Cruise Spotlight
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MSC World America vs Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
The MSC World America is a fairly new ship, being built in 2025. The World America was built specifically for the American market with customized venues like MSC's first sports bars and an onboard brewery. The ship is split into seven districts that provide unique restaurants, bars, and attractions; helping to reduce crowding. It's 1 year 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 World America is considered an extra large size ship. Coming in at 1,093 feet long and 154 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.9 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 16-story building. Compared to the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas, the World America is 14% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
MSC World America holds 21% more passengers than 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 World America has less space per person compared to the Icon of the Seas.
The Icon of the Seas uses a neighborhood layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.
| MSC World America | Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | World | Icon |
| Gross Tonnage | 215,863 | 250,800 |
| Length | 1,093 | 1,198 |
| Beam/Width | 154 | 216 |
| Passenger Decks | 16 | 18 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 6,762 | 5,610 |
| Crew | 2,138 | 2,350 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 32 | 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 World America has eighteen different dining options like HOLA! Tacos & Cantina, Luna Park Pizza & Burger, and Kaito Teppanyaki. Of those options, thirteen are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eleven options have an additional fee.
The Icon of the Seas has five more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Hooked Seafood, Izumi Hibachi & Sushi, and Playmakers. fifteen of these restaurants are complementary and the other fourteen have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Icon of the Seas might be a better choice. It has 28% more dining options than the World America.
Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.
| MSC World America | Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 18 | 23 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 13 | 15 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 11 | 14 |
| % of Included Options | 39% | 39% |
| See the options | See the options |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means 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 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 MSC World America has a total of 7 pools and 13 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 3 of the hot tubs 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.
The Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas has the same number of pools as the World America and fewer hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Icon of the Seas. If you like ships without extra charges or exclusive areas, this might be a better choice since everyone will have access to these areas.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? Two of the pools are adults only on World America.| MSC World America | Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 7 | 7 |
| Pools - General Access | 4 | 5 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 2 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 13 | 9 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 10 | 7 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 3 | 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 World America. Only 33% 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.
| MSC World America | Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✓ |
| Adventure Trail | ✓ | ✗ |
| Aquatheater | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bumper Cars | ✓ | ✗ |
| Carousel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Climbing Wall | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| F1 Simulator | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| FlowRider | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ice Skating | ✗ | ✓ |
| Interactive XD Cinema | ✓ | ✗ |
| Laser Tag | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Production Shows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Robotron | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✗ |
| Thrill Slide | ✓ | ✗ |
| VR Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✗ |
| Waterpark | ✗ | ✓ |
| Zip Line | ✓ | ✗ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
MSC 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.
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.
| MSC World America | 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 | $3.50 | |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.25 See drink menus | |
| Drink Package Price | $46 - $85 | $77 - $118 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $17 - $27 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.
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