Few travel experiences come close to the excitement of stepping foot on a brand-new cruise ship. Similar to driving a brand-new car with all the bells and whistles, the experience of cruising on a newly built cruise ship is unmatched. It’s undoubtedly exciting to see the latest and greatest that a cruise line has to offer.
One thing that remains true in the cruise industry is that it's always changing. Within the last year, some highly-awaited cruise ships debuted. Since last summer, Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity Cruises have each debuted new cruise ships.
In fact, Royal Caribbean made huge waves in the cruise industry with the introduction of the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas. As the flagship vessel in a new ship class, Royal Caribbean welcomed Icon of the Seas with plenty of pomp and circumstance.
Before Icon of the Seas hit the ocean, Carnival Cruise Line welcomed the newest Excel Class ship to its fleet, Carnival Jubilee, in December 2023. The Texas-styled cruise ship is full of family fun from stern to bow, which perfectly aligns with Carnival’s goal of having the most fun ships at sea.
A few weeks before, Celebrity Cruises released its newest and most innovative cruise ship, Celebrity Ascent. As the fourth ship in the Edge Class, Celebrity Ascent features a sophisticated, modern approach to cruising. Although not considered a mainstream cruise line, Celebrity Cruises is classified as a premium cruise line with fairly reasonable prices.
Finally, Norwegian Cruise Line debuted Norwegian Viva as the second ship in its groundbreaking Prima Class in August 2023. The beautifully designed, midsize cruise ship has received higher guest satisfaction scores than any other new build, according to the cruise line. Norwegian Viva's size allows the ship to sail to unique destinations around the world.
I was lucky enough to sail on all four of these incredible new cruise ships within the last few months. All of these cruises were in the Caribbean and varied in length. It was fascinating to see how these state-of-the-art cruise ships were similar, yet so different. Here’s how the ships and onboard experiences compared.
Ships Overview
When it comes to size, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas cannot be beaten - literally. The 250,800 gross-ton vessel is the biggest cruise ship in the world. Measuring 1,200 feet long with 20 decks towering above the sea, Icon of the Seas is large and in charge.
The massive cruise ship can hold 7,600 guests at maximum capacity and nearly 10,000 people in total when counting the crew members. As a new ship class, Icon of the Seas is bold and colorful. She features eight different, distinct neighborhoods onboard with unique experiences for its many guests to enjoy.
Carnival Jubilee is most similar in size to Icon of the Seas, although not nearly as massive. The newest ship from Carnival Cruise Line is about 72% the size of Icon, measuring 183,521 gross tons. She is the sister ship to Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras in the Excel Class, each measuring 1,130 feet long.
Carnival Jubilee has 19 decks that can accommodate around 6,600 passengers at maximum capacity. This mega cruise ship is also broken into six different zones onboard, similar to Icon’s neighborhood design. From onboard thrills to dazzling entertainment, each of Carnival Jubilee’s zones is meant to bring family fun.
Norwegian Viva is much smaller than both of these floating cities, measuring a little more than half the size of Icon of the Seas. Built to be 142,500 gross tons, the newest ship from Norwegian Cruise Line has 20 decks of unparalleled experiences and amenities.
Compared to her sister ship, Norwegian Viva is actually designed to be 10% bigger than her sister ship, Norwegian Prima. The expanded space onboard was meant to address crowding issues. With 3,099 passengers at maximum capacity, this modern cruise ship has a little bit of something for everyone’s family.
Finally, Celebrity Ascent is nearly identical in size to Norwegian Viva, measuring around 140,000 gross tons. The sleek, ultramodern cruise ship from Celebrity Cruises holds 3,260 passengers at maximum capacity. While technically smaller than Norwegian Viva, Celebrity Ascent can hold more passengers at maximum capacity.
Costing around $1 billion for the cruise line to build, Celebrity Ascent is designed with luxury in mind. You won’t find neighborhoods or zones onboard this lavish cruise ship. Instead, Celebrity Ascent is built with top-of-the-line entertainment, design, bars, and lounges.
When it comes to size, these newest vessels vary greatly. If you’re someone who loves to cruise on the bigger mega ships that rival floating cities, you’ll want to choose Icon of the Seas or Carnival Jubilee. Both of these massive cruise ships have everything you could want on a cruise ship; however, be prepared to fight crowds during popular events.
Those who are looking for a smaller, more intimate cruise ship will want to book Norwegian Viva or Celebrity Ascent. Those sailing with kids should learn more about Norwegian Viva, while adults, couples, and older travelers will appreciate the elevated experience of Celebrity Ascent. In my experience, Norwegian Viva felt the most crowded of any of these ships.
Read more: I tried Norwegian's and Celebrity's newest cruise ships to see how they compare
Ship Design
For a brand-new cruise ship, there’s not much to scoff at in terms of design. All four of these ships felt modern, stylish, and fresh, although each ship had its own unique ambiance onboard.
Keep in mind, Celebrity Ascent is the only new ship that was not designed for families. Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean are all family-friendly cruise lines that cater to adults and kids alike onboard.
Because of this, Celebrity Ascent was meticulously crafted with obvious attention to detail. She exudes warmth and elegance without feeling too snooty. The entire ship is a work of art that will take your breath away with beautifully designed eateries, lounges, and accommodations. Every corner of the ship feels thoughtfully curated with a special emphasis on outdoor space.
Norwegian Viva is similar in terms of design, as the ship has a cozy ambiance with a very modern design. She was also built with a big emphasis on outdoor spaces with many bars and lounges having both indoor and outdoor seating. Norwegian Cruise Line balances adult amenities - like the expansive, serene thermal spa - with its focus on family appeal.
To accommodate families, Norwegian Viva has crammed in kid-friendly activities like a go-kart track and virtual reality space. I’d argue Norwegian Viva has more design flaws that create more cramped spaces. Popular areas onboard, such as theatre shows, the pool deck, and the buffet, struggled to accommodate the passenger flow.
On the other hand, Icon of the Seas was designed to be the best family vacation - on land or at sea. Within each of her eight neighborhoods, Royal Caribbean has the wow factor that will make your jaw drop. The ship was boldly designed from bow to stern with kids at the forefront.
Considering this was a brand-new ship class, Icon of the Sea’s design was heavily hyped. Royal Caribbean built its newest class to feature the best of the cruise line’s design. In my opinion, Icon of the Seas has a delicate balance of its colorful, carnival-style design while finding space for modern, elegant touches. Others might find the design geared too heavily towards children.
Finally, Carnival Jubilee’s ship design is equally as family-focused as Icon of the Seas. Compared to Icon of the Seas, there is certainly less hype and innovation. However, Carnival Jubilee is still designed to be modern and stylish, especially for Carnival Cruise Line.
The ship has an ocean theme with some retro 90s design elements throughout. For example, Currents is a new neighborhood designed specifically for Carnival Jubilee to make it feel as though you're submerged under the sea. There are beautiful spaces onboard for adults as well, including many of the bars and lounges. However, there is plenty of emphasis on fun for kids intertwined with the ship's design.
Dining
What’s a cruise without fantastic food?
In terms of dining, these brand-new ships introduced a new era of cruise ship dining. Gone are the days when you could only eat in the buffet and main dining room. In particular, one of the best improvements with newer ships is the availability of casual eateries onboard.
When it comes to casual dining, Carnival Jubilee is hard to beat. More than one dozen restaurants are included onboard the brand-new ship, including fan favorites like Guy’s Burger Joint, Shaq’s Big Chicken, BlueIguana Cantina, Coastal Slice, and Guy’s Pig and Anchor Smokehouse. While not necessarily sophisticated, there’s no shortage of delicious grub on Carnival Jubilee.
On the other hand, specialty dining is limited, but sufficient for Carnival Jubilee with just a few restaurants. With so much included onboard, I didn’t find the need to spend extra on any dining. My favorite restaurants included Shaq’s Big Chicken and Guy’s Burger Joint, which I visited frequently!
Similarly, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas has 25 restaurants onboard. Around half of these are included with five brand-new dining options that debuted on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship.
Favorites like Park Cafe and Sorrento’s pizzeria can be found, along with new options like the food stalls at AquaDome Marketplace. This was my favorite new dining option onboard Icon of the Seas, but I also appreciated the availability of other included venues in areas like Surfside and the Royal Promenade.
Read more: 5 things I loved (and 4 I hated) about my vacation on the world's biggest cruise ship
As for specialty dining, you will find a mix of new experiences coupled with Royal Caribbean staples. For example, the Empire Supper Club is a new, ultra-luxurious dining experience that costs $200 per person, while Chops Grille is the cruise line’s specialty steakhouse. It, however, has been revamped to include the line's first-ever butcher's display.
In terms of included dining, Norwegian Viva has fewer options to align with her smaller size. The newest ship from Norwegian Cruise Line only has five complimentary dining options, including the buffet and main dining rooms. There is no shortage of specialty dining options onboard with eight different restaurants available, from French Le Bistro to Hasuki Teppanyaki and Los Lobos Mexican Steakhouse.
However, Indulge Food Hall is perhaps one of the cruise line’s best dining experiences ever created - even better, it’s included in the cost of your cruise. With multiple stations serving up international cuisine through the touch of a tablet, the dining experience is unmatched. We ate here multiple times for both lunch and dinner. The Indulge Food Hall makes up for Norwegian Viva’s far-too-small Garden Buffet, which was cramped and lacked variety.
Finally, Celebrity Ascent takes a luxurious twist on both complimentary and specialty dining options with 19 different venues available. The modern ship has an expansive buffet in Oceanview Cafe that puts the other ships to shame. The beautifully designed space is modern, trendy, and expansive. Everything from the freshly-made food to the functional space with floor-to-ceiling windows is a home run. The desserts are to die for as well!
Celebrity Ascent boasts multiple main dining rooms with differing themes. In addition, you can find some of the most exquisite specialty options onboard, like Le Voyage from chef Daniel Boulud with Michelin-star quality cuisine. You can even dine on the ship’s signature Magic Carpet with over-the-top views of the ship.
Overall, Celebrity Ascent offers a solid round-up of both complimentary and specialty dining, along with one of the best buffets at sea.
Entertainment
One of the most exciting aspects of sailing on a brand-new ship is experiencing the never-before-seen entertainment. As cruise ships get bigger in size, cruise lines are expanding their entertainment offerings thanks to more space and larger crowds to accommodate.
When it comes to entertainment, Icon of the Seas blows the competition out of the water. Like most of Royal Caribbean’s biggest cruise ships, you’ll find jaw-dropping entrainment that isn’t offered anywhere else at sea.
New entertainment includes the stunning production of Wizard of Oz as a headliner production show in the theatre, even including immersive elements. The AquaDome is also home to new diving shows with insanely talented performers. While two shows are set to premiere, we were only able to see Aqua Action. Similarly, there were two new ice skating spectacles, including a dazzling performance titled Stardust: Elemental Beauty and a kid-friendly show named Once Upon a Time: The King’s Royal Ball.
Similarly, Celebrity Ascent showcases a strong assortment of production shows and headliner entertainment across the board. You might not find full-scale Broadway shows or ice skating spectacles, but Celebrity Ascent brings entertainment to new heights for the cruise line. Between theatre shows like the incredible Awaken to aerialists in the transformative Eden venue, Celebrity’s newest ship is a strong contender for best entertainment.
For big-name performances, Norwegian Viva offered the nearly full-length Broadway musical, Beetlejuice. Having never seen the musical before, this was a highlight of the cruise for me. However, Norwegian Viva’s other entertainment was disappointing in comparison. One evening, the main production show was the game show Press Your Luck while one night lacked entertainment entirely.
Read more: 10 reasons why the newest Norwegian Cruise Line ship is my favorite
Although you won’t find any name-brand entertainment on Carnival Jubilee, Carnival has really stepped up its game with its Excel Class ships.
Thanks to the new Center Stage venue, the cruise line has created higher-quality production shows with more extravagant costumes and performers. Of course, Carnival is also known for its comedy shows with comedians performing daily. Smaller-scale production shows can be found onboard, along with Deal or No Deal and Family Feud game shows.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment on all four of these ships. I was least impressed with the entertainment on Norwegian Viva, although Beetlejuice was fantastic.
Similarly, I was surprised that Carnival Jubilee only featured two new production shows while most of the headliner shows were repeats from other Excel Class ships. Celebrity Ascent and Icon of the Seas had the best entertainment across the board, with Royal Caribbean’s newest ship leaving me the most impressed.
Onboard Thrills and Innovation
The latest and greatest cruise ships are jam-packed with attractions and onboard thrills - some that have never been seen on cruise ships before. Since Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line to debut a brand-new ship class, Icon of the Seas has the most notable attractions to mention. Royal Caribbean is known for its innovative onboard thrills - and Icon of the Seas is no exception.
From the world’s largest water park at sea to the thrilling Crown’s Edge obstacle course, Royal Caribbean has brought its A-game yet again. You can find a designated neighborhood just for families in Surfside, a suspended beach club at The Hideaway, the FlowRider surf simulator, and so much more.
Comparatively, Carnival Jubilee’s size provides plenty of space for fun attractions. Even better, most of the onboard thrills are included in the cost of your cruise. Perhaps the most exciting attraction is BOLT, which is Carnival’s revolutionary roller coaster at sea found in the Ultimate Playground. Carnival Jubilee has a plethora of onboard thrills here, along with a sizable water park called Waterworks, a sports court, a ropes course, and miniature golf.
Read more: 14 things I loved and hated about Carnival Jubilee
While Norwegian Viva is much smaller than both of these ships, the ship packs a punch for onboard thrills. Unfortunately, most of the attractions cost extra, such as the Viva Speedway go-kart racing, technologically immersive Tee Time miniature golf, and the virtual world in the Galaxy Pavilion. Norwegian Viva also has two dry slides called The Rush and The Drop, along with one wave water slide called The Wave.
Celebrity Ascent leans heavily into the innovation side compared to onboard thrills. Since the ship was designed for a more upscale, adult experience, Celebrity Ascent doesn’t have the kid-friendly thrills.
Instead, you can enjoy the engineering marvel of the Magic Carpet, which is a cantilevered platform that serves as a top-deck bar in the evening and tender launch during the day.
Other innovative spaces include the aft-facing venue of Eden and Rooftop Garden, an open-air space with real greenery for relaxing and connecting with the sea.
Cost
One of the most important factors to consider when booking a cruise is your budget. Inherently, new cruise ships will usually be the most expensive ships to cruise on due to increased demand. As the new ships age, prices tend to decline with demand.
Although Celebrity Ascent might be the only premium cruise line in this comparison, the newest ship from Celebrity Cruises isn’t the most expensive. In fact, Celebrity Ascent is one of the cheapest new cruise ships to sail on among the four. The pricing for Celebrity Ascent is similar to Carnival Jubilee! Those wanting a more all-included vacation can also upgrade their cruise fare with Celebrity's All Included pricing.
In the example below, I priced similar 7-night sailings in mid-December among these four ships in the cheapest cabin available for two guests.
- Icon of the Seas: $5,293
- Norwegian Viva: $4,493
- Carnival Jubilee: $1,773
- Celebrity Ascent: $1,682
Looking at pricing, Icon of the Seas is consistently the most expensive new cruise ship to sail on compared to the others. This is likely due to unprecedented demand for this highly-anticipated cruise ship. On the other hand, Norwegian Cruise Line tends to have higher prices than other mainstream cruise lines; however, you can also book more inclusive fares with drink packages, specialty dining, and shore excursion credits.
Read more: Norwegian Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean comparison
Which cruise ship is best?
It's hard not to love a new cruise ship! As such, each of these four ships will provide a wonderful cruise vacation regardless of which one you pick. As mentioned above, budget and itinerary preferences are probably the most important factors to consider when choosing the best option for you. Also, whether you are traveling with children or not will make a difference here as well.
Considering the price of Celebrity Ascent and the more premium experience, I would personally sail again on Celebrity Ascent in a heartbeat! As an adult with no children, it checks all the boxes for me, as the award-winning ship has a lot to offer from dining to entertainment and ship design. Finally, the price coupled with the interesting itinerary options to Europe makes this the top choice for me.
Norwegian Viva is similarly priced to Icon of the Seas, although you can find more interesting itineraries to both Europe and the Caribbean with Norwegian. Destination-focused cruisers will appreciate the variety of itineraries on Norwegian Viva. This is a great option for families wanting to have diverse itineraries with a kid-friendly approach. However, Viva's design fell flat for me and the lack of entertainment was disappointing.
Those wanting to sail to the Caribbean with a more flexible budget - or those simply wanting to see what the hype is all about - will love Icon of the Seas. You can't beat the onboard thrills and spectacular entertainment that you'll find on Royal Caribbean's newest ship, along with the Surfside neighborhood designed for families with small children.
Families shouldn't rule out Carnival Jubilee though, as it's a far more affordable option with some of the best cruise food at sea. There's plenty to do for parents and kids alike. Carnival Jubilee brings nonstop fun without breaking the budget. Those who are a fan of Galveston will appreciate that Carnival brought their newest ship to Texas.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on nearly 30 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
