Royal Caribbean has revealed that Utopia of the Seas will be the name of its sixth Oasis-class cruise ship. It was revealed during the steel cutting ceremony at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France.
Utopia of the Seas Name Revealed
Utopia of the Seas will become the name of the sixth Oasis-class cruise ship, as announced during the steel cutting ceremony for the future vessel at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France.
Physical construction has now started on the giant mega-ship at the popular shipyard and, once completed, will overtake Wonder of the Seas as the world’s largest cruise ship. The vessel will be over 236,877 gross tons and have over a guest capacity of 5,735 at double occupancy. According to a local report in France, Utopia of the Seas could be as large as 250,000 gross tons.
“This is the twenty-third cruise ship that RCL will be building at our shipyard, and we are especially proud of it,” said Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, when the agreement was completed in 2019. “The order reflects the confidence our customer puts on us, based on the exceptional quality of our long-term co-operation between the two companies and on our capacity to bring innovative solutions to meet our customer’s expectations.”
Utopia of the Seas is expected to be almost identical to her sister ships in terms of design, but with some added new features which are yet to be revealed. Not much else is known about the future cruise ship, but she is expected to continue tho neighborhood concept.
Sister ship Wonder of the Seas expanded with the new Suite Neighborhood and added some new venues compared to others in the same class.
Read Also: Wonder of the Seas vs. Titanic – A Giant Comparison
“It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Oasis-class ship,” said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, during the agreement. “This order is a reflection of the exceptional performance of this vessel class and the extraordinary partnership between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.”
The agreement to build another Oasis-class ship was completed in February 2019, and now the design phase moves into the physical construction of the individual blocks. Each block will eventually come together to make up one entire ship.
There will be some significant milestones during construction, including the keel laying, which marks when all the blocks start to come together. Utopia of the Seas will then be floated out onto the water for the first time, and then finally, the critical sea trials to make sure she is seaworthy.
Utopia of the Seas is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Royal Caribbean has not yet announced where the ship will sail from or released any renderings. Further details will be announced at a later date.
This news comes on the same day that Royal Caribbean celebrated the keel laying of Icon of the Seas at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The vessel will be the first in the fleet to be powered by LNG.
There are currently five Oasis-class cruise ships, starting with Oasis of the Seas, which entered service in 2009, Allure of the Seas in 2010, Harmony of the Seas in 2016, Symphony of the Seas in 2018, and most recently, Wonder of the Seas in 2022.
