The world’s largest cruise ship headlines a big comeback year for major hardware arriving to Florida.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will make a sizable splash when it arrives to 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 to 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 that 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.

First up, though, is Royal Caribbean’s new flagship for its new class.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas

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, but a similar layout to Oasis-class vessels. It features eight neighborhoods carved out to support the flow of what could be 7,600 passengers on board and 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 that will be home to the line’s signature AquaTheater show, migrating from its traditional outdoor venue on Oasis ships.

Royal Caribbean levels up entertainment for Florida-bound Icon of the Seas

Other new neighborhoods include: family-friendly Surfside replacing the Boardwalk space on the aft of the ship; Thrill Island on the top deck featuring 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 multi-level sun terrace, more whirlpools and bar.

The main stage show is a version of “The Wizard of Oz” while 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.

New dining features on board include a 1920s-themed, high-end specialty space called Empire Supper Club, and a food hall concept called the AquaDome Market with venues dedicated to macaroni and cheese and crepes among others.

Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas

Debuts from Port Canaveral on July 22, sailing three- and four-night Bahamas itineraries.

What could be the final Oasis-class ship, the cruise line is giving it 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.

Royal Caribbean to send massive Utopia of the Seas to Port Canaveral

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 are 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, its Central Park will be the new home for Izumi hibachi and teppanyaki, including the offshoot Izumi in the Park, a walkup outdoor venue that serves fresh sushi and Japanese-inspired sweets.

One thing Oasis-class ships have that Icon of the Seas won’t is the popular 10-deck spiraling dry slide The Ultimate Abyss. Utopia’s is set to be 43 feet longer than its sister ships’ versions, and will feature transparent windows and “zoom boosting rollers” within the tube to make the mat ride even faster.

Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess

Debuts in February sailing the Mediterranean, but begins sailing from Port Everglades on Oct. 14 on seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.

Princess Cruises reveals more details for Florida-bound Sun Princess

The first of a new Sphere class, it’s the largest ship in the Princess fleet coming in at 21 decks, 175,500 gross tons and a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy, which is about 30,000 more tons and 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 moveable seats and a three-deck main dining room.

A pair of unique offerings on the ship will be a bistro called The Butcher’s Block by Dario from celebrity Tuscany butcher Dario Cecchini and the Spellbound by Magic Castle venue in partnership with Hollywood landmark Magic Castle, a private club for the Academy of Magical Arts. The cruise venue will feature Victorian-era stylings amid themed rooms where servers will perform sleight-of-hand tricks while delivering theatrical cocktails.

Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Treasure

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.

Disney Treasure hull comes together in cruise ship construction milestone

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 for “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.

Other unique touches for the ship include Peter Pan and Captain Hook stern characters, an Aladdin-themed Grand Hall atrium and a new dessert venue themed to “Zootopia.

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 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 while 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, which it lost for one year to Port Canaveral after the COVID pandemic. MSC’s offering that 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 last few years.

Port Everglades will continue to welcome Disney fans to the revamped Terminal 4, the cruise line’s new second Florida home that opened in November. The 104,000-square-foot space will host both Disney Dream and Magic through the year, and expand to two ships in 2025.

Beyond Florida

Disney Cruise Line will open its second private Bahamas destination Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point welcoming the first ship on June 8. The line is limiting visits to the 700-acre site on the southern tip of the island of Eleuthera over the summer, though, to mostly sailings on board Disney Magic from Port Everglades during  three-, four- or five-night voyages.

Disney Cruise Line reveals more details for new Bahamas destination

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, gaming pavilion, market-style dining, shopping and kids club.

It’s the first of three new cruise line projects coming online in the Bahamas, but both Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island and Royal Caribbean’s tinier Royal Beach Club in Nassau won’t be ready until 2025.