Best Royal Caribbean Ships of 2022
Royal Caribbean’s motto could be best described as ‘go big, or go home’. The impressive 26 cruise ships in the fleet offer something for travelers of all types and ages.
If you are planning a cruise with Royal Caribbean, you may be overwhelmed with the number of ship choices to select. Most vessels are larger, so you can expect a variety of amenities to choose from and more guests on board.
To assist with the selection process, we’ve used the rankings of our member reviews from travelers who sailed with Royal Caribbean since June 2021, when the line resumed sailing. The ratings based on a five-point scale interestingly reflect that most categories' highest-rated ships were very close, with just fractions of a point separating vessels. Such close ratings reflect that the quality of the shipboard experience is similar regardless of the ship.
The following are the best Royal Caribbean ships for 2022 in the categories of best ship quality, onboard activities, dining, cabins, service, and entertainment.
Ship Quality
How a guest perceives the quality of a ship can influence their entire cruise experience. This particular category has members judge the ease in navigating the vessel’s design and its cleanliness. Our member's reviews ranked these five Royal Caribbean ships as the best quality overall shipboard experience:
- Oasis of the Seas - 4.711
- Allure of the Seas - 4.699
- Independence of the Seas - 4.6986
- Navigator of the Seas - 4.693
- Harmony of the Seas - 4.689
What Our Members Say
“Nicely designed, always clean!” -Nickynova on Independence of the Seas
“We've been on 14 cruises but this one was a memorable one because it was the Harmony of the Seas. Loved how beautiful the ship was and the different areas to eat.” -aac1004 on Harmony of the Seas
‘We had a great time! The size of the ship is amazing and has something for everyone.” -bet33 on Oasis of the Seas
Our Thoughts
Our first-place winner in the ship quality category Oasis of the Seas was refurbished in 2019, receiving the line’s ‘Amplified’ upgrades. In its first full year back, member reviews elevated the ship’s ranking from the previous tenth position to top honors. The vessel received high marks for the overall feeling of cleanliness and the easily navigable design. Number two, Allure of the Seas moved from third to second in the rankings, with rave reviews about the ship’s offerings and the overall experience delivered onboard.
Our third and fourth-place ranked ships also saw big jumps in the ratings. We found it interesting as these are smaller and older vessels in the fleet. Independence of the Seas went from sixth place to third, and Navigator of the Seas from eighth to fourth. Harmony of the Seas dropped from first place to fifth, but it’s not necessarily indicative of a drop in quality of service or the ship itself, but improvements by other vessels that made their ratings go up,
Explore All Reviews of Oasis of the Seas
Onboard Activities
Many of Royal Caribbean’s ships (old and new) have so many onboard activities you may not get to all of them during the cruise! Here are the top-ranked ships by our members. Note these ratings are incredibly close, with just hundredths of a point separating all of these ships. Presenting the top five ships in the onboard activities category:
- Oasis of the Seas - 4.273
- (TIE) Odyssey of the Seas AND Freedom of the Seas - 4.244
- Allure of the Seas - 4.225
- Navigator of the Seas - 4.223
- Liberty of the Seas - 4.220
What Our Members Say
“Central Park and the Boardwalk were great. Deck 15 was great for kids, between the slides, many pools, flow rider, zip line, splash area, and sports courts. Nice gym and running track. Big emphasis on cleanliness.” -rwkozar88 on Oasis of the Seas
‘They had all kinds of basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball tournaments throughout the week. Tons of lounge chairs around the ship to enjoy the sun and shade. Great belly flop competition, lots of fun watching and rating them.” -txbachbaby on Liberty of the Seas
“Pools were great, the 70’s dance party was so much fun, always things to do.” -kimcolemanrn on Freedom of the Seas
Our Thoughts
As mentioned above, the first-place ship Oasis of the Seas recently received an Amplified upgrade. The new additions included activities like the Ultimate Abyss, the H2O Waterpark Zone, and an upgraded pool deck. These activities have been well-received, moving it up in the rankings (of this category) from seventh to first. The new ship Odyssey of the Seas debuted in the rankings at (a tie) number two for onboard activities. Members rave about the ship’s virtual adventure zone, the SeaPlex, and the North Star observation tower. The tie ship at number two, Freedom of the Seas, moved up two spots in these rankings from previously ranked fourth. Freedom of the Seas is fresh off a refurbishment completed at the end of 2020.
See Odyssey of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas Member Reviews
Dining
Royal Caribbean’s ships are home to various included and specialty dining restaurants. You will find guest-favorite eateries like Windjammer, Giovanni’s, and Teppankayi on several of the line’s ships. In addition, on newer and recently updated vessels, guests will enjoy several unique specialty eateries. The five ships ranked the highest in dining across all Royal Caribbean ships are:
- Allure of the Seas - 4.493
- Symphony of the Seas - 4.402
- Harmony of the Seas - 4.391
- Odyssey of the Seas - 4.369
- Adventure of the Seas - 4.368
What Our Members Say
“Don’t forget about food at Giovanni’s Wine Bar. It is exceptional & offers a variety of excellent food with a low cost. Also Playmakers S’mores cookie … our favorite thing on the ship!” -SandInMyShoes on Odyssey of the Seas
“By far the BEST specialty dining we have had on a cruise! The food was cooked to perfection, and tasted great. Our waiter was very insightful, and extraordinarily good, and the atmosphere was great as well. I Sincerely hope that Hooked becomes part of Every Royal Caribbean ship in the future!” -OpusTGreat about Hooked Seafood on Symphony of the Seas
“The Sapphire Dining room serves excellent food with plentiful portions each night. Our food was very tasty and the wait staff was second to none.” -njohnson1591 on Adventure of the Seas
Our Thoughts
The Allure of the Seas jumped from second to first place in the dining category. The ship has over two dozen dining venues, with many included in the cruise fare. You will find three main dining rooms, several buffets, and specialty restaurants such as Chops Grille and 150 Central Park. Moving from first to second in the rankings for best dining (by minimal points) was Symphony of the Seas. This change may indicate that Allure of the Seas resumed service before Symphony of the Seas, allowing it to garner more reviews and, thus, a slightly higher rating. These Oasis-class ships offer similar dining options, and the differences are negligible, with only hundredths of a point separating them.
Explore All Allure of the Seas Member Reviews
Cabins
Royal Caribbean’s larger-sized ships mean that you will find an abundance of cabins in various sizes and categories. Cabin rankings can be subjective depending on the guest and how much time they prefer to spend in their room. These five Royal Caribbean ships were marked the highest for overall cabin quality:
- Harmony of the Seas - 4.675
- Odyssey of the Seas - 4.644
- Freedom of the Seas - 4.613
- Symphony of the Seas - 4.593
- Allure of the Seas - 4.591
What Our Members Say
“The cabin was excellent. We enjoyed breakfast on the balcony and other than that, very little time in the room other than at night watching the moon and stars.” -troyasimonsr on Allure of the Seas (Cabin 14326)
“The cabin was perfect for 2 people. We had plenty of storage. Our cabin attendant was excellent.” -mlp12 on Harmony of the Seas (Cabin 10540)
“I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the room and the private deck. Plenty of room and a large closet to hang items and place suitcases in to get them out of the way.” -ericaha on Freedom of the Seas (Cabin 9264)
Our Thoughts
Harmony of the Seas jumped from fourth to first in the best cabins category. This super-sized ship, previously World’s Largest, received high marks for its astounding 2,747 cabins that make up 87 different categories. With so many choices of rooms, traveler groups of all sizes are sure to find something to suit their preferences. Similarly, the new mega-ship Odyssey of the Seas came in second place for best cabins. The vessel offers a whopping 2,105 cabins across 41 categories.
Third place Freedom of the Seas was fresh from a refurbishment in 2020. Its cabin upgrades are well received, moving the ship from its seventh position. The Allure of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas saw drops in their rankings this year. However, both vessels remained in the top five indicating they still offer superior cabin options for guests sailing with the cruise line.
See Harmony of the Seas Member Reviews
Service
Since cruising has resumed, service is one of the most commented sections of member reviews. As crews have learned to navigate the ‘new world’ of cruising, many of our members noted the hard work being done to make the ships safe and fun for everyone. These Royal Caribbean ships ranked in top five in this category:
- Allure of the Seas - 4.834
- Oasis of the Seas - 4.793
- Serenade of the Seas - 4.767
- Wonder of the Seas - 4.765
- Independence of the Seas - 4.7641
What Our Members Say
“The staff was very accommodating, the dining room was amazing. We had a party of 11 and wanted to do early dining but with my time dining the earliest they could get us in was at 8. We requested if anything opens for earlier to please let us know, by the next day we were called and had a table for the rest of the time for 5:30 in the dining room!” -blondygirl65 on Oasis of the Seas
“The service was always unbelievably kind, helpful, and patient. I was shocked by the level of professionalism and kindness that was extended to us by every single employee.” -rachelelainem on Independence of the Seas
“Ship was clean and well maintained. Observed the effort and purposeful attention to ensure cleanliness. Very impressed with what I observed.” -cgeorge225 on Allure of the Seas
Our Thoughts
The rankings of this category were very close, with ratings ranging at just one-hundredth or thousandth of a point difference. We congratulate the staff and crew of these five Royal Caribbean ships! Notable on this list was Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise line, Wonder of the Seas, which came in at number four. This ship just made its debut in March 2021 to great fanfare and reviews. We expect to see Wonder of the Seas grow in the rankings across all categories in future years!
See Serenade of the Seas Member Reviews
Entertainment
Cruisers expect nothing but over-the-top entertainment on a Royal Caribbean ship. The line has earned a great reputation throughout the industry for its variety of performances, shows, and unique entertainment options. These are the top five ranked Royal Caribbean ships for entertainment:
- Allure of the Seas - 4.429
- Navigator of the Seas - 4.354
- Oasis of the Seas - 4.334
- Adventure of the Seas - 4.323
- Independence of the Seas - 4.306
What Our Members Say
“The ice skating shows were like Broadway meets the Olympics. The burlesque was also insane, Vegas worthy!” -samantha109bb on Navigator of the Seas
“Piano Bar, Piano Bar, Piano bar! Also, the shows were great. Loved the Drifters and the production shows.” -RobertaL2 on Adventure of the Seas
“The ‘Mama Mia’ performance was amazing and both ice shows and water show were second to none. Would recommend this cruise ship to anyone with young children or those of us who are older but are young at heart.” -dcmcdonald67 on Allure of the Seas
Our Thoughts
The mix of old and new ships is the first thing that jumps out to us with the top five ships in this category. Newer Oasis-class ships Allure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas came in at the top three spots. These vessels boast entertainment options like big-scale Broadway-style theatre performances, interactive game shows, ice skating shows, and jam-packed nightlife. Fourth and fifth place ranked, Adventure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas received refurbishments in 2019. Members who sailed on these ships raved about entertainment options like comedy and karaoke clubs, movie nights, original productions, and dance classes. The upgrades to entertainment are well received and reflected in these older (but new again) vessels ranking so highly.
Read More Navigator of the Seas Member Reviews
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