Royal Caribbean Knows Their Ships Feel Overcrowded

You are not imagining it. That pool deck really is busier than the brochure math. Royal Caribbean’s own SEC filings say its ships sailed 110.2% full in the second quarter of 2026, and the video explains how a ship gets past 100% and what you can do about it before you book.

The video opens with a dare: guess how many guests Royal puts on Star of the Seas on an average sailing. Say it out loud. The answer is in section 2, and again at the end.

The sections below follow the video’s chapters, with the numbers you can check yourself. More day-to-day coverage is on the Royal Caribbean news hub.

Chapters

These are the chapter marks in the video description.

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:39 What does 110% capacity mean?
• 1:55 Your ship, in real headcount
• 3:40 The passenger space ratio
• 4:32 This isn’t new, but the ships are
• 6:17 The numbers move with the calendar
• 8:26 Where the extra guests come from
• 10:07 Why a free bed still pays
• 11:20 How other cruise lines compare
• 12:58 How to use this when you book
• 14:55 Back to your guess
• 15:35 Outro

1. What 110% actually means (0:39)

Every quarter, Royal Caribbean Group reports a load factor. It measures capacity at two guests per cabin, times the days the ship sailed. Royal’s own footnote: “A percentage in excess of 100% indicates that three or more passengers occupied some cabins.”

Picture 10 cabins. The baseline is 20 guests. At 110%, those cabins hold 22, so two of them have a third guest, or one has a third and a fourth. Royal Caribbean Blog explained back in 2023 that those extra guests tend to be kids sharing with their parents.

One catch the video flags: the number covers the whole group, Celebrity and Silversea included. There is no Royal-only figure.

2. Your ship, in real headcount (1:55)

Cruise Hive and The Points Guy list Star of the Seas at 5,610 guests at two per cabin, and 7,600 at maximum. Apply the group’s 110.2% and you get about 6,200 guests. That is the fleet-average answer.

Royal has shared one ship-level number, for Star’s older sister. On the July 2024 earnings call, Royal Caribbean brand CEO Michael Bailey said Icon of the Seas was selling at about a 132% load factor. “We’re just delighted,” he said. 132% of 5,610 is about 7,400 guests. Royal has not published a figure for Star, and Icon’s is more than two years old.

Add more than 2,300 crew. At 6,200 guests, you share the ship with about 8,500 people. At Icon’s rate, about 9,700. At maximum, close to 10,000.

If you guessed around 6,000, you nailed the fleet average. If you guessed 7,000 or more, you guessed like Royal’s brand CEO.

3. The passenger space ratio (3:40)

Take gross tonnage, divide by guests. Cruise Fever says a ratio in the 20s feels crowded and the high 40s may feel spacious. It is a rough guide, since tonnage counts space you never see.

At two per cabin, Star scores about 44, the figure you see online. At 110%, about 40. At Icon’s 132%, about 34. Same pools, same deck chairs, almost a quarter less room per guest. Travel Pulse pointed out years ago that the published ratio assumes two per cabin.

4. This isn’t new, but the ships are (4:32)

Royal Caribbean Blog tracked the load factor from 105.1% in 2015 up to 108.9% in 2018. Royal’s filings put 2024 at 108.5% and 2025 at 109.7%.

The bigger change is size. Star measures just under 249,000 gross tons. On Star, an extra 10% is about 570 more people. On a ship half that size, about 290. With Legend of the Seas joining this year, Royal sails three ships this size. Hero of the Seas, the fourth Icon Class ship, arrives in Miami in August 2027, and Royal Caribbean Blog reports three more on order for 2028, 2029 and 2030. To be fair, Icon Class ships are split into eight neighborhoods, which gives everyone more places to spread out.

Weighing Icon against Oasis? Our Icon Class vs Oasis Class guide compares them.

5. The numbers move with the calendar (6:17)

From Royal’s filings, as read in the video:

• Q3 2025 (July to September): 112.1%, the peak
• Q4 2025: 107.8%
• Q1 2026: 108.5%
• Q2 2026: 110.2%

Year over year, the quarters barely moved, except summer, which rose from 111% in 2024 to 112.1% in 2025. Royal reported last year’s third quarter on Oct. 28, so this summer’s number should land later this month. The July release also says 2027 bookings are pacing ahead of historical levels.

6. Where the extra guests come from (8:26)

Royal’s homepage, the day the video was made, advertised third and fourth guests sail free. Matthew pulled the terms: new bookings from early October through Nov. 2, 2026, on select sailings of three nights or longer departing through Aug. 20, 2027. Guests three and four pay $0 cruise fare. Taxes, fees and port expenses still apply to everyone. BOGO 60 and Kids Sail Free can stack on top.

The blackouts are the interesting part: Thanksgiving week, Dec. 17 through Jan. 4, March 5 through April 4, 2027, and May 28 through Aug. 20, 2027. Royal gives no reason. Matthew’s read: Royal does not need to give away beds on weeks families already fill, so the blackout list doubles as a map of the fullest weeks.

7. Why a free bed still pays (10:07)

Royal’s onboard and other revenue covers drinks, internet, shore excursions, specialty dining, the casino, the spa and more. In Q2 2026 it was $1.488 billion over 14.96 million passenger cruise days. Matthew’s math: about $99 per guest per day, roughly $700 a guest on a seven-night cruise. That is an average, and a kid in a free bed will not spend like an adult in the casino. Still, the fare is the only thing waived. In 2025, onboard and other revenue was about 30% of the group’s total.

A fourth guest in your cabin is a fourth customer for Royal. Our drink package guide helps you decide whether that customer needs a package.

8. How other cruise lines compare (11:20)

• Carnival Corporation: 111.8% for its third quarter, reported Sept. 29, 2026. Same two-per-cabin math. More in our Carnival leadership guide.
• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings: 102.4% for its second quarter, down from 103.9%.
• Viking: 94.4% for its second quarter. Its release says it does not allow more than two passengers in a two-berth stateroom.

Royal sails the largest ships in the world and fills them past two per cabin more than Norwegian does.

9. Six ways to use this when you book (12:58)

1. Watch the calendar. Skip Thanksgiving, the holidays, spring break and summer. That leaves late January, February, early November and early December.
2. Check the gap. Compare a ship’s two-per-cabin number with its maximum. On Star, it is about 2,000 beds.
3. Plan around adults-only spaces. Royal says every ship has them, like the Solarium. Icon Class adds The Hideaway and the Swim & Tonic swim-up bar, and Perfect Day at CocoCay has the 18-and-over Hideaway Beach.
4. Lock in your boarding slot. Check in on the app at least three days out to pick an arrival time. Skip it and you finish at the pier at least two hours before sailing.
5. Book shows early. On Oasis and Icon Class ships, reservations open on the first day of the month before you sail. One seating per show. Book the day they open.
6. Check the deal. If a sailing qualifies for free third and fourth guests, Royal wants more people in cabins on it.

Back to your guess (14:55)

At the group’s 110%, Star of the Seas carries about 6,200 guests. If it runs like Icon did, about 7,400. Add crew and you are near 10,000 people at the top end. It is in the filings, on the homepage, and in the blackout dates. Pick your season and you know what you are sailing into before you pay a deposit.

If 7,400 shipmates sounds like a lot, the video points you to smaller ships next: 3 Royal Caribbean ships you shouldn’t overlook. There is also the first round of underrated ships and our best and worst ships for families.

Load factor figures are group-level numbers from company filings. Promotions change often, so check current terms before you book.