Utopia 8/26 & 8/30 - Not live, but will post when I can!

[colesc15]

Back on board to beat the rush of people later. Found a good spot in the solarium. Now to enjoy a few hours here and maybe get a nap in. The sad suitcases will come out in the halls tonight, and for the first time, we won't be part of it! 

[colesc15]

One thing I've never understood at coco cay.. This wooden gate where they check your sea pass before getting to the ship.. Why? Lol. There's no way for anyone not on a ship to get here other than the workers, so I don't get why they always make the line get backed up to make sure you're on a royal ship. 

[RobInMN]

2 hours ago, colesc15 said:

One thing I've never understood at coco cay.. This wooden gate where they check your sea pass before getting to the ship.. Why? Lol. There's no way for anyone not on a ship to get here other than the workers, so I don't get why they always make the line get backed up to make sure you're on a royal ship. 

They must be afraid of those NCL interlopers making the swim from Great Stirrup Cay. 🙂 

 

After saying that, I was curious, and assuming someone could actually make it to the western point of Great Stirrup Cay, it looks like it's only about 1000 feet (~305m) to the rocky out crop on Little Stirrup Cay's (Coco Cay) north eastern corner. just under 1/2 mile (~762m) to the NW corner of the beach. Fins and a snorkel, and wouldn't necessarily take that strong of a swimmer if someone was determined to do it. 😄 

[Upshaw]

Great post… thank you for sharing your trip! 
Did you have a balcony room, which deck and ship side do you recommend? Booking a 4 night in the next week or so. 

 

[colesc15]

Mason jar is 100% one of my favorite venues on Royal. 

[colesc15]

Back on board and in the solarium. The b2b process took longer than expected. They had us all leave the dining room saying they were ready, for us to all stand in a line in the terminal while they were hunting down the final non b2bers to get the ship to zero. All in all, about an hour and we were back on board at 10. 

 

In other news, never once saw this on Wonder, or the previous 4 days, but all the windows in the solarium are open 

[chillyinwisconsin]

On 8/27/2024 at 12:48 PM, colesc15 said:

Booked them all on the website for both cruises about a month or so ago. 

Hello, thanks for all the great info & pics! I will be sailing on Utopia in a few weeks, but I cannot reserve any entertainment. On both the RCCL website & RC app, it states to book on board or at the box office. How were you able to pre-book the shows?

[jcarter4551]

2 hours ago, chillyinwisconsin said:

Hello, thanks for all the great info & pics! I will be sailing on Utopia in a few weeks, but I cannot reserve any entertainment. On both the RCCL website & RC app, it states to book on board or at the box office. How were you able to pre-book the shows?

Yeah its terrible. I sailed on Utopia a few weeks ago and was checking weekly. They finally showed up a few weeks before I sailed, and everything was filled up. Some say the entertainment appears on the 1st of the month before you sail, which wasn't true for my sailing. 

Royal needs to do what Virgin does for excursions and dining and publish when you can book so you can set a reminder. 

I will say don't worry because we were able to get into most shows due to no-shows. But, yes, its annoying.

[colesc15]

4 hours ago, chillyinwisconsin said:

Hello, thanks for all the great info & pics! I will be sailing on Utopia in a few weeks, but I cannot reserve any entertainment. On both the RCCL website & RC app, it states to book on board or at the box office. How were you able to pre-book the shows?

That's super strange. For both sailings, the entertainment populated a month or so before the sail date and I booked everything without any issues. I had to do it through thr website but nothing out of the norm 

[colesc15]

Anyone know the meaning behind the license plate on Utopia? I'm assuming it has a meaning.. 

[colesc15]

[colesc15]

Round two because it's that good 

[GTO-Girl]

We got off the Utopia this morning.  It is a beautiful ship with several new features.   Some people do not like the new elevator system but I loved it and thought it worked very well!!

 

I was a little surprised to see so many children onboard as I thought most might be back in school.  They were all having fun and it was enjoyable to see that.  There was a good variety of all ages represented.

 

I still don’t understand Royal using this great ship for only 3/4 day sailings, but I guess their corporate knows much more than me.   I just feel sorry for the crew having to turn this size ship around every few days.

 

we drive down from Georgia so it would not be worth it to us for only a 4 day cruise.  So unless we can hook it onto another sailing (got off the Wonder the week before) we won’t be doing it.

Edited August 31 by GTO-Girl

[colesc15]

Thought this was a cool touch for this ship 

[nelblu]

17 hours ago, jcarter4551 said:

Yeah its terrible. I sailed on Utopia a few weeks ago and was checking weekly. They finally showed up a few weeks before I sailed, and everything was filled up. Some say the entertainment appears on the 1st of the month before you sail, which wasn't true for my sailing. 

Royal needs to do what Virgin does for excursions and dining and publish when you can book so you can set a reminder. 

I will say don't worry because we were able to get into most shows due to no-shows. But, yes, its annoying.

I was able to book 30 days prior.  I was on back to back on previous one and was able to book shows on both.

[jk04]

18 hours ago, jcarter4551 said:

Yeah its terrible. I sailed on Utopia a few weeks ago and was checking weekly. They finally showed up a few weeks before I sailed, and everything was filled up. Some say the entertainment appears on the 1st of the month before you sail, which wasn't true for my sailing. 

 

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

I was able to book 30 days prior.  I was on back to back on previous one and was able to book shows on both.

I check almost daily.  We sail in about 2 weeks and I still have not seen entertainment availability.  Unless it booked out so quickly I missed it.  Will try tomorrow since that is the 1st.

 

@colesc15 Really enjoying your review and pics.  Thank you for taking the time to post. 😊

[nelblu]

11 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

We got off the Utopia this morning.  It is a beautiful ship with several new features.   Some people do not like the new elevator system but I loved it and thought it worked very well!!

There are glitches.  My cabin was on the 12th deck and one night I pushed my deck number and got "please redial your selection".  So, I go to another keypad and got the same message.  Tried a 3rd KP on same side of elevator banks and got "Not available for 12th deck."😜  I finally gave up and tried the opposite banks and was successful this time.😆

 

By way, not sure if it was mentioned, but the bathroom towels were very heavy and fluffy as compared to some of the flimsy ones on other ships.  Also, my bath robe was fluffy and came with a hood. 

 

One thing that would terrify me if I had a Boardwalk balcony as the location of the WJ overlooks the Boardwalk and exposes passengers if the drapes are not drawn.😁

[BecciBoo]

13 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

I still don’t understand Royal using this great ship for only 3/4 day sailings

Cuz Oasis class is the preferred ship right now and they have plenty...no problem dedicating one to shorties.  Then there's always Icon class for backup.  I like it.  We have to fly but it's no problem, it's on AMEX' dime.

[colesc15]

Most of the food items at the new food truck poolside is gas station food quality, however these little raspberry cheesecake chimis are probably one of the best dessert items on any royal caribbean ship. Most of their desserts are poor at best, but these little things are so good 

[colesc15]

Never been on Disney but I love seeing their ships. They sure are gorgeous. 

[colesc15]

It's been off and on raining today. We spent most of the day in the solarium. We left and caught the end of the plunge pool party. You can definitely tell this ship is geared to attract a different crowd than other royal ships outside of maybe icon. We love music, so we love it. However, if you don't like loud music, you'll hate most areas of this ship. 

 

At the plunge pool party, it's basically night club music, the volume is enough to feel the bass, and people dancing/twerking all over the pool deck. 

 

Like I said, we're younger and and still like that vibe, but if you're used to other oasis class ships etc without loud music, this ship is definitely different. 

 

Even the solarium music volume is higher than usual 

[colesc15]

Perfect example of the volume at the pool.. We're on our oceanview balcony right now, midship, deck 11, and I can hear every word to the music being played for the sailaway party, and can also hear Ricky the cruise director pretty easily leading the party. 

[RCTransatlanticLover]

I think the Utopia is a beautiful ship and I’m glad people are traveling on her, but my main concern is the party-like atmosphere that Royal Caribbean seems to be promoting. It reminds me of what Carnival is known for. 
 

I’m ok with people having a good time, but I don’t want to be around those who get totally sloshed and act reckless. Are there places on the Utopia (like the Solarium) where it’s a bit more peaceful? 
 

I’m not really interested in Coco Cay, Nassau or the Bahamas in general, as I’ve been several times and it seems to have lost its luster. 
 

I live in the central U.S. and for me, it’s not practical to fly to Florida for a 3 or 4 night cruise (even back to back). I prefer the longer cruises, like the transatlantic or Panama Canal, as they offer more C&A points and greater value for my money. 
 

I’m glad that Royal Caribbean is trying to reach a certain market with the Utopia, but I hope they don’t forget their longer voyages and traditional cruisers. 

[colesc15]

Just now, RCTransatlanticLover said:

I think the Utopia is a beautiful ship and I’m glad people are traveling on her, but my main concern is the party-like atmosphere that Royal Caribbean seems to be promoting. It reminds me of what Carnival is known for. 
 

I’m ok with people having a good time, but I don’t want to be around those who get totally sloshed and act reckless. Are there places on the Utopia (like the Solarium) where it’s a bit more peaceful? 
 

I’m not really interested in Coco Cay, Nassau or the Bahamas in general, as I’ve been several times and it seems to have lost its luster. 
 

I live in the central U.S. and for me, it’s not practical to fly to Florida for a 3 or 4 night cruise (even back to back). I prefer the longer cruises, like the transatlantic or Panama Canal, as they offer more C&A points and greater value for my money. 
 

I’m glad that Royal Caribbean is trying to reach a certain market with the Utopia, but I hope they don’t forget their longer voyages and traditional cruisers. 

Totally get it. There are quiet spots, just less than normal. We've always been able to find 2 chairs in the solarium. Casino has been extremely packed every moment it's open so we've spent much less time in there. 

 

With this b2b, we got off at Coco cay but stayed on both times in Nassau and will likely stay on board tomorrow at stop #2 at Coco cay. 

[RCTransatlanticLover]

2 minutes ago, colesc15 said:

Totally get it. There are quiet spots, just less than normal. We've always been able to find 2 chairs in the solarium. Casino has been extremely packed every moment it's open so we've spent much less time in there. 

 

With this b2b, we got off at Coco cay but stayed on both times in Nassau and will likely stay on board tomorrow at stop #2 at Coco cay. 

Yeah, Coco Cay and Nassau no longer appeal to me. I really don’t want to be in a water park full of screaming kids nor do I want to walk the streets of Nassau. There’s only so many T-shirt vendors you can see. The last time my ship stopped in Nassau, I refused to get off the ship. 
 

It just seems that the Utopia is too party-like for me. Thanks for your reply.