ORLANDO, Fla.—The world’s largest cruise ship headlines a big comeback year for major hardware arriving in Florida.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will make a sizable splash when it arrives in Miami in January, having taken over the title from what are now its little Oasis-class sisters.
But what will now be the second-largest cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas, the last of six Oasis-class behemoths, is also Florida-bound, arriving at Port Canaveral in July for its debut.
The Sunshine State will also see the newest Disney Cruise Line vessel with Disney Treasure’s arrival in December, on top of DCL’s opening of its new Bahamas destination, Lighthouse Point, which will pull in ship visits from both Port Canaveral and Disney’s new second Florida home in Port Everglades.
Port Everglades will also feature its own sizable debut when Princess Cruises’ new Sphere-class vessel, the Sun Princess, arrives in October.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas
It debuts from PortMiami on Jan. 27, sailing seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
The 20-deck, 250,800-gross-ton, 1,198-foot-long cruise ship comes in about 15,000 gross tons bigger than, but with a layout similar to, Oasis-class vessels. It features eight neighborhoods carved out to support the flow of what could be 7,600 passengers on board at max capacity. The most notable is the new AquaDome neighborhood, a massive, 363-ton engineering feat that sits at the top and front of the ship, which will be home to the line’s signature AquaTheater show, migrating from its traditional outdoor venue on Oasis ships.
Other new neighborhoods include: family-friendly Surfside, replacing the Boardwalk space on the aft of the ship; Thrill Island on the top deck, hosting the largest water park at sea, called Category 6, and a feature called the Crown’s Edge that is part ropes course and part thrill ride; Chill Island, also on the top deck, with the line’s first swim-up bar at sea, with in-water loungers and tables, among four pools within the neighborhood; and The Hideaway, which is home to a suspended infinity pool 135 feet above the ocean along with a multilevel sun terrace, more whirlpools, and a bar.
The primary stage show is a version of “The Wizard of Oz,” and the ship is getting the largest skating rink in the fleet, home to even more entertainment productions, with each of the three main stages putting on two productions each per sailing.
Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas
It debuts from Port Canaveral on July 22, sailing three- and four-night Bahamas itineraries.
The cruise line is giving what could be the final Oasis-class ship short cruise duties from the Orlando-area port, with each sailing making a stop at Royal’s private Bahamas island, Castaway Cay. Utopia is currently under construction at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
It will have more than 40 venues for food and beverage, including a new tiki bar concept called the Pesky Parrot that will be situated indoors on the Promenade, with fruit-based cocktails and frozen drinks. Also coming is an interactive dining experience themed as if participants were riding in a classic train car. The multi-course meal looks to allow for a simulated trip to different destinations, with changing storylines married to the cuisine. Similar to Icon of the Seas, Utopia’s Central Park will be the new home for Izumi hibachi and teppanyaki, including the offshoot Izumi in the Park, a walk-up outdoor venue that serves fresh sushi and Japanese-inspired sweets.
Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess
It debuts in February sailing the Mediterranean but begins sailing from Port Everglades on Oct. 14 on seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.The first of a new Sphere class, with a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy, it’s the largest ship in the Princess fleet, coming in at 21 decks and 175,500 gross tons, which is about 30,000 more tons (and can accommodate 750 more guests) than its last class of ships.
Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyards in Italy, its design will feature more balconies, a supersized 1,000-seat main theater called Princess Arena with an in-the-round layout with movable seats, and a three-deck main dining room.
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Treasure
It debuts from Port Canaveral on Dec. 21 sailing seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
The 144,000-gross-ton, 4,000-passenger vessel sister ship to 2022’s Disney Wish will have a slew of unique features, many of which pull from theme park nostalgia, including bars themed to the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It’s currently under construction at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Similar to Wish, its top-deck feature will be the AquaMouse, a mix of a dark ride themed to the animated Mickey Mouse cartoons and a water coaster similar to the AquaDuck found on Disney Dream and Fantasy.
A new Broadway-style stage show based on “Moana” will join existing shows “Beauty and the Beast” and “Disney Seas the Day” as it takes on the longer sailing duties while Disney Wish continues short Bahamas sailings. A new dinner theater concept around the Pixar film “Coco” will debut as well.
New at the Ports
Port Canaveral isn’t just welcoming two new ships in 2024 with Disney Treasure and Royal’s Utopia of the Seas, but is also bringing in two new brands, as both Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises will begin regular service for the first time. Caribbean Princess arrives on Nov. 27 to sail six- and eight-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, and Celebrity Equinox arrives on Dec. 3 to sail mostly seven-night Caribbean itineraries. The older ships are the lines’ first forays into the Central Florida market, but Princess Cruises has already announced it will send one of its newer ships, Sky Princess, to the port in 2025.PortMiami, meanwhile, expects MSC Cruises to finish its new terminal, which will help solidify its reclamation of the title of world’s busiest cruise port. MSC’s offering, which will be able to handle three megaships and 36,000 passenger movements daily, will join new and refurbished terminals from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, and Virgin Voyages that have redefined the Miami skyline in the past few years.
Beyond Florida
Disney Cruise Line will open its second private Bahamas destination, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, welcoming the first ship on June 8. Over the summer, the line is limiting visits to the 700-acre site on the southern tip of the island of Eleuthera to mostly sailings on board Disney Magic from Port Everglades during three-, four-, or five-night voyages.Disney Fantasy, though, will also make a pair of stops during longer trips from Port Canaveral and then make several trips in the fall, while Disney Wish sailings will be limited to Disney’s original private destination, Castaway Cay.
Lighthouse Point includes a main beach, family beach, and adults-only beach, plus an arts and cultural pavilion, water play area with two slides, a gaming pavilion, market-style dining, shopping, and a kids club.
It’s the first of three new cruise line projects coming online in the Bahamas, but neither Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island nor Royal Caribbean’s tinier Royal Beach Club in Nassau will be ready until 2025.
