The first steel was cut on what could be the final of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships, the largest cruise ships in the world.
At a ceremony at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, which has built the last three Oasis-class vessels, cruise officials revealed the name for the massive ship set to debut in spring 2024: Utopia of the Seas. It’s the last of what the line currently has on order for the Oasis class that first debuted in 2008 with Oasis of the Seas.
Utopia of the Seas will be the first in the class to run on liquefied natural gas, a cleaner burning fuel that has begun to roll out on new vessels in the cruise industry. Carnival’s Mardi Gras became the first such ship to home port in North America when it debuted out of Port Canaveral last fall. Disney Cruise Line’s new ship Disney Wish and Mardi Gras’ sister ship Carnival Celebration, will follow suit this year.
The first Royal Caribbean ship to use LNG will be Icon of the Seas due in 2023, the first of three ships on order in a new class that will be smaller than the six behemoths of the Oasis class.
For Utopia of the Seas, it’s expected to inherit the title of world’s largest cruise ship from Wonder of the Seas, which debuted at Port Everglades in March, and will sail from Port Canaveral in the fall.
Wonder of the Seas comes in at 1,188 feet long, 217 feet wide ship with 18 decks and 2,867 staterooms. Its gross tonnage is 236,857 with a 6,988-guest maximum capacity.
The other four ships in the class each held the title of world’s largest cruise ship starting with Oasis of the Seas in 2008, followed by Allure of the Seas in 2009, Harmony of the Seas in 2016 and Symphony of the Seas in 2018. In reality, the first four ships have been only incrementally larger.
All Oasis-class vessels are significantly larger than any other cruise ship at seas, with No. 6 on the world’s largest list more than 40,000 gross tons smaller.
The line has not announced any features or home ports for Utopia of the Seas, but has sent all five of its sister ships to either Port Everglades, PortMiami or Port Canaveral in their first year of services, although Wonder of the Seas was originally to have debuted in China, but the COVID-19 pandemic shifted Royal’s plans to Florida’s favor.
For years, Port Everglades was the only Florida port big enough to service that size of ship. Port Canaveral, though, was able to handle them as of 2016 with PortMiami following suit in 2018. The ships can also homeport at Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey serving the New York market.
All of the ships carve out their massive sizes into neighborhoods, with seven different on the first four Oasis-class ships called Central Park, Boardwalk, Pool & Sports Zone, Entertainment Place, Royal Promenade, Vitality Spa & Fitness Center and Youth Zone. Wonder of the Seas introduced an eighth dedicated to suite-level guests.
All have the 10-deck dry slide called The Ultimate Abyss, a three-slide water park called The Perfect Storm, the acrobat and diving show venue AquaTheater , an ice rink, carousel, rock climbing wall, zip line and FlowRider surfing simulators among their offerings.
Utopia of the Seas is likely to follow suit, with features to be announced over the next 30 months as its construction progresses.
“We are excited to begin construction on Utopia of the Seas,” said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley. “On the sixth Oasis Class ship, vacationers can look forward to the signature combination of Royal Caribbean experiences and many brand-new adventures that has and will continue to make the Oasis class of ships the ultimate vacation for guests of all ages.”
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