** Live from the Utopia of the Seas ** September 9-13, 2024: Nassau + Coco Cay

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

As we finished dinner at Coastal Kitchen this evening while docked in Coco Cay, I spotted the Disney Wish passing by giving Disney cruisers a great look at what Royal has to offer here at Coco Cay!

 

We will see you tomorrow Disney Wish!

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

One of the major points of frustration over the past four days have been the escalators.

 

We don't use them often, but when we do, we've often been greeted by this screen. 

 

In this particular instance this evening I repeatedly tried to call for an elevator for nearly 3 minutes (most of it being videod) before we were finally able to get one.

 

[Stick93]

On 9/2/2024 at 4:28 PM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Greetings Royal Caribbean fans and loyalists! 

 

We board the Utopia a week from today so I'm getting this thread started for any of you who may be interested in following along! 

 

My Live threads tend to be pretty indepth and detailed with lots of pictures of our journey as you follow along. 

 

We're a family who typically cruise with our elementary aged kids so I typically cover a bit more of the fun on the ships. We often typically sail in suites (including on the Utopia) so we are able to share that perspective as well.

 

We're not loyal to any of the cruise lines, instead choosing to experience all of them to give balanced perspectives to our travels. (take a look at my signature below to see the variety of upcoming cruise lines we'll be sailing on).

 

I look forward to "meeting" some of you that are Loyal to Royal during this live thread!

 

---

 

Some of my Past Live Threads: 

 

- Norwegian Encore (Alaskan itinerary)

- Celebrity Equinox - Retreat (Western Mediterranean)

- MSC Seashore - Yacht Club (Western Caribbean)

- MSC Seascape - Yacht Club (Western Caribbean)

 

---

 

Our Family at Sea!

 

Nice picture - “choir of man” on NCL- their best show. 
 

nice review. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

Nice picture - “choir of man” on NCL- their best show. 
 

nice review. 

Good eye!

 

Choir of Man was a truly fantastic show. 

 

The rest of that cruise was crowded and not overly memorable, but that show was without a doubt a high note.

 

Thanks for chiming in!

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Here are the Cruiser Compasses from each day! 

 

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Day 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 2:

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 3:

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Day 4:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Departure Instructions: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 13 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We disembarked around 8:30am.

 

Since we were in a suite we were able to skip most of the line for disembarkation.

 

It took us 21 minutes to get from the Suite Lounge to our bags in the terminal. 

 

Plenty efficient but not as efficient as the 8 minutes it took on the Norwegian Encore in Seattle (and we weren't staying in a suite on that cruise... Very impressive).

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We enjoyed dinner last night in Coastal Kitchen in our togas and I'm happy to report we did not get any grief from the Pinnacles (in fact, numerous made friendly comments).

 

As an aside - I had heard much about the infamous Pinnacles on Royal and their entitled behavior. 

 

While I found it interesting that they wear nametags to identify themselves, we did not encounter any entitled behavior. In fact, all the ones we talked to were extremely friendly.

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Yesterday we shared Coco Cay with the Adventure of the Seas and we did Thrill Island Waterpark in the morning and Swimming with Pigs in the afternoon.

 

I was worried there would be long lines for the slides based on what I read but was pleasantly surprised that we didn't experience any at all. 

 

They said max capacity is 1,700 and a typical day is around 1,300, but yesterday there were only 583.

 

I'm guessing this is because school is in session so there were less kids on the ships.

 

---

 

Swimming with Pigs was honestly a lot more fun than I anticipated (and there wasn't nearly as much poop as people made it out to be).

 

Probably not something we'll do twice but it was worth doing once for the experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 13 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[RFerrington]

OMG those pigs are sooo cute.  

[laumicmah]

We also were on this cruise and actually ate at Central Park 150 next to you guys on night 2. You all had red on and were taking pics of all the food. Can't wait to see those and hear your thoughts. I was feeling bloaty and blah that night so I didn't really eat my meal. My husband loved his though. 

 

We loved the boardwalk and spent a lot of time in Playmakers. Also saw the 1st Aqua show that you saw and it was really good. We loved the ship...all the many little spaces for folks to spread out. But we also asked many staff about their thoughts and they didn't seem too stoked about the short 3/4 night cruises and the itin. I heard Playmakers is jam packed on the 3 night weekend cruises. 

 

We had an inside cabin booked but I put in a few Up bids rather last minute and we got an oceanview. I was bummed to see it was a forward porthole limited view OV. Think all the OV cabins are the forward porthole ones on this ship (or almost all). I can get motion sick so I was worried but never really felt any motion on this ship. And it was pretty quiet up front on deck 7. We could hear a grinding/banging sound the 3 mornings as they docked. Woke me up but not the hubby. It was just a brief moment and then done so I could go back to sleep. 

 

My positives were:

1) the shows (specifically 1st night theater production and the Aqua thing)

2) all the many bars (especially Playmakers, Pesky Parrot and I liked Schooners but the hubby didn't and he liked Duck and Dog or whatever it's called)

3) loved the walking/jogging deck (we walked 2 days)

4) liked the specialty dining (especially Chops and Izumi) and liked Central Park for quiet

5) enjoyed food at Playmakers, Hot Dog place and Central Park cafe so we could avoid Windjammer which we aren't fond of going to

6) new shiny ship

7) very good staff...friendly and quick/hard working

😎 we liked the elevators but didn't use often

 

Negatives:

1) my app stopped working on morning of Coco Cay day so I could not see what was going on

2) we didn't get off in Nassau and then Coco Cay day was crappy weather

3) the solarium was packed even port days...hot tubs loaded all the time

4) ship was warm and I was hot a lot

5) getting places on Boardwalk or Central park in rain annoyed a little

6) not many bars open on Nassau day also no specialty lunches except seaday and they were all booked up so we couldn't use our UDP for that (Giovanni's and Izumi were open on embark day so we went to Giovanni's at least). We had to decide which all the try and the BBQ place didn't make the cut which would have been nice to try. 

7) did bingo and they had it in the Ice rink theater which was freezing and had no tables, though their theater also doesn't have tables. So bingo sheets were tough to stamp on (for those going and wanting to play bingo, maybe bring a clipboard or a book to stamp your sheets on). 

 

 

Edited September 13 by laumicmah

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

12 minutes ago, laumicmah said:

We also were on this cruise and actually ate at Central Park 150 next to you guys on night 2. You all had red on and were taking pics of all the food. Can't wait to see those and hear your thoughts. I was feeling bloaty and blah that night so I didn't really eat my meal. My husband loved his though. 

 

We loved the boardwalk and spent a lot of time in Playmakers. Also saw the 1st Aqua show that you saw and it was really good. We loved the ship...all the many little spaces for folks to spread out. But we also asked many staff about their thoughts and they didn't seem too stoked about the short 3/4 night cruises and the itin. I heard Playmakers is jam packed on the 3 night weekend cruises. 

 

We had an inside cabin booked but I put in a few Up bids rather last minute and we got an oceanview. I was bummed to see it was a forward porthole limited view OV. Think all the OV cabins are the forward porthole ones on this ship (or almost all). I can get motion sick so I was worried but never really felt any motion on this ship. And it was pretty quiet up front on deck 7. We could hear a grinding/banging sound the 3 mornings as they docked. Woke me up but not the hubby. It was just a brief moment and then done so I could go back to sleep. 

 

My positives were:

1) the shows (specifically 1st night theater production and the Aqua thing)

2) all the many bars (especially Playmakers, Pesky Parrot and I liked Schooners but the hubby didn't and he liked Duck and Dog or whatever it's called)

3) loved the walking/jogging deck (we walked 2 days)

4) liked the specialty dining (especially Chops and Izumi) and liked Central Park for quiet

5) enjoyed food at Playmakers, Hot Dog place and Central Park cafe so we could avoid Windjammer which we aren't fond of going to

6) new shiny ship

7) very good staff...friendly and quick/hard working

😎 we liked the elevators but didn't use often

 

Negatives:

1) my app stopped working on morning of Coco Cay day so I could not see what was going on

2) we didn't get off in Nassau and then Coco Cay day was crappy weather

3) the solarium was packed even port days...hot tubs loaded all the time

4) ship was warm and I was hot a lot

5) getting places on Boardwalk or Central park in rain annoyed a little

6) not many bars open on Nassau day also no specialty lunches except seaday and they were all booked up so we couldn't use our UDP for that (Giovanni's and Izumi were open on embark day so we went to Giovanni's at least). We had to decide which all the try and the BBQ place didn't make the cut which would have been nice to try. 

 

 

Yep, that was us! We have a YouTube channel so we always film and review our food (rather difficult at times when we're hungry and would rather dive in vs waiting to eat!)... You got a glimpse behind the scenes at just how unglamorous vlogging is 🤣

 

I agree with many of the things you shared. I'm glad our room was higher up so we didn't have the noise in our room that you did! 

 

The cruise wasn't perfect, but as much as we cruise, we've yet to experience a perfect cruise! (though a couple have been close) 

 

We just boarded the Disney Wish for a 3-day cruise but I think we'll likely try to avoid these short cruises in the future (but we just booked the new Disney Destiny 4-day next Thanksgiving while at Coco Cay).

 

I understand why they may be popular but they're not for us (too much to see in such a short period of time and never really had a chance to relax).

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

7 hours ago, RFerrington said:

OMG those pigs are sooo cute.  

I know, right?!

 

They weren't as cuddly as puppies but just as cute!

[laumicmah]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Yep, that was us! We have a YouTube channel so we always film and review our food (rather difficult at times when we're hungry and would rather dive in vs waiting to eat!)... You got a glimpse behind the scenes at just how unglamorous vlogging is 🤣

 

I agree with many of the things you shared. I'm glad our room was higher up so we didn't have the noise in our room that you did! 

 

The cruise wasn't perfect, but as much as we cruise, we've yet to experience a perfect cruise! (though a couple have been close) 

 

We just boarded the Disney Wish for a 3-day cruise but I think we'll likely try to avoid these short cruises in the future (but we just booked the new Disney Destiny 4-day next Thanksgiving while at Coco Cay).

 

I understand why they may be popular but they're not for us (too much to see in such a short period of time and never really had a chance to relax).

Yeah, we actually, overall, really liked the cruise. One of our better ones. It was out first big ship and we really liked it. But, yep, to the too short thing. I was begging the hubby for us to go to next cruise to see if we could book the 3 day that went out today and do a back to back. But he wanted to get back home to check on work and all that. Boo. We live 12 mins from Animal Kingdom so we too are Disney peeps. 

 

We also love NCL. Like it because it has all the bars and dining venues much like the Utopia. Lots of small spaces to spread folks out in. We like that. We have a 3 day in November to try out the Haven. Have a feeling that one will be way too short as well. And also think we won't ever want to do anything but Haven after that.

 

Have fun on the Disney cruise!! Wish I was on that too. 

Edited September 13 by laumicmah

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

6 minutes ago, laumicmah said:

Yeah, we actually, overall, really liked the cruise. One of our better ones. It was out first big ship and we really liked it. But, yep, to the too short thing. I was begging the hubby for us to go to next cruise to see if we could book the 3 day that went out today and do a back to back. But he wanted to get back home to check on work and all that. Boo. We live 12 mins from Animal Kingdom so we too are Disney peeps. 

 

We also love NCL. Like it because it has all the bars and dining venues much like the Utopia. Lots of small spaces to spread folks out in. We like that. We have a 3 day in November to try out the Haven. Have a feeling that one will be way too short as well. And also think we won't ever want to do anything but Haven after that.

 

Have fun on the Disney cruise!! Wish I was on that too. 

We just got off the Norwegian Encore in Alaska and that was the most crowded ship we've ever been on, but I think mostly because the Encore has no indoor pool (aside from the Haven) so there was nowhere to spread people out. 

 

The Utopia had crowded spots, but the entire Encore felt like that. 

 

We still had a good time, but it was not our favorite cruise. We're doing the Haven on the Aqua in the spring and if that's not better, we will be done with NCL.

 

Like you said though - it's hard to go back after experiencing the suite life!

 

Happy sails on your next cruise adventure!