Several days before Royal Caribbean International’s newest Oasis-class ship, Utopia of the Seas, welcomes her first guests onboard, some travelers are already being informed of an itinerary change.
Fortunately, the change is for a sailing more than six months from now, giving guests plenty of opportunity to rearrange their plans if desired.
The impacted voyage is the February 3, 2025 sailing, a 4-night cruise on the new ship. The original cruise was to have first visited Nassau, then enjoyed a day at sea, then spent a day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island destination in the Bahamas. Now, booked guests have been informed that the entire itinerary is changed, while the destinations remain the same.
“To provide you with the best experience, we’ve added an additional visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, and we’re so excited to visit this destination with you twice!” the notification email read. “Additionally, we’ll now visit Nassau, Bahamas, on Day 3, and we’ve added an extra hour for you to explore everything there is to do in this beautiful destination.”
Utopia of the Seas’ new itinerary is now calling on CocoCay both on Tuesday, February 4 and Thursday, February 6. On both days, the ship will be docked at the private island from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The visit to Nassau will now be on Wednesday, February 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., instead of on Tuesday, February 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as originally scheduled.
Any shore tours for either destination that have already been booked through Royal Caribbean International will undoubtedly be shifted to the appropriate day. Guests who may have booked independent excursions, however, will need to contact their tour operators for adjustments as needed.
The departure and arrival times for Utopia of the Seas at her homeport, Port Canaveral, remain unchanged.
Why the Utopia of the Seas Itinerary Change?
No details have been provided about why this itinerary change is necessary for the new ship, other than “to provide you with the best experience.”
Scheduling details indicate that on Thursday, February 6โthe original day for Utopia of the Seas to visit CocoCayโAdventure of the Seas will also visit the island. On Tuesday, February 4, Utopia of the Seas will be joined by Liberty of the Seas.
Because the ship will have a companion on both days, the extra day will ensure that Utopia of the Seas‘ guests have plenty of time to enjoy all the island has to offer, from the thrilling waterpark to the new adults-only Hideaway Beach, which opened in January 2024.
On Wednesday, February 5, there will be five other ships docked in Nassau with Utopia of the Seas. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Liberty, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Conquest, as well as Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Gem and MSC Cruises’ MSC Divina are all scheduled for Nassau that day.
In contrast, on Tuesday, February 4 when Utopia of the Seas was to have visited Nassau, only two other ships – Carnival Glory and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette – are scheduled for Nassau at this time.
Cruise port schedules do tend to be fluid several months ahead of time, however, and it is possible that other minor itinerary changes may impact other ships and cruise lines with respect to Nassau as well as CocoCay.
Experienced cruise guests know that itineraries can always change for a variety of reasons, whether it is just a few days or even hours before sailing or several months ahead of time. Remaining flexible is always important to best enjoy a cruise vacation.
Utopia of the Seas is Royal Caribbean International’s newest vessel, scheduled to debut on her first sailing with guests on Friday, July 19, 2024. The ship is homeported from Port Canaveral, offering the “Ultimate Weekend Getaway” sailings with 3- and 4-night Bahamas itineraries year-round.
The 236,473-gross-ton ship can welcome 5,667 travelers on each sailing at double occupancy, and is the first Oasis-class vessel in the Royal Caribbean fleet to be powered by liquefied natural gas.