Move over Icon of the Seas, there’s a new ship on the block.
While Icon took the world by storm as the world’s new largest cruise ship (and still gets significant press today), Royal Caribbean has actually been working on a new ship, albeit with much less fanfare.
Utopia of the Seas has now officially joined the cruise line’s fleet, marking the 28th ship in the Royal Caribbean lineup.
Utopia is the sixth ship in the cruise line’s Oasis class of vessels, which before the Icon class was introduced, were the largest on the planet. The ships are known for their massive size, but also an amazing number of things to do.
At 236,860 gross tons, the new ship is the largest in the class and officially notches the second spot on the list of the world’s largest cruise ships. The ship has 2,834 staterooms, which is actually about 30 more than Icon of the Seas. At full capacity, it can hold nearly 6,800 passengers.
With the arrival of Utopia, Royal Caribbean is now the owner of all seven of the largest cruise ships on the planet.
Onboard, there are five different pools, a nearly 300-foot dry slide, more than 20 places to eat, a tiki bar, Central Park (a park in the middle of the ship with hundreds of trees and plants), and the AquaTheater at the back of the ship, which is a signature of this class.
The ship officially joined Royal Caribbean in a ceremony held onboard in Saint-Nazaire, France, where the ship was built.
“Taking delivery of Utopia of the Seas is an incredibly important milestone, as it marks yet another evolution of our game-changing ships and our mission to create the best vacation experiences responsibly,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group.
But just because the ship has joined the fleet doesn’t mean it’s ready for passengers just yet. It won’t sail its first official cruise until July 19. Over the next several weeks the ship will head to the U.S. and final touches will be put in place to finish the ship and get it prepared for guests.
What’s interesting about Utopia of the Seas is that it will sail a much different itinerary than most newbuilds. Typically, the newest and largest ships sail 7-day cruises. However, Utopia is the first Royal Caribbean ship — much less the largest — we can recall that is dedicated to sailing short cruises right off the bat.
The ship’s itineraries are dominated by three and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral to The Bahamas and CocoCay. Typically for these shorter cruises passengers have to sail older and smaller ships.
Given the size of the ship and multiple ports of call, passengers should expect to be very busy trying to fit everything there is to do into just a few days.
As mentioned, Utopia of the Seas first sets sail July 19. Cruises start for as little as $400 per person.
