While we’ve been on plenty of cruises over the last three decades, we’ve never splurged on a suite before. I’ll admit – I’m a bit of a cheapskate at heart. But for this sailing on Utopia of the Seas, we finally bit the bullet and booked one. The Oasis-class ships come with a ton of suite perks that ultimately tipped the scale for me, and I figured it was finally worth giving it a try.
So I’ll give you all the nitty gritty details on our Grand Suite, the suite exclusive amenities, and all the perks that come with sailing in a suite on Utopia of the Seas. If you want to skip around – you can use the table of contents below. (And you may also want to check out my full review of our Utopia cruise here.)
What's in this Article? (Jump ahead here.)
The Suite Neighborhood
On Utopia of the Seas, most of the suites are clustered together in an area called the “Suite Neighborhood” on decks 17 and 18. It really does feel like a private little enclave, tucked away from all the chaos on the rest of the ship. Plus, it gives you super easy access to the exclusive suite amenities – like the Suite Lounge and the Suite Sun Deck.
That said, not every suite is in this neighborhood. The Aquatheater suites, for example, are above the Boardwalk (so you get that awesome view of the shows). And the Junior Suites are scattered around the ship. If it’s important to you to be inside the Suite Neighborhood, definitely double-check your cabin location before booking.
But even if your room isn’t in this area, you’ll still have full access to all the suite-only spots using your key card. You just swipe the card to open up the doors to the suite neighborhood.
The Suite Lounge
One of our favorite perks was the Suite Lounge, which just so happened to be a few doors down from our Grand Suite—super convenient!
It’s open all day and serves up a variety of drinks and snacks. In the mornings, you’ll find grab-and-go breakfast items, with snacks available in the afternoon and evening. And yes, they have fresh cookies in the afternoons, which my son loved. He popped in more than once just to snag a cookie!
And I almost forgot to mention the coffee! There is a very fancy coffee machine that can whip you up anything from an espresso shot to a latte. This was a nice perk in the mornings, and also saved us a few bucks since we didn’t crave those specialty coffees from the Cafe Promenade.
For the adults, the best part is definitely the complimentary drinks. You get free beverages from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm every day. Yep, 12 hours of free cocktails! It’s technically supposed to be limited to house wine and spirits, but the bartenders seemed happy to mix up whatever we ordered. Of course, there are also complimentary sodas and non-alcoholic drinks for the kids.
The all-day free drinks are one of the most tangible suite benefits, and I’ve been told this is unique to the Oasis-class ships. On other ships, the Suite Lounge only offers free drinks during evening happy hour. But on Oasis-class ships, you get them all day long. The bartenders told me this is because the Suite Lounge is connected to Coastal Kitchen, which serves complimentary drinks from 11:00 to 11:00 as well. So they just extend the perk to the entire space. Who am I to argue with that logic?
Going in, I didn’t expect this to be a key benefit for us. I figured we wouldn’t want to be running back up to deck 17 to get a drink very often, and we don’t really hang out in the lounge in the evening. But I was surprised at just how often we did swing by our room for something during the day – and grab a drink while we were there. Plus, we ate at Coastal Kitchen most nights, so had free drinks with dinner as well. Honestly, this perk saved us a ton of money compared to the drink packages we usually buy. I’d say the Suite Lounge alone made the suite upgrade worth it for us!
Coastal Kitchen (Suite Dining)
Coastal Kitchen is the private dining room for suite guests, conveniently connected to the Suite Lounge and bar area. If you’re staying in a suite, you can choose to eat here each night instead of the main dining room. They also serve a full breakfast and lunch menu. Reservations are recommended for dinner if you want to avoid a wait, but you can just walk in for breakfast and lunch.
The menu changes nightly, which keeps things interesting. As a vegetarian, I was curious to see what they’d have for me. There was one vegetarian entrée on the menu each evening – some were delicious, while others were a bit of a miss.
Honestly, I prefer the variety on the main dining room menu, but the overall experience at Coastal Kitchen was way better. It has a more upscale, quieter vibe, kind of like eating at a nice restaurant on land. When we travel with a large group, the main dining room is a lot of fun. But for just our family of three – this was much nicer.
The fancy breads and spreads were a highlight every night. And surprisingly, my favorite vegetarian dish was the fried rice topped with eggs. Our server seemed worried it was too boring, but it was tastier than some of the more “fancy” options earlier in the week.
If you’re traveling with kids, no worries. Coastal Kitchen has a kids menu. It stays the same all week and offers all the kid-friendly favorites, so even picky eaters are covered. Here’s a picture of the kids menu from our trip.
Suite Sun Deck
The Suite Sun Deck is hands down one of the best perks of staying in a suite on Utopia of the Seas. Tucked away on Deck 18, it’s a private escape just for suite guests, and it feels like a secret hideaway from the hustle and bustle of the main pool deck. It’s the perfect spot to kick back, relax, and escape from the crowds.
The setup is gorgeous, with plenty of cushioned loungers and daybeds. We never had any trouble finding a spot, no matter what time of day we went up there. It was always calm and quiet, with beautiful ocean views. Honestly, it felt like having our own little VIP oasis.
There’s also a small pool tucked into the corner, but don’t expect to do any laps. It’s more like a hybrid between a hot tub and a wading pool. The top area is labeled as a “hot tub,” but it was more lukewarm than hot. The lower section is shallow with loungers set in the water, which is perfect for cooling off and soaking up the sun. Basically, it’s made for lounging with a drink in hand – not swimming.
Kids are allowed on the Suite Sun Deck, but we didn’t see too many during our cruise. There were plenty of families hanging out in the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen, but the Sun Deck just doesn’t have much for kids to do. My son checked it out, but he was over it in about 20 minutes and ready to head back to the water slides and zip line.
If you’re looking for an upgraded pool day with kids, you might be better off renting a casita in the main pool area. But if I ever go on an adults-only cruise, you’d definitely find me lounging up here with a cocktail! ;)
Speaking of cocktails, there’s a bar on the Suite Sun Deck, which is super convenient. Now, drinks here aren’t officially included like they are in the Suite Lounge, but we were never charged for basic house wines and liquors. Not sure if that was a fluke or a lucky perk, so your experience might vary.
And here’s a little detail I loved: they have pool towels readily available, and you don’t have to check them out or return them. Just grab what you need and go – no hassle. It’s little touches like this that make the suite experience feel extra luxurious.
Our Cabin – One Bedroom Grand Suite
The suite itself was incredibly spacious. It had a king-sized bed and a sofa bed. Personally, I prefer rooms with pullman beds that pull down from the ceiling (like the one we had on Disney’s Wish!), but that option isn’t available in the Grand Suites on Utopia. Still, the layout worked well for us.
For scale, here’s another picture below of the cabin with the sofa bed pulled out at night. Still plenty of room to walk around. And no complaints about the sofa bed from the kiddo. (Although, he’s not fussy.)
There was a big curtain that could be pulled closed to separate the King bed from the sofa bed, giving each a bit of privacy. But you should note that it is one large room – not a separate bedroom. I think calling it a “one bedroom grand suite” is a little confusing, especially since the one bedroom grand suites do have a separate bedroom on some other ships. Just a watchout.
The king bed had the pillowtop mattress that is standard in all Royal Caribbean suites. I thought it was very comfy. But honestly, I’ve never had trouble sleeping in any cabin. So this perk is probably a bit lost on me. ;)
The bathroom was massive by cruise ship standards, with double sinks, tons of storage, and a deep tub/shower combo. It felt more like a typical hotel bathroom than a cramped cruise ship setup, which was a pleasant surprise.
The balcony was also oversized, with enough space for two loungers and a small dining table. We loved spending evenings out there with a glass of wine, enjoying the ocean view. It was easily large enough to have a private meal outside if you wanted to.
The room had a refrigerator that actually worked well and kept our drinks cold. I had pre-ordered water bottles to the room, and they were waiting for us when we arrived—highly recommended if you drink a lot of water like I do.
There was even a coffee machine in the cabin! I know that may not sound very exciting, but only suites get a coffee machine. Now there was also a lounge a few feet away with coffee, but it’s still nice to be able to brew a cup on your own.
Service was fantastic, thanks to our wonderful cabin steward. He serviced our room twice a day, which is a perk reserved for suite guests (non-suite cabins now only get once-a-day service). And of course, he left us plenty of towel animals, which is basically my favorite part of cruise ship housekeeping. I’m a total sucker for a good towel monkey!
Overall, the Grand Suite was a great experience and added a little layer of luxury to our cruise. If you’re looking for extra space, better service, and access to exclusive amenities, it’s definitely worth considering.
Service & Extra Perks
The service from all of the staff was really impressive, and definitely a step above expectations. And that’s saying a lot, because we’ve always found the service to be excellent on Royal Caribbean. But in the suite area, there is simply a higher ratio of staff to guests, so they can give a little extra attention to everyone.
And there were some other nice perks that came along with the suite too. Here are a few:
Staterooms serviced twice per day. This used to be the standard for all cabins, but cruise lines have cut back in recent years and most only provide service once per day. In the suites, the cabin stewards are still visiting twice per day. It’s not really a mandatory for us, but it is nice to get fresh towels for the next morning. And if you’re using the pull out sofa bed, it’s very nice to have them set it up in the evening and put it away in the morning.
Priority Check-In. When you arrive to the cruise port, suite guests are able to check-in through a priority line. We walked right through security, to the check in desk, and on to to the ship with no wait at all!
Priority Departure. When it was time o disembark the ship, we were able to meet the concierge in the suite lounge in the morning. She led us down an elevator (that she called with a key) and right off the ship, without waiting in any lines. We actually love this perk. We are local and like to hop off the ship and get on with our day as early as possible.
Complimentary WiFi. Suites get a free WiFi package on Utopia, so there’s no need to buy one. We always pay for WiFi on the ships since I need to stay connected for work. So this was a very tangible perk for us. And my son enjoyed having his own WiFi since I don’t usually get it for him on cruises. Not that he had much time to use it anyway.
Concierge Service. There was a concierge desk in the suite lounge available to help with reservations for dinners, excursions and activities. You can also email the concierge desk in advance for help with reservations. I did email them to request dinner times at Coastal Kitchen. When we boarded, we found some of the times were incorrect (they had flip-flopped some of the days/times by accident). But they straightened it right out for me, so all good. You can book most things yourself in the Cruise Planner, but if you find that you can’t get reservations to a show or restaurant that you want, it’s worth asking if the Concierge can assist.
Priority Seating at Shows. At most of the shows, there was a section of seats reserved for suite guests. In general, this isn’t really necessary. But we did use it a couple times when the shows were very crowded and we had trouble finding three seats together in the regular sections.
Is a suite worth it on Utopia?
Yes, we thought the suite was worth the upgrade. But, it definitely depends on what kind of deal you can snag. In our case, we paid about $1,000 more for the upgrade, compared to a standard balcony cabin (which is what we usually choose). I’ve since seen the same suite priced up to $2,000 more on some upcoming sailings, and I would not splurge at that price. So you’ll have to do the math for yourself.
We really enjoyed the perks of the suite lounge and dining in the Coastal Kitchen, which was a big departure from the main dining room experience. The suite sun deck is amazing, but wasn’t a big draw for us as a family with kids. The priority embarkation and debarkation were also nice perks.
And there were some cost savings for us as well. We didn’t need to purchase a drink package on this cruise. We are Diamond level in Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, so we already get several free drinks per day. Between those Diamond drinks and the free drinks in the lounge and Coastal Kitchen, our bar tab was very minimal. (And we are fairly big drinkers on vacation.) So, that was a nice cost savings.
We also didn’t need to purchase any internet packages since it was included with the suite. And I found that we didn’t make our daily trek to get fancy coffees in the promenade, since we had good coffee right there in the suite lounge.
So when you factor in some of those savings, it makes the price of the suite seem a little less crazy. (Or at least that’s how I rationalized it.) ;)
However, if we were sailing with a group, I wouldn’t spring for a suite unless the whole group was doing it. Other guests wouldn’t be able to join in the suite lounge, on the sun deck, or for meals at Coastal Kitchen, and there’s really no point in upgrading if you aren’t going to take advantage of those particular benefits.
So would I sail in a suite on Utopia again? Yes, definitely. But I’ll be on the lookout for a good bargain. ;)
More Cruise Planning Resources
If you found this helpful, be sure to check out my full review of the Utopia of the Seas, and these other cruise planning articles: