By Kelly Aleman
Did you know there is a suite on select Royal Caribbean ships that is the ultimate parent and kid cruise experience?
I’m talking the Ultimate Family Suite!
There is only ONE of these suites onboard, and it’s only on select ships: Symphony of the Seas, Spectrum of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas. There is the Ultimate Family Townhouse onboard Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas too!
I’m here to share my family’s bucket list experience in the Ultimate Family Suite (UFS). I’ll be reviewing suite perks, cabin experience, Genie, cost, and more!
My family had the most amazing 3 nights when we sailed in the Ultimate Family Suite onboard Utopia of the Seas. We loved the size of the suite, the activities and amenities included in the suite, the location, the views, and so much more!
What kind of space is in this suite?
When you walk into this suite, you are in awe of the bright colors and floor to ceiling two story windows. This suite will literally take your breath away- it is HUGE! It’s unlike any cabin you have stayed in before. You will immediately see a large dining room table that is also a digital screen you can play games on. My kids loved playing games on here while eating the breakfast we had delivered every morning. There is a large open living room with TV and a PS5.
The rest of the downstairs includes a bedroom with a king size bed next door to a full bathroom, a movie room, and a large balcony with a hot tub, outdoor dining room table, and Luckey Climber for the kids to play on!
Up the piano stairs is an open loft style primary bedroom and bathroom, which are connected to the kids bunk bed room with a door that even has a little doggie door for the kids, and kids at heart, to use. The kids have their own full bathroom too.
This suite can sleep up to 9 guests onboard Utopia of the Seas. We had 8 guests when we sailed (4 adults + 4 kids), and there really was plenty of space for everyone. It’s important to note though- that while it can accomodate 8 guests, it’s not really meant to used for 8 adults, but more for larger families.
What is so special about the Ultimate Family Suite?
This suite is both a kid and parent’s dream!
Initially I thought this suite would be mainly for my kids, and not a large benefit for parents, but was I wrong! My kids didn’t want to leave the suite.
There is a giant slide in this suite that my kids would go on over and over and over. You would think in 3 days kids would get sick of going down a slide, but nope, that didn’t happen! My kids enjoyed the private hot tub & Luckey Climber on the balcony, PS5, board games, movie room, piano stairs, lego wall, magnet wall, virtual dining room table with games, personal TVs on top of every bunk bed, giant connect 4, and so much more!
By our kids being so happy and content in the suite, this meant mom and dad could actually relax. We would sit on the balcony with a cocktail and just enjoy the views. We didn’t leave the suite much outside of dinners in the specialty restaurants. One morning, our kids were at the splashpad on the pool deck, and asked to go back to the suite to play. We agreed as we wanted to relax and enjoy all the amenities of this suite! This really was a vacation for all of us!
Where did we enjoy our meals?
We had breakfast and lunch delivered to our suite daily. This is really convenient for us with our kids. My kids don’t like to sit in a formal setting for 3 meals a day, so having 2 of the meals at our leisure in our suite is our preference. We enjoyed our 3 dinners out at the speciality restaurants.
On our sailing we enjoyed Giovannis, Chops, and 150 Central Park. All were fantastic and we were greeted at every meal by our amazing Genie. She even brought coloring pages and crayons for the kids to enjoy nightly.
What is included in this suite?
The Ultimate Family Suite is a Star Class level suite. Star Class is the highest suite class that Royal Caribbean offers.
Star class includes all Sea Class and Sky Class perks as well as Complimentary Deluxe Beverage Package (Refreshment package for those under 21), Unlimited Dining Package, Complimentary Gratuities, and most importantly the Royal Genie. Star Class really is all encompassing with your extras included in the price you pay. You even let your Genie know any preferred food/drinks you would like stocked in your suite. We prefer still & sparkling water, diet soda, and juices so that’s what was waiting for us on our arrival in the fridges in our suite! We request daily cocktails and afternoon snacks at 3p to enjoy while we are getting ready for dinner and having some relaxing time in the suite. The best part about Star Class is it’s customizable to each guest and their preferences. So my experience will be different than someone else’s based on what my wishes are.
How does this suite compare to other Star Class Suites?
All Star Class suites are amazing and include all Star Class benefits including the Royal Genie. I have stayed in several other Star Class Suites and loved every experience. The Ultimate Family Suite has so many kid friendly activities, games, and benefits that it really is a step above for families! Little touches like a roll out stool in the bathrooms were appreciated. I wouldn’t hesitate to sail in other Star Class suites, but I know my kids will especially miss the piano stairs and slide!
What is the Royal Genie?
The Royal Genie is a benefit Star Class guests receive when booking a Star Class Suite. This is not a benefit you can upgrade to or purchase in the cruise planner. Only Star Class Suites have this amazing benefit.
You have access to the Shoreside Genie about one month before your sailing. This Shoreside Genie will help arrange your dining reservations and show reservations. About one week before sailing, your assigned ship Genie will reach out to you via email. They will introduce themselves, share the directions to the Star Class drop off location in the terminal, and get your family all set to sail later that week.
The Ship Genie will then meet you in the terminal typically and escort you onboard the ship. Most times, your Star Class Suite is ready for you once you are onboard.
This is an amazing perk of being able to be whisked away straight to your suite. Your Genie will show you around your suite, go over your schedule for your sailing, review and requests and preferences for the sailing, provide their contact information, and be your main point of contact onboard.
Want to change a dining reservation? Want an ice cream bar in the suite after dinner? Want cocktails and mocktails brought to the suite for pre-dinner treats? All of this can be arranged by your Genie! You will see them throughout your cruise, and they are known to pop up wherever you may be!
One of the most important questions…How much does a suite like this cost?
This suite can vary in price. For now, I’ll focus on the 3-4 night sailings onboard Utopia and Wonder of the Seas. For non peak time, we have been seen the UFS get booked for 6-15k per sailing. Some guests even are booking the 3/4 night sailings on Wonder or Utopia back to back to have a 7 night UFS experience. Symphony sails 7 night sailings usually, so this is more expensive. Icon and Star are coming in around 80-120k+. My family sailed off peak (ie hurricane season) on a 3 night sailing on Utopia. I paid for this sailing myself with my own money. Royal Caribbean did not provide this suite to me or any discount for booking this suite. What’s peak time? Think when kids are off school-summer, Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, NYE, Spring Break, etc.
How do I book this suite?
Since there is only ONE of these suites on just a few ships, they typically do get booked on release day. I personally booked mine (and many guests) the moment this sailing went live. This is one of those suites you can’t wait to book. If you want one, I recommend reaching out to Moms at Sea so we can connect you to an advisor before these sailings go live. This way, when they go live, your advisor can reach out to you directly, and grab the exact date you want this suite for. They go fast, and once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Would we sail in this suite again?
My husband has a saying “once in our lifetime”…and we have made a joke about this because he said that the first time we sailed Star Class, “Ok, let’s do the Royal Loft Suite, but this is once in a lifetime, we won’t be experiencing Star Class again.”
This has become a joke in our house because he also said that when we booked our UFS, “Ok, but only once for the kids, this is once in a lifetime!”
Well, yes, we have it booked again on Wonder of the Seas for this fall. My kids don’t know either! If you ask either of my kids their favorite cruise experience they’ve ever had, both will 100% say THE ULTIMATE FAMILY SUITE! And you know what, I have to agree!
