Utopia #5 - 11/3 to 11/7/2025 (4 nights)

• Cabin #8624 - Midship; Deck 8 features Boardwalk
• This location is very nice, a little closer to the aft elevators.  There are no cabins across the hall (and the crew access door has not been an issue), and overall activity is light (so, relatively quiet).  The eighth deck insulates us from pool deck and promenade deck noise.  Infrequently, we’ve heard some party music wafting over the side from deck 15 - never bothersome, just a reminder that there is a lot going on here, and we can go find it whenever we like.
• Our cabin attendant is very engaged, providing our “special requests” timely, starting with a bed “topper” which always improves comfort.

Onboarding, eating and drinking:  We arrived before noon, parked and queued up, ate some lobster and grabbed a cocktail at the English Pub “Bell & Barley” before unpacking between 1 and 1:30.

Central Park

This is a feature of all Oasis Class ships (of which there are six).  Weather in the “outdoor” park varied, with jackets required some evenings.

Boardwalk

Lots of activities here, and a great place to catch Monday Night Football - on the Aqua venue big screen.

Dining Highlights

• Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen provided a wonderful lunch ($20pp), and our waiter named King was tremendous.  Upon his recommendation, we ordered a pizza which we took with us for a late snack.  (Nothing against the regular fare at Sorrento’s, but this was a step above - delicious, even cold.)
  • Pro Tip - Specialty lunches are about half the dinner price, and we’ve never been disappointed (at Chops, Hooked, and 150 Central Park, too).
• We often visit the Solarium for dinner, but this was a short trip and we couldn’t eat at every venue.  We had a late lunch at El Loco Fresh (Mexican), which was quick and tasty…and filling enough we skipped dinner one night.
• The MDR was pretty good, per usual.  I keep recommending the “dessert” cheese plate as an appetizer.  You can order more than one, so I still had soup on the two evenings we dined there - and were easily accommodated with a window table for two upon request.  On the final night in the only half full dining room, we happily accepted an offer for a complimentary lobster tail (each).  Remembering fondly the buffet lobster on embarkation day (photo above), we rated this grilled offering as about 2-3x as good.  Day one was good; day four was super.

Entertainment

Options abound.

• Music at multiple venues, including a country trio in the Mason Jar restaurant/bar, guitar and vocal artist at the Bell & Barley pub, jazz band in Central Park.
  • Group of photos below include a classical pianist (Albert Mnatsakanian) in the Schooner Bar, a repeat performer in the Pub (Kevin Philip, who is a fan favorite from Scotland who we enjoyed in September 2025, too), and an ensemble filling up the Promenade space (before giving way to Kevin), which played a tremendous variety of music from our youth.  We enjoyed his music on two nights.
    • Kevin Philip plays a wide range of music, from country (Tennessee Whiskey was a favorite on two nights), to Beatles (Blackbird), Scottish and more.  (Second night was kilt night; 4th column below.)
  • Other music included pianist/vocalist Andy Morris from UK/Wales, the Enchanted String Duo and the Country Crew Trio - too many for us to see them all!
• The newly expanded non-smoking casino option offered a more enjoyable experience to make our ‘donations.’

In addition, consider Family Karaoke, Game Shows, Trivia, and others:  the Aqua Theatre Show, Youtopia Ice Spectacular and Quest (definitely 18+)

• On the final night, we caught the Ice show, and it was pleasing, once again (having seen it a couple times this year).  In September, we had front row seats which were excellent.  On this night, we sat in the back, on the high-top bar seats.  There were a number of strollers and a bit of overflow standees, mostly due to late arrivals.  It may be reservation controlled, but arrive 30 minutes early if you really want to enjoy the skating - and….Dress Warmly!

Adult Comedy

• While there was a midnight show during the trip, we caught the last night 8pm show - Adam Grabowski and Bernadette Pauley.  There were quite a few good laughs, and Cruise Director Mark even got off a good one during the intro (i.e., “princess gets to the ball…”)

Name That Tune

• A main stage “Production” show, complete with singers and dancers, more fun than expected, with 8 cruisers who had vied for a spot onstage earlier in the day.