A new megacruise is imminent: Royal Caribbean has announced the start of construction work on the ship Utopia of the Seas, which when completed will be the largest ship of its kind in the world.
According to Abu Dhabi newspaper The National, the Utopia will accommodate up to 10,000 passengers plus crew. The maiden voyage is scheduled for spring 2024 in the northern hemisphere between March and June.
The opening ceremony for the start of work took place on April 8th at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in SaintNazaire with the symbolic cutting of the first steel part of the ship.
She is expected to be the first of the Oasis class Royal Caribbean’s “megacruises” to be powered by liquefied natural gas, believed to be the cleanest fossil fuel and in line with the company’s proposal to expand its entertainment centers at sea to a level of lower carbon footprint.
However, before Utopia of the Seas can reach the ocean, another Royal Caribbean ship must become the first in the entire company to use the same fuel. Icon of the Seas, which will set sail for the first time in the fall of 2023 between September and December will inaugurate the Icon class, also powered by gas.
Just started, work on Utopia of the Seas is expected to take 30 months. Images of the project, which is expected to inherit the crown of what is currently the world’s largest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas, have not yet been released. The ship, also from Royal Caribbean, has a capacity for 6,680 guests and 2,200 crew members.