World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Was a Fan Favorite – Now Passengers Are Turning Away. What Happened?

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, has just hit its two-year anniversary, but instead of celebrating smooth sailing, she saw a dip in popularity over her course of her maiden year.

Data shows that after six months of sailing, Icon of the Seas was the highest-rated ship in the fleet. Fast forward another six months, and she plummeted all the way to 14th place. So, what happened?

From the Top of the Fleet to Middle of the Pack

Every year, I analyze review scores from major cruise websites—Cruise Critic, Cruiseline.com, and TripAdvisor—to see which ships are wowing passengers and which ones are, well, not. By averaging the scores across these platforms, I get a balanced view of what cruisers really think.

This year’s results were surprising. Icon of the Seas, once the golden child of Royal Caribbean, saw a noticeable decline early on, dropping from an impressive 4.2-star rating to 3.9. It’s still a solid score, but for a ship that launched to massive fanfare, it’s clear some passengers weren’t as thrilled as they expected to be.

I should point out that after its first year, ratings have stabilized rather than continuing to decline, suggesting that the Icon-class ‘honeymoon phase’ may have ended but further deterioration in ratings has stopped — for now.

You can read the article here: Best & Worst Carnival Cruise Ships (Ranked By Reviews)

What Are Passengers Complaining About?

As more people have sailed on Icon of the Seas, certain issues have become impossible to ignore. The biggest gripes include:

• Noise levels – With so much going on, quiet spaces are hard to find.
• Extra charges – Guests feel like they’re being “nickel-and-dimed” for everything.
• Overcrowding – The ship is packed with incredible attractions, but actually getting access to them can be a challenge. For example, many reviews mention struggling to book dining reservations because venues fill up so quickly.

Despite these complaints, Icon of the Seas is still a major draw, boasting a record-breaking number of pools and the largest water park at sea. But clearly, bigger doesn’t always mean better.

Incidents That May Have Hurt Its Reputation

It wasn’t the smoothest debut year for Icon of the Seas. While Royal Caribbean had positioned her as the ultimate family-friendly resort at sea, there were a few bumps along the way.

One of the biggest mishaps happened in May when the ship suffered a power outage during a Caribbean sailing. Although backup systems kicked in, guests were left stranded in common areas and restaurants temporarily, lasting roughly 10-20 minutes according to passenger reports. Frustrated passengers didn’t hold back in their reviews, and the incident likely played a role in the ship’s slipping ratings.

What’s Next for the Icon Class?

The second Icon-class ship, Star of the Seas, launched in August 2025, and early reviews indicate that cruisers may be experiencing similar issues with upcharges, noise levels, and crowded spaces.

Furthermore, Icon’s sister ship, Utopia of the Seas, which launched in July 2024, experienced a similar trajectory, dropping in the ratings from 3rd place at the start of 2025 to 9th place by January 2026. This could suggest that Icon’s challenges may reflect broader industry opinions of mega-ships in general rather than problems unique to Icon.

Despite this, Royal Caribbean isn’t slowing down, with Legend of the Seas launching in 2026 and Hero of the Seas launching in 2027. It’s “full steam ahead!” for Royal’s plans to flesh out their suite of Icon-class mega ships.

In the end, time will tell whether Icon of the Seas can bounce back in the rankings. But for now, it seems some cruisers are rethinking whether bigger is, in fact, better.

What do you think? Have you sailed on Icon of the Seas? Let me know your thoughts!

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