Another Cruise Behemoth Is Launching

Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas is the second-biggest cruise ship ever
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2024 10:07 AM CDT
Another Cruise Behemoth Is Launching
The Royal Caribbean Utopia of the Seas passes Jetty Park while making its inaugural arrival at Port Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, July 11, 2024.   (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Cruise ship aficionados have another giant to explore. Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas has arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida, ahead of its first voyage with paying customers on Friday, reports WTSP. Utopia, with a 236,680 gross tonnage, is second only to the Icon of the Seas (248,663) in size, per the Orlando Sentinel. The latter also is a Royal Caribbean ship. Some other details:

  • Utopia is 1,118 feet long and can carry 5,668 passengers on its 18 decks.
  • It has 21 restaurants, five pools, two casinos, and, of course, an ice rink, per Axios.
  • The ship is for now mainly offering long weekend getaways to passengers—three- and four-day trips to Caribbean islands.
  • Green concerns: The Utopia runs on liquified natural gas (LNG), one of only six cruise ships in North America to do so, per a separate story in the Orlando Sentinel. While LNG burns cleaner than typical fuel, the industry still has a long way to go to meet goals of reducing its carbon footprint. In fact, the leaders of rival cruise lines Royal Caribbean, Disney, Carnival, and MSC Cruises recently got together—on the new ship—to strategize about new standards.
(More cruise ships stories.)

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