Utopia of the Seas Blocks Are In The House!

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Are those up for booking or need to wait?

 

Also, in your opine, doesn't the Utopia look a lot like the Wonder vs the Icon?

 

Scroll up. Goes on sale Thursday for C&A members.

 

It was always known it would look just like Wonder. It's Oasis class, not Icon class.

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Are those up for booking or need to wait?

 

Also, in your opine, doesn't the Utopia look a lot like the Wonder vs the Icon?

 

Absolutely she is a nearly a mirror of Wonder.  That was always the goal.  Utopia is Oasis class.  Wonder with a few updates and new features.

 

Bookings will open Thursday.

[FlowBroTy]

38 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

No itineraries?

They are the same as what they are doing now with the 3/4-night runs.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

7 minutes ago, FlowBroTy said:

They are the same as what they are doing now with the 3/4-night runs.

 

Where can that info be found? (I haven't seen it, but all sorts of things are coming out now)

 

Tom

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Where can that info be found? (I haven't seen it, but all sorts of things are coming out now)

 

Tom

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1659/introducing-the-worlds-biggest-weekend-royal-caribbeans-utopia-of-the-seas-is-revealed///

[molly361]

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by molly361

[pyrateslife4me84]

Honestly, we enjoy Wonder (sailing her again next year) and would gladly add a 4 nighter on to a Disney vacation in the years ahead. People already spend a fortune to visit the parks so marked-up short cruises on a new ship will easily sell out. No shortage of money from Orlando tourists and I’d happily follow relatively stressful theme park days with this. Nassau will just be a day at sea for me! This will be big competition for the Disney Wish. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by pyrateslife4me84

[HBE4]

53 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

A brand new ship ... doing 3/4's ?

 

Tom

 

I thought the same thing but I guess it makes sense. There are now more Oasis-class ships than any other class so it was only a matter of time. I am mildly surprised that they didn't send one of the older Oasis ships but then again, it makes sense. I can't speak from experience as I've never done a 3/4 night but the impression I've gotten is that they are a lot of first timers / budget-minded / party people type cruisers. And what better way to convert first timers to repeat customers than giving them the biggest & best ship, which also happens to have plenty of places for the party people to hang out.

 

And if I'm wrong about the demographics of the 3/4's, I'm sure some of the more experienced cruises can correct me 🙂

[HBE4]

15 minutes ago, molly361 said:

 

 

Never let it be said that you are not a person of few words. 😄😉

[twangster]

6 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

I thought the same thing but I guess it makes sense. There are now more Oasis-class ships than any other class so it was only a matter of time. I am mildly surprised that they didn't send one of the older Oasis ships but then again, it makes sense. I can't speak from experience as I've never done a 3/4 night but the impression I've gotten is that they are a lot of first timers / budget-minded / party people type cruisers. And what better way to convert first timers to repeat customers than giving them the biggest & best ship, which also happens to have plenty of places for the party people to hang out.

 

And if I'm wrong about the demographics of the 3/4's, I'm sure some of the more experienced cruises can correct me 🙂

 

That's the old demographic of the short Florida market.

 

Things have changed and Royal has adapted to serve the new demographic of the short Florida market.  That transformation started with creating Perfect Day and placing amped Voyager class ships into the short Florida market.  Then came Freedom class.  Now Oasis class.  Next?  I would not be surprised to see a future Icon class ship doing short Florida.

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

And if I'm wrong about the demographics of the 3/4's, I'm sure some of the more experienced cruises can correct me 🙂

 

Lots of people describe them as party cruises. I have rarely done them but I did a 3/4 B2B on Indy out of PC last July and another 4-nighter in October (just b/c of the price) and didn't find much of a difference from the 7-night cruises I normally take in the summer.

 

Maybe it's because in the summer there are lots of kids on any length cruise, maybe it's b/c I don't party or stay up super late, maybe just a difference in perception. Regardless, I'd have no problem doing a 3/4 B2B again (I plan to for the 1st two Utopia sailings unless the price is insane). It's the short length that I find unappealing, not the experience, hence the B2B's.

[pyrateslife4me84]

Newer Royal ships are too expensive to be party ships. College kids are on Carnival. They aren’t paying $900 for a 3-nighter like UotS will undoubtedly command. These sailings are clearly meant as theme park add-ones with the hope that the following year, families will just skip Disney and take a longer cruise. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by pyrateslife4me84

[molly361]

6 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Lots of people describe them as party cruises. I have rarely done them but I did a 3/4 B2B on Indy out of PC last July and another 4-nighter in October (just b/c of the price) and didn't find much of a difference from the 7-night cruises I normally take in the summer.

 

Maybe it's because in the summer there are lots of kids on any length cruise, maybe it's b/c I don't party or stay up super late, maybe just a difference in perception. Regardless, I'd have no problem doing a 3/4 B2B again (I plan to for the 1st two Utopia sailings unless the price is insane). It's the short length that I find unappealing, not the experience, hence the B2B's.

Same here but I'm not a late night person (as I told you earlier😇) so maybe I miss all the partying.   

[twangster]

There is also the demographic of the young working professional who is moving on from the college frat party cruise days.  With not a lot of time off being early in a career they are looking for a short weekend getaway but not a drink to you puke experience.   

 

Take a short cruise on another line then take a short cruise on Royal.  Night and day difference.  Where are they going to come back to when they start taking longer cruises?  Royal.  

 

Part of the reasoning is capturing the young but up and coming cruiser early in their "cruising career". 

[OCSC Mike]

6 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Same here but I'm not a late night person (as I told you earlier😇) so maybe I miss all the partying.   

 

Staying up late causes me to miss my early trip to the DL coffee machine and my 1st of 2 breakfasts. Everyone has their priorities. 😁

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

17 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

...Regardless, I'd have no problem doing a 3/4 B2B again (I plan to for the 1st two Utopia sailings unless the price is insane). It's the short length that I find unappealing, not the experience, hence the B2B's.

 

Just make sure you're sitting down!

 

I'll check out the GS fare, but I suspect the prices will continue the trend that's been occurring since ~'21 or so... to the moon.

 

Tom

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Just make sure you're sitting down!

 

I'll check out the GS fare, but I suspect the prices will continue the trend that's been occurring since ~'21 or so... to the moon.

 

I'm expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

 

Our TA is reserving a cabin for us. We'll decide yay or nay when we see the price. It is what it is.

[HBE4]

 

Thank you for all the replies. I should have clarified that  when I referred to " first timers / budget-minded / party people type cruisers", I meant it as 3 different types of cruisers, not one.

 

And party-people was a poor choice of words on my part as it does conjure up images of drunk frat boys (and frat-boy wannabes) passed out in pool-side lounge chairs by lunch time. I guess I meant people of all ages & income levels fully embracing all of the venues well into the evening.

 

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Part of the reasoning is capturing the young but up and coming cruiser early in their "cruising career". 

 

 

Kinda what I was trying to get at, just not very eloquently. 🙂

[NightOne]

24 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

Newer Royal ships are too expensive to be party ships. College kids are on Carnival. They aren’t paying $900 for a 3-nighter like UotS will undoubtedly command. These sailings are clearly meant as theme park add-ones with the hope that the following year, families will just skip Disney and take a longer cruise. 

 

You are totally wrong on everything you just said. LOL

[pyrateslife4me84]

2 minutes ago, NightOne said:

 

You are totally wrong on everything you just said. LOL

Um…no. I’m not. These are clearly Disney add-ons and I’ve sailed on these 3/4 nighters from PC. As others have said, they’re not party cruises. I was on Indy for 4th of July last year. Felt no different from a week-long from Florida. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by pyrateslife4me84

[HBE4]

29 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I have rarely done them but I did a 3/4 B2B on Indy out of PC last July and another 4-nighter in October (just b/c of the price) and didn't find much of a difference from the 7-night cruises I normally take in the summer.

 

Good to know. Since I usually fly to Florida for a cruise, 7 night's is my absolute minimum. But I am intrigued by the idea of a 3/4 B2B type cruise, as long as it's not outrageously priced compared to a regular 7 night. Or even a 3/4/3 B2B2B.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Good to know. Since I usually fly to Florida for a cruise, 7 night's is my absolute minimum. But I am intrigued by the idea of a 3/4 B2B type cruise, as long as it's not outrageously priced compared to a regular 7 night. Or even a 3/4/3 B2B2B.

 

PC is an hour drive for us and I still prefer a minimum of 7.

 

If you like CocoCay and the ship (hard not to) it's a very enjoyable, relaxing cruise.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

3 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

Um…no. I’m not. These are clearly Disney add-ons and I’ve sailed on these 3/4 nighters from PC. As others have said, they’re not party cruises. I was on Indy for 4th of July last year. Felt no different from a week-long from Florida. 

 

I'd imagine that the 3 night Indy sailing before (or after) your 4 nighter probably had a different vibe. I've seen that on 3/4 sailings on Carnival. The shorter weekend component is a little more of a party crowd. The 4 night cruise, since those people would need to miss most of a conventional work week, tends to be more like what you'd experience on  a 7 night cruise.

 

Tom

[ARandomTraveler]

I'm bummed it's sailing 3/4 night itineraries, but I'll still probably book it at least once. It doesn't make sense to me to have a 4-day Mon-Fri sailing, if you're gonna do that, may as well make it 7 because people already have to take the full work week off. And if I'm paying $500/person to fly to Florida, I'd rather stay a whole week than just a weekend. If the prices aren't completely outrageous, I'll probably book a b2b just for fun, but I'd be willing to spend more money if it sailed a better itinerary.

[rockmom]

1 minute ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I'm bummed it's sailing 3/4 night itineraries, but I'll still probably book it at least once. It doesn't make sense to me to have a 4-day Mon-Fri sailing, if you're gonna do that, may as well make it 7 because people already have to take the full work week off. And if I'm paying $500/person to fly to Florida, I'd rather stay a whole week than just a weekend. If the prices aren't completely outrageous, I'll probably book a b2b just for fun, but I'd be willing to spend more money if it sailed a better itinerary.

Since it is a full day of flying for me (6 hours, plus the 3 hour time difference on the way there) I like the 4 nighters if I can't take more than a week off.  I fly in on Saturday, enjoy Coco Beach (or Fort Lauderdale or Miami) for a day, then sail.  I can decide to fly home immediately following the cruise, or not until Saturday which still gives me a day at home to do laundry and get ready for the work week.  I have a couple of these coming up later this year on Indy and Allure.  Even if I don't get off the ship, it's a very relaxing week.