Cruise or Floating Resort? Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class and the Future of Cruising

• Many thought Royal Caribbean was tone deaf when they launched the Icon Class ships.
• In many European ports, locals were protesting the size of ships.
• Now, Royal has ordered more as they prove to be the best investment the line has made. But is it the future of cruise we want?

Royal Caribbean has done it again. Hot on the heels of the launch of Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, the cruise line has ordered more of its Icon Class vessels—the largest cruise ships the world has ever seen.

These floating mega-resorts carry more than 7,000 passengers and are designed to dazzle: waterparks, Broadway-style shows, multi-story entertainment neighbourhoods, and even entire “streets” lined with bars and restaurants.

Add in the line’s growing portfolio of private islands, and it’s clear that this is the new face of mainstream cruising.

But while the crowds flock and the cruise line celebrates record bookings, we should pause and ask: Is this still cruising? Or has the Icon Class transformed the very idea of what a cruise is meant to be?

The Rise of the Resort at Sea

There’s no denying the appeal. For many American families, the cruise is no longer about discovering the world; it’s about escaping from it.

The Icon Class delivers exactly what they want: convenience, spectacle, and fun. Travellers can enjoy wave pools, surf simulators, nightlife that rivals Las Vegas, and dining choices to satisfy every craving.

From the industry’s perspective, mega-ships make perfect sense. Their scale keeps prices relatively affordable, they create buzz on social media, and they’re efficient revenue machines.

They also attract a new demographic—people who may never have considered a cruise before, but who are enticed by the promise of a self-contained vacation experience.

Royal Caribbean has blurred the line between a cruise and a destination resort, lifting the “all-inclusive” model off land and dropping it into the Caribbean Sea.

What Gets Lost Along the Way

But here’s the rub: while these vessels succeed as floating resorts, they risk leaving behind the spirit of cruising—that timeless sense of discovery, adventure, and cultural immersion.

Traditionally, cruising was about slowly sailing into new harbours, marvelling at the skyline of a historic city, or stepping ashore in a small fishing village. The thrill was in waking up to a new horizon, a new culture, and a chance to connect—even briefly—with another part of the world.

With mega-ships, the ship itself becomes the destination. And when itineraries funnel passengers primarily to private islands, where every dollar spent stays within the cruise line’s ecosystem, the connection to the wider world is diminished.

Passengers may have a “perfect day,” but they are experiencing little of the culture, history, or daily life of the region they’re visiting.

It’s a shift from cruising as exploration to cruising as controlled entertainment.

The Cultural Consequence

This change has ripple effects. Local communities benefit far less when 7,000 passengers spend their port day on a cruise-owned island rather than in town. Authentic cultural experiences—markets, restaurants, galleries, tours—are bypassed in favor of curated beaches and branded water slides.

Even in ports where mega-ships do dock, the influx can overwhelm. A medieval city or small Caribbean town can hardly maintain its charm when thousands of visitors arrive at once. Instead of enhancing cultural connection, mass arrivals risk eroding the very character of the destinations.

And then there’s the environmental question. While the latest Icon ships are powered by LNG and boast improvements in efficiency, their sheer scale makes their environmental footprint enormous. For a generation of travelers increasingly concerned with sustainability, this may prove a sticking point.

Two Cruising Philosophies

What’s emerging is a fork in the ocean—two very different visions of what cruising can be.

1. Cruise-as-Resort
   Led by ships like Icon of the Seas, this model prioritizes entertainment, scale, and control. Guests can enjoy a week of fun without ever truly leaving the cruise line’s bubble. It’s accessible, affordable, and undeniably popular.
2. Cruise-as-Exploration
   At the other end of the spectrum are smaller lines—Viking, Azamara, Silversea expeditions, Ponant—that focus on destination immersion. These voyages emphasize longer port calls, culturally rich shore excursions, and itineraries that venture beyond the well-trodden paths of the Caribbean. Here, the ship is a gateway, not the destination itself.

Both models have their audiences. The question is whether the resort model, with its marketing might and mass appeal, will overshadow and perhaps even redefine what the public thinks of as “cruising.”

A Question of Identity

So, is the growth of the Icon Class a good thing for cruising?

In one sense, yes. It brings fresh energy and attracts new audiences, keeping the industry vibrant and profitable. For families looking for safe, affordable, all-in-one vacations, these ships are hard to beat.

But in another sense, no. Because if the essence of cruising is about setting sail in search of new horizons—geographical, cultural, even personal—then the mega-ship era represents a departure from that spirit.

The danger is that “cruising” becomes synonymous with “floating resort,” and the rich tradition of maritime discovery fades into the background.

Our View

Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class is a triumph of engineering and marketing. It is also, in many ways, the future of mass-market vacations.

But let’s be honest: these are not cruise ships in the classic sense. They are resorts at sea—brilliant, exhilarating, and profitable, but ultimately no more than giant holiday camps.

For those who crave culture, history, and adventure, smaller ships and destination-focused lines remain the true guardians of cruising’s spirit.

The industry has room for both models, but we must not lose sight of what made cruising magical in the first place: the chance to sail into the unknown, to discover, and to connect.

Because if all we want is a resort, well—we don’t need to put it on water.