Royal Caribbean is celebrating a milestone today as its largest cruise ship in history, Icon of the Seas, departs for its first cruise from PortMiami. However, the cruise line's next two new ships will sail from Port Canaveral, the busiest cruise port in the world.
Royal Caribbean is the world's largest cruise ship operator, operating 27 cruise ships. They have three more cruise ships on order/under construction that will debut over the next few years. The next two ships, Utopia of the Sea and Star of the Seas, will both be based at Port Canaveral, Florida.
Utopia of the Seas will be the sixth and largest Oasis-class ship. This will be the first Oasis class to be powered by LNG and is scheduled to sail its first cruise this summer on July 22, 2024.
Utopia of the Seas sails three to four day overnight cruises to the Bahamas. This is unique because it is unheard of for a brand new cruise ship to sail a short cruise to the Bahamas. 4-night cruises depart every Monday, and 3-night weekend cruises depart every Friday. All cruises visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line's incredibly popular private island.
The cruise ship will have all the popular features of the Oasis class ships, such as Central Park and the boardwalk. The ship will also include several new concepts, such as the Royal Railway, a unique dining experience that mimics train travel around the world.
Utopia of the Seas will feature more than 40 dining and drinking venues and a new Caribbean Tiki Bar, which will replace the robot bartenders found on other Oasis class ships.
Izumi is imagined and relocated to Central Park. There is also a pick-up window for fresh sushi and Japanese street food.
Utopia of the Seas will become the world's second largest cruise ship when it debuts this July. See prices for Utopia of the Seas cruises
Star of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's second Icon class ship and is scheduled to make her maiden voyage from Port Canaveral on August 17, 2025.
Royal Caribbean has a tradition of making each new ship slightly larger than the previous one, but they haven't yet announced whether that will apply to Star of the Seas as well.
At a press conference held this week at Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty talked about how the cruise line builds its large cruise ships. He said they don't start by wanting to build the biggest ship, just adding amenities they know guests will like, and the ship has to be big enough to accommodate everything. Their focus is on experience, not size. of cruise ships.
Star of the Seas includes all the great new features that Icon of the Seas had, such as the Thrill Waterpark and Surfside areas, tailored for families with young children. For adrenaline seekers, Crown's Edge is a mini zipline that takes you over the side of a ship 150 feet above the water.
Star of the Seas sails seven-day overnight cruises every Sunday from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean. Some cruises sail to the Eastern Caribbean, while others sail to the Western Caribbean. View Star of the Seas cruise prices
Ports that the cruise ship will visit include Cozumel, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Roatan and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Of course, cruise ships also stop at CocoCay for the day.
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These two cruise ships will join Wonder of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Mariner of the Seas in offering cruises from Central Florida ports.