Dad who paid $4,000 a night to stay in luxury suite on world’s second largest cruise ship explains if it was worth it
A dad who spent $4,000 (£3,200) a night to stay in the luxurious family suite on board Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas has revealed if he thinks it was worth the money he spent.
The second largest cruise ship on the planet, Utopia was launched by Royal Caribbean in July of this year, carrying almost 8,000 passengers and crew on the open seas as it sails around The Bahamas.
Built at a cost of $1.35 billion (£1.08 billion), she was a massively expensive investment by the company that sees itself as the biggest and best cruise line on the planet. There's a few quirky changes to the usual ship, too.
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And while it has more budget friendly cabins for those looking to cruise on limited cash, there is always the option to spend more when it comes to the cruising industry.
With Utopia, Royal Caribbean scratched that itch for those wanting to do just that in the form of the $4,000 a night Ultimate Family Suite.
Sleeping up to 10, it is seen as the 'all in' experience for larger parties of those looking for a little bit of luxury on the open seas.
A two-story suite, it includes three bedrooms; an in-suite slide from the first floor to ground floor; a private cinema; and a balcony decked out with a table tennis and a hot tub.
It also has its own butler service known as 'Royal Genie' and video game consoles for those who like dabbling with that.
One dad and cruise lover, Matt Hochberg, decided to rent out the suite for a three night stay with his children on board Utopia.
And in a lengthy and informative piece for RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com, he explained exactly if he thought it was value for money and worth coughing up for.
"Ordinarily, a suite this big with this much to do is priced well out of my price range, but because Utopia only sails short three and four-night cruises, the barrier to entry was less than if it was a week-long cruise," Matt explained.
"Plus, I booked it years ago when Royal Caribbean opened up bookings and I scoured the schedule for an opportune time to book it."
For Matt's family of four, the total cost was $12,609.08 for the three nights.
As the editor of RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com, you could say he knows a thing or two about judging what is good and what isn't on board a cruise ship. So, thoughts on the Ultimate Family Suite?
"I wasn't sure if this room would live up to the hype, and I was concerned I would be disappointed having paid for a lot of fluff, and not a suite that delivered on a good overall experience," he said.
"Obviously this is not a cheap room. It's not affordable or a good value. It's designed to be the epitome of splurges and offer one of the most luxurious and fun rooms you could ever find on Utopia of the Seas.
"While the price tag is high, it delivers a wow factor and memory making experience that is unrivalled.
"I was more impressed by how much space there was, and how conducive it was to entertaining friends. There was more than enough space to invite friends to visit, and I never felt like we ran out of space."
It very much sounds like if you can afford it, go for it. Otherwise, keep saving those pennies for when they add up to the magic number.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Holiday, Money, Parenting, Travel, US News, Royal Caribbean
Tom Earnshaw