Journey log, day three. Excellent Day at Coco Cay, The Bahamas.
3-Evening Bahamian Royal Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida
December 14, 2025
Cruise Compass – Day 3
Utopia of the Seas Deck Plan
One other early morning out and about across the ship, I randomly ran right into a ship mannequin together with ceremonial plaques from first calls and such. From somebody who loves the basic cruise expertise, that is cool to view a mini-museum and historical past of the ship.
I headed again to the identical spot on the higher deck with my espresso and e-book, however the climate had different plans. One massive gripe I’ve with different cruise strains is the best way they handle pool towels with a check-out/check-in coverage and a financial penalty for not returning towels. It was not raining, however every little thing was moist from the current passing bathe. Fortunately, a crew member establishing for the primary company of the day on the FlowRider surf simulator was type sufficient to lend me a towel to dry off a chair and railing. On the flip aspect, it does assist curb chair hogs across the swimming pools, which can be monitored by crew.
That is our third go to to Excellent Day at Coco Cay and the third with not-so-warm temperatures. The earlier visits had been throughout Spring Break, and whereas sunny, the temperatures weren’t very conducive for water actions. We had been decided to profit from the day and stick with our plans ashore. We stopped briefly to look at a sand sculpture work on a Comfortable Holidays carving beneath a Coco Cay sand sculpture close to the Christmas tree.
Throughout our first go to, we simply performed it by ear, and through our second go to, we booked the adult-only space. This day trip, we booked the Coco Seashore Membership, an unique retreat space for company of all ages.
There are all kinds of seating choices, together with plush loungers and couches, poolside daybeds, in-water loungers, hammocks, and what seemed to be greater than sufficient seashore chairs to go round.
Emily and Isabelle had been delighted to discover a plethora of obtainable in-water loungers on the infinity pool, permitting them to chill out and luxuriate in their books. Although the water was heated, I used to be completely satisfied on one of many couches. Given the climate forecast, the seashore membership was not very crowded throughout our go to. I believe that prime seating is harder to safe on postcard days.
The Coco Seashore Membership day cross included entry to a non-public seashore, a clubhouse (which I’m guessing meant lavatory amenities), an infinity pool, and complimentary eating on the Coco Seashore Membership restaurant. The seashore membership additionally contains an abundance of TOWELS!!! For these searching for the final word luxurious, there are over-the-water cabanas obtainable.
The bar, positioned close to the pool, was full service, and we had been in a position to make use of our onboard drink bundle. We had mimosas to start out, then loved the poolside Aperol Spritz. Professional tip: when you’ve got the deluxe beverage bundle, deliver money to tip. We needed to beg the bartender to print out a receipt in order that we might depart a tip since they weren’t producing tickets to signal for every order.
Once we first arrived, we stopped on the restaurant to e-book a time for lunch. As beforehand talked about, it was not busy, however I’d encourage you to cease on the host stand early to order a most popular lunch time.
There are many nice fast service choice at Excellent Day within the different areas, however the seashore membership incorporates a full service sit down lunch.
The menu contains starters, entrees, and desserts. Our server introduced out a two bento packing containers with all of the starters which was prefect. Fascinated about it, these can be nice self serve buffet choices to get pleasure from on a lounger or sofa.
Then, our server stunned us with a bowl of mozzarella sticks, which is a very an indulgence on on the seashore. You will discover these at a few the short service spots elsewhere at Coco Cay.
Emily and Isabelle opted for lobster, whereas I selected the grouper. You might get them with fries or roasted potatoes and veggies. Each dishes had been flavorful, however sadly, they didn’t fairly hit the mark; the fish was mushy and lobster that was a tad overcooked, however they women had been nonetheless thrilled to have lobster as an choice and would order it once more.
We tried the chocolate chip cookie, Bahamian rum soaked cake, and the caramel & chocolate brownie. The brownie was the winner by far, and never a dessert that we’d usually select to order, so kudos to the server for simply bringing all of them.
For me, the lunch expertise was finest within the starter course, however it regularly declined. I’m not disillusioned as a result of I completely loved the range and high quality of starters we had been served.
After lunch, a pair supplied us their poolside daybeds since they had been quickly leaving. I joined the household poolside, grabbing a couple of towels to remain heat and dry regardless of the lingering gentle rain. I’ve found that cruising throughout soccer season might be difficult because of varied rights entry restrictions in onboard venues and geo-restrictions on streaming companies. Nonetheless, cruising and tropical locales can present some aid for Browns followers like me. Whereas Coco Seashore Membership doesn’t have TVs to look at sports activities, they do provide good Wi-Fi protection, which I used to stream the primary half of the Browns vs. Bears recreation.
Pricing for the Coco Seashore Membership day cross is dynamic starting from beneath $100 throughout promotions to nicely over $200 per individual primarily based on ship and season. We booked this with throughout a 50% off CoCo Cay promotion for $75 per individual, which made this an important improve for our day ashore. We cherished the Coco Seashore Membership and would completely return with an inexpensive per individual price. I’d love an area like this at both of Disney’s non-public locations. In actual fact, that is what I believed can be constructed on the south aspect of Lookout Cay close to the household seashore cabanas when wanting on the 2019 idea plan for Lighthouse Level.
The rain began to select up, so we packed up and began to make our manner again to the ship, stopping at one of many retail kiosks on the best way. By the point we reached the pier, the solar was popping out, however the wind was beginning to decide up, and we might really feel cool air approaching.
Onboard, we stopped for some espresso and browsed the sunshine chunk choices obtainable at Cafe Promenade. Choices like this are incredible for company.
I dumped my ashore gear off within the room and made a b-line to the Boardwalk to catch the second half of the Browns vs. Bears recreation at Playmakers. Now, check out the posted schedule of video games. EVERY NFL GAME WAS AVAILABLE on a regular-season NFL Sunday!
And guess what, inside Playmakers was over capability with hardly any standing room and a number of company had been deep in line ready for walk-up service on the bar. Exterior within the Boardwalk space, there have been much more company seated in chairs pulled over from Jonny Rockets watching the video games on the various exterior televisions.
As anticipated, as soon as the primary window of video games ended, tables opened up and we secured a spot exterior to eat dinner and watch the 4 o’clock slate of video games.
The menu was primarily the identical as we skilled on Surprise of the Seas, I wager if I took an image of the menu there are some worth distinction and adjustments within the beverage choices, however the menu does provide an total thought of what’s supplied for a further value. The meals was significantly better than we skilled on the Surprise of the Seas.
In case you’re conserving observe, out of our three nights onboard, we dined on the included primary eating room as soon as and opted for 2 nights paying additional for dinner. This isn’t a slight to the primary eating room; the service and dishes have been satisfying throughout our first evening onboard and our earlier Royal Caribbean sailings. I extremely advocate all newer cruisers expertise the included choices and night reveals a couple of instances earlier than branching out and exploring different choices. That’s the place we’re in life; we’ve been lucky to have many cruise experiences beneath our belt over the previous 20+ years, and now we choose a extra laid-back and relaxed cruise expertise. A ship like Utopia of the Seas or what I believe the Disney Journey might provide with quite a lot of eating choices that cater to those that choose a extra versatile night schedule is an ideal for us. In any case, it’s a trip and we now have schedules on land; at sea it’s good to glide and be spontaneous in between a couple of mounted scheduled occasions equivalent to port instances or particular dinners.
Earlier within the crusing, we stuffed out our disembarkation preferences and chosen Royal’s variations of what Disney would contemplate Categorical Stroll-off, the place we’re chargeable for our baggage and depart as quickly because the ship clears. This was the plan even earlier than the information on embarkation day that we’d be returning to Port Canaveral after the lunch hour on Monday. The data within the app up to date confirming our departure time can be at 2:15pm tomorrow. The bulletins onboard knowledgeable us we’d have entry to our staterooms all morning and that actions and eating can be akin to a day at sea.
We headed over to Boleros for Identify That Tune: Traditional Rock music trivia which proved to be nice individuals watching as some company had been leveraging the deluxe beverage bundle on this distinctive last evening and had plans to maintain the get together going the following morning.
Afterwards, we stopped by Schooner Bar to seize drinks to take to the Royal Theater. Sure, I simply stated I like the liberty of not being locked right into a dinner/present schedule and like to glide a couple of paragraphs up, however…
…tonight’s present within the Royal Theater is an grownup comedy present for which we pre-reserved seats. Whereas reservations are extremely advisable, there have been loads of obtainable seats for company with out reservations. This was within the massive theatre, so loads of seating. I’d advocate reservations for occasions simply in case and, extra importantly, for some choices in smaller venues if relevant.
The comic was hilarious, interacted nicely with a couple of individuals taking advantage of the deluxe beverage bundle, and as marketed the present was completely an grownup comedy present for a mature viewers.
With the prolonged onboard time tomorrow, this night was a pleasure not having that lingering thought that we have to get packed up and prepare to depart very first thing within the morning.
Journey log, day 4. A bonus Monday morning at Sea earlier than debarkation.
3-Evening Bahamian Royal Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida
December 15, 2025
Cruise Compass – Day 4
Though we had entry to our stateroom all morning, we nonetheless packed as much as put together to debark as quickly as attainable as a result of we would have liked to get again dwelling for a day dentist appointment which we already confirmed final week and the workplace was closed by the point we realized of our late return on Friday. Plus, it was a piece day for Emily and I. Anyway, we had been packed and the bags was staged to go in our stateroom.
For this distinctive morning at sea, a Cruise Compass filled with occasions scheduled together with a morning common trivia session on the Schooner bar.
Watching the place of the ship relative to Port Canaveral, we ultimately determined to deliver our baggage down and hand around in the Royal Promenade the place we seize some gentle bites from Cafe Promenade for lunch.
We observed a SeaPay kiosk close to visitor companies. It is a distinctive providing for anybody desirous to repay their onboard account and contains the choice to just accept money. It is a nice choice that’s obtainable 24/7 and avoids having to get in line at visitor companies.
We proactively put ourselves in a spot close to the gangway forward of any bulletins to extend our possibilities of debarking ASAP to make it dwelling in time to get to the aforementioned dentist appointment; plus, Emily and I each needed to work. Finally, different passengers had the identical thought, and the Royal Promenade started to really feel crowded to the purpose that crew members had been discouraging extra company from getting into the realm and highlighting different occasions and actions occurring onboard. The ship arrived and was cleared about 40 minutes forward of the time we had been advised, and we made it dwelling with greater than sufficient time to get to the three o’clock appointment.
Remaining Ideas
For the reason that Utopia of the Seas is a sister ship of Surprise of the Seas, I need to admit, I’ve come to understand the choices on this class of ship after initially not loving Surprise of the Seas. Though I nonetheless dislike the mall-like vibe of the Royal Promenade and restricted natural sea views, I believe it’s secure to say, I choose the Icon of the Seas extra, which the sister ship Star of the Seas is now crusing from Port Canaveral. Total, we had an important prolonged weekend experiencing some new choices and would repeat once more subsequent week if I weren’t already heading to South Florida to board a cruise ship.
Our Utopia of the Seas 3-night Bahamian cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay departed the identical day because the Disney Want’s 3-night Bahamian cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay. Due to this fact, that is going to be a fairly shut comparability between each Port Canaveral departures. I’m, nevertheless, framing the comparability solely primarily based on the lodging for a 3-night Bahamian cruise as a result of all of us have subjective opinions of every line, ship, and every non-public vacation spot. We initially booked this cruise in a Central Park Balcony stateroom for $240 per individual per evening. A number of months later, our journey agent was in a position to apply a promotion, which dropped it all the way down to $195 per individual per evening for the three of us. Opening day pricing for the Disney Want crusing for two adults ranged from $413 inside to $470 verandah per individual per evening – we didn’t worth this out for 3 adults, however . For a enjoyable, enjoyable weekend getaway cruise to the Bahamas for THREE adults, we got here out forward on the cruise fare saving far more than $173 per individual per evening because the Want comparability doesn’t embody pricing for a third grownup. For us, it’s arduous to justify Disney pricing, which they used to have the ability to justify by promoting you on a go to to Castaway Cay. Now, is that this expertise for everybody? No. Is it for some? Perhaps. I believe for households (and even adults) which have sailed many 3/4n DCL sailings, it is likely to be price looking and making an attempt one thing else out.
I hope you’ve got loved following together with our experiences and thanks for studying!
