My husband and I did a 4 night sailing on Utopia in February that stopped at Coco Cay twice. We are newly minted empty nesters and were eager to try a non-
DCL cruise.
Overall, we had a good time and I left satisfied with my experience, but it was definitely a different vibe than Disney. “Shopping Mall at Sea” is a good descriptor of the vibe we got upon embarking - nice shopping mall, but just not the same as any of Disney’s ships upon entry. Kind of like walking into the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge vs. a nice Hilton.
I also thought it was way too loud - but figured that was because Utopia is “the world’s biggest weekend”. I didn’t realize it was a fleet wide thing! Fortunately, I had read that it was loud and brought ear plugs to wear to the shows and such, but didn’t realize how loud it was going to be everywhere else! We avoided pool parties and the main pool deck at all costs due to noise (we spent about 5 minutes at a deck party before the noise got to be too much). Even Windjammer had ridiculously loud “party music” playing for the first 15 minutes or so at opening when we went there for dinner one night.
There were things I really liked: the adults only solarium, the balcony furniture (reclining chairs with ottomans in the ocean view balconies … though this did not look like the case on Liberty of the Seas that was parked next to us, so must be ship specific), the stateroom showers, the ability to split the main bed into two twins, etc. I also really liked the Central Park area. I also thought the shows were very good and it was a nice change of pace from DCL.
I really liked Coco Cay. We had great weather and going two different days allowed us to try a variety of things. On Day 1, we only utilized included amenities and spent most of the day on South Beach in shaded loungers. On Day 2, we paid for Coco Beach Club. Coco Beach Club was very nice, but I would be happy just utilizing included amenities on future visits.
I was not impressed with the food in general and prefer Disney. We didn’t try any specialty dining on the ship and actively disliked the main dining room (we went twice). Windjammers had a lot of variety, but it was pure chaos and felt stressful. We did really like the Park Cafe’ in Central Park for breakfast and lunch - it was like an elevated Daisy’s Delights with seating. Coco Cay food was on par with Cookies, but with more variety.
I would cruise Royal again (actually hoping to try a 7 night on Star of the Seas) and think my young adult children would probably enjoy it, but nothing compares to DCL for a wholesome family cruise. Disney definitely feels like an elevated experience over Royal and I prefer the Disney vibe and atmosphere. Utopia didn’t feel “trashy” to me, but I don’t like to gamble, I drink very little and I’m not into nightlife … and these were prominent features on Royal. You can avoid them, but they are there and attract crowds that enjoy these activities, so the demographic is definitely different … more adults only groups, more older people, couples on vacation without kids, etc. I heard so many Florida retirees in the Solarium talking about past cruises and boasting to each other about deals they got with casino comp cruises or Florida residents rates or free drink packages.
Also, on Disney, I never worried if an all ages venue would be appropriate for my kids … on Royal, even though it was just my husband and I, I found myself thinking “this is not kid friendly” on several occasions while at events where there were no age restrictions.
I liked my cruise and can see myself cruising Royal again with my husband, but it would not be my first choice for a family cruise. If you’re going on Royal because you want to try something different and go in with the right expectations, I think you’ll be fine. If you really want to cruise DCL and are thinking about Royal just to save money, I would re-think the plan.
