Jewel of the Seas vs Icon of the Seas

The Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas was built in 2004. It was renovated in 2021. It's 20 years older 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 Jewel of the Seas is considered a small ship. Coming in at 962 feet long and 106 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2 tractor-trailers, and the same height as a 12-story building. Compared to the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas, the Jewel of the Seas is 64% smaller in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas holds 61% fewer passengers than the Icon of the Seas based on double occupancy (two people per room). At full capacity, Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas holds 64% fewer passengers than the Icon of the Seas.

When you look at the "Space Ratio," or tons of ship compared to number of passengers, the Jewel of the Seas has the same amount of space per person as 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.

	Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Class	Radiance	Icon
Gross Tonnage	90,090	248,663
Length	962	1,198
Beam/Width	106	216
Passenger Decks	12	18
Passengers (double occupancy)	2,191	5,610
Passengers (maximum occupancy)	2,702	7,600
Crew	852	2,350
Passenger to Crew Ratio	3.2	3.2
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	33	33

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 Jewel of the Seas has eight different dining options like Giovanni's Table, Chops Grille, and Izumi Sushi & Hot Rocks. Of those options, seven are complimentary, or included with your cruise fare. The other six options have an additional fee.

The Icon of the Seas has eighteen more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Starbucks, Chef's Table, and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar. Seventeen of these restaurants are complimentary and the other fifteen 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 225% more dining options than the Jewel of the Seas.

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

Restaurants on Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas & Icon of the Seas

Restaurant	Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Included
AquaDome Market	✗	✓	Learn More
Basecamp	✗	✓	Learn More
El Loco Fresh	✗	✓	Learn More
Main Dining Room	✓	✓	Learn More
Park Cafe	✗	✓
Pearl Cafe	✗	✓	Learn More
Sorrento's Pizza	✗	✓	Learn More
Sprinkles	✗	✓
Surfside Bites	✗	✓	Learn More
Surfside Eatery	✗	✓	Learn More
Vitality Cafe	✗	✓	Learn More
Windjammer	✓	✓	Learn More
A la carte
Cafe Latte-tudes	✓	✗
Ice Cream Parlor	✓	✗
Izumi Hibachi & Sushi	✗	✓	Learn More
Izumi Sushi & Hot Rocks	✓	✗	Learn More
Izumi in the Park	✗	✓	Learn More
Playmakers	✗	✓	Learn More
Starbucks	✗	✓	Learn More
Sugar Beach	✗	✓
Flat fee
Celebration Table	✗	✓	Learn More
Chef's Table	✓	✓	Learn More
Chops Grille	✓	✓	Learn More
Empire Supper Club	✗	✓	Learn More
Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar	✗	✓	Learn More
Giovanni's Table	✓	✗	Learn More
Hooked Seafood	✗	✓	Learn More
Pier 7	✗	✓	Learn More
Exclusive (open to select guests only)
Coastal Kitchen	✗	✓	Learn More
The Grove	✗	✓	Learn More

Bars and Drinks

The Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas has 15 fewer bars than the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas.

	Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
1400 Lobby Bar	✗	✓
Aquadome Market Bar	✗	✓
Basecamp Bar	✗	✓
Boleros	✗	✓
Bubbles	✗	✓
Cantina Fresca	✗	✓
Casino Bar	✓	✓
Desserted Milkshake Bar	✗	✓
Dueling Pianos	✗	✓
English Pub	✗	✓
Giovanni's Wine Bar	✗	✓
Lobby Bar	✓	✗
Lou's Jazz 'N Blues	✗	✓
Music Hall	✗	✓
Playmakers	✗	✓
Pool bar	✓	✗
Rye & Bean	✗	✓
Schooner Bar	✓	✓
Sky Bar	✓	✗
Solarium Bar	✓	✗
Spotlight Karaoke	✗	✓
Swim & Tonic	✗	✓
The Congo Bar	✓	✗
The Grove Bar*	✗	✓
The Hideaway Bar	✗	✓
The Lemon Post	✗	✓
The Lime & Coconut	✗	✓
The Lime & Coconut: Cloud 17	✗	✓
The Lime & Coconut: Frozen	✗	✓
The Overlook	✗	✓
The Pit Stop	✓	✗
The Safari Club	✓	✗
Trellis Bar	✗	✓
Vintages	✓	✗
Vortex Nightclub	✓	✗
Windjammer Bar	✗	✓
Zanzibar Lounge	✓	✗

* = this bar is exclusive and not open to everyone.

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 Barq's 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.

You can check out the recent bar menus for the Jewel of the Seas and the Icon of the Seas below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

	Jewel of the Seas	Icon of the Seas
General-access pools	1	4
Adults-only pools	1	2
Exclusive pools	0	1
General-access hot tubs	2	7
Adults-only hot tubs	1	1
Exclusive hot tubs	0	1

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas has a total of 2 pools and 3 hot tubs.

Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas has more pools than the Jewel of the Seas and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Icon of the Seas. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.

Worried about lots of kids onboard? Visit The Solarium, an adult-only area for guests 18 and older only. On Icon Class ships, there isn't a Solarium, but instead, the adult-only area is called The Hideaway.

Both the Jewel of the Seas and the Icon of the Seas have full-depth adult-only pools in The Solarium. Jewel of the Seas's adult-only area is covered by a retractable glass roof, while Icon of the Seas's is not enclosed. The Jewel of the Seas's adult-only area is in the middle, while the Icon of the Seas's is in the back.

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 end up paying more while on board the Jewel of the Seas. Only 70% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Icon of the Seas, 75% of the activities are included at no additional cost.

	Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas	Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
Adult Only Relaxation Area	✓	✓
Aquatheater	✗	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✓	✓
Carousel	✗	✓
Casino	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✓	✓
Comedy Club	✗	✓
Crown's Edge	✗	✓
Escape Room	✗	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
FlowRider	✗	✓
Ice Skating	✗	✓
Laser Tag	✗	✓
Mini golf	✓	✓
Pool-side Movies	✓	✗
Shows - Broadway play	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✓	✓
Spa	✓	✓
Splash park	✗	✓
Waterpark	✗	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Cruise Costs

Royal Caribbean is a mainstream cruise line. 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 Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas will likely be cheaper 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 may 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 understand what you might spend onboard a Royal Caribbean ship.

	Royal Caribbean
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$18.50
Tip added to drinks & services	18%
Soda Price	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$7.49 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	$77 - $118 Learn more
Internet Plan	$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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