Watching the $1.3 Billion Utopia of the Seas Pull into Port Canaveral
Utopia of the Seas has arrived in Orlando! What it was like watching the worldās 2nd largest cruise ship come through the channel.
On July 11, 2024 Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbeanās newest Oasis Class cruise ship, arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida - just outside Orlando.
I was on a conference call with Royal Caribbean the day before and it was mentioned that Utopia of the Seas was scheduled to be pier-side by 8am. I wasnāt sure when exactly she would arrive but figured after sunrise so the media could get their shots.
I arrived at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral at sunrise, about 6:45am and a small crowd had already gathered.
It was a beautiful morning, cloudy with a steady breeze. Sometimes the shore looks better when itās cloudy, this was one of those mornings.
Fox 35 Orlando was already there setting up for live coverage.
I was watching Utopia on cruisemapper.com and could see that she was just off the coast of Cocoa Beach.
At about 7:20am some people near me spotted the glass dome over Utopiaās Solarium coming into view over the trees.
It was so unnatural to see the massive glass dome, some 18 stories up, gliding by the treeline without being able to see the rest of the ship. It was like watching a spaceship coming into view.
Within a few minutes, she was in full view and everything made sense again.
Utopia came in with several blasts of the horn to celebrate her arrival and to give the media a good show. The horn is a low, deep sound, but you can feel it in your chest.
I captured Uptoia of the Seas on video:
Utopia of the Seas Arriving in Port Canaveral with horn blast.
The crew, who had been onboard for 12 nights for Utopiaās transatlantic crossing, came out to wave. They were on the bow and up on the top deck. Some of the crew were in their staterooms and came out to the balcony to wave.
The top deck entertainment team began blasting Meghan Trainor music. Trainor will be the shipās Godmother.
As she went by, I got a sense of just how big Utopia is.
Utopia of the Seas is the second largest cruise ship in the world, larger than her sister Wonder of the Seas, and smaller than Icon of the Seas.
And speaking of Wonder of the Seas, Orlando - Port Canaveral - will now be home to two of Royal Caribbeanās newest Oasis-class ships.
Wonder of the Seas will be doing 7 night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries while Utopia will be doing 3 and 4 night Bahamas sailings.
Disney Cruise Line will surely take notice. And while both Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean offer very different experiences, itās hard to ignore the sheer size and of these Oasis Class ships, which are packed with family activities.
So while you might not have character meet and greets, youāll have about 10 times the amount of activities like laser tag, Ultimate Abyss Slide, a water park with water slides, over 20 restaurants, a shopping mall, Flow Rider surf simulator, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, live musical performances, shows, an aqua theater show, ice skating and ice shows, and more.
I think Disney is very good at what it does, but for families who want a variety of experiences, Wonder of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas are the way to go.
But if you prefer to meet Disney characters and see Disney shows, then thereās nothing like a Disney cruise! Itās even better than being in the theme parks.
One of the things that makes Utopia of the Seas different from other Oasis Class ships is that she has a longer Ultimate Abyss slide.
You can see more about how Utopia is going to be different from other Oasis Class ships in my video here:
Have questions about planning your Orlando vacation? I have answers! Contact me now to get more out of your vacation.
Since 2010, Darren has been making Orlando vacations easy! As an Orlando resident, he is able to provide insider, expert advice on Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Florida-based cruises.
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