Utopia of the Seas Review

Billed by Royal Caribbean as the “World’s Biggest Weekend,” Utopia of the Seas debuted in the summer of 2024 in Port Canaveral, from where it embarks exclusively on 3- and 4-day sailings to Nassau, Bahamas and Royal Caribbean’s own private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The cruise line’s grandiose claim can be considered true by virtue of the vessel's size alone: at 236,473-gross-tons, 1,188 feet long and 211 feet wide, Utopia of the Seas is the world's second largest cruise ship, surpassed only by fleetmate Icon of the Seas. Its 2,834 staterooms can carry 5,668 guests at double occupancy, and the ship is brought to life by 2,290 crewmembers.

On the technical side, it is the first Oasis-class vessel to be powered by cleaner-burning Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG.

Utopia of the Seas (background) and Vision of the Seas (foreground) at Perfect Day at CocoCay on July 17, 2024 (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

But Utopia of the Seas also backs up the “World’s Biggest Weekend” claim by offering an enormous wealth of attractions – more than any other cruise ship embarking on short sailings – including five pools, 23 bars and lounges, and more than 20 dining experiences. It’s also home to Royal Caribbean’s longest Ultimate Abyss dry slide, with a total length of 295 feet. In fact, there’s so much to see and do aboard the ship that a 3- to 4-day sailing only suffices to enjoy a small fraction of its offerings.

And therein lies Royal Caribbean’s innovative gamble: traditionally, newbuilds are deployed on longer itineraries, whereas older (and, usually, smaller) ships are devoted to short sailings. The cruise line flipped the script with Utopia of the Seas, turning their newest, boldest and (second) biggest vessel into a floating weekend party worthy of any Instagram reel.

The Rezolution Dance Party aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

The importance of partying aboard Utopia of the Seas cannot be overstressed. From the pool deck to the Royal Promenade and everywhere in between, the ship invites you to join in the revelry. The entertainment program is massive, and includes a seemingly endless list of shows, parties and live music performances. Standout examples include Aqua80Too, an AquaTheater show devoted to 80’s hits; Royal Kappa Chi; a throwback frat-inspired party; Rezolution, a dance party with light projections; and Plunge, a Vegas-style daytime pool party.

Make no mistake: this is not a ship for relaxation. In fact, you may find all the in-your-face fun becomes tiresome after a while. Very few spaces onboard Utopia of the Seas offer anything resembling quiet; a trip to hear the pianist in the Schooner Bar was drowned out by the thudding parade below, and a quick stop at the Solarium was met with loud music emanating from the room’s speaker system.

One of several main pools aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Even in public rooms without live music, a piped-in soundtrack of 80s and 90s hits always seems to be set to the highest decibel level. Expect to have to yell to hear your tablemates, well, nearly everywhere. (The onboard Casino is, surprisingly, an oasis of calm by comparison).

All that noise isn’t exactly a con – more of a quantifier: in designing Utopia of the Seas to be “The Biggest Weekend Ever”, Royal Caribbean has created the ultimate party ship at sea. Whether that’s a good thing, or a bad thing, will be up to your personal tastes.

Utopia of the Seas Deck Plan Slightly Evolves the Oasis-Class Blueprint; Introduces New Venues

The Pesky Parrot is a new addition aboard Utopia of the Seas, featuring a saucy parrot named Brian (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

As the sixth ship in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class, Utopia of the Seas’ deck plan retains many of the core elements that made this ship class a breakthrough for the cruise line. The ship’s layout is anchored around seven main “neighborhoods,” including staples like Central Park, The Boardwalk, and the Royal Promenade.

The Royal Promenade aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

But the new vessel also introduces a few new venues and tweaks existing ones, putting a fresh spin on familiar concepts. Chief amongst these are the introduction of the Pesky Parrot on Deck 5 – a fun, tropical-style bar that wouldn’t be out of place on a pool deck yet finds a home in Royal Promenade, complete with a foul-mouthed animatronic parrot named Brian –, and Royal Railway, an intimate immersive dining experience that takes passengers on a virtual train ride at sea.

The Attic aboard Utopia of the Seas hosts live comedy performances (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Utopia of the Seas’ public areas are primarily found on Decks 3 to 6, including Royal Caribbean standards like Casino Royale (both of them, as the ship offers a smaller, non-smoking version of the gaming venue all the way forward on Deck 4), the three-deck main dining room, the two-deck Royal Theater, the ice rink/nightclub Studio B, comedy stage The Attic, Vitality Spa and its accompanying fitness center.

Decks 5 and 6 are also home to Royal Promenade and the Boardwalk, two neighborhoods that offer a plethora of venues like the iconic Schooner Bar, Sorrento’s Pizza, Bolero’s, Spotlight Karaoke, Cafe Promenade, Bell & Barley pub, Playmakers, Johnny Rockets, Sugar Beach and the iconic Aquatheater.

The Boardwalk on Deck 6 of Utopia of the Seas, with its iconic carousel (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Beware of Deck 6, though: the portion along the Royal Promenade is only accessible from the aft staircase if you’re trying to reach the Schooner Bar. For a new ship, Utopia has the same frustrating dead-ends and odd pass-through corridors that its predecessors had. Expect to get lost a few times trying to find your way on Deck 6, and particularly Deck 3.

Central Park aboard Utopia of the Seas, with Park Cafe at left (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Deck 8 houses the outdoor Central Park neighborhood with its dining venues, lounges and shops – including Chops Grille, Izumi, Park Cafe, 150 Central Park, and the Trellis Bar. With its flowing trees and greenery, pumped-in bird noises and casual atmosphere, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at a hotel resort on land – and that’s not a bad thing. New to this area is Izumi, which takes up an expanded space aboard Utopia of the Seas for those seeing Teppanyaki, sushi and sashimi.

Beach Pool, one of several pools on Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Jorge Oliver)

The ship’s upper decks (15 through 18) contain most of Utopia of the Seas’ outdoor attractions, such as the Perfect Storm water park, the Ultimate Abyss Slide (which drops down to Deck 6), the Sports Court, Aqua Dunes minigolf, Flowrider, Splashaway Bay and the ship’s pools and whirlpools.

The bar at Hooked Seafood aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

You’ll also find several dining venues – like Hooked Seafood, the Mason Jar, the Windjammer, El Loco Fresh, and the brand new Spare Tire food truck eatery – as well as bars like Wipe Out, The Lime and Coconut and Vue Bar. It is also home to the soothing Solarium; an expansive space situated all the way forward that is surrounded on all sides by walls of glass and adorned with padded loungers, hot tubs, and a central bar area.

Utopia of the Seas Rooms Offer Some of the Most Lavish Accommodations at Sea

The living area (and balcony) of the Ultimate Family Suite aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Utopia of the Seas’ cabins are spread throughout Decks 3 and 6-14, while the ship’s lofty Suite Neighborhood is found on Decks 17 and 18 and is accessible via the aft stairwell only. Two brand-new Solarium Suites are located on Deck 14 forward and have commanding views from atop Utopia’s navigation bridge wings.

Utopia of the Seas offers a tremendous variety of accommodation options onboard, from economical inside staterooms to the ship’s massive (and imaginative) suites that include the signature Royal Loft Suite and the whimsical Ultimate Family Suite, complete with a staircase that plays musical notes as guests walk down it.

Central Park Balcony cabin 11579 aboard Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Even at the lowest end of the scale, Utopia of the Seas’ rooms are spacious, crisp and inviting. Royal Caribbean has pulled out all the stops when designing these rooms, from oversized showers with glass doors to thoughtful nightlights in the bathrooms, to the magnetic cabinet doors (and bathroom door) that pleasantly latch shut. Say goodbye to banging cabinetry in heavy seas – that’s just not an issue here.

Inside staterooms come in both standard and “Virtual Balcony” varieties, the latter offering a giant floor-to-ceiling LED screen hooked to an exterior camera onboard the ship that provides a “view” of the seas outside.

Central Park Balcony cabins overlook Utopia's Central Park neighborhood (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Oceanview cabins are offered as well for those who want a better connection to the sea; these rooms tend to be lower down near the waterline on Deck 3, though some can be found on higher decks forward and aft as well.

Balconies come in a wide array of styles, from exterior ones overlooking the ocean, to balcony cabins that overlook the vessel’s interior promenades like the Central Park area and the Boardwalk – the latter of which offer a front-row seat for the ship’s AquaTheater performances.

The living area of the Royal Loft Suite, complete with self-playing piano (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

The real rooms to write home about, if you have the cash to burn, are the top-of-the-line suites aboard Utopia of the Seas. The ship has a pseudo-suite complex on Decks 17 and 18 all the way aft, offering not only lavish accommodations but also perks like a private lounge and deck area, and the exclusive Coastal Kitchen, which is only accessible by suite guests or Pinnacle-level past passengers.

The only problem with the suites aboard Utopia of the Seas is that you may not want to leave them. The Royal Loft Suite, for example, has over 2,600 square feet of living space spread over two levels, along with a dining room, a self-playing piano, two bedrooms, and a massive balcony.

Make an entrance with the slide in the Ultimate Family Suite on Utopia of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Families can splurge on the Ultimate Family Suite that can sleep up to 10 and even includes whimsical touches like a slide from the second floor to the first, and a tiny kid-sized door inset into the main connecting bedroom door. And it’s hard to not fall in love with the staircase that plays piano notes, a’la Tom Hanks in Big, as you walk up or down it.

For those who don’t need something quite as lavish, the ship’s 670-foot Crown Loft Suites are no slouch either – ditto for the “smaller” 531-square foot Grand Suites on Deck 17, which still offer plenty of luxurious appointments that cruisers will find it hard to pull themselves away from.

Utopia of the Seas Food Offers Mix of Classic Royal Staples and New Twists

Now two storeys, Giovannis stakes up space occupied by Wonderland on Wonder of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Dining aboard Utopia of the Seas was kicked up a notch: rather than resting on its laurels, Royal Caribbean made the decision to rejig some existing restaurants and add in a few new ones along the way.

Gone is Wonderland, the Alice in Wonderland-esque molecular dining concept that never really found its stride. In its place, the line added Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen, which now occupies the two story space held by Wonderland on previous ships, along with a clever balcony area overlooking the ship’s Boardwalk area for dining al fresco.

Izumi sparkles in its vastly expanded Deck 8 location (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

To make way for the Royal Railway entertainment venue, Royal Caribbean moved Izumi up to a new location on Deck 8, along the Central Park outdoor area. It expanded it tremendously, with the new space offering multiple Hibachi stations for interactive Teppanyaki experiences, along with a separate area for sushi and sashimi.

Dining in Royal Railway (Photo: Jorge Oliver)

And then there’s the Royal Railway. Royal Caribbean is loathe to call it a dining venue, and we agree: it’s an entertainment experience. But, it also comes with food, so it’s hard to not include it here as well. The immersive railway experience includes printed invitations designed to look like an old railway ticket, a split-flap board (sometimes called a Solari board) that displays diner’s names, a pre-dinner drinks component on the “platform” next to your train car, followed by dinner and a show onboard a replica Pullman-style dining car outfitted with digital screens that, on our sailing, recreated a Wild West experience.

150 Central Park is one of several venues that line "Central Park" on Deck 8 midship (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

But that’s not all. In addition to the three-level main dining room, Utopia of the Seas also includes the casual Park Cafe (for quick and healthy(er) eats); a new food truck concept poolside; the Mexican-themed El Loco Fresh; and mainstays like Sorrento’s Pizzeria, Cafe Promenade, and the specialty dining venues Hooked Seafood, Chops Grille, and 150 Park, to name but a few of the options onboard.

We’re also happy to report food in the casual Windjammer Buffet improved tremendously in terms of quality and variety onboard Utopia compared to sister-ship Wonder of the Seas, which set sail in 2022.