Utopia of the Seas Short Cruises??

[orville99]

53 minutes ago, soremekun said:

The latest: I think I found out who the manufacturer of the electric shuttles buses is.

They look a lot like GEM NEVs😇

[topnole]

12 hours ago, Vera/Lee said:

I asked a similar question a few days ago and got a great answer from a regular cruiser. I didn't realize that this has been discussed at length in the thread titled "Utopia of the Seas Blocks Are In The House!". You might enjoy reading it. It seems like a lot of people are booking b2b sailings. That sounds like a good option to see the ship.

You lose a good chuck of time on a B2B on turn around day and so much closed on that day for varying parts of the day.  Much rather be on a 7 night cruise versus B2B.  I guess if you are retired and cruise all the time it matters little.  But otherwise, far from ideal IMO.  I’d much rather be on an older Oasis class for a week than a Utopia B2B.  

[soremekun]

6 minutes ago, orville99 said:

They look a lot like GEM NEVs😇

Perhaps.

 

Also, compare:

http://www.marshell.net/shuttle-bus/index.html

 

They offer customizations.

[Pratique]

1 hour ago, cruise_co said:

We always fly Southwest, so are always in Concourse C. Paying for a cruise on the Southwest card always ensures enough points to book the flight for the next cruise 😁  They just expanded Concourse C so the walk is forever. We flew to PC last August and they hadn't put in the moving walkways yet. It took us forever to get to the last gate. I know they fly out of the other 50 gates, but we always happen to be in the last 20 in the new section which is practically in Kansas. We fly a lot as our daughter is on a travel sports team and it seems every place we go is from the new section.  

I think some of the runways are in Kansas 😃 I've been on flights where it felt like we were taxiing to the gate for as long as we were in the air. Well I don't doubt there are folks like you who will enjoy the 3/4 night skips over to The Bahamas in the dead of winter, I just don't see widespread appeal for B2B on Utopia. Even for us in New England in the same time zone I wouldn't want to fly in the same day and then spend two days at PC and two days at Nassau, even though we enjoy CocoCay. We just sailed Oasis out of New York and even though it is a six hour drive to/from the port with a stop for lunch it still beats going to the airport any day. I used to love flying but no more. I only fly if I can't avoid it. And the three sea days were the magic elixir for relaxing. I had a great day at Coco but it wore me out. I needed two sea days to recover lol.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Yes, we stay on the ship, and we'd rather be docked b/c people get off and empty out the ship (although plenty stay on b/c, well, it's Nassau). Just another personal preference thing, no right or wrong answers here.

 

It's probably worth noting that many people seem excited about the beach club RC is building not far from Nassau. I suspect many will go there once it's built. I'd need to see the price first.

 

Also, PC is an hour drive for us. If I were flying, that would make a difference I'm sure.

 

Not sure if they ever did a 7-nighter with 2 CocoCay stops but we'd obviously like that even more than manufacturing one with the 3/4 B2B. Highly unlikely to happen going forward with even more big ships going to CocoCay now of course.

When Adventure was doing 7 day cruises out of Nassau post-COVID, there were itineraries that went to Coco Cay. During one of these cruises we went to Coco Cay on day two and I believe day six. Of course that was during a unique time period. Just personal preference, but I a B2B 3/4 days doesn’t appeal to me. 

[Pratique]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

You lose a good chuck of time on a B2B on turn around day and so much closed on that day for varying parts of the day.  Much rather be on a 7 night cruise versus B2B.  I guess if you are retired and cruise all the time it matters little.  But otherwise, far from ideal IMO.  I’d much rather be on an older Oasis class for a week than a Utopia B2B.  

Can't even sleep in... I guess you can work on the survey while you're waiting to get back into your cabin.

[Pratique]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

When Adventure was doing 7 day cruises out of Nassau post-COVID, there were itineraries that went to Coco Cay. During one of these cruises we went to Coco Cay on day two and I believe day six. Of course that was during a unique time period. Just personal preference, but I a B2B 3/4 days doesn’t appeal to me. 

That's what I must have been thinking of. I wanted to try one of those cruises that went to Coco twice but we never did.

[orville99]

17 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I just don't see widespread appeal for B2B on Utopia.

I’m not sure RCL cares at all about appeal. IMHO it is all about the Benjamins. Inaugural season hysteria means they can generate $1,000’s more per cabin per week than they could if they did 7-night cruises. 

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I’m not sure RCL cares at all about appeal. IMHO it is all about the Benjamins. Inaugural season hysteria means they can generate $1,000’s more per cabin per week than they could if they did 7-night cruises. 

Oh I agree. I was just reacting to an earlier post saying that people want to do these B2Bs.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Oh I agree. I was just reacting to an earlier post saying that people want to do these B2Bs.

They won’t need B2B’s to fill the ship but of course some people will do them. I agree that RC doesn’t have B2B’s in mind though.

 

Just b/c an occasional B2B to hit CocoCay twice is appealing to me doesn’t mean it will be to the majority & that’s obviously fine. There are an infinite number of ways to enjoy cruising… that’s why I find it such an appealing form of vacation.

[ink76]

5 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Oh I agree. I was just reacting to an earlier post saying that people want to do these B2Bs.

You got huge market within a 5 hour drive of PC this is a difference market then a 7 day cruise it does not have to be a B2B cruise they can book any time.Not my of cup of tea but they is market for it.

[Pratique]

17 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

They won’t need B2B’s to fill the ship but of course some people will do them. I agree that RC doesn’t have B2B’s in mind though.

 

Just b/c an occasional B2B to hit CocoCay twice is appealing to me doesn’t mean it will be to the majority & that’s obviously fine. There are an infinite number of ways to enjoy cruising… that’s why I find it such an appealing form of vacation.

Actually I wish there was more variety in terms of itineraries on Royal. Like a 7 or 8 night with two stops at Coco or Labadee or one stop at each. I know there are a few 9 nights that hit both but not many.

[topnole]

6 minutes ago, ink76 said:

You got huge market within a 5 hour drive of PC this is a difference market then a 7 day cruise it does not have to be a B2B cruise they can book any time.Not my of cup of tea but they is market for it.

Of course there is a market for 3 and 4 night cruises.  Many people love them because they can fit them in their busy work schedules.  Been this way for decades.  But rolling out the newest biggest ship for 3 and 4 nighters is certain new.  Will see how long it lasts.   
 

Also, Royal has be doing 7 nighters with their biggest ships out of PC for a long time.  So the PC market being different doesn’t apply or make much sense IMO.  

[orville99]

11 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Actually I wish there was more variety in terms of itineraries on Royal. Like a 7 or 8 night with two stops at Coco or Labadee or one stop at each. I know there are a few 9 nights that hit both but not many.

We just got off of a 6 night on Mariner that did both, and have another in October that does the same. I believe that itinerary is standard for their 6 night/8 night rotation. Adventure picks up the same rotation through April 2025.

Edited June 25, 2023 by orville99

[Pratique]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

We just got off of a 6 night on Mariner that did both, and have another in October that does the same. I believe that itinerary is standard for their 6 night/8 night rotation.

Ah I didn't realize Mariner was doing that. Cool.

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Ah I didn't realize Mariner was doing that. Cool.

Take a look. Our October B2B second leg on Mariner goes to Bermuda. The 8’s are all either Easterns, Bermudas, or Southern itineraries through 2025.

Edited June 25, 2023 by orville99

[SailorMarg]

5 hours ago, orville99 said:

Did a mock booking for a B2B on Utopia, and the cost for a basic balcony cabin was higher than the cost of a 7-night cruise on her sister ship Wonder in the same cabin leaving the previous day.

Just checked.  My B2B on Utopia in August 2024, Grand Suite is around $8800 vs Wonder 7 night leaving 2 days later is around $10,000.  We aren't sailing these ships for the itinerary but to experience the ships so for us the B2B on Utopia makes sense.

[Pratique]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Take a look. Our October B2B second leg on Mariner goes to Bermuda. The 8’s are all either Easterns, Bermudas, or Southern itineraries through 2025.

Yes I counted six Western 6 nighters and two Eastern 6 nighters that hit both Coco and Labadee for the rest of this year. But my wife is addicted to crown loft suites so I will have to make the pitch. 😃

 

Which is another problem with Utopia and Wonder - a paucity of loft suites. But that's another thread.

[swoopy2110]

It's not for me. Really surprised they're marketing it to the UK guests (and presumably worldwide) in the way they have been. I have no intention of flying in to Florida to spend 3 or 4 days on a ship this size, but I know why they're doing it. I think it's not a good decision but I'm sure cabins will fly out.

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, SailorMarg said:

Just checked.  My B2B on Utopia in August 2024, Grand Suite is around $8800 vs Wonder 7 night leaving 2 days later is around $10,000.  We aren't sailing these ships for the itinerary but to experience the ships so for us the B2B on Utopia makes sense.

That seems fair since one of those days is a turnaround day and not a "real" cruise day. Does that include port fees?

[ink76]

11 minutes ago, topnole said:

Of course there is a market for 3 and 4 night cruises.  Many people love them because they can fit them in their busy work schedules.  Been this way for decades.  But rolling out the newest biggest ship for 3 and 4 nighters is certain new.  Will see how long it lasts.   
 

Also, Royal has be doing 7 nighters with their biggest ships out of PC for a long time.  So the PC market being different doesn’t apply or make much sense IMO.  

Yes that is true I may be wrong this is RCL first oasis and newest ship doing 3/4 night sailing that the difference it bring in a new market.

[orville99]

19 minutes ago, SailorMarg said:

Just checked.  My B2B on Utopia in August 2024, Grand Suite is around $8800 vs Wonder 7 night leaving 2 days later is around $10,000.  We aren't sailing these ships for the itinerary but to experience the ships so for us the B2B on Utopia makes sense.

The ships are twin sisters. The only differences are the names or locations of 1-2 restaurants They moved Izumi to where Gio’s was, moved Gio;s to where Wonderland was, and move Wonderland to where Izumi was.. Been on Wonder 4 times. Utopia holds no mystique for us. Been there done that.

Edited June 25, 2023 by orville99

[Vera/Lee]

5 hours ago, orville99 said:

Did a mock booking for a B2B on Utopia, and the cost for a basic balcony cabin was higher than the cost of a 7-night cruise on her sister ship Wonder in the same cabin leaving the previous day.

I love Wonder! It is my new favorite ship. 

[orville99]

Just now, Vera/Lee said:

I love Wonder! It is my new favorite ship. 

Then you have already experienced everything Utopia has to offer.

[Oceansaway17]

It will be interesting to see how many B2B with DCL Wish. That ship is in town same days Mon and Fri.

Interesting in whether the port will now have shuttles.