14th June, 2024: Royal Caribbean International officially welcomed its newest ship, the Utopia of the Seas at a handover ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, France.
The Chantiers de l’Atlantique handed Royal Caribbean the keys to Utopia five weekends ahead of its July debut in Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida.
After over two years of construction, over 1,600 crew members and workers celebrated the special occasion in the AquaTheater. Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley, and Chantiers de l’Atlantique General Manager Laurent Castaing hosted Utopia’s first party to honour the nautical engineers, designers, architects, and other contributors.
“Taking delivery of Utopia of the Seas is an incredibly important milestone, as it marks yet another evolution of our game-changing ships and our mission to create the best vacation experiences responsibly,” said Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty. “From the ultimate multigenerational vacation on this year’s earlier debut of Icon of the Seas to now the ultimate weekend getaway on Utopia of the Seas, we are laser-focused on delivering a variety of vacation options and priceless memories for our guests.”
Set to make its debut on July 19, the Utopia will head to the U.S. to undergo finishing touches before it welcomes its first guests.
(RCI)
Malcolm says: Utopia is a big ship haters worst nightmare. She is the sixth ‘Oasis’ class ship, the second biggest class in the world, being just a little smaller than the new ‘Icon’ class. However, if that’s not enough, there will be a seventh Oasis class ship in 2028, which will be the final ship in this class. I do find it odd that RCI are still building them, in parallel with the Icon class ships (one delivered, two on order), because Icon is the evolution of Oasis.
WaterWorld by Malcolm Oliver 
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