I recently sailed on a 4-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, departing from Port Canaveral, Florida. This time, I set sail with my husband, plus our sister and brother-in-law, for a fun getaway. Utopia of the Seas is one of the newest ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, and it has so much to offer for activities, entertainment, dining, and more!
We booked connecting balcony cabins on Deck 8 toward the forward half of the ship. We really enjoyed this location due to the close proximity to Central Park and the Park Café.
Being just steps from Central Park and Park Café made grabbing coffee, breakfast, or a quick snack incredibly convenient throughout the trip
What made this cruise even more memorable is that we had sailed this exact itinerary last year, but this time, we did things differently. After learning from our previous experience, we made a few smarter choices that totally elevated our cruise trip. Here are the ten things we did right on our second sailing.
1. Express Check-In
For this cruise, I was surprised to see that we qualified for Express Check-in, and we really enjoyed it. Because we completed all of the necessary paperwork with Royal Caribbean before we arrived at the cruise terminal, we were eligible for Express Check-in.
Most of this work was done using the Royal Caribbean app prior to embarkation. We needed to provide all of our personal information, like name, address, and date of birth, along with passport details (or other approved ID information) for every guest.
We scanned our passport in the app and uploaded a current photo for each of us. You must provide a credit or debit card for your Sea Pass/onboard account. You select your time slot for embarkation, and the sooner you do this, the earlier your time slot selection is.
We were lucky to book the 12:30 pm time slot, so we could start our vacation quicker. You must complete a health questionnaire within 24 hours of your sail date after initial check-in to unlock Express Boarding eligibility.
Once you have completed all the steps in the app, you will see an “Express Boarding” white box in the upper right of your Set Sail pass. Once we went through the security screening, we proceeded straight to the Express Boarding area and walked right up to an embarkation employee without any waiting. Within 2 minutes, we were on our way to board Utopia of the Seas!
2. Entertainment reservations immediately after boarding
It’s almost impossible to get reservations for the shows on Utopia of the Seas before the cruise. The shows always seem to be sold out on the app. We checked daily to reserve the main shows on our cruise, but it never worked and left us frustrated.
Last year, we were told to get in line as soon as you get on board to reserve your shows, but we waited in line for 45 minutes.
Come to find out, all you need to do is connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi as soon as you’re onboard. Then, you are able to reserve seats for the three main productions, including the ice show, aqua show and the main production show.
After boarding, we literally stopped just inside the entrance on the Promenade deck and reserved seats for all four of us to the main shows. It wasn’t necessary to wait in a line for reservations, unless you can’t figure out how to use the app! It saved a lot of time and stress for us to make the reservations in the app on our own.
3. Our check-in time was perfect
Our 12:30 p.m. check-in time worked out perfectly — our cabin was ready shortly after boarding, and we were able to head straight to the Windjammer to enjoy the seafood buffet lunch without the early boarding rush.
We entered the cruise terminal around 12:15pm after parking. After weaving in line and going through security, we were able to check-in and board Utopia of the Seas around 12:35pm. Immediately, we grabbed a slice of pizza at Sorrento’s while we secured our show reservations. Next, we completed our muster drill to get that out of the way.
It was right at 1:00 pm when the announcement was made that our staterooms were ready. We were able to drop off our carry-on items in our stateroom and head up to the Windjammer buffet around 1:15pm.
At this time, the Windjammer had plenty of seats for us to enjoy the lobster tail and other lunch items. This made it relatively easy to find a table, which made a big difference. I figured it was because the staterooms had just opened and many other cruisers were settling in. This ended up being a good time to enjoy the Windjammer buffet instead of battling the crowds. Last year we had an earlier check-in time, and it was a struggle trying to find a table while hauling all our luggage with us.
4. Splurging on specialty dining
Utopia of the Seas has many specialty dining restaurants, including Chops Grille, Giovanni’s Italian, Mason Jar, Izumi Sushi, and Royal Railway.
As a Diamond Plus cruiser with Royal Caribbean, one of our benefits is a BOGO deal for specialty dining, if it’s used within the first two nights. With our coupons, we saved $64.99 per couple to dine at Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen on the first night.
The food and service were wonderful. My husband ordered the Grilled Fillet Mignon, and it was better than the steak at Chops Grille (where we dined the following night).
I should have listened to our waiter, but I went ahead and tried something new, the Steak Muffuletta. I fell for the heart behind the name on the menu designating a Nonna’s Favorite, and it wasn’t very good. Basically, it was like a breaded chopped steak with bland flavor.
We all gave top scores for Meatball Gigante, truffle caprese salad and spaghetti carbonara. Of course, the filet mignon was excellent; so, I would highly recommend that.
5. Connecting balconies
For this cruise, we booked staterooms 8550 and 8552, which were right next to each other on Utopia of the Seas’ starboard side. Our stateroom attendant asked if we wanted to open up the balcony divider between the staterooms, and we said sure.
We really like being able to share the balcony together as a group. It was a very nice convenience to share the views as we sailed. For instance, we could check on each other in our PJ’s or robes without leaving our cabin.
This was a great perk of booking two staterooms next to each other, and we wouldn’t have known it was an option if our wonderful stateroom attendant, Remil, hadn’t mentioned it. This was one of the best cruise cabin experiences we’ve had!
6. Complimentary room service every morning
Ordering complimentary room service every morning was one of our favorite free luxuries aboard Utopia of the Seas. Each morning, we requested two carafes of coffee for our room so that each of us could have multiple cups of our morning caffeine.
We also snacked on the fresh fruit plate and pastries on our balconies while waiting for the other couple to get up and get ready. For ordering room service, you select a 30-minute time range for the delivery time. We found out that it arrived some mornings at the beginning and others at the end of the 30-minute time window.
I like to tip the server a few dollars, although it is otherwise free. For this reason, I like to bring a handful of small bills.
7. Repricing Hideaway Beach admission
We originally purchased tickets for Perfect Day at CocoCay’s Hideaway Beach months before our cruise, and we paid approximately $55 each.
But, a few weeks before the cruise date, I checked the current price for Hideaway Beach. The price was only $43.99, which is pretty low. So, we cancelled our original reservation and rebooked admission at the lower price. I shared the information with my sister-in-law, who had also purchased at a much higher price, so they did the same thing.
We saved over $25 and my sister-in-law saved around $80. Who doesn’t like to save money? So, watch the Hideaway Beach price and know you can cancel your originally booking and then rebook prior to your cruise. I’ve seen the price range from $30 to $105, based on demand. Our weather was a cooler week, so demand was probably lower and prices dropped.
8. Secret spot for the Aqua Theatre
We were only able to get tickets for the late-night Aqua show, but we preferred the earlier showtime. Last year, we found a work around for this problem. If you go to deck 7 and proceed forward as far as you can, it opens up to the deck by the rock-climbing wall.
We secured chairs along the glass railing to watch the earlier 8:30 show instead. I would suggest arriving here 20-30 minutes before the scheduled show. The space filled up behind us around 5-10 minutes before the show started.
You will not want to miss the Aqua Theatre show. It is always one of our all-time favorites. We were lucky and went on the third night this cruise. Because the earlier performance was during rough seas, and there was no diving or rope walking during that show.
9. Attending new game shows
We attended two new (to us) game shows during our sailing aboard Utopia of the Seas: Name That Tune and the Price is Right. Both of these were held in the evening in the Royal Theatre and they were full-blown production shows.
Name That Tune started with eight guest contestants. When the song was either guessed (or missed), Utopia of the Seas’ production singers performed the song. After each elimination round, the dancers came out to dance contestants goodbye. At the very end, the winner was crowned (literally) and celebrated.
For Price is Right, you could pay $15, $30 or $60 to participate for a chance to come on stage, win prizes, and ultimately win a car. I didn’t pay to play this time because I didn’t know what it involved. I also walked into the game show right as it was starting.
It was cool how the guests who paid to participate got to guess the price of items and were scored based on how close they were without going over — and how quickly they entered their guess. The highest-scoring person earned a spot on stage.
Three different paying participants were brought up throughout the show to compete for cash prizes in the hundreds of dollars. The final audience challenge was to guess what the three contestants spinning the big wheel would land on — but only on their first spin. If you correctly guessed two out of the three, you won $50, and more than 10 people actually did. If you guessed all three correctly, you’d win a Mini Cooper.
The odds of getting all three spins right are about 1 in 8,000. No one on Utopia of the Seas has won the car yet, though Star of the Seas has already given away two. Next time I have the chance to participate in The Price Is Right, I’d probably pay, as it looked like a lot of fun.
10. Handing out ducks to the kids
Finally, the last thing that made our Utopia of the Seas cruise even better was handing out little rubber ducks to the little junior cruisers. My brother-in-law brought 50 ducks to hide and give away during the cruise.
We probably hid half of the ducks, and I found four myself during the cruise, because I am a kid at heart! The thing that brought us the most enjoyment was offering a duck to the young cruisers (2 – 7 years olds mostly). The surprised looks on their faces and the big smiles made it more special for us grandparents aged-cruisers.
