To say that Royal Caribbean's icon of the seas has been a success so far would be a major understatement.
Icon commands by far the highest cruise fares in the fleet, and most reviews indicate that the ship's amenities and design are clear of the popular and successful Oasis class of megaships.
Royal Caribbean hopes to capitalize on Icon's momentum when it launches its next Icon-class ship, Star of the Seas, this summer. Like her sister ship, Star has been a popular and expensive ship to book.
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In many cases, cruisers who play at Royal Caribbean's onboard casinos can qualify for free and discounted cruise fares. But that generally hadn't been the case with the icon.
Image source and colon; Daniel Kline & Sol; comeCruisewith & Period; com
Casino offers have been elusive for the icon class
Cruisers who spend time at Royal Caribbean Royale's onboard casinos can earn free or discounted cruises in three ways:
- annual cruise – Players who achieve top-tier status in their loyalty program get one free cruise each year, which may be a sailing with limited exclusions.
- Instant certificates – Players who reach a certain points level in a single sailing can choose a free or discounted cruise from a list that changes every month. For example, those who reach 4,000 points primarily receive balcony room offers with $500 in free play if they choose a cruise from the list.
- Targeted offers – Players also receive offers from Casino Royale through mail, email and on ClubroyaleOffers.com. How Royal Caribbean determines who gets which deals is unclear, and the selection of sailings is usually quite limited.
In the roughly two years since it first opened for bookings, I've seen few casino offerings for the ship.
Icon sailings were specifically excluded from the annual cruise certificate benefits awarded in 2024, and in recent months have not been in any From the lists of instant certificates, not even those with extremely high point levels.
I usually have seven or eight specific offers on the Club Royale Portal at any given time and I have seen one Specific offer for the interior room at the icon, which was completely sold out in the first hours.
It is worth noting that most offers have a trade-in value that can be applied towards any cruises in a specific time frame. But for many cruisers, this benefit hasn't even made a dent in the cost of a sailing icon.
As a personal example, I regularly receive offers for free balcony rooms on a variety of sailings, and I used one to book a free (excluding taxes and port fees) 7-night cruise on Wonder of the Seas in December 2024. That would do. It cost me around $5,000 if I had simply chosen to book a room. The certificate had an exchange value of $750.
Icon Class Casino Offers Have Finally Arrived (For Some)
Given the difficult nature of Icon of the Seas casino add-ons, many Casino Royale players were surprised to see a new Icon class offering, which included not only a selection of sailings on Icon of the Seas in September to December 2025 Star of the seas.
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According to my own offers, and others I have seen posted in various Royal Caribbean Casino facebook groups, most players receive offers that are one or two levels lower than their typical offers. For example, I'm usually offered balcony rooms, even on Oasis class ships, but my icon and star offerings are on interior rooms.
To be sure, this is still a big step forward when it comes to casino comps on icon class ships.
And it's also worth noting that you can usually pay an upgrade fee to move to a higher room class (or try to bid on one through the RoyalUp program). But the bottom line is that today's news is probably putting a smile on the faces of many Casino Royale players.