Utopia of the Seas – A Royal Caribbean Cruise

This impressive ship was appropriately named as our vacation was “Utopia”. 

I am usually a self-planner and this time, took advantage of a FREE (yes FREE) Travel Advisor with Funshine Destinations .  The owner, Andrea, made the planning (and our last minute requests) smooth and easy and the best part, FREE (don’t worry, she is compensated by the ships/resort, it just doesn’t impact your fee/pricing).   

Funshine Destinations to the Rescue

We had a general idea of the length of cruise and port, and Funshine Destinations owner Andrea advised us with a variety of dates, options and price ranges.  Andrea was highly communicative and collaborative during the process, she replied within 24-hours (sometimes even down to 24-seconds) and her assistance eased my usual anxiety with all the steps. She found us the perfect rooms (10206 & 10210) which were high-level deck, mid-ship and 10206 had a slight larger balcony. Next time, we will plan more than 4 months in advance for an adjoining room, nevertheless, Sloane and her bff were only a room apart.

Once we had the room(s) booked, we downloaded the Royal App which was the epicenter of all things before/during the cruise.  The trip insurance was a no-brainer to protect our investment and ensure we had that as a safety net for the cruise, flight and ourselves. Funshine Destinations sent us packing lists, helpful videos, options for airport transfers (which yes, we took advantage of the smooth ride of a car service vs an uber) and had ALL our various itineraries on one portal (so convenient).

Royal Caribbean Cruise Pre-Purchases

The Royal App makes pre-planning, and pre-purchase is easy and there are usually discounts (which go up/down, these were the lowest I saw in the 4 mos). Here are the items we pre-purchased:

• In-Room Décor for the girl’s room. (Note: People had cruise themed magnets on their doors, we would do this next time.)
• 25% off Souvenir Towel & Tumbler (for the girls)
• 25% off Deluxe (Alcohol) Beverage Package. (Note: these come with the unlimited soda cups so we gave those to the girls and they used them on the ship. It is a loophole.)
• 25% off 24 1-Liters of Evian (Note: bottled water is free with beverage packages; these were helpful to grab and go in our fridge)
• 25% off Thrill Water Park Cocoa Cay Excursions (Yes, the girls enjoyed it!)
• 30% off Internet (Note: you can use 1 internet code per device so you can either get 1 person + 3 devices for 3 codes, or 3 people + 1 device). We had 3 codes so the girls each connected and Todd and I shared a code.
• We did not see any shows, suggest you pre-select to ensure ease of sitting but most venues have a standing line.

Airport – Hotel – Port – Airport Transportation

• Arriving MCO – Hotel: We took a car service arranged by Funshine Destinations
• Hotel – Port: We took the hotel shuttle for $60 then learned that Uber was only $20 and we could not get a refund.
• Return Port – Airport: We detoured to Ron Jon’s Surf Shop via taxi (at the port), then arranged the car service to the airport. We found out from our friends that MCO did not let them check their bags until 4 hours before boarding so they had to sit and wait outside at MCO.

All Aboard…The UTOPIA of the Seas

Our Fav Food / Drink Spots

• Windjammers Buffet (Deck 16)
• Sorrento’s Pizza (Deck 5)
• El Loco Fresh – Mexican Buffet (Deck 15)
• Vue (Deck 15 during day)
• Schooners Bar (Deck 6 evenings)
• Café Promenade – Select Starbucks (Deck 5)
• Starbucks – App Accepted (Deck 5)
• Social 100 – Teen Club (Deck 18)

Day 1 – Embark

• There was truly no “boarding time”, we had a 12:30p slot and were on the ship by 10:00a.
• Navigate to your assigned “Muster Safety Training” on the way into the ship (it would help if you knew if you were forward/front or aft/ass of the ship).
• Find a set out lounge chairs on Deck 15 or 16, then take turns getting food (and staying with the carry-ons).
• Ask the drink waiters for your refill cups and whatever soda for the kids, then the kids can use the cups.
• Guest Services has the bands (easy to use for drinks/room) and if you have multiple rooms, they will give you extra keys. As the girls were not 18+, they could not technically have their own room, so we booked Todd/Sloane & Stacey/Claire then got keys for us to use our own rooms. The bands cannot be changed rooms.
• 1:00p – All luggage was in the hallways, and I used the tip and empty hangers went into a drawer (otherwise they sway and make noise).

Day 2 – Nassau, Bahamas

• Unless you really, really want to do an excursion, stay on the ship. “Junkaroo Beach”, while a short 1-mi walk, is close enough, it was dirty and full of chair peddlers for $10/chair.
• The sea was a bit rough when leaving the Nassau to Cocoa Cay, not awful, just felt it more than usual.

Day 3 – Cocoa Cay, Bahamas

Day 4 – Day at Sea

• Disembark Video on TV
• Information Distributed (ie: Luggage Tags for 10p in Hallway)

Day 5 – Disembark Day (aka: Sad Day)

• Windjammer closes at 8:00a
• If you wait long enough, all luggage has been sent to the dock and there are general exits
• Passports are the fastest to disembark