xSAILEDx Utopia of the Seas September 13th - September 16th, 2024 (3 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day)

[WAAAYTOOO]

At PDCC today and it’s the final day of this cruise.

Dan went ashore and did some snorkeling at Chill Beach.  I guess there were a few fish but not much exciting.  When we were eating breakfast we saw the balloon floating.  First time I’ve seen that thing aloft in AGES.  The weather is beautiful here today.  Hot and muggy of course, but that’s to be expected. I think there’s another ship here with us but I’m too lazy to even go look to see which one it is !

Since we have the UDP on this short sailing, we went to Izumi in the Park for lunch.  The menu is very limited but we found it to be more than enough for lunch.

Dan got some nigiri and I got a roll and some dumplings.  It was yummy.  Then we walked over to the Park Cafe and got a couple of small desserts.  Then we went to the casino and lost some money. . When will we learn that you never play the machines on the last day ?  We’re gonna try the Piggy Burst again tomorrow on day 1 of the second leg !

This morning, after breakfast, we stopped by the Suites Concierge desk to make sure that we’re on the Consecutive Cruisers list.  We are.  whew !  While there, I asked a couple of Pinn questions, the answers for which, I will share.

1.  Since we are in a Sky Class suite on the next sailing AND we are Pinnacle, will we get internet for 2 devices, each ?  Yes.  We have our Pinnacle internet perk plus the Sky Class perk so we can both have 2 devices each, connected at the same time, if we want.  Woohoo !  Not sure how to get 2 devices connected, but I will worry about that tomorrow.

2.  Does the $25 PP specialty dining voucher apply on these short sailings ?  No.  Those vouchers are only for sailings of 5+ nights on ships with a Coastal Kitchen.  I only asked this question b/c the server at Johnny Rockets (lunch yesterday) asked us if we wanted to use our $25 vouchers….which confused the heck out of me !  We explained that we had the UDP so it wasn’t an issue….but then I couldn't understand why he even mentioned the $25 Pinnacle voucher since I had understood (or so, I thought !) that UT didn’t offer these vouchers.  Not sure what would have happened if I had said “yes” to his offer !

[JustMeJoe]

20 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

PDCC today

You know what I think about that !

21 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Dan got some nigiri and I got a roll and some dumplings.  It was yummy.  Then we walked over to the Park Cafe and got a couple of small desserts.

Perfect !

21 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Since we are in a Sky Class suite on the next sailing AND we are Pinnacle, will we get internet for 2 devices, each ?  Yes.  We have our Pinnacle internet perk plus the Sky Class perk so we can both have 2 devices each, connected at the same time, if we want.  Woohoo !

Very Nice !!!

Have fun on leg 2 !  Stay clear of those destination lifts - haha.

[twangster]

58 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Not sure how to get 2 devices connected, but I will worry about that tomorrow.

Same.  Create account.  Sign in on first device.  Now sign in on 2nd device using same credentials. 

If you sign in on a 3rd device it will warn you and if you continue boot off one the earlier connected devices. 

[twangster]

I did a little better in the smoking casino last night. 

They hadn't removed  the blood stain or body chalk outline from the non-smoking casino carpet after those slot machines murdered me a few nights ago so I wasn't comfortable in the non-smoking casino.  It's tough in the ghetto, should known better.

[Snotarni]

We’re sitting in the AquaTheater eating PM watching football in the big screens. Actually pleasant out here.  

[twangster]

Dagnabit,  Wild Bill shot a bullet into my glass. 

 

[twangster]

 

[Snotarni]

Had a GREAT cruise!!!  Very nice meeting Mr. and Mrs. @WAAAYTOOO as well as Mr. @twangster; we're way more knowledgeable in the ways of RCCL after meeting you all!   

One thing I'll say for Utopia of the Seas is that their disembarkation process is phenomenal!  We walked off right at 0645 and were home in lovely Titusville by 0725!  

Back to the grind, but back to UT next Friday!!

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

24 minutes ago, Snotarni said:

Had a GREAT cruise!!!  Very nice meeting Mr. and Mrs. @WAAAYTOOO as well as Mr. @twangster

Right back atcha !  So enjoyed meeting both of you and seeing The Twangster again !

[twangster]

Great to meet more RCBlog users even if @Lovetocruise2002 still avoids me.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

8 minutes ago, twangster said:

Great to meet more RCBlog users even if @Lovetocruise2002 still avoids me.  

I wish so much I was there with you and @WAAAYTOOO!

[WAAAYTOOO]

54 minutes ago, twangster said:

Great to meet more RCBlog users even if @Lovetocruise2002 still avoids me.  

Us too.  Don’t feel bad…

[WAAAYTOOO]

So....I realize that :

1.  This is a roll call thread and not a live blog thread and

2.  I am writing about the FOLLOWING cruise, (9-16-23 rather than the one in the title).

Tough.

Everyone knows I don't follow the blog rules anyway.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Now that we are home from these 2 UT cruises, I wanted to jot down a few notes.  Not intended to be a full cruise review, just a few things that stuck out for us.

Food:  On this second leg of our UT B2B we were in a suite so we had legit access to the CK.  We used our BOGO (Giovanni's and Izumi) and the rest of our meals were in the CK.

Specialty Dining

We really enjoyed the new 2-story Gios on deck 12.  The stairs down to the lower level (deck 11) were a bit of a nuisance for me since I don't do stairs well, but I managed.  The food was good, not great...but we did enjoy it.  Since they have the EXCELLENT pistachio panna cotta in the Kitchen version, we were there mainly just to get to the dessert.    Izumi was Izumi....good, like it always is.  One very noticeable shortcoming of the setup of Izumi down in Central Park...the kitchen is WAAAY down on the aft end of the [very large] restaurant - presumably to better serve the teppanyaki peeps, and it was a VERY long way for the servers to have to haul our food ALL the way to the forward end of the restaurant, which is where the sushi-lovers dine.  The middle section of the restaurant is the new Omikase experience.  Nevertheless, our meal there was very good, as always, and we enjoyed it.

Coastal Kitchen

As most people know by now, I am not a huge fan of the menus in the CK.  Nothing has changed.  While the service and the atmosphere of the CK is exceptional, the food choices (IMO) are not.  Both evenings I had trouble finding something that looked interesting to me.  Trust me, I did not go hungry, but it was uninspiring, to me.  Our breakfasts and lunches there were equally uninspired, but dutifully filling.  The standout aspect of the CK was, without a doubt, the service.  EVERYONE in the CK, from the front desk (maitre'd/manager) to the servers were just exceptional.  THIS is why we continue to go to the CK, even if the food is....well....meh.  One surprising food anecdote - they had the same pistachio panna cotta last night that they serve in Gio's, so we were hootin' and hollerin' when we saw that on the menu.  UMMMMM....

[WAAAYTOOO]

Entertainment

We saw the UT stage production (All In !) on the first leg and while I gave my opinion on that one a page or so back, I will touch on it again, here.  We hated it.  Others, I'm sure, thought it was great.  WAAAYTOOO much tech to try and make up for the talent deficiency.  The main vocals (1 male, 1 female) were really not good...especially the guy.  UGH.

Aqua Theater Show - Aqua80's Too.  AWESOME !  I think they have finally gotten the balance of water athletics balanced with dancing and acrobatics.  The musical arrangement was not QUITE up the level of the musical arrangement for Aqua80's on OA, but it was very, very good.  IMO the rest of the aspects of the show - the diving, swimming, dancing, acrobatics, aerialists, etc. were BETTER than Aqua80's.  They didn't just splash and stomp around in the water the way some of the other shows do.  It's definitely a don't-miss.

Ice Show (sorry...cannot remember the name of this show).  Also very, very good.  They are doing incredible stuff with tech and lights in the ice rink, but not overpowering like it was in the stage production.  This is another don't-miss.

We wasted a night in the Music Hall with the Tribute band No Quarter, which is a Led Zepplin tribute band.  While the musicians were really very talented, the lead singer was...bad.  IMO he ruined the entire show.  All he knew was screeching.  Perhaps they sounded better in the main theater where their BIG sound might have better reverberated, but the Music Hall was probably just too small to get the full benefit of the Zep sound.  I think the sound mix was off, too.  I dunno.  I'm not afraid of loud music and I LOVE LZ, but this show just didn't have what I was looking for and we did NOT bother to go to the theater for a second dose.  Perhaps that was unfair to them.

Having said all of that, I am REALLY glad to see that UT is embracing the tribute band concept.  I hope that they continue to bring the tribute bands in, even though No Quarter was a disappointment.

Those are the only entertainment shows we bothered with.  We had reservations for the Adult Comedy Club (more about that, below) but it was late last night (last night of the cruise) and we both just didn't have the gas left to go to a late show on the last night.  Also, neither of us particularly enjoys comedy clubs.  I almost always end up cringing when the comedians try to be funny and they just aren't...  One interesting item about the comedy club reservation.  We actually did NOT book this !  I was surprised to see that it was on our calendar and I happened to mention something about it when we were at the Suites Concierge desk and he said, "oh, we booked it for you !"  Hmmm ?  I have never known the Concierges to book entertainment without a request to do so...but while I was surprised, I was also pleasantly impressed.  Nice job !  We don't HAVE to go, but we have the option now b/c we have a reservation !

[AshleyDillo]

20 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We really enjoyed the new 2-story Gios on deck 12.  The stairs down to the lower level (deck 11) were a bit of a nuisance for me since I don't do stairs well, but I managed.  The food was good, not great...but we did enjoy it.  Since they have the EXCELLENT pistachio panna cotta in the Kitchen version, we were there mainly just to get to the dessert

My mom refused to do the stairs so that was fun. The crew elevators are used for mobility issues and we had an embarkation lunch there, so that was quite a mess with all the luggage delivery happening.  

Interesting to see this by the crew elevator though..makes me think they may have originally planned for Wonderland.  If you look at the wall by the kitchen it doesn't fit the Giovannis decor but is reminiscent of Wonderland too.

Panna cotta is my fave dessert..first time on UT it hadn't set yet and was quite disappointing..but when we went the last time it was great.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Concierge Service

As I mentioned, we were in a Sky level suite on the second leg (a Sky Junior Suite....very nice !) and so we had full access to the SL and the CK.  Now.....we also had full access on the first leg, but we were NOT in a suite on that one, so we were there by virtue of our Pinn status and there are some restrictions to (non-suite) Pinns in the SL, mainly having to do with drinks...more on that later.

The Concierges on leg #2 were Jaime and Ruby.  My original correspondence with the Suites Concierges gave the names of 2 females so I don't know when Jaime slipped in there, but by the time we got onboard, it was Jaime and Ruby.  Simply awesome service.  I can't say enough positive things about them both.  

Back to the drinks in the SL.  As it should have been, when we got a beverage in the SL on our first leg, one of our Pinn vouchers was used.  Absolutely correct.  No debate or dispute about that.  BUT on the second leg, we were in a full suite and as you may have guessed, we had a HELL of a time getting them to NOT use our vouchers for drinks on that second leg, in the SL.  Big deal ?  No, not really.  I almost NEVER use all of my vouchers, anyway, so I should have just shut up and said nothing.  But oh no....not me.  After the first 2 nights, I decided to go to Jaime and ask him for a SECOND Sea pass card....a Suites card.  I had heard of others doing that and I thought that might solve our problem.  It was a bad idea.  Jaime worked SOOOO hard to get those new cards for us.  He even personally came to our suite to drop off the cards b/c the printer wasn't working when we were at his desk earlier.  He gave us both WoW bands with the new suites info programmed into it....it was really such good service.  Oops.  One problem.  When he programmed the new suites cards, it inactivated our Pinn cards.  If we had realized this, it would have been ok....we would just have put our Pinn cards away and used the suites cards, going forward....but we did NOT realize it until we got to the casino.  The Pinn cards were DED and we had not yet received our [new] suites cards...so we were dead in the water.  We had to go to Guest Services and have our Pinn cards RE-programmed...and the GS guy also reprogrammed our WoW bands so all was well.  We never told Jaime that he suites cards didn't actually work out.  I didn't have the heart to tell him.  He worked so hard....

Suites Sun Deck

Wow.  What a mess this was.  We had heard (I know, I know) that suites guests were getting complimentary drinks on the Suites Sun Deck just as they would have gotten if they had been in the SL.  I had also heard that the opposite was true.  So rather than embarrass myself, I asked Jaime.  He called the Beverage Manager and the BM told him that no - drinks were only complimentary if you are in the SL...not on the SSD.  Ok.  Cool.  No problem.

Except, that the bartenders WERE treating the SSD just like the SL.  All of the complimentary drinks (11-11) were complimentary on the SSD and all of the liquor during happy hour were too.  They were even laughing about it.  So it's one of those ...."there is the law and then there is the way things are done" (any of you who are Outlander fans will recognize that line).

[WAAAYTOOO]

25 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

My mom refused to do the stairs so that was fun. The crew elevators are used for mobility issues and we had an embarkation lunch there, so that was quite a mess with all the luggage delivery happening.  

Interesting to see this by the crew elevator though..makes me think they may have originally planned for Wonderland.  If you look at the wall by the kitchen it doesn't fit the Giovannis decor but is reminiscent of Wonderland too.

Panna cotta is my fave dessert..first time on UT it hadn't set yet and was quite disappointing..but when we went the last time it was great.

Hmmm....very interesting about Wonderland,  I didn't notice the decor discrepancy.  Good eye !

[WAAAYTOOO]

28 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Panna cotta is my fave dessert..first time on UT it hadn't set yet and was quite disappointing..but when we went the last time it was great.

 

Actually, we had the same issue with the pudding in the panna cotta not being sufficiently "set" with our panna cotta in the CK.  I didn't mention that, but it did happen.  I ate it anyway !  

[WAAAYTOOO]

Suites "Gifts"

It seems they are still giving out the "new ship" gifts to Suites guests on UT.  We didn't get the hats and beach bags that some got on the earliest sailings, but we did get a couple of trinkets.

We got something every night except the first night...for some reason.  We got luggage tags, sleeping masks and "vanity headbands".  Now....I have no idea what a vanity headband is...or what it looks like, since I haven't yet removed one from its glamorous brown paper bag, but I'm sure it's awesome.  I will just save that little surprise for another time. 

Dan has already used his sleeping mask.  He loves to snooze in the recliner during the day so he used his this afternoon.  I guess it worked !

[OCSC Mike]

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Everyone knows I don't follow the blog rules anyway.

There are rules???

[AshleyDillo]

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Now....I have no idea what a vanity headband is...or what it looks like, since I haven't yet removed one from its glamorous brown paper bag, but I'm sure it's awesome. 

My mom loves these things.  She rounded them all up for herself.  They're basically just fabric headbands that are good for keeping your hair out of your face when you wash it.  

On UT we got lanyards, slippers, headbands, the eye masks, luggage tags.  The first sailing we got some toiletry stuff too like lip balm but the expiry date was August 2024, so they're probably done with that stuff.  They also gave us pajamas on our Star Class sailings.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

My mom loves these things.  She rounded them all up for herself.  They're basically just fabric headbands that are good for keeping your hair out of your face when you wash it.  

On UT we got lanyards, slippers, headbands, the eye masks, luggage tags.  The first sailing we got some toiletry stuff too like lip balm but the expiry date was August 2024, so they're probably done with that stuff.  They also gave us pajamas on our Star Class sailings.

I guess they ran out of slippers.  .  That’s what we didn’t get.

[asquared17]

On 9/20/2024 at 4:07 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

"there is the law and then there is the way things are done"

this made me laugh