineraries this year. Any less, and you might not have time to experience all the activities and restaurants on your list.

Like other Royal Caribbean ships, Wonder and Icon have eight 'neighborhoods' that serve separate purposes.

The new ship shares three of Wonder of the Seas' neighborhoods : Central Park, Royal Promenade, and Suite.

Icon's other five — Thrill Island , Surfside, Hideaway, Chill Island, and AquaDome — are a first for the cruise line.

Many of the ships' amenities overlap, but in differing quantities.

Wonder has three waterslides. Icon has a six-slide waterpark complete with rafting and racing options.

Both have increasingly popular cruise amenities like decks-long dry slides, mini-golf courses, rock climbing walls, and playgrounds.

But instead of Wonder of the Seas' zipline , Icon of the Seas has Crown's Edge, a thrilling agility course with a small zipline that leaves travelers dangling 154 feet above the ocean.

Wonder’s Boardwalk neighborhood was my go-to.

Boardwalk delivered exactly as it had promised: an open-air space grounded by wood-planked floors, a hot dog stand, a sweets store, and kitschy, colorful decor.

Icon of the Seas' Surfside , designed for families with young children, felt like its closest dupe.

Both neighborhoods had a carousel, an outdoor playground, and family-friendly dining. But Surfside was more toddler-friendly, as suggested by the children's water play area and nighttime story readings.

On to entertainment: Both mega-ships have ice skating performances and exciting multi-disciplinary shows at the AquaTheater.

But travelers who enjoy musicals at sea will want to stick to Icon.

Unlike its predecessor, the new ship shows a rendition of Broadway hit "The Wizard of Oz" — Munchkins, a puppet Toto, and a 16-piece live band included.

The layout of Icon's amenities were better than its cousin.

Some of Wonder of the Seas' enticing outdoor amenities — like the surf simulator, zipline, and mini-golf course — are clustered on the deck above and away from the pools and water slides.

This layout might be difficult for parents with children who bounce from one activity to the next. Wouldn't it be easier to have all of these outdoor extras near each other, or at least on the same deck, for parental supervision purposes?

This is where Icon of the Seas excelled: All its exciting open-air activities were adjacent.

The rows of pools flowed perfectly into Thrill Island's waterpark , rock climbing walls, mini-golf course, and Crown's Edge.

The best part? The adult-only Hideaway — which flexes an infinity pool club with a DJ — is right behind Thrill Island, creating a clear separation between parents and their children without being too far from each other.

'Free' options like the buffet and build-your-own tacos and burritos bar are available on both ships.

But you won't find the larger vessel's five-stall food hall or mini-golf-adjacent finger food stand on Wonder.

As expected, Icon of the Seas has more dining options than its predecessor, although there are some overlaps.

Wonder of the Seas has 11 bars and 21 dining venues (9 complimentary and 12 upcharged).

Icon of the Seas has eight more bars, four more complimentary restaurants, and three more specialty dining choices.

Nor will you find the new ship’s plush $200-a-person Empire Supper Club on any other cruise liner.

The multi-course dinner, paired with cocktails and live music, stunts the cost of either vessel's other dinner options.

But if you love Johnny Rockets, you’ll be disappointed by Icon of the Seas.

Restaurants like the popular burger chain and Southern comfort-inspired Mason Jar are only on Wonder of the Seas. Fine by me: My fried chicken at Mason Jar was as dry as a desert.

The younger ship doesn't have Wonder's robot bartender-armed bar either. It does, however, have new watering holes with dueling pianos and live jazz.

Surprisingly, Wonder of the Seas has 65 more cabins than its new cousin.

But several of Icon's 28 stateroom categories are a first for the cruise line.

This includes the new family infinite balcony cabin, which has a small bunk bed nook for children.

Royal Caribbean assigned me an ocean-view balcony stateroom on both ships.

My Wonder of the Seas' cabin was 20 square-feet smaller than the one on Icon. But my bathroom on the latter was so tiny, I accidentally elbowed the walls at almost every turn.

Sailing on the world's largest cruise ship doesn't mean you'll have the world's largest cabin after all.

Wonder and Icon are both operating seven-night roundtrip itineraries from Florida to the Caribbean.

In 2024, Wonder of the Seas is scheduled for year-round sailings from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean and Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay , starting at $700 per person.

Icon of the Seas is spending its first year in service operating nearly identical itineraries but from Miami instead. The cheapest 2024 option is $1,786 per person.

That's a difference of more than $125 per person per day.

"Bookings and pricing for Icon of the Seas can only be described as 'iconic,'" Naftali Holtz, the CFO of Royal Caribbean Group, told analysts in February.

Icon of the Seas’ name speaks for itself.

If your family is looking for a jam-packed kid-friendly cruise with enough amenities to stay entertained for a week, both ships are a great option.

But if you're a seasoned mega-ship-cruiser looking to experience something new, Icon of the Seas is your best bet.

They may be similar, but no other behemoth cruise liner has a waterpark for children and a pool club for adults just dozens of feet from each other.

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