Utopia Of the Seas

[Gilley]

Finalized my plans. On Utopia December 2024.  Sailing on my birthday.  Got a Boardwalk Balcony.  I can look at the shows from my balcony.  Will use earplugs if things get too noisy or return when it settles down.

it was $1651 for 2 people.  I wonder if I can get it cheaper.  Or do you think that was a good price.  I did get a refundable deposit.

[Neesa]

@WAAAYTOOO I agree with this, when I first saw the Utopia I thought um, wow this is DCL pricing (just leaving a 3/4 night on the Wish in a concierge cabin.) I thought wow, JL went over to their site to set Royals price! 

The consideration when booking took into account something someone else said here, in the grand suite we will have the suite lounge in addition to our D+ perks. I still have NO idea how I got Cabash to agree to it. Kiddo goes to college a few weeks later. 

We are enjoying the ship and not purchasing any extras, excursions etc. At that point it will make me feel the joy of being on an inaugural, just once as I have never experienced one before.

This was the plan for Icon until I previewed the ship and realized for sure that wasn't the direction we wanted to go in. You are correct, the releases were spot on. The last I checked there were only a very few suites left on the July 22, 2024 sailing so clearly Royals plan worked, and worked well. 

I told Sharla though if the sailing is pushed to a later date then we will be out. I actually can't stand 4 nights but the 4 night is the reason I could pull it off. 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

10 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Finalized my plans. On Utopia December 2024.  Sailing on my birthday.  Got a Boardwalk Balcony.  I can look at the shows from my balcony.  Will use earplugs if things get too noisy or return when it settles down.

it was $1651 for 2 people.  I wonder if I can get it cheaper.  Or do you think that was a good price.  I did get a refundable deposit.

I think that’s a pretty decent price for refundable.  My price (booked through BJ’s…first time using TA) for a OV Balcony, refundable, is $1321!  I think I got a steal of a deal…really!  Our room is also midship which typically costs a bit more than aft…I never even look at forward as I would never book that.

Thinking about what @WAAAYTOOOsaid earlier my per night cost is $330 and that is for 2 people so $165 per person.  Seems reasonable to me since that includes shows, food, sleeping, don’t you agree?

[Gilley]

I also looked at cruises through American Airlines which uses the same TA as BJs.  They require you call.  I have my cousins checking those prices.   If cheaper I will cancel and rebook since I got refundable deposit.

Do we get any onboard credit for booking this cruise.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

2 hours ago, Gilley said:

I also looked at cruises through American Airlines which uses the same TA as BJs.  They require you call.  I have my cousins checking those prices.   If cheaper I will cancel and rebook since I got refundable deposit.

Do we get any onboard credit for booking this cruise.

Not with this deal…but you get a $25 gift card for BJ’s.  And BJ’s covered the deposit of $200…just had to pay $24.99 processing fee.

Good Luck!

[Gilley]

Not a bad deal.  Thanks.  Will try them out.

[asquared17]

6 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

By putting Icon out there with their absolutely insanely high prices, bringing Utopia out with only moderately insanely high prices makes Utopia seem "reasonable".  Most people don't do a cost-per-day comparison (kudos to those of you that do) so the moderately insane Utopia prices seem reasonable....but many don't stop to think that these Utopia sailings are only 3/7 or 4/7 the length of an Icon sailing.

THIS. 

thank you for putting my thoughts into words. 

i absolutely agree the ship will be new and beautiful and have so many wonderful features; and i am so excited to hear everyone’s experiences and thoughts and observations.

our price point looks a bit different as we are factoring in flights from NJ, an overnight hotel stay before, and we want to relax over a more extended period of time like a 7-night sailing. when we can average lower fares for standard balconies, we are happy to “splurge” (for us) on a JS or — for the first time, our very first GS on symphony. then we’re delighted to get the $700 pp for a balcony sailing on an oasis class and feel like we made out like bandits. (tbh if we liked interior cabins, we could do it even cheaper… but my heart belongs to the sea )

but everyone’s finances, preferences, and lifestyles are different. 

though i will be the first to admit skepticism when the whispers of a PC 3/4 night itinerary for utopia took off, it is more than evident that RCI knows what they are doing — and doing it quite well indeed.

i’m very happy the fleet is varied enough that there is something for everyone and their needs, and that we are fortunate enough to be able to sail with the frequency and duration that we prefer.

[GatorCruiser]

Utopia looks awesome. A nice difference from Wonder which is incredible. 

[Sweety]

Starting my 34th year of teaching with an amazing bang.

[Lovetocruise2002]

11 hours ago, Sweety said:

Starting my 34th year of teaching with an amazing bang.

Kudos to you! I will never make it past 30 years. I don't even know if I will make 30 years of teaching at this rate.

2030, that's my year, or possibly earlier lol

[Smokey79]

I thought the prices were a bit high overall but considering the hype of anything new enough people will pay it. That being said, I’m booked for one of the solarium suites in early fall 24 so I admittedly bit hard. However, it’s our 20th anniversary so I wanted to make it a bit more special than a normal trip. It’s hard to almost impossible to plan for much of anything longer than 5 days due to my wife’s ability to take PTO so seeing them launch a new ship on what I call sample cruises was wonderful. 

[JasonOasis]

Although I"m already booked on a B2B on Utopia for January into February 2025 I decided to do a price comparison between Utopia and Wonder. Of course Wonder only does 7 night cruises while Utopia will only do 3 and 4 night cruises.  I was shocked to see the price for an owners suite on a B2B on Utopia was only $55 dollars more than a 7 night cruise on Wonder in an owners suite. 

The price difference between a B2B (3 and 4 night) cruise on Utopia and a 7 night cruise on Icon is absolutely ridiculous, granted owner suites on Icon are 102 square feet bigger than owner suites on Utopia.  However Icon cost $11,461 dollars more than Utopia for a 7 night cruise over the nearly same dates as my Utopia B2B cruise.  Going down to a sunset corner suite on Icon which is smaller than an owners suite on Utopia still cost $7,689 dollars more than for 7 days than the B2B on Utopia 

To be 100% fair I compared Utopia to Allure of course Allure will not be doing 3 and 4 night Bahamas cruises in January and February of 2025 so I had to use 2024 as a reference point for Allure.  A B2B on Utopia in an owner suite cost $4,923 dollars more than a similar cruise on Allure in January February of 2024. 

While Utopia is certainly more expensive than Allure it is a bargain if doing a B2B when compared to a 7 night cruise on Icon.

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

Although I"m already booked on a B2B on Utopia for January into February 2025 I decided to do a price comparison between Utopia and Wonder. Of course Wonder only does 7 night cruises while Utopia will only do 3 and 4 night cruises.  I was shocked to see the price for an owners suite on a B2B on Utopia was only $55 dollars more than a 7 night cruise on Wonder in an owners suite. 

We did a lot of comparisons like this since we pretty much only sail from PC. What I found was during off-season, the two were fairly close (like your example).

During busier times like Summer or spring break, Wonder was significantly cheaper, and unfortunately that's when we can sail.

We had an interior on a Utopia B2B on hold for March (spring break). The price wasn't terrible, just not great. An interior on Wonder for the same week was $600-700 cheaper. So as much as I would like to see Utopia and we do love CocoCay, we're likely just going on Wonder (for the 4th or 5th time by then) since they're so identical and my frugal brain can't justify paying the extra $600-700.

In your case, I'd be trying Utopia for sure.

[Smokey79]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

We did a lot of comparisons like this since we pretty much only sail from PC. What I found was during off-season, the two were fairly close (like your example).

During busier times like Summer or spring break, Wonder was significantly cheaper, and unfortunately that's when we can sail.

We had an interior on a Utopia B2B on hold for March (spring break). The price wasn't terrible, just not great. An interior on Wonder for the same week was $600-700 cheaper. So as much as I would like to see Utopia and we do love CocoCay, we're likely just going on Wonder (for the 4th or 5th time by then) since they're so identical and my frugal brain can't justify paying the extra $600-700.

In your case, I'd be trying Utopia for sure.

I’m noticing that the website still has the wrong cabin size listed for owner suites 1 br on Utopia. I was originally booked in one of those but when talking to the rep I asked about cabin size since I thought it was strange that it listed as being bigger than AQ 2br suite. He said it was slightly under 600sq ft not 861 and was putting in a ticket to get the website corrected. Unless he was incorrect, that’s substantial mistake imo. 

[Neesa]

1 hour ago, Smokey79 said:

I’m noticing that the website still has the wrong cabin size listed for owner suites 1 br on Utopia. I was originally booked in one of those but when talking to the rep I asked about cabin size since I thought it was strange that it listed as being bigger than AQ 2br suite. He said it was slightly under 600sq ft not 861 and was putting in a ticket to get the website corrected. Unless he was incorrect, that’s substantial mistake imo. 

Thank you so much! I just checked my cabin as well. It shows 531 sq ft but on the Wonder the same cabin is 370sq ft. Yikes!!! Royal IT at it again!

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Neesa said:

Thank you so much! I just checked my cabin as well. It shows 531 sq ft but on the Wonder the same cabin is 370sq ft. Yikes!!! Royal IT at it again!

Suite snob problems.

Us interior folk don't check the square footage. I'm just trying to make sure my cabins on Wonder have a damn love seat because some only have a chair!

NOTE: This was tongue in cheek, which Neesa knows, just don't want anyone else reading thinking I was really calling her a snob.

[DanielMallorca85]

[cruisellama]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:38 AM, Jill said:

We will get off at CocoCay but not Nassau. New Hideaway Beach will be open

Utopia really looks like a floating CocoCay.  Almost redundant.  They could sail into a port (empty) and just use it as a shoreside entertainment venue.   Floating amusement park that comes to a port near you.

[twangster]

14 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Utopia really looks like a floating CocoCay.  Almost redundant.  They could sail into a port (empty) and just use it as a shoreside entertainment venue.   Floating amusement park that comes to a port near you.

Utopia isn't that much different than her sister Oasis class.  Some new dining venues.  Pretty similar to Wonder with Oasis class upgrades to the WJ and the top deck, but not that far off Oasis class in general.  

Yet this class has been hugely successful.  I'm not sure the floating CocoCay description fits that well.

Did you mean Icon?

[JasonOasis]

15 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Utopia really looks like a floating CocoCay.  Almost redundant.  They could sail into a port (empty) and just use it as a shoreside entertainment venue.   Floating amusement park that comes to a port near you.

The concept is interesting having a floating amusement park like Icon come to a port near you empty.  But it would never work because the ship would be loosing money the moment it sails out to sea.   Royal and nearly every other cruise line have devised so many ways to get them coins out your pocket in-between ports of call, one of the biggest being the casino which in most ports must remain closed. 

Your post does have me wondering how much money does an Oasis Class ship (or Icon Class) generate while at sea?  And I'm not even talking about a full sea day I'm just talking about traveling between ports? 

[OCSC Mike]

40 minutes ago, twangster said:

Did you mean Icon?

Sounds a lot more like Icon. Like you said, Utopia isn't very different than other Oasis class ships and is VERY similar to Wonder.

[cruisellama]

22 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Sounds a lot more like Icon. Like you said, Utopia isn't very different than other Oasis class ships and is VERY similar to Wonder.

You're correct - I meant Icon.

 

[Doug_Texas]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:16 AM, JasonOasis said:

The concept is interesting having a floating amusement park like Icon come to a port near you empty.  But it would never work because the ship would be loosing money the moment it sails out to sea.   Royal and nearly every other cruise line have devised so many ways to get them coins out your pocket in-between ports of call, one of the biggest being the casino which in most ports must remain closed. 

Your post does have me wondering how much money does an Oasis Class ship (or Icon Class) generate while at sea?  And I'm not even talking about a full sea day I'm just talking about traveling between ports? 

True!  The Utopia 4 day cruises hit Perfect Day and Nassau with a sea day in between and those two ports are only about 55 miles apart.  Cha ching!

[Sweety]

My school is paying me an extra 500 per week to teach a 6th class with 8 students. I am looking to take an extra cruise thanks to CPS.

[smokeybandit]

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/09/18/utopia-of-the-seas-cruise-ship-float-out

 

 

 

 

[smokeybandit]