Royal Caribbean: what the fleet actually does, and the ships that have left it
We start with what a company page never says. Four of the ships still listed in our inventory no longer sail for Royal Caribbean, three of them for more than five years. Empress of the Seas was sold in 2020 and sails for Cordelia Cruises. Majesty of the Seas sails for the Greek operator Seajets as Majesty of the Oceans. Sovereign of the Seas was scrapped in 2020. Splendour of the Seas has sailed for Marella Cruises as Marella Discovery since 2016. Their pages stay online because you still look for them, and they say what became of each.
What we carry
The fleet is spread over several basins — Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alaska, Asia — which multiplies the tracks without making every week unique. The number of cruises currently on offer is shown at the top of this page.
The busiest is not the biggest
Utopia of the Seas leads our calendar, and she runs the shortest stays in the fleet: four and five nights. Icon of the Seas, the largest ship in the fleet, carries half as many. A very large ship runs full weeks, so fewer departures in a year. Size and departure count do not say the same thing, and confusing the two leads to bad comparisons.
On these ships, the voyage is the ship
Ice rink, water park, indoor promenade, main-stage shows. Calls are short and sea days are the product, not dead time. If you want towns, time ashore and ports you sleep in, look elsewhere in our catalogue: that is not this fleet's trade, and holding it against them afterwards helps nobody. Wonder of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas, both heavily programmed, show the two formats well: a very large Oasis class ship and a more modest Radiance class ship.
A first cruise here?
Often, yes, for a family that wants activity and familiar surroundings. On two conditions: accept the crowd, and choose the cabin with care. On a ship this size, location matters more than grade — above a theatre or under the pool deck, the night is not the same. That is the kind of detail settled with an advisor before booking, not at the gangway. We will not say what the fare covers: the formula changes from one departure and market to the next, and we have not measured it. Ask for the written list of the exact departure.
