Carnival Festivale vs Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas

The Carnival Festivale is a fairly new ship, being built in 2027. The Festivale is named after the original ship that sailed with Carnival from 1977 - 1996. It has two unique zones not found on its sister ships. Unlike the first Excel Class ships, Festivale does NOT have a BOLT roller coaster, instead it has a waterpark called "Sunsation Point." The ship will sail from Port Canaveral starting in Spring 2027. It's 3 years newer than the Icon of the Seas, which was built in 2024. Icon of the Seas is the first in a whole new class of ships by Royal Caribbean that's designed to provide the "ultimate family vacation." It is currently the largest cruise ship in the world.

Comparison Overview

• Ship Size
• Number of Passengers
• Food and Restaurants
• Bars and Drinks
• Pools and Hot Tubs
• Ship Features and Activities
• Cruise Costs
• Onboard Costs

Ship Size

The Festivale is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,130 feet long and 137 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3.1 football fields, as wide as 2.6 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 17-story building. Compared to the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas, the Festivale is 27% smaller in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Carnival Festivale holds about the same number of passengers as the Icon of the Seas based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Festivale has less space per person compared to the Icon of the Seas.

The Festivale uses a zone layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded. The Icon of the Seas employs a similar concept but they're called neighborhoods.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Class	Excel	Icon
Gross Tonnage	182,800	250,800
Length	1,130	1,198
Beam/Width	137	216
Passenger Decks	17	18
Passengers (double occupancy)	5,400	5,610
Crew	1,700	2,350
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.6	2.4
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	35	45

Food and Restaurants

Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.

The Festivale has twenty-three different dining options like Guys Pig and Anchor BarBQue, Rudi's Seagrill, and Bonsai Teppanyaki. Of those options, nineteen are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other nine options have an additional fee.

The Icon of the Seas has the same number of dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Basecamp, El Loco Fresh, and Pearl Cafe. fifteen of these restaurants are complementary and the other fourteen have an additional fee.

The Carnival Festivale has about the same number of dining options as the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas.

If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Festivale might be a better choice then the Icon of the Seas. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Total Dining Options	23	23
Complimentary Dining Options:	19	15
Additional Fee Dining Options:	9	14
% of Included Options	61%	39%
	See the options	See the options

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Festivale serves the Pepsi family of products. That means Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mug Root Beer, and Mountain Dew, although the selection can vary by ship. The Icon of the Seas serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. Most Royal Caribbean ships also have Coke Freestyle machines where you can make 100 different flavor combinations.

There are also plenty of bars available on these ships. You can check out recent the bar menus for the Festivale and the Icon of the Seas below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Carnival Festivale has a total of 6 pools and 7 hot tubs. 2 of the pools are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.

Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas has more pools than the Festivale and more hot tubs.

Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Festivale.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Total Pools	6	7
Pools - General Access	3	5
Pools - Adults Only	1	1
Pools - Exclusive	2	1
Total Hot Tubs	7	9
Hot Tubs - General Access	5	7
Hot Tubs - Adults Only	2	1
Hot Tubs - Exclusive	0	1

Ship Features and Activities

Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the Festivale. Only 65% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Icon of the Seas, 80% of the activities are included at no additional cost.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Adult Only Relaxation Area	✓	✓
Aquatheater	✗	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✓	✓
Brewery Tour	✓	✗
Carousel	✗	✓
Casino	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✗	✓
Comedy Club	✓	✓
Cooking Class	✓	✗
Dr Seuss Breakfast	✓	✗
Escape Room	✗	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
FlowRider	✗	✓
Ice Skating	✗	✓
Jogging Track	✓	✗
Laser Tag	✗	✓
Mini golf	✓	✓
Outdoor gym	✓	✗
Pool-side Movies	✓	✗
Ropes course	✓	✓
Shows - Broadway play	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✗	✓
Spa	✗	✓
Splash park	✓	✓
Thermal Suites	✓	✗
Waterpark	✓	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Carnival is also known for its energetic theme parties which vary per ship.

Cruise Costs

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.

Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Carnival Festivale will likely be more expensive than on Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas.

Onboard Costs

Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.

Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.

The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$16.00	$18.50
Tip added to drinks & services	18%	18%
Soda Price	$3.00	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$8.75 See drink menus	$8.25 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	$83 - $88 Learn more	$77 - $118 Learn more
Internet Plan	$18.70 to $23.80 per device per day	$19 to $30 per device per day
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing, which means the pricing for many things will vary per sailing. The daily gratuities and tip are consistent across the fleet, but the pricing for the drink package, internet, and excursions will change. The only way to know your price is to consult the Royal Caribbean cruise planner once you're booked.

Want to Stay Up-To-Date on All Things Cruising?

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

About Cruise Spotlight
Founded in 2020, Cruise Spotlight's goal is to help people understand every aspect of cruising. Plenty of sites focus on the perfect Instagram pictures and marketing fluff. We focus on what really matters: onboard expenses, tips for cruise ships, detailed cruise reviews, and more. Our goal is to provide helpful, unbiased information to new and established cruisers. Over the years, we've helped millions of people get the most from their cruise vacation.
Learn more about Cruise Spotlight.