You know what's better than a cruise on Royal Caribbean's mega ships? Going back and doing it again.
Photo by Adam Hancock
Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas has begun sailing with passengers onboard, and after experiencing it for myself for 3 days on a preview sailing, I'm ready to go back again and again.
The new ship is doing just 3- and 4-night short cruises, which not only makes it not only appealing to someone who might be tepid about trying a cruise, but perfect for doubling down and doing a back-to-back sailing.
While Utopia is already the sixth ship in the Oasis Class, Royal Caribbean has truly perfected its craft with this latest version of the popular mega ships.
I've spent nearly a week on Utopia of the Seas so far, and it's clear to me when you try Utopia, there's a good chance you're going to want to come back again for more.
Party and chill
Don't let the marketing fool you, Utopia is as fun-filled or slow-paced as you want it to be.
Royal Caribbean is marketing Utopia of the Seas as "The World's Biggest Weekend" and that is signified with all the parties and things to do onboard. It's a well-earned distinction, because there are indeed way more parties and events I can recall seeing on a Royal Caribbean ship.
As someone that cruises a lot, I can appreciate the new choices in how to stay up and party the night away. Toga parties, college flip cup games, more DJ music than I have ever seen, and so many bars to visit. There's a lot to choose from.
When you look over the schedule of events, there's simply more to do than you can fit into a single weekend, assuming you want to sleep a bit too.
Royal Caribbean Vice President of Entertainment, Christi Coachman, talked about how they planned the entertainment to be methodically planned, "It was really important not only to continue to create the family experiences, because that's very important for our brand, but also to go in a little bit of a different direction and have one party after the other to where you don't ever stop."
"Utopia is a taste, right? A taste of what possibly you could experience on maybe a maybe a longer itinerary."
I found great relief in being able to stay onboard for more than one sailing, as it allowed me to spread out my activities and do more without a sense of "FOMO" every night.
Speaking of the parties, while there are indeed many new party events, none of them are so vastly different that you'll feel out of place.
A great example is the Royal Kappa-Chi event, which is a fraternity-themed party. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was so much more enjoyable than I had planned.
Held in The Attic, there were a number of tables set up for beer pong, but lots more seats around for those that wanted to observe. I think most people just wanted to be in the atmosphere than actually play, and it made it so much more inviting to everyone.
I summoned the courage to play a game of beer pong, and it was something I never thought I'd do on a cruise ship.
A lot of ways to spend your time on just one sailing
If you go through and list all the things you absolutely want to do on Utopia of the Seas, and then add the things you'd like to do, I'll bet your list exceeds the amount of free time you think you'll have.
There's so many fun activities, and when you add in time at the cruise line's private island in The Bahamas or even a shore excursion in Nassau, and you are going to quickly start rationalizing one activity over the other.
Royal Caribbean may have wanted Utopia of the Seas to be the ultimate party ship, but it also came up with the ultimate FOMO ship.
This is part of the cruise line's strategy to dominate the weekend cruise market by combining a great new cruise ship with great places to visit.
Read more: Royal Caribbean has a plan to dominate short cruises
While parties might be the focus for Utopia, great dining isn't far behind.
There are new restaurants and revamped offerings as well, and they all are worth your precious vacation time.
Royal Railway is an innovative offering that has garnered a lot of attention, and it's lead to high demand to get a coveted spot. The use of technology, story telling, and great food was so compelling, I booked another seating so I could take my family to experience it.
Both Izumi and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen have new locations on Utopia, and then you have an assortment of tried-and-true dining choices.
Two sailings to see it all
If you think there's simply not enough time to do everything on Utopia of the Seas, you're not wrong.
Royal Caribbean purposefully adds so many activities, shows, and dining choices on purpose so guests have a choice in how they vacation. But to have enough time to experience everything, you might want to turn that weekend cruise into a full week.
Booking a "back-to-back" cruise is when you reserve two consecutive cruises in a row, and I'm glad I did just that so I have enough time for everything.
One of the top complaints about Utopia of the Seas is the fact she only sails 3- and 4-night cruises instead of 7-night cruises. Booking two sailings means you get more value for your flight (albeit without any variation in ports of call).
Whether you book two cruises in a row, or decide to book a second sailing some other time, I think you'll see a need to come back for more. After all, that's part of Royal Caribbean's plan to entice those who have never cruised before to come back and sail again.
