Bahamas Cruise on Utopia of the Seas
Royal Caribbean's newest Oasis class ship Utopia of the seas is sailing from Orlando and offers shorter 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas. Oasis class ships are a personal favourite of mine, and I have been visiting Orlando for 17 years with my family, this time I wanted to experience a short cruise to the Bahamas.
We sail Monday to Friday but on Utopia every day is a weekend day and it felt like this. The overall cruise atmosphere was light-hearted, fun, amazing music and entertainment and everybody on board was having a good time.
We had already been in Orlando for a few days before the cruise which I recommend doing if you are planning a trip. The 4 days before the cruise allowed us to relax and unwind in Orlando and we were adjusted to the time difference by the time we sailed.
We hired a car, and it took an hour to drive from Orlando to Port Canaveral. Parking was available right at the port beside the ship and cost us about $15 per day to park our car, we handed our luggage over to the port staff and because I had already checked in online it took 10 minutes to get on the ship.
The first thing we did was find our muster station for the emergency safety drill and were free then to explore the ship.
The kids had already sailed on Wonder of the seas, and they were most looking forward to checking out the Carousel and climbing wall in the boardwalk area. The Carousel is complimentary, and my kids loved it.
We had some lunch in the buffet and walked around the ship and when our rooms were ready, we got unpacked and settled in for sailing from Port Canaveral. Our Stateroom
We booked an Ocean View Balcony Cabin on deck 6 and it was suitable for up to 4 guests. In our room we had a king-sized bed and pull out sofa bed for the kids. We really enjoy having the balcony to watch the ship sail in and out of the ports, I think it’s a real treat to sit and have the best ocean views.
Ports of Call
Nassau and CocoCay Bahamas On our 4-day cruise we visited the ports of Nassau in the Bahamas and also Perfect Day and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean private island in the Bahamas Nassau has a new port village with local craft shops and if you haven’t booked a tour, you can get local taxi’s to Atlantis or the beach.
Perfect Day at CocoCay I was really excited to experience Cococay. The whole island is designed to give you the best day in the Caribbean. In CocoCay you have the option to visit the waterpark, chill by the beach at Chill Island, enjoy the largest fresh water pool in the Caribbean or enjoy an excursion of swimming with the pigs or hire jet skis. We all had a fabulous day in CocoCay and agreed that swimming in the sea at chill island was a highlight of our whole cruise. We sailed away from CocoCay, and the ocean was like glass, the only ripple in the water came from the ship, it was incredible to see. The sunset that evening was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, the sky and sea were picture perfect. Symphony of the Seas was also docked in CocoCay the same day and we watched it sail away and make its way back to New York. I was amazed that for the number of guests with access to the island, over 10,000 it certainly didn’t feel overcrowded.
Sea Day on the Ship We had a day cruising before heading back to Orlando and we made the most of the ship on our sea day. We enjoyed some time at the pool and splash pools, the kids loved the playground and miniature golf on the top deck, we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the main dining room and took in an ice-skating show to finish the night off.
Thoughts on the food The standard and choice of food throughout the cruise was excellent. There are a lot of choices to suit everyone for all meals. I recommend booking into one of the speciality restaurants like Izumi or Hooked for something that extra bit special
Entertainment The entertainment on this cruise was some of the best I have ever seen or experienced. The Aqua theatre show was based around music of the 80’s, it was fantastic! The royal promenade had bands and live entertainment day and night, they had a 2-piece music act with a violinist and Spanish guitar playing Bridgeton like music and it was fabulous to listen too. They had comedy shows, ice skating shows, cover bands, karaoke, dance lessons, dance parties, it was an amazing vibe each day of the cruise.
Is a shorter cruise worth it? I think yes, I feel like this was just enough combined with our visit to Orlando and I would highly recommend taking in a 4-night cruise with Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas.
