Utopia of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ship designed specifically for unforgettable 3- and 4-night getaways from Port Canaveral, Florida. Dubbed the “World’s Biggest Weekend,” it features over 40 dining and drink venues, attractions like waterslides, a surf simulator, a zip line, and live entertainment across stage, ice, water, and air. Every sailing includes a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island.

It is such a huge ship and so many people! Here is my experience:

Monday, July 27: Embarkation

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. again. I’m definitely starting to notice a pattern with these early mornings. After getting myself ready for the day, I woke the girls so we could finish packing up and be ready for our ride.

Our transportation to Utopia of the Seas was scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m. Once we checked out of the hotel, we made our way to the designated pickup area and waited for our shuttle. The drive to the port took a little over an hour. I ended up sleeping for most of the ride, which helped me recharge before what was sure to be a busy day.

When we arrived at the cruise terminal, we handed over our luggage, which would be delivered directly to our stateroom later that afternoon. That left us with only our backpacks to carry, making it much easier to get around.

From there, we went through security, checked in using our boarding passes, and before long, we were officially boarding the ship. Walking onto the ship for the first time is always exciting. Even though I’ve cruised before, there’s still something special about stepping aboard.

Our first stop was our muster station to complete the required safety check. Once that was taken care of, we met up with our friends at the buffet for lunch. Even though there was plenty of food to choose from, I wasn’t very hungry, so I only ate a little.

Not long afterward, the staterooms were opened. I was rooming with Karissa, while Tom and Chris shared a room next door, and Kel and Alexis had the room on the other side. Having all three rooms right next to each other made it easy for everyone to come and go throughout the day.

We unpacked our bags and settled into the room before heading down to the pool deck. The atmosphere was lively, with music playing and everyone enjoying the first afternoon of the cruise. I wasn’t really in the mood to get into the water, so I just relaxed and enjoyed being outside while everyone else hung around the pool.

A little later, we discovered that Karissa and I had been assigned a different dinner seating than the rest of our group. We tracked down Guest Services and were able to get that straightened out so we could all eat together for the remainder of the cruise. It was nice to get that resolved early instead of having to worry about it every evening.

Back in the room, I took a shower and got dressed for dinner. We all met up and headed to the main dining room for our first dinner onboard. I ordered the crab cake appetizer, prime rib for my entrée, and Boston cream pie for dessert. The crab cake and prime rib were both very good, but the Boston cream pie was a bit disappointing. It was drier than I expected and just wasn’t as good as I had hoped.

After dinner, everyone split up for the evening. Kel and Karissa decided to head back to the room and call it a night. Chris and Alexis wanted to continue exploring the ship, while Tom and I went for a walk to see what we could find.

As we wandered around, we came across a jazz club and decided to stay for a while. It had a nice, relaxed atmosphere, and it was a great place to unwind after a busy day. We spent about an hour there listening to the music. I had a Coke Zero, while Tommy enjoyed a Johnny and Coke.

Eventually, we headed back to our room. Karissa was already asleep by the time we got there. I took a few minutes to write down my notes for the day so I could remember everything while it was still fresh in my mind. After that, I set up my CPAP machine, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed.

It had been a long but enjoyable day. After all the travel, boarding the ship, and getting settled in, I was more than ready for a good night’s sleep and excited to see what tomorrow would bring.

Tuesday, July 28th: Royal Beach Club / Nassau, Bahamas

I woke up around 6:30 a.m. Since we didn’t have to meet until 8:30, I figured I could enjoy sleeping in a little later than usual. Around 7:00, I woke Karissa up so we could start getting ready for the day. Once we were both ready, we met up with Tom at 8:15 before heading down to the dining room for breakfast.

For breakfast, I had French toast and scrambled eggs. The French toast was really good, but I wasn’t a fan of the scrambled eggs. They tasted much saltier than I expected, so I didn’t eat very much of them.

After breakfast, we went back to our room to change into our bathing suits and gather everything we needed for the beach. Once everyone in our group was ready, we met up and made our way off the ship. We were docked in Nassau, Bahamas, and boarded a small boat that took us over to the Royal Beach Club. The boat ride was short and gave us some beautiful views of the water.

When we arrived, we walked into the beach club and found a place to relax. I went into the ocean several times throughout the day. The water was warm, clear, and refreshing, making it the perfect way to cool off from the Bahamian sun. Between swimming and relaxing on the beach, the day felt incredibly peaceful.

For lunch, we grabbed some food at the beach club before settling back into our lounge chairs. I also treated myself to two tropical drinks: a Bahama Mama and a strawberry daiquiri. Both were good and definitely added to the vacation atmosphere. After spending a few more hours lounging in the sun and enjoying the beach, we decided it was time to head back to the ship.

The walk back to the ship was very long, probably because we were tired from spending the day in the sun. Once we got back onboard, we headed to our room to shower and get ready for formal night.

For dinner, I wore my Renaissance-style dress. It was incredibly comfortable, and the best part was that it had pockets! I loved wearing it even though I’m not crazy about wearing dresses, and it was perfect for the evening.

After getting dressed, we made our way down to the dining room for dinner. Once dinner was over, we went to a live music show. The performers did a great job, and I really enjoyed the entertainment. It was a fun way to end the evening.

After the show, most of our group headed back to their rooms to call it a night. Tommy and I weren’t quite ready to end the day, so we spent a little while walking around the ship together. It was nice to stroll around and enjoy the nighttime atmosphere before eventually making our way back to our rooms to get some sleep and prepare for another day of our cruise.

Wednesday, July 29th: Perfect Day at CocoCay

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and got ready for the day before waking Karissa up around 7:00. Once we were both ready, we met up with the rest of our group for breakfast. I decided on the blueberry pancakes, which were a great way to start the morning.

After breakfast, we headed back to our room to change into our bathing suits and gather everything we needed for our day at Perfect Day at CocoCay. Once we got off the ship, I found a lounge chair and spent some time relaxing in the sun. It wasn’t long before Tommy realized he had lost his SeaPass card, so he had to head back to the ship to get everything sorted out.

The girls and I eventually returned to the ship as well, but I later found out Tommy was heading back over to CocoCay. Since I still wanted to spend more time on the island, I got off the ship and made my way back over to meet him and the rest of our friends. Kel and Chris decided to stay on the ship, while I found Tommy and everyone else hanging out near the buffet area. I grabbed a pork carnitas taco for lunch, and a brownie for dessert.

After lunch, Tommy and another member of our group headed off to conquer the water slides. The rest of us made our way to the pool, where we spent a while cooling off and relaxing. Later, we walked over to the beach bed area and found a nice place to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather. Once Tommy finished on the slides, he joined us, and we all went into the ocean for a while. The water was warm, calm, and refreshing.

Around 4:00 p.m., it was time to head back to the ship. I took a shower, got dressed for the evening, and then everyone met up for dinner. Tonight we had reservations at Chops Grille, Royal Caribbean’s specialty steakhouse. I ordered the rack of lamb for my entrée, and it was delicious. To finish the meal, I had a slice of cheesecake for dessert.

After dinner, we returned to our room to relax for a bit. Tommy and Lexi came over to hang out while we waited for the Aqua80s show to begin at 8:30. The show ended up being one of my favorite entertainment experiences of the cruise. It featured incredible dancers, high-diving performers, acrobatics, synchronized swimming, and an amazing soundtrack filled with classic ’80s hits.

When the show was over, the girls and some of our friends headed back to their room to get some sleep. Tommy and I decided to keep the night going a little longer. We wandered around the ship, grabbed some ice cream, and then stopped at one of the bars for a couple of Bahama Mamas. While we were sitting just outside the bar on the Boardwalk, Latin music suddenly started playing. Before we knew it, people began lining up in the middle of the Boardwalk to dance. It turned into a spontaneous dance party, and it was so much fun to watch. The atmosphere was lively, and it felt like everyone was simply enjoying the moment.

After finishing our drinks and taking in all the excitement, we made our way back up to our room, ending another fun-filled day of our cruise.

Thursday, July 30th: Day at Sea

We woke up around 7:00 this morning and decided to switch things up for breakfast. Instead of going to the buffet, we ate at Johnny Rockets. I ordered pancakes, because what’s a day without pancakes?

After breakfast, Tommy and I changed into our swimsuits and headed to the adults-only pool area. We claimed a couple of lounge chairs and ended up falling asleep in the sun for about an hour. It was peaceful and relaxing, especially since we knew it was our last full day on the ship.

When we woke up, we walked over to the Mexican restaurant for lunch. I had some nachos and about half of a burrito before I got full. While we were eating, we ran into our friends and decided to play a card game together. We moved inside to a table where it was a little cooler and played about four rounds of the Star Wars card game. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to spend the afternoon together.

Eventually everyone started thinking about getting ready to leave the ship tomorrow. Our friends headed back to their room to start packing. Tommy decided to ride the giant dry slide that drops from Deck 16 all the way down to Deck 6. I skipped the slide and met him at the bottom instead. After that, we both took one last ride on the carousel before heading back to our rooms.

Once we got back, it was time to start the not-so-fun part of vacation: packing. Tommy and I also helped Karissa get everything packed up so we’d be ready to leave in the morning.

After we finished, we had some time to relax while waiting for our dinner reservation at Hooked, the seafood restaurant. For dinner, I ordered the Captain’s Plate, which came with a lobster tail, shrimp, and salmon. Everything was good, but it was way more food than I could finish. I get full pretty quickly, so I ended up leaving quite a bit on my plate.

After dinner, we had some time before meeting everyone for the Youtopia Ice Spectacular. I went back to the room and stretched out on the bed while we waited. It was nice to relax for a little while before the evening’s entertainment.

The ice show was really good. The performers were incredibly talented and put on an amazing performance. The only downside was that the ice itself didn’t seem to be in the best condition. The theater felt a little too warm, so the ice looked softer than it probably should have been. Even so, the skaters did an incredible job, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the evening.

After the show, we all headed back to our rooms and called it a night. Looking back on the cruise, Utopia really isn’t a bad ship. There are a lot of people onboard, but Royal Caribbean definitely knows how to keep everyone entertained. There was always something happening. If I had one complaint, it would probably be the food. It wasn’t bad, but I expected it to be a little better.

One thing I found kind of strange was that I never met the cabin steward who cleaned our room. On Princess Cruises, the steward usually introduces themselves on the first day and checks in throughout the cruise. This time, our room was always cleaned and taken care of, but we never actually crossed paths.

Before going to bed, we filled out the room service breakfast order for tomorrow morning. Breakfast is supposed to arrive around 6:30 a.m. Karissa and I are meeting Tommy, Kel, Lexi, and Chris at 7:30 before we leave the ship. The rest of our group is flying home on a different flight.

Our flight has a layover in Denver before we finally head home. As much fun as this trip has been, I’m definitely ready to be home. I really miss the animals. Alex isn’t too bad either… lol.

Tomorrow I’ll finally have internet again. It’s funny how quickly we get used to always being connected. Even if you aren’t constantly scrolling on your phone, you don’t realize how often you rely on the internet until it’s gone. It’s strange not having that instant connection to the outside world. In a way, it was kind of nice to disconnect for a few days, but I’ll definitely be happy to have it back tomorrow.

We didn’t buy the internet package since we were only on the cruise for four days.

Friday, July 31st: Disembarkation and home

Today was debarkation day, which meant our cruise adventure had come to an end. I woke up at 5:30 a.m., and surprisingly, Karissa woke up on her own not long after. Once we were both dressed and ready for the day, we spent about an hour relaxing in the room, watching TV while we waited for everyone else to get up and get ready. One disappointing discovery was that room service breakfast isn’t available on the last morning of the cruise. So that was definitely a bummer.

Around 7:00 a.m., we made our way off the ship and into the debarkation terminal. The process was fairly smooth, but Tommy and Kel had a bit of a delay because their luggage hadn’t made it to the terminal yet. We waited patiently until their bags finally arrived, and once everyone had their luggage, we headed outside to catch the shuttle bus.

The bus ride to Orlando International Airport took about 45 minutes. Once we arrived, we checked in and made our way to the TSA security checkpoint. That’s when I ran into an unexpected issue; my birthdate was entered incorrectly in the airline’s system. Yes, Southwest entered the information into TSA incorrectly. Sigh. TSA sent me over to the airline ticket counter so they could correct it. Thankfully, there wasn’t a line, so the agent fixed it quickly, and I was able to return to security and get through without any further problems.

After everyone was through security, we walked over to the food court and grabbed lunch at McDonald’s. It wasn’t exactly a gourmet meal, but it hit the spot. From there, we headed to our gate, where we had about an hour to relax before boarding our flight.

The flight itself went smoothly. We had a short layover in Denver before catching our connecting flight home. By the time we landed, everyone was tired and ready to be back.

One thing I always appreciate is how easy it is to navigate our smaller airport. It doesn’t take long to get from the gate to baggage claim, and before long we had all of our luggage. Alex met us there to pick up Kel and Chris, while Tommy, the girls, and I rode together to retrieve the Outback from the airport parking lot.

With the car loaded up, we finally started the drive home. None of us had any energy left to cook after a full day of traveling, so we stopped to order pizza on the way home. It was the perfect, easy ending to a long travel day.

Although it was sad that the vacation had come to an end, it felt good to be home after a fun cruise filled with wonderful memories.

Utopia of the Seas is definitely a party ship. The atmosphere was very lively. And they know how to entertain. The food could be a bit better, though it wasn’t that bad. I had a lot of fun. I’m glad I had this experience.