Royal Caribbean International’s Utopia of the Seas is one step closer to its debut in Port Canaveral, FL, in July 2024. The Oasis Class ship floated for the first time over the weekend, marking a major milestone and the next phase of construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
The key moment in the construction of Utopia took 17 months to reach; the float out process itself took nearly 15 hours, beginning with filling the new ship’s dry dock with over 46 million gallons of water overnight. The ship was then moved into an outfitting dock, where it will be completed in summer 2024. Since construction on the next Oasis Class ship started in April 2022, the new vessel has taken shape with more than 74 blocks of steel that have been lifted and assembled into place. Utopia will now begin to come to life as its final fittings are installed, from the longest dry slide at sea—the 295-foot-long Ultimate Abyss—to a train car dining experience.
Utopia of the Seas will offer a combination of more than 40 F&B venues, pools, and a mix of new signature adventures and refreshed experiences. The three-night weekend and four-night weekday getaway will be the first in the Oasis Class to offer short escapes when it debuts in July 2024. Every sailing will include visits to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line’s private island in the Caribbean.
When it debuts in July next year, Utopia of the Seas will also be the first Oasis Class ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the cleanest-burning marine fuel to date. As the line’s second LNG-powered ship—following Icon of the Seas—Utopia will advance the line’s decades-long commitment to the environment by combining LNG technology with a lineup of the brand’s already established environmentally friendly initiatives and features, from waste heat recovery systems to shore power connection.
For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.
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