Icon of the Seas vs Disney Wish: Family Ship Showdown

Icon of the Seas means a full week: seven nights from Miami, a waterpark, eight neighbourhoods and a day at CocoCay. Disney Wish means three or four nights from Port Canaveral, usually tacked onto a Walt Disney World holiday. Decide which shape of trip you want first, because these two rarely sell the same holiday.

Icon of the Seas and Disney Wish side by side

The quick version: pick Icon of the Seas if you want a week at sea on the biggest ship afloat. Pick Disney Wish if the cruise is an add-on to an Orlando park week and you’d rather let the characters do the entertaining.

Icon is roughly 70% bigger by gross tonnage, yet Wish gives each guest more room. Both figures are right, and the maths below explains why.

A week from Miami or a short cruise from Port Canaveral

Icon of the Seas does one thing. Seven nights round trip from Miami, Saturday to Saturday, alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean routes, and always a call at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The Eastern run stops at Philipsburg on St Maarten and Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas, with two sea days at the start and one before the island. She sails at 16:30, and Royal Caribbean wants you at the terminal two to three hours before that.

Disney Wish is built for short breaks. Most sailings are three nights from Port Canaveral, Friday to Monday, calling at Nassau and Castaway Cay.

A second three-night pattern does Castaway Cay first and a sea day after. The four-night itineraries are the ones that add Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

Typical timings: away at 16:00, Nassau from 09:30 to 17:45, Castaway Cay from 08:30 to 16:45.

So the real question isn’t which ship. It’s which holiday.

If you want a week at sea, Wish has nothing to sell you. If you’re doing a Walt Disney World week from Orlando, a three-night Wish sailing slots in neatly and a seven-night Icon sailing from Miami doesn’t.

Check the homeport as well, because Wish has a European season on the schedule. For the Florida end, see how to get from Miami Airport to PortMiami and our Port Canaveral cruise port guide.

For everything about the big ship, start with our full Icon of the Seas guide.

Why Disney Wish feels roomier, even though it’s the smaller ship

Icon is 77 ft longer and about 105,000 GT heavier. The number that answers the crowding question, though, is tonnage shared among guests. 248,663 divided by 5,610 gives each guest about 44 GT. 144,000 divided by Wish’s 2,508 lower berths gives each guest about 57. The smaller ship wins, and not by a little.

Here’s the working, because Disney’s occupancy basis is a bit slippery. Disney publishes 4,000 as capacity without saying plainly whether that’s two per cabin or everyone packed in.

The 2,508 figure is 1,254 cabins multiplied by two, which is the like-for-like comparison. Use 4,000 instead and the gap narrows, but Wish still comes out roomier.

Size cuts both ways. Icon carries up to 7,600 people and is built to spread them across eight neighbourhoods: Thrill Island, Surfside, AquaDome, Central Park, the Royal Promenade and The Hideaway among them. Wish is calmer in its public rooms and you can learn your way round in a day, but it packs deck space for 4,000 guests into a much smaller footprint.

If you’re comparing Icon with what you assume is Disney’s newest ship, check which one you mean. Disney’s biggest isn’t Wish. Disney Adventure is about 208,000 GT with capacity around 6,700, roughly half as big again as Wish, and Wish’s size and price figures don’t transfer to it.

What a family of four pays: fare per night, gratuities and drinks

A headline fare for seven nights against a headline fare for three tells you nothing at all. Work in fare per person per night, then add everything the fare leaves out.

• Fare per night. Wish usually comes out higher per night, often by a mile, because the fixed cost of a cruise gets spread over three or four nights instead of seven. Icon’s seven-night Miami sailings price lower per night than Wish’s short Bahamas runs.
• Gratuities. Both lines charge a set daily amount per guest, and both charge it for children and infants at the full rate. Royal Caribbean’s daily rate is the higher of the two. The nights do more damage than the rate: a week on Icon carries more than twice the gratuities of a three-night Wish sailing for a family of four. Have a look at tipping on your cruise holiday before you budget.
• Drinks. Disney throws in soft drinks at the drink stations, plus soft-serve. Royal Caribbean charges for drinks packages, and adds a service charge on top of drinks, packages, speciality dining and the minibar, with a higher rate for spa and salon. On a seven-night sailing, drinks packages for four can outweigh the fare difference between the two ships.
• Speciality dining. Disney’s three rotational rooms cover dinner every night; Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté are the paid extras, and both are adults only. Icon’s upcharge list is longer, and the Empire Supper Club carries the highest cover charge on board.
• The island day. CocoCay’s waterpark, Beach Club and cabanas are charged per person and priced dynamically. Castaway Cay’s main inclusions cost nothing. That one day can swing the week.
• What the quote covers. Disney’s fare includes rotational dining, the Marceline Market food hall, Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods and the drink stations. Royal Caribbean’s includes the main dining room, Windjammer, Surfside Eatery and Surfside Bites. Ask for a total for four people, not a lead-in price.

Once you’ve got both quotes in front of you, run them through the cruise holiday budget calculator.

Kids clubs on each ship, and the ages they take

The two clubs aren’t interchangeable, and the age split is what decides which ship suits your family. Adventure Ocean on Icon is free from 3 to 11, and children have to be fully toilet trained, so no nappies or pull-ups.

The ship runs its own grouping rather than the 3 to 11 banding Royal Caribbean publishes for the fleet: AO Babies from 6 to 36 months, AO Juniors from 3 to 5 and AO Kids from 6 to 12, all in one large play area. Teen spaces run 12 to 14 and 15 to 17.

The Royal Babies & Tots nursery takes 6 to 36 months and charges by the hour if you drop them off; parent-and-child playgroups are free. After 10pm the Late Night Party Zone charges hourly per child. Our Icon of the Seas families guide goes through the timings.

On Wish, the “it’s a small world” nursery takes 6 months to 3 years, costs extra and needs booking. Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are free from 3 to 10, and children must be toilet trained.

Edge covers 11 to 14 and Vibe 14 to 17, with 14-year-olds choosing between them. Oceaneer stops at 10, not 12.

Put a real child into those bands and the answer changes. A two-year-old is in a paid nursery on either ship.

A seven-year-old is in a large free club on either. A twelve-year-old stays in AO Kids with the six-year-olds on Icon until their thirteenth birthday, but moved up to Edge on Wish at eleven.

A thirteen-year-old is in the teen space on Icon and still in Edge on Wish.

Disney doesn’t publish nursery pricing, so ask before you sail. And a three-year-old still in nappies won’t be taken by either free club.

Entertainment: Disney characters or a waterpark

This is the emotional decision, and it has a shelf life. A five-year-old in a princess phase and a twelve-year-old who wants drop slides want opposite ships.

Icon of the Seas: Category 6, Crown’s Edge and the AquaDome

Category 6 is the biggest waterpark at sea: about 17,010 sq ft across Decks 16 and 17, with six slides. Frightening Bolt is the tallest drop slide at sea at 46 ft.

Pressure Drop is the first open free-fall slide at sea. Storm Chasers is a dual mat racer, and Storm Surge and Hurricane Hunter are the first family raft slides at sea, taking up to four riders.

Royal Caribbean doesn’t publish the height and weight limits, saying only that they vary by slide. On the drop slides they differ by up to seven inches, so measure your children at the slide rather than promising them anything on the flight over.

Crown’s Edge on Deck 16 is a skywalk, rope course and controlled swing 154 ft above the sea, and it costs extra. Height, weight and medical restrictions may apply, and minimum ages run between 6 and 12, so check on board before you queue.

The rest is included: the AquaDome with its 55 ft waterfall and water shows, the Absolute Zero ice arena, FlowRider, mini golf, a carousel, The Hideaway suspended infinity pool, seven pools and nine whirlpools. Stage shows include The Wizard of Oz and The Effecters, an ice show and AquaDome productions, with a 16-piece orchestra on board. The Icon of the Seas activities guide has the rest.

Disney Wish: AquaMouse, the theatre and the characters

Wish’s headline ride is AquaMouse, Disney’s first attraction at sea. The Walt Disney Theatre stages full productions including Disney Seas the Adventure and Disney’s Aladdin, and the ship adds fireworks at sea, the Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party, Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, the Hero Zone sports space and the Disney Uncharted Adventure game.

The characters aren’t a side show. They’re what you’re paying for.

They turn up at meals, on the island and around the ship. Inside Oceaneer Club the spaces are themed as the Marvel Super Hero Academy, Fairytale Hall, Star Wars: Cargo Bay and the Walt Disney Imagineering Lab.

Pay for a ship whose headline ride your short or timid child can’t use, and you’ve wasted the money. Pay Disney prices for a pre-teen who has outgrown princesses, and you’ve done the same.

Cabins for a family of four or five

Icon’s entry-level inside is 156 sq ft. Wish’s is 169 sq ft. So the smaller ship has the bigger basic cabin, though that gap closes quickly once you move up the range.

Icon has 2,805 staterooms in 28 categories, roughly 70% balconies and more than 80% sleeping three or more. The breakdown: 693 Infinite Balconies (615 standard, 78 family), 1,815 balconies in total, 276 oceanviews, 744 insides, 179 suites and 50 accessible cabins.

The Family Infinite Balcony has a split bath, a kids’ nook and a balcony that converts into a small cinema with a projector. The Surfside Family Suite has a closable kids’ nook, and the Ultimate Family Townhouse sleeps eight over three storeys with a slide.

Wish has 1,254 staterooms, 90% outside and 70% verandah: 948 verandah, 185 oceanview and 121 inside, plus 53 concierge staterooms and 23 concierge suites. Balcony categories run from 04A to 04E, then 05A to 05C, 06A, 06B and 07A.

The Deluxe Family Verandah categories sleep four or five. Suites run from 296 to 1,966 sq ft, and the Concierge Wish Tower Suite sleeps eight inside a forward funnel.

Bathrooms matter with small children, and Icon’s Family Infinite Balcony has a split one. Check the layout of the exact Disney category you’re quoted rather than assuming it matches. For categories on the big ship, the Icon of the Seas cabin categories guide names them all.

For a group, Icon is the easier booking: more than 80% of its cabins take three or more, and the townhouse sleeps eight.

Dining: what’s included and what costs extra

Count the venues and Icon wins, because it carries more than 40 food and drink locations. Count only the included ones and Wish wins. What matters is whether dinner is an event or a chore, and whether the fussy eater gets fed.

Disney’s rotational dining moves you between three themed rooms: Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure, Worlds of Marvel and 1923. Your serving team moves with you, so service carries on from night to night and dinner is part of the entertainment.

Marceline Market, Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods on the pool deck, soft-serve, the drink stations and most room service items are included. Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté are the paid extras.

Royal Caribbean’s included set is the main dining room, the Windjammer buffet, the Surfside Eatery family buffet, Surfside Bites grab-and-go and a complimentary soft-serve station. The paid list is long: Pier 7, Empire Supper Club, Izumi and Wonderland among them. The Icon of the Seas restaurants guide covers each one.

Disney’s table service gets children through a short dinner because there are characters to watch, and the same team has worked out what they like by night two. Icon gives you a buffet and grab-and-go for a child who won’t sit still, but you’ll pay extra for variety in the evening.

The private island days: Castaway Cay and Perfect Day at CocoCay

A whole port day is part of what the fare buys, and the two lines spend it very differently.

Perfect Day at CocoCay: no entry fee, plenty of extras

It costs nothing to land on CocoCay, and most of the island is included: Oasis Lagoon, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean, Splashaway Bay, Captain Jill’s Galleon, Chill Island, South Beach, free beach chairs and umbrellas, five complimentary dining venues, and free lockers, showers and restrooms.

The extras are where the money goes. Thrill Waterpark has 13 slides, a wave pool and an adventure pool, charged per person with under-4s free. Coco Beach Club, Hideaway Beach for adults and every cabana are charged too, and so are the Up, Up and Away helium balloon and the zip line.

Prices move with demand and show up only in the Cruise Planner for your sailing. The same waterpark pass has been priced at close to four times more on peak dates than on the cheapest, and Beach Club passes move further still.

Book early: the lowest prices sit in the Cruise Planner months ahead and climb as the sailing approaches. Cabanas include admission for up to six guests on the waterpark side or eight at the Beach Club, full day only. See the Perfect Day at CocoCay guide.

Castaway Cay: the ship docks, the tram is free and the day is mostly included

Wish docks at the pier at Castaway Cay, so there is no tender. The tram is free and runs in two loops: pier to Family Beach, then a separate tram to the adults-only Serenity Bay.

Each leg is about 10 minutes, or 20 on foot. Plenty of guests never reach Serenity Bay because nobody tells them to change trams.

Included: Family Beach, Teen Beach, loungers, umbrellas, towels, Cookie’s BBQ and Serenity Bay BBQ, soft-serve and drink stations, Pelican Plunge’s two slides, Scuttle’s Cove kids club, the Teen Hideout, character meets and the self-paced Castaway Cay 5K with a finisher’s medal.

Charged: speciality drinks at Olaf’s Summertime Freeze, snorkel, kayak and paddleboat rentals, cabanas and Port Adventures such as parasailing and stingray snorkelling. Cabanas and Port Adventures open at your booking window, later for first-time Disney cruisers than for Castaway Club tiers, and they sell out fast.

Two rules catch UK guests out. Anyone 18 or over needs a passport or government photo ID to go ashore and get back on, so carry it rather than leaving it in the cabin safe.

Pelican Plunge is a swim-out structure: riders need 38 in to use the slides, anyone under 48 in needs a lifejacket, and weak swimmers should stay on the beach. Drones, personal wagons, flotation devices and fishing gear are not allowed ashore.

This is the day a waterproof dry bag earns its place, because there’s nowhere dry to leave a phone.

Castaway Cay is roughly 225 miles from Port Canaveral and usually the last day of the cruise. The Castaway Cay private island guide covers the rest, and how cruise line private islands compare sets the two against each other.

The downsides of each ship

Score Wish on value and it comes out at 5 out of 10, joint-lowest of the ships compared, while family appeal and entertainment both score 10. That’s the trade you’re making: a premium for the brand, the characters and three very polished nights.

Icon’s friction is queues and upselling. The headline slides build lines, Crown’s Edge slots go within hours of opening, and the upcharge list is long enough that a family can spend a second fare on board without noticing.

Pool deck space is the criticism that sticks to Wish, and the tonnage-per-guest figure doesn’t answer it. That average covers the whole ship, not the lido deck on a sea day with 4,000 guests aboard. The Icon of the Seas reviews page carries the equivalent picture for the big ship.

Mistakes to avoid when you book

• Book the island early. CocoCay add-ons are cheapest in the Cruise Planner months out and rise as the sailing nears, and flash sales give the deepest cuts. Castaway Cay cabanas and Port Adventures open at the booking window and disappear quickly.
• Gratuities apply to babies. Both lines charge the full daily rate for infants and children, so add it for every head before you compare totals.
• Book the group together. Icon is the better multi-generational ship because more than 80% of cabins sleep three or more and the Ultimate Family Townhouse sleeps eight. Leave it late and the group ends up scattered across neighbourhoods.
• Check the homeport. Wish has a European season scheduled, so confirm the ship is sailing from Port Canaveral for your dates before you build a Florida trip around her.
• Watch the date, not just the ship. The same cabin prices very differently depending on when you sail, and school holidays are the most expensive weeks on both.

Which ship to book for your family

• You want a full week at sea: Icon. There is no seven-night Wish sailing.
• The cruise is bolted onto a Walt Disney World week: Wish. Three nights from Port Canaveral fits; seven nights from Miami does not.
• Youngest child is under 3: a paid nursery either way, so choose on everything else.
• A child in a princess or Marvel phase, aged 4 to 10: Wish.
• A child of 10 or over who wants drop slides: Icon. Category 6 beats AquaMouse on pure thrill.
• A 12 or 13-year-old: Wish, where Edge starts at 11. On Icon they stay in AO Kids until 13.
• Eight or more travelling together: Icon, for cabin occupancy and the townhouse.
• Tight budget per night: Icon on fare per night, but price the drinks packages and the CocoCay extras first. Wish’s included soft drinks and rotational dinners claw back part of its premium.

If the answer still isn’t obvious, decide which matters more: seven nights of choice on the biggest ship afloat, or three polished nights where the characters do the entertaining. Both are good family holidays.

They are not the same holiday, and treating them as one is how families end up disappointed. More options sit in our best family cruise ships round-up.

Icon of the Seas vs Disney Wish FAQs

Is Icon of the Seas the biggest cruise ship?

By gross tonnage, yes. Her DNV certificate reads 248,663 GT, the largest of any ship at delivery, and the Icon class she belongs to remains the biggest class afloat.

Can you do a seven-night cruise on Disney Wish?

No. Wish’s itineraries are mostly three nights with some four-night Bahamas sailings, so a week means booking two sailings back to back or choosing a different ship.

Is Perfect Day at CocoCay free?

There’s no admission fee and most of the island is included, from Oasis Lagoon to the beach chairs and the complimentary dining venues. Thrill Waterpark, Coco Beach Club, Hideaway Beach, the balloon and the cabanas are charged per person.

What is category 5C on Disney Wish?

It’s one of the Deluxe Balcony categories in Wish’s ten-category line-up. The code on its own won’t tell you the deck or the exact square footage, so check the deck plan for your sailing.

Do children pay gratuities on both ships?

Yes. Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Line both charge the full daily gratuity rate for children and infants, so budget for every guest in the cabin.

Does Disney Wish tender at Castaway Cay?

No. The ship docks at the pier, and the tram from the pier to Family Beach is free. A second tram runs on to Serenity Bay.

When do Castaway Cay cabanas become bookable?

At your booking window, which opens earlier for Castaway Club members than for first-time cruisers. They sell out quickly, so book the moment the window opens.

Which ship has more pools?

Icon of the Seas, with seven pools and nine whirlpools spread across its neighbourhoods, from the AquaDome to The Hideaway infinity pool.