- Royal Caribbean launched its second biggest cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas, on July 19.
- Utopia is targeted more towards a slightly younger crowd that wants to escape for a 3 or 4 day weekend.
- Both ships feature a similar eight-neighborhood layout, but along with Surfside, other new additions to Icon such as the AquaDome and the adults-only Hideaway didn’t make their way onto Utopia.
Royal Caribbean International broke records this year when it launched the biggest cruise ship in the world, Icon of the Seas.
Six months later, the cruise line is back with the second-biggest. Utopia of the Seas launched July 19 from Florida’s Port Canaveral.
But while the two vessels have a lot in common, there are key distinctions between them. “Besides the overall feel of the Utopia not being quite as ‘ginormous’ as the Icon (in the way that a 36oz steak is not as large as a 48oz one), there are other important differences,” Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure analyst with Truist Securities, said in a report earlier this month.
Here’s how to know which one is right for you.
Party-packed weekend vs. family vacation
Royal Caribbean billed Icon as “the ultimate family vacation” ahead of its launch, while Utopia’s tagline is “the world’s biggest weekend.”
Icon offers weeklong itineraries from Miami, while Utopia sails shorter three- and four-night cruises from Port Canaveral. “Notably, while the Icon is geared more towards families, the Utopia is targeted more towards a…
