Royal Caribbean is adding another casino on its newest ship in an unusual place, while also getting rid of its comedy club.
Utopia of the Seas is the newest ship in the fleet, having just launched in summer 2024, but a few venues are being swapped around in the name of getting more gambling room for non-smoking cruise passengers.
The ship is conducting in-service work, which means the ship is still sailing, but there will be a few weeks of construction while the work is completed.
When the work is done, the non-smoking casino will be getting bigger on Utopia as The Attic will become a non-smoking casino.
Currently, The Attic is the combination comedy club and nightclub onboard.
Comedy Shows will be moved permanently to the Royal Theater instead of having a more intimate club feel.
Also being impacted is the Crown Lounge, which is the dedicated area for Crown and Anchor Society members that are at least Diamond level or above.
The Crown Lounge will move to Deck 16 to replace the Teen Club. The Teen Club will be renovated and become smaller.
The Crown Lounge will not close during renovation
Construction begins this week, and the expected schedule of work should result in:
- The Attic Casino will open by May 9th
- Crown Lounge & existing casino to open May 30-June 2
Same changes coming to Wonder of the Seas
Royal Caribbean is going to make the same changes to sister ship Wonder of the Seas.
Utopia's work will begin immediately, but Royal Caribbean will wait for Wonder of the Seas to covert over the Crown Lounge and The Attic until the ship starts offering short weekend cruises later this year.
Wonder of the Seas will begin offering short cruises on September 1, 2025.
The ship will move to Miami and offer the short 3- and 4-night cruises, just like Utopia.
The shift in itineraries is a move to dominate the short cruise market and attract new cruisers with the very best entry level ships.
No other ships have been announced for getting this change yet.
Adding more casino space for non-smokers
Adding more non-smoking casino space has become a recent trend for Royal Caribbean.
It all started with Wonder of the Seas when she first debuted.
The ship had been originally scheduled to begin offering cruises in China, but the cruise industry shutdown of 2020 halted those plans.
Because the ship was designed with an Asian audience in mind, it had a casino instead of the traditional Jazz on 4 club. But Royal Caribbean decided to keep it as a non-smoking casino as a kind of experiment.
Shortly thereafter, all the Jazz on 4 clubs were converted to non-smoking casinos and the jazz entertainment was relocated to Central Park.
Most recently, the Vintages bar on Freedom of the Seas was converted over to a non-smoking casino.
No more comedy club
While non-smokers will revel in additional space to gamble, it comes at the expense of a comedy venue.
Comedy shows will continue on the ship, but in a significantly larger venue where it can be argued the connection to the audience is lessened given how much bigger the theater is.
Many comics rely on "crowd work", which is where they interact with audience members and play off their responses. In a larger theater, that would have an impact.
Of course, there are comedy shows held in the Royal Theater on select nights of a cruise, so it's not as if it's never been done.
Addressing a need in the casino
Adding more non-smoking gambling space is a need Royal Caribbean has heard from its members for many years.
Smoking is allowed in the main casino, with the caveat that smokers must actively be playing.
Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley spoke on the subject at an event in 2022, admitting, "smoking in the casinos is a bit of a conundrum."
"The dilemma is that there are many people who do want to smoke in the casino. I know that's not a popular response, but it's it's the truth."
"I'm not judging anyone or anything, but there's a large group of people who do want to smoke in the casino."
While there's a non-smoking side to the casino, the odor of the smoke still travels.
By adding more non-smoking casino space, it's a demonstration to its passengers that they want to cater to the needs of gamblers who don't want to be around smoking.
