Diver2014

I worked in downtown Miami for 13 years on Biscayne Blvd. Most co workers parked in the parking garage. Break ins were a daily occurrence. Just because Premier Cruise Parking is in a parking garage doesn't mean it's any safer. Park at the port. You spend thousands on a cruise, why risk not having a car or what's left of it when you return?

When? $275 on Miami Beach or South Beach? Seriously? And you want oceanfront? I'm trying not to sound too sarcastic but depending on when you are there, the prices go from outrageous to seriously astronomical. You'd do better a few blocks from the beach and not during things like spring break, the boat show, weekends and any holidays.

There's a nation wide auto association that offers travel and cruise expertise with offices in almost every major town and city. I've used them several times with success.

We were on Wonder OTS Jan 15-22, 2023. Agree with most of the review except that we really enjoyed the shows in the Theater, especially Voices. That show was magnificent! Ice show was ho hum and the aqua show was so loud that we couldn't concentrate on what was going on. Other than that, no problem. Loved the set up of the Windjammer - similar to when we were on Radiance OTS. We like the individual serving stations. MDR was great. We had a 5pm traditional time at a table next to the window and were able to watch the Space X rocket take off from Pt Canaveral as we made our way out to sea. What an awesome experience!

If I'm already standing in the TSA line, it's too late to put in my checked bag.

I had a large bottle of Pepto Bismal taken from me at the airport once. Small bottles are okay (I think it's 3 oz) but they take any liquid that is over the limit, no matter what it is. Same with mouthwash.

Since Daytona is about halfway between Jacksonville and Pt Canaveral, there's going to be lots of traffic in either direction on I 95. It took us 2 hours to drive from Jacksonville to Pt Canaveral last month and that was with light traffic. If I were you, I'd be on the road by 8am at the latest.

We used National Express. Not private but not expensive either!

We are also flying to 'London' (Heathrow) with NCL's air this summer. We've always flown to Heathrow in the past. We chose to take National Express bus to Southampton on our own and then stay at a hotel on the waterfront the night before the cruise. Works well for us.

Not concerned with price and I don't need control over a place I've never been to before and know nothing about. To each his own. I like the convenience of going to the shore excursion desk if a port is cancelled or the ship arrives late and getting a refund right there without having to contact an outside vendor and pleading for a refund. And if the excursion is late getting back, the ship waits.

We were on Wonder Jan 15-22. Yes, the Solarium Bistro was closed the entire week. Didn't care. Yes, there were tons of kids onboard. Yes, some of them were loud and noisy in the middle of the night. So what? We had no issues with the MDR or the Windjammer. In fact, I can't think of one thing I can honestly complain about. A cruise is what you make of it depending on how perfect you want it to be. I find the OP's complaints to be nit picky but this is CC so I guess this is the right place to complain, not that any good will come of it.

La Carreta, across the street and down a block from Versailles as well as other locations all over Miami.

I personally think Versailles is over rated. There are plenty of Cuban restaurants on 8th Street that don't have the traffic or wait times.

There was 'free' ice cream from a machine outside near the pool on deck 14.

We were on Wonder OTS from Jan 15-22. It's a 'wonderful' ship! Even with being sold out, there were plenty of places to get away from everyone. We had no complaints. We've been on 3 Oasis class ships now and found Wonder to be the best. Ignore Matj2000. We can discuss these ships as often and as many times as we want. Other people like to hear about your experiences.

You also need a reservation for MTD if you want to eat before 8pm. We had traditional early seating in the MDR 2 weeks ago and the lines waiting go in for MTD every night were unbelievable and those people all had reservations. You can't just wander if when you feel like eating. There were enough repeats of the shows that we were able to see every show we wanted throughout the week. (We were on Wonder of the Seas with some 6000 passengers).

We were on Wonder of the Seas at Terminal 1 however, last June we were on Mariner of the Seas at Terminal 5. Again, it was no problem getting on before our assigned check in time. There were plenty of spaces to park at Terminal 5 and the traffic wasn't nearly as bad as around Terminal 1 at 11am.

So the OP didn't like the short excursions. Reason to go to another cruise line? Lotsa luck on finding something better since shore excursions are thru 3rd party vendors.

When we return, I'll post my thoughts. Really looking forward to this as I've always wanted to visit the land of my ancestors (Norway). Plus, being onboard a 'new' ship really sweetens the deal. Thanks. July 16. Can't wait!

We're going in July but thanks for the reminder about the roll call.

We are also booked on the Southampton to Iceland cruise this summer with air through NCL. We've never had a problem using cruise line sponsored air so we're keeping fingers crossed but we also always fly in at least a day ahead. People seem to enjoy posting their negative experiences while many more never say anything about all the positive experiences they've had, hence the title 'Cruise Critic'.

My experience was that on the Wonder of the Seas earlier this month, the Maine lobster tail stretched across the entire dinner plate with the vegetables tucked underneath. After removing the shell, there was at least a 5 inch x 2 inch piece of the most delicious meat! On Mariner of the Seas last June, the Caribbean spiny lobster was about 5 inches in the shell and about 4 inches of meat. The shell of the Maine lobster is an orangy color with large, flat tail flukes. The Caribbean lobster was a brown color with small tail flukes (and of course, spiny lobsters do not have claws). I'll take either one at the drop of a hat! The lobster I see in the grocery stores here are about the size of what we used to call prawns in the Pacific Northwest and cost about $8 for a 4 oz tail. So any lobster I get on a ship is a special treat. I should have taken a photo but I was too busy tucking in while it was still hot!

The lobster we had on Mariner of the Seas last June were spiny lobsters. Small but as many of them as we wanted. The lobster on Wonder of the Seas two weeks ago were large Maine lobsters. Get one free, buy the others. I have no problem with either, just bring 'em on. I paid for an extra night of Maine lobster just because they were so good and our waiter brought a whole gravy boat of melted butter. It was delicious. I just wanted to point out that spiny lobsters have a little sweeter taste but I'll take whatever is put in front of me. A real treat as far as I'm concerned. I used to be on a boat in the Florida Keys the first day of lobster season, catching our own. Limit was 6. Loved those days.

We were on Wonder of the Seas last week so yes, terminal 1. Like I said, we got to the terminal at 9:30 and were on the ship by 10am. You won't miss any shows. People who did not have reservations lined up about a half hour before each show. We had reservations so we went right in (they scan your SeaPass card as you enter) but we never saw anyone 'stand bye's' turned away. There were enough seats for everyone at the Aqua Show and in the Theater. We didn't go to any of the comedy shows so I can't comment about those. You'll have a great time. Don't worry. Check the app once on board to see what shows still have reservations available. I made reservations on the day of some shows and never had a problem getting good seats.

Hampton Inn & Suites Cruise Port is our favorite. Right near the port. Only a couple years old.