Hooked.on.Royal

There was a dress your best night on the 4 nighter. It was day 3 where we were at sea. Can’t remember if there was a designated formal night on the 3 nighter. Hooked has a steak and lobster combo. It’s a 6oz fillet and a lobster tail even if he doesn’t like the lobster he could definitely pair it with a side and wouldn’t go hungry.

My 3 year old did and loved it. He isn’t a tough critic though. It was an added cost $6 for a small $9 for a large and they didn’t let us use a diamond drink on it.

Thoughts from Debarkation Day: It was an early start as we were in the WJ for breakfast at 6:30. I don’t know why but it always amazes me how busy it can be that early but I know everyone is trying to get one last meal before a day of travel. Self assist was called around 650ish and we had luggage tag 6 and were off the ship at 7:25am. Customs and the porters were great and we were on the road and back to Tampa at 10:00. Had to pay for the 4 nights of parking on our way out of the garage. Boy do I miss the good old days of just driving out of the lot 🤣🤣. I wasn’t there to know for sure but it seemed like the disembarkation process was going to operate smoothly as most people were utilizing self assist. Staff were organized and the new elevator system limited most of the bottle necks that used to stress my wife out when trying to get down to deck 5 with a stroller. Since you really can’t ride an elevator up to go back down it moved people off efficiently and we actually got an empty elevator from deck 12 within a minute of calling it. Maybe I won the royal disembarkation lottery 🤷‍♂️. After a day of unpacking, sorting clothes, and recalibrating to shore life here are my final thoughts on Utopia. The good: Utopia is really a beautiful ship. The changes while slight adjustments from Wonder will be hugely successful. Izumi in Central Park, The railway, and Giovanni’s all give Utopia a unique edge compared to other oasis class ships which I think new and returning passengers will enjoy. If you are traveling with kids I would steer toward the 4 night cruises. There were more kids on our 4 nighter but I felt overall the crowd was more subdued than the 3 night crowd. YMMV but the extra day does make a difference especially if you are moving a small army platoon (at least that we feel like we are doing every time we cruise we the kiddos). Dining reservations were easy to come by. I know some cruises want to plan out their reservations immediately (my wife is one of those people) but it was nice to have the flexibility that is normally not there on 7nighters. As the ship fills up that may change but at least our experience was positive in that regard. Staff and service were great especially with the kiddos. We have come to expect that with Royal but I think some of the staff were genuinely excited to see kids of all ages. I fully expect the 3 nighters to be more of a party crowd (bachelor parties, girls trips etc.) which may lend itself to some extra special treatment with those with little ones. The things to keep in mind: I want to be clear that there wasn’t really anything bad on the ship and the way my family cruises might be different from yours so take this all with a grain of salt. Here are my thoughts on things that could be better. If you aren’t doing a b2b it will be tough to do everything on the ship. Sometimes it felt like the shows were scheduled at times where it made it impossible to enjoy other activities on the ship. So be prepared to make choices. The ice show and the aqua show are both fantastic but you just might not be able to do everything on a 3 nighter day if you want to have a late dinner or enjoy the hot tub. Maybe all this needs is some fine tuning but the tight schedule can make trying to fit everything in impossible. To that end, many people treated Nassau like a sea day. Maybe it will change but plan to have a little more company in port at Nassau than say when you’d port at Cozumel on Wonder on a 7 nighter. The ship was pretty dead at PDCC both port stops there were with other Oasis class ships which made the island feel crowded but at least Utopia got to meet some of her sister ships 😀. The 3 nighter will probably have more of a we are here for a good time and not a long time vibe. But if you have kiddos and that is your only choice I wouldn’t cancel my vacation for it. The ships is a big place with lots to do that isn’t partying for the “biggest weekend”. Just go in with your eyes wide open and the kiddos will have a great time. Lastly, and it has nothing to do with Utopia specifically but I just guess we will have to see if Oasis class ships will make for good 3/4 night cruises. I know once Star joins the fleet and Wonder moves to 3/4 nighters out of Miami. I think marketing it as the biggest weekend will attract new cruisers but will it convert people to repeat or will it go the way of Las Vegas were you really just going to party twice a year and the hotel you crash at means less to you. I think from Royals perspective if they can get 2 oasis class ships to PDCC twice in one week they are happy to do it. Time will tell if the market wants that. What do I know though I’m sure they know what they are doing 😀. I think that about covers it. Next cruise will be Thanksgiving week on Utopia for another B2B (see they already converted me) unless I get the itch and book another one sooner. If you have any questions or want my opinion please do not hesitate to reach out. Also thank you for listening to me ramble each night for a week. I didn’t know if anyone would read it and I am thankful for all of you that followed along and read the thread, posted in it or reacted to something. It was all appreciated. Only 118 days till we cruise again and if you all don’t mind I’ll likely do another thread as I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Thanks for listening. Signing off for now 🫡

oh we had funnel cakes 😀. The WJ ones had all the fixings too.

Thoughts from day 7: Today was PDCC. It is always bitter sweet to end your cruise with such fun port. At least this was our second time in a week so we can’t complain. We were in port with Harmony and the island seemed crowded but manageable. We spent most of the morning hopping between Oasis Lagoon and Splashaway Bay. Neither was too crowded and the boys had a blast. At about 10:45 we headed to the snack shack because we didn’t want to wait till the buffet opened up. Each window had a fairly long line but it moved and in about 10 minutes I had a cheeseburger, French fries, and a CocoLoco for my troubles. After some final playing on the pirate ship we got back on board a little after 12pm and plenty of people were still making their way to the island. On our tram ride back someone walking off Harmony actually grabbed the tramcar as we passed them probably going about 10 MPH. I think everyone including the driver called him an idiot and some other NSFW words. Back on the ship the boys still wanted a little more pool and splash pad time so we headed there to give the kids what they want. The ship was pretty empty at this point and they had the run of the splash pad area and maybe there were a handful of people in the pool. After some ice cream, a shower, and some naps it was time to repack the suitcases and get ready for dinner. Tonight the whole family had reservations at Hooked. The food and service were excellent. The wife and I both had the lobster tail dinner which had generous portions. My three year old loves shrimp cocktail and probably had a dozen large shrimps. I really appreciate how royal takes care of kids in the dining venues. Traveling with a 3 and 1 year old we have never been told no when we asked for something and the wait staff has always been gracious in trying to assist. The other night the Playmakers staff actually walked my 3 year old over to sugar beach and got him a dum dum lollipop. After dinner and the dreaded luggage in the hallway routine the wife and I headed down to try the Pesky Parrot. It has been a pretty popular venue for the last few sailing and we learned why tonight. The drinks are phenomenal and the staff is even better. We were kind of bummed that we waited so long to try it out. I highly recommend the pesky’s peanut butter pina. My wife said coffee lovers would love monkey business but I’m not a coffee guy so I can’t co-sign. After a few rounds of drinks and a stroll through Central Park we headed back to the room. The party was still going as they had another farewell balloon drop scheduled and toga party for later in the evening. Tomorrow is debarkation day and I will share some more thoughts on our experience along with some other random things when we get home. We have luggage tag #6 so it will be an early morning.

I just don’t know if there will be many D+ on a lot of these sailing. I think the market for these cruises are first timers. On our two sailing Chops and Giovanni’s were pretty booked up. However, tonight you could pretty much walk into Hooked, Izumi or 150 🤷‍♂️

The thoughts from Day 6: Seeing that I got all of about 3 hours of sleep due to some late night casino fun it turned out to be a relaxing day of lounging around the ship. We did our normal routine of splashaway bay/ pool in the AM. Splashaway bay and the pools haven’t felt over crowded but remember they are not sailing at full capacity so YMMV. In the late morning/early afternoon the activities staff put on a nice family carnival on the boardwalk. It was similar to what I have seen on other Oasis class ships. There was popcorn and cotton candy and activities for the kiddos. Every seemed to enjoy it and it didn’t feel overwhelming. We headed to Giovanni’s for our sea day lunch. The new space is really spectacular. Since when you go into Giovanni’s you have to go down stairs to what is floor 11 (and there is no entry point on 11) to be seated we asked the waiter where the elevator is for scooter and strollers etc. He happily showed us the crew elevator anyone who needs assistance uses to get down or up within Giovanni’s. A member of the wait staff calls the elevator, you board (there were 4 chefs heading to the WJ on our 1 floor journey) and they are waiting for you on either 11/12 depending if you are going up/down. My little guy love the mini behind the scenes tour with our 30 second elevator ride. The food was really good and I would highly recommend Giovanni’s even if it’s to experience the new space. After Giovanni’s I volunteered to put the kids down for a nap ( more because I needed it than they did 😀). The kiddos had WJ for dinner because my wife and I had reservations for Chops. Once thing I have noticed in the WJ is the selection of food hasn’t felt on par with other Oasis class ships. The food is excellent but I guess there isn’t the variety you get on a 7 -night cruise. Not a deal breaker for us and maybe it’s just in my head. Chops was great but very busy. Our waiter told us they have been averaging approximately 200 guests a night. Other than hibachi I would be shocked if other venues were doing half that amount. I guess Chops plus 1 is selling well. After dinner the wife and I walked around the ship. There is just something about watching the wake of the ship that is so peaceful and relaxing. There were multiple Aqua shows today but we had already seen it so we just took a pass and called it an early night. I didn’t mind as I could use a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is our last day and we are back at PDCC. We will be in port with Harmony so the island should be busy. We plan to hang around the island and just enjoy the day. More tomorrow my pillow is calling me 😀.

Check post #91. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Was just talking to our waiter at Giovanni’s at lunch. He said Railway is booked solid for the next 2 months of sailings.

Kids sail free and with these prices better to pull them out of school for a week then take a second mortgage on your house to pay for a cruise.

Thoughts from day 5: I know this update is a little later than my normal updates. Spent some time in the casino tonight and they didn’t really kick anyone out on the tables till about 4am. Today was a Nassau port day and I have to be honest I’m not sure a ton of people got off the ship. Just my observation the ship didn’t have that port day feel to it. I think many passengers will skip Nassau and go bigger on Perfect Day (just how Royal would want it). We saw the “Effectors Homecoming Parade”. After explaining to my kiddo that it wasn’t the usual parade it didn’t seem to matter. My three year old was into it and had a blast even if he didn’t know all the characters. It seems like the parade won’t be a thing on the three nighters but the 4nighter crowd might get a chance to see it at least once. I would describe the the parade as more of a performance than your typical parade. But like I said my kiddos loved it and isn’t that all that really matters. My wife and the boys a called it an early night so I went out with my mom since she had a night off from babysitting. We had dinner in Mason Jar and the service was much improved from embarkation day. Highly recommend the chicken pot pie and the gumbo. We spent time in the Music Hall and Schooner Bar before making our way to the casino. Phoenix was the band in the music hall and were phenomenal. The bartenders were heavy on the pours and we enjoyed ourselves throughly. We also spent some time listening to the piano player in the schooner bar Louis Coupe. Such an easy listen. After a few more drinks we made our way to the casino. Mom is a slot player and did okay in the smoke free casino. I played roulette in the regular casino and didn’t lose too much (promise not to tell me wife 🤣). As I said there wasn’t really a push to close tables until almost 3:30am and the casino bar was making drinks well after 4am. Tomorrow is a sea day and we plan on trying all the drinks in the pesky parrot. More reporting in the AM but my boys are going to wake up in 2 hours so wish me luck as I’m heading to bed now 🤣🤣.

We bring a little white noise machine for our boys and it hasn’t been a problem. The wife and I were sitting on the balcony tonight saying how nice it was to be able to see the ocean from our boardwalk balcony. The noise from the aqua show hasn’t been a problem for us and I would say it’s quieter during the day than a Central Park balcony that deals with the noise from the pool area.

Effectors homecoming parade up next 🤷‍♂️. My little guy is upset it’s not the normal pirates parade.

We didn’t but it seems really cool. As a former New Yorker it has a station with flipping letters that brings back memories of the old Penn Station in NYC.

I think we just like the other restaurants better. I’d probably rank it chops, gios, hibachi, mason jar, Izumi, hooked, then 150. Someone’s gotta be last 🤣🤣🤣

We made reservations on board for both cruises because they weren’t available prior. Hopefully that changes but I think they are still trying to fine tune when shows will be.

FWIW I was able to do this on Utopia no problem. They actually said we could have done it on the first night but we didn’t have our plans so we waited till the last night of our first leg to make reservations for our 2nd leg but YMMV.

My wife likes collecting them and they aren’t yet on Utopia. She did however manage to get one of the 300 pesky parrot cups.

Thoughts from turn around day: Today was turn around day. I have to give Royal credit as there were almost 500 B2B cruisers and the process was fairly seamless. We arrived at the royal theatre at 8:30 picked up our new seapass cards (luckily we have the same room on both cruises) and there was a small set up of danishes, coffee, teas, water etc to keep the masses at bay 😀. At about 9:15am the Hotel director made an announcement on how the process would work. Basically we all were instructed to stay together as we all needed to clear the ship and customs as a group. We walked off the ship through customs and back on the ship and it took about an hour. We were back on the ship at about 10:15. The hotel director said 500 is about as large of a group as they have seen. If you are doing a B2B I would expect a smaller number. For Thanksgiving 2023 on Allure there was 80 B2B cruisers for perspective so probably somewhere between 80-500 for future sailings. After getting back on the ship and handling all the embarkation day protocols we headed to Mason Jar for brunch. The food was good the service was ehhh but I’ll cut them some slack as it is clear the ramp up in guest count has begun. Later, we took the kiddos to Playmakers where our waiter told us there is about 5200 passengers with about 800 minors . According to him there was 4700 on the first sailing and about 500 minors. So take it for what it’s worth. Just on my observations the ship is a little more crowded and there are a lot more families with kids. It makes sense that the 4 nighters will have more families. It still is kind of funny to hear them say on this cruise “welcome to the biggest weekend” when it’s Monday but I guess everyday is a Friday on a cruise (or at least that’s what Royal is going with). The kiddos enjoyed Playmakers and so did the adults. It might be the best I have had in the fleet. Would highly recommend. The wife and I had dinner reservations at 150 Central Park. Admittedly, it’s my least favorite restaurant on board but we gave it a shot. Food was good service was excellent. One observation was that it was pretty empty. We had an 8:00 reservation and there was maybe 6 tables in the entire venue. I wonder if 150 is the right venue for the 3/4 night clientele. After dinner we saw the All in Production show. It was good and there is a cool little number with drones that is pretty but I wouldn’t rush back to see it. Also saw the ice show in its entirety and really enjoyed it. After the ice show we stopped by the “Royal Kappa Delta” party in the Attic. It was only 11:15 but it didn’t remind me of any college party I had been to in my day 😀. There were a few beer pong tables set up and people seemed to be enjoying themselves but it wasn’t rowdy. Depending on the cruise I can see it being a thing but I wouldn’t stress much about it ruining your cruise. On our way back to our room we watched a little of the “one hit wonder party”. Pretty much the same thing you’ve seen on other Oasis class ships. People were dancing but nothing outrageous. Tomorrow is Nassau and hopefully we get a better weather day than yesterday. We have a little more time in port so hopefully the ship we will a little more quiet. Fingers crossed 🤞. More tomorrow…

Here you go..

Day 3 Update: Today we just hung around the ship. It was pretty overcast and rained a little in the AM and then a bunch after sail away. It was a pretty early port call as all aboard was 2:30pm. I don’t know how many people got off but it must have been a brutal beach day. Ship didn’t feel too crowded for a port day but we are sailing at less than 100%. Johnny Rockets is still a hidden gem for breakfast. Tonight we had hibachi for dinner and was fantastic. There was still some availability for reservations and comparatively there at least 6 more hibachi tables then other oasis class ships. Spent some time in the casino tonight. Slots look updated, table games seemed to have a variety and table minimums ranged from 10 and upwards. Didn’t win any thing but we still have 4 more days to try to pay off our next cruise 😀 Saw about half of the ice show Youtopia. Enjoyed what I saw and looking forward to seeing the whole thing later this week. We left the ice show because the wife wanted to do the bon voyage balloon drop. First time I’ve seen a balloon drop on the last night of the cruise. Maybe it’s a new thing or maybe it’s a one and done because I don’t see it in the next cruise planner in the app but who knows as this one showed up unannounced other than the balloons appearing in the Promenade. After the balloon drop we headed to the silent disco toga party. Sheets were provided for those who wanted to get into the festivities but they weren’t required as many were in their regular clothes. It was kind of funny watching some guests fashion togas from the sheets. IMO the solarium is a cool space for the silent disco. The bar was stocked and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. One thing I have noticed on this cruise is that there are many dancers from Royal Caribbean (wearing their name badges) at different venues serving as sort of an “atmosphere dancer”. It’s possible I’ve never noticed this before or it’s possible it’s new on Utopia to keep the party vibe in place. Tomorrow is turn around day. In my opinion I have been a little disappointed in the communication. There is about 500 B2Bers allegedly. We didn’t receive the standard letter in our stateroom and when we went down to guest services they first told us to head to the royal theatre at 7:30. When I asked why so early they then changed it to 8:30. Feels like with so many staying on board the communication should have been a little more clear. Weren’t instructed to take passports etc. but as this isn’t our first B2B experience we know what to expect. I hope others experiences were clearer but I guess we will find out tomorrow. Hopefully, things are smooth and they are prepared for what I gather is a usually big B2B crowd. Glad we aren't heading home tomorrow as we aren’t ready to leave! More tomorrow…

From what I have heard it is only working at half capacity due to some technical issues. We haven’t tried it but the station on deck 4 is pretty cool. Hopefully, it gets cracking at full blast soon.

The app has been a mess. Stopped by Bell & Barley here is the menu.

What a night! After PDCC we had a reservation for Chops. Our waiter told us that they had about 170 guests night 1 and were expecting about 250 guests tonight. It was crowded but still one of our favorites. After we put our boys to bed (Nana was babysitting) my wife and I went out and spent some time a the schooner bar listening to the Louis Coupe (highly recommend). Plays all the hits. Then we went over to the Music Hall to see Phoenix (who I believe have been on Icon but are doing a few cruises on Utopia as a signature concert) also highly recommend! We closed the night (10:30pm) with Aqua 80 too Utopia’s aqua show. Lots of dancing and diving to 80s music. It might be my favorite aqua show. Funny to see that the aqua theater was about 85% full. Maybe that has to do with capacity or just the amount of stuff going on around the ship people have to make decisions on what they want to do and we certainly couldn’t do everything we wanted. Tomorrow is Nassau. We plan to stay on the ship and enjoy the pools and the boys will definitely want to be in splash away bay. We have hibachi for dinner tomorrow so that will be fun and will probably casino tomorrow night. I’ll post more in the AM.

No cafe on Utopia.