The pricing for any new cruise ship will usually cost more than other ships, and it appears Royal Caribbean's new ship will continue that trend.
Bookings for two brand-new cruise ships from Royal Caribbean Group were recently released - and prices for the 2025-2026 cruise season are surprising. Based on anecdotal data Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas is coming out to be more expensive than Celebrity Cruises’ new premium ship, Celebrity Xcel.
Read more: Star of the Seas: Itinerary, features, and more
Following the announcement of the next vessel in the Icon class of cruise ships, Royal Caribbean also released the first sailings for prospective guests to book. Just a few weeks prior, sister-brand Celebrity Cruises released sailings for its newest cruise ship, Celebrity Xcel. This will be the fifth ship in the award-winning Edge class of ships for the cruise line.
Both ships are set to debut in the second half of 2025, with Star of the Seas’ inaugural sailing taking place on August 17, 2025 from Port Canaveral, Florida. Similarly, Celebrity Xcel will set sail for the first time on November 18, 2025 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Keen Royal Caribbean fans on Reddit noted the apparent price discrepancy between the two brand-new cruise ships debuting in 2025. One user on Reddit shared various cabin prices for two 7-night itineraries onboard each ship. In the post, Celebrity Xcel had notably lower prices for most stateroom categories compared to Star of the Seas.
Celebrity Cruises is a considered a premium cruise line, whereas Royal Caribbean is a contemporary cruise line. What this means is a premium line tends to be more sophisticated and high-end, whereas a contemporary line might be more casual. Royal Caribbean targets families while Celebrity Cruises caters to an adult-centered experience.
Although Celebrity Cruises is a premium cruise line, prices for Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas are consistently more expensive. I wanted to see if this trend was consistent for all current sailings available for both Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel, prompting further analysis.
On average, Celebrity Xcel is 41.24% cheaper than Star of the Seas when comparing the base fares
During the winter season of 2025-2026, Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel will both be sailing 7-night Caribbean itineraries from Florida. This creates a nearly perfect scenario to compare prices between the two brand-new ships.
For this basic analysis, I looked at prices for an interior guarantee, outside guarantee and balcony guarantee for both Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel. I priced out five different itineraries from each ship between November 2025 and March 2026. Each itinerary was a 7-night Caribbean sailing for two guests.
Overall, the average cost to sail on Star of the Seas was $4,755 while the average cost of Celebrity Xcel was $2,794 for the five itineraries I looked at. Here’s how the average cabin prices compared between the two ships;
Average Interior Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $4,076
- Celebrity Xcel - $2,487
Average Outside Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $4,728
- Celebrity Xcel - $2,694
Average Balcony Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $5,463
- Celebrity Xcel - $3,201
Even with Celebrity’s All Included pricing, Celebrity Xcel’s average cost was still 23.07% cheaper than Star of the Seas
One way that Celebrity Cruises differentiates its brand from Royal Caribbean is by offering an inclusive pricing option. If you book the All Included cruise fare with Celebrity, you will receive a drink and internet package at a bundled discount. This creates a more all-inclusive style of cruising with Celebrity Cruises with basic drinks and wi-fi included with your cruise purchase.
Surprisingly, even when comparing a base cruise fare from Star of the Seas with an All Included pricing from Celebrity Xcel, the new Celebrity ship was still cheaper.
Overall, the average cost for Celebrity Xcel was $3,658 across the five itineraries, which is still cheaper than the average cost for Royal Caribbean’s newest ship at $4,755. Here is the breakdown of the cabins for Celebrity Xcel’s All Included price.
Average Interior Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $4,076
- Celebrity Xcel: All Included - $3,323
Average Outside Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $4,728
- Celebrity Xcel: All Included $3,530
Average Balcony Cabin:
- Star of the Seas - $5,463
- Celebrity Xcel: All Included- $4,122
In the graph below, you can see the consistent trends of Celebrity Xcel’s more affordable pricing compared to Star of the Seas
To ensure the pricing example on Reddit was not an outlier data point, I priced out the three different cabins for five itineraries. For each month, Star of the Seas is more expensive than Celebrity Xcel for the base cruise fare and All Included pricing.
Since Celebrity Xcel’s deployment schedule is not available after March 2026, this was as far out as I could price the comparisons. Historically, Celebrity Cruises has sailed their newest Edge class ships in Europe during the vessel’s inaugural season. Star of the Seas only has sailings available to book through April 2026, although it would not be surprising if Star of the Seas sailed year-round from Port Canaveral.
Many users on social media shared their thoughts regarding the pricing between Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel
Reading the Reddit thread, it was interesting to hear the multiple perspectives regarding Star of the Seas having a higher price point than Celebrity Xcel.
To start, some users felt that looking at the two ships was not necessarily comparable; Royal Caribbean’s newest ship is packed with amenities and onboard thrills while Celebrity Xcel targets an entirely different audience.
One user commented, “This is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Celebrity doesn’t have the waterpark, Aquadome, Central Park, Surfside, etc. Royal Caribbean saw a market for higher-income families, which is not targeted by Celebrity, and is going for it. If prices are too high, then they will come down. It’s supply and demand.”
Many responded that Star of the Seas shows similar pricing to Disney Cruise Line - and Royal Caribbean is likely looking to tap into this potential segment of cruisers. “Key words here are family and kids. Royal Caribbean is going after families with children who are willing to pay a premium to have a once in a lifetime vacation,” responded one user.
Others on social media were not surprised by the pricing discrepancies. One user commented that Star of the Seas would be the biggest ship in the world with the most to do on it. In addition, Royal Caribbean has a broader market than Celebrity’s and the pricing makes more sense.
Continuing, the user said, “There is some branding specialization here too. You go on Celebrity to go to cool places and have a nice elegant time when you’re on the ship, but the ship life is pretty chill. Icon class, the ship is the destination and the ports are secondary.”
Royal Caribbean states that demand is through the roof for the new Icon Class of ships
It’s no secret that Royal Caribbean designed Icon of the Seas to appeal to the family vacation market. There is more included than ever before on Icon of the Seas - and Star of the Seas is sure to be very similar.
Icon of the Seas will be the biggest ship in the world at a whopping 250,800 gross tons. When you include crew members, Icon class ships will be able to hold nearly 10,000 people.
With so much hype around the newest ship class from Royal Caribbean, the cruise line shared that demand was unprecedented. Guests are booking cruises on Icon of the Seas at prices that the cruise line has never experienced before. In fact, the cruise line shared that Icon of the Seas has been its best performing product in the company’s history.
When the name of the ship was announced, Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International president and CEO, commented, “The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas.”
Celebrity Xcel is the fifth cruise ship in the very popular Edge-class for Celebrity Cruises
Although not targeting families, Celebrity Cruises’ Edge Series has been wildly popular for the cruise line. The mid-sized cruise ship was innovative and revolutionary for Celebrity Cruises. Picture a resort-style cruising experience that whisk away cruisers to more than 50 countries and 120 ports of call.
Celebrity Cruises states, “We’re changing the game again. Celebrity Xcel does exactly that. Our newest ship combines all the greatest hits of our Edge Series and adds even more—and entirely new—experiences that will change the game all over again. This ship truly excels into a class of its own”.
Similarly, the president Laura Hodges Bethge promises that Xcel will excel beyond her sister ships with new experiences that have yet to be revealed. The cruise line promises new exciting details in the coming months with ‘visionary new spaces’ and ‘delicious new food and drink concepts’ for Celebrity Xcel.
Celebrity’s Edge-class ships sail around the world with destinations in Alaska, Australia, Europe and the Caribbean.
