sandym718

7 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

Day 8 Disembarkation

 

Well here we are, the dreaded last day. I did learn last night that there were 1350 kids (yea certainly felt like there were) on this voyage and that all the cabins were sold out. But a couple weeks ago they had 2250 kids during the spring break cruise so I guess we were lucky lol.

 

We got up early and beat the crowds at the Windjammer and the got ready and out of the room. We waited in the Royal theatre til about 8:20 when our number (44) was called. Walked off the ship and straight through to customs. If you had a US Passport you went to a series of facial recognition scanners, a quick photo and you were done. We were out of the terminal by 8:40.

 

Thanks to everyone for following along with us. We had a great trip. Wonder is a great ship and a lot to do. Most of the shows were great. I do feel that this trip confirms for us that we may be Virgin Cruisers now. There were so many kids on board, and I dont necessarily mind that but they weren’t well behaved and we heard almost constant running around etc. plus the fact that everything is included on Virgin, the food is outstanding, not a single person asked me to fill out the survey at the end of the cruise and I heard 2 mandatory overhead announcements on my 7 day cruise. We would definitely do Royal again, the Icon looks like a lot of fun, but I think our go to lines might just be Virgin now with Princess and Celebrity as close seconds.

 

 

thanks for the wonderful report!   Really enjoyed following along. 

On 4/18/2024 at 7:55 AM, Donsyb said:

There is a small sunbathing area one level up from the solarium- come out of the solarium towards the pool, go to the left hand stairs there. Not many loungers and no kids as not overlooking the pool.

 
Thank you! 

10 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

so far I found 1 for you. Deck 16, forward next to Hooked. It’s fairly quiet and at peak sunning time (1pm) there were still quite a few seats open. 
 

Thanks so much!  Looks like a great spot! 

8 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

it is a great resort, proximity wise, having the monorail is great. The downside to our room location was that we heard the horn from the ferry at the TTC like we were riding it. lol. But we were so tired last night once we hit the pillow we didn’t hear it after that. 
 

our favorite is still Wilderness Lodge. That’s also our home resort. But you can’t beat the contemporary’s walk to MK or the Savannah at Animal Kingdom. So many wonderful resorts. It’s fun to stay at each of them. 

We used to stay in Tokelau before it became DVC and yep could hear the ferry horn, but as you said...slept right through it.

Great reports so far!! 

I'd love to hear about any fairly quiet sunning spots you find/see on Wonder.  We loved, loved, loved the open air front deck of the Solarium on Oasis and that was pretty much our spot for the week.  I know Wonder, and Utopia, have closed Solariums which is disappointing to me.  Probably a great spot in the evening or if we need a break from the sun, but I'd like to find a similar quiet space when I want sun.  Love kids, but we're empty nesters now and I like to read my book without them running all over lol 

Following along because we'll be on Utopia and I've heard Wonder is the closest.  Your Poly pics are a pleasant surprise.  Our favorite Disney resort!  We first went in 2007 for a once-in-a-long-time splurge.  Well we fell in love and returned in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018!  Been too long now, time for a return trip 

2 hours ago, Stick93 said:

$25 would be my limit - also check how many ships are in port - if two ships it gets oversold and very busy. 

 I agree.  There will be 4 of us, so a flat $100 seems like a fair amount to check it out.  Just checked and on the 3 day, we are currently the only ship scheduled to be there.  So maybe that $45 will drop a bit.  

13 hours ago, danoconnl said:

we were there 3/18.  Wonder was the only ship in port.  Lots of kids on this cruise.  We got off the ship aorund 9:30/45.  Took the tram from just inside the coco cay entrance, pretty quick and easy. By the time we got to the pool, all of the loungers right around the pool were taken.  My original plan was to try and get loungers on the far end away from the dj to limit the noise while laying out, but there aren't many loungers at the far end of the pool.  It was full but not packed.  We easily found two loungers on the beach near the stairs to the pool area.  Around 12:30/1 we were walking somewhere and my wife remarked how great it would be to get one of the beds that are in the water, and wouldn't you know it, the next bed we walked by was empty, so we grabbed it for the rest of the day.  They are very nice.  The umbrella that is attached to them rotates 360 so you can have as much shade or sun as you want. 

The cabanas around the main pool had names in every one, but they were hardly used.  I know I saw a couple that were never used the entire time we were there.  I don't know if they put names in the unsold ones to make it seem like they are sold out or what, but if I paid what those cost I would be in there alot of the day.  We didn't walk down to the other ones and look at them.

 

We didn't get in the ocean, but the beach area is very nice, lots of loungers, tables in between a lot of them, alot of umbrellas if thats what you need.  Did see someone get yelled at by the lifeguards as he snorkeled past the end line and kind of into the channel that feeds the lagoon.  

 

They say the pool is heated,  I found it to be the perfect temp.  Not too warm, but not too cold.  Very nice to relax in,  Outdoor temp was around 80-83 I think the day we were there with sunny skies.

 

Getting drinks from the swim up bar was really easy, never more than 2nd in line.  If you want a beer/truly/ or soda, there was a chest of them on the beach near the stairs.  Having a drink at the pool wall looking over the ocean is really nice.  It was probably more of a party near the dj but we stayed further away and it was really nice.. At one point one of the dancers was spraying champagne into peoples mouths, and drawing a crowd.  Music was loud near the dj but not blasting.  I found it to be easy to listen to in the background.

 

I had the chicken sandwich and my wife had the coconut shrimp, we thought both were good.  I think the sandwich I had was a special one for hideaway, but I don't remember why.  

 

we loved it.  Not sure how much we would pay for it on our next cruise, but I think $30pp is where we might start to question, we managed to get it for 19.99pp on a sale and would pay that in a heart beat.  My wife is going on Allure at the end of May and the price has dropped from $40 about a month ago to lately being in the 20-25 range. She's not going because her mom doesn't want to and the trip is about spending time with her.

 

Ask me any questions you might have and I'll try to answer,

Dan

Thanks for the review! We're doing a B2B on Utopia in September and considering doing Hideaway for 1 of our CoCoCay stops.  Your description of sipping a drink from the swim-up bar at the pool wall overlooking the ocean...has about pushed me over the edge.  Hopefully the prices drop. Currently at $45 for the 3 day and $75 for the 4 day. 

No experience with Allure but last May we booked "connecting interior" cabins on deck 9.  Our kids are adults so we didn't need the connecting door really but the square footage was more for these so that's what we booked. We were very pleasantly surprised by the window and window seat! They were not classed as having any sort of view and the images on the website did not show any window.  I *think* we were in 9199 and 9201, but that could be wrong...and again, Oasis not Allure but I'm betting this is the same situation.  

37 minutes ago, dvan68 said:

If you want free, then South Beach is your answer.  Cove Beach is an extra charge.  Check the excursions on the app or website and you can get an idea of the pricing.  It varies based on the demand.

Cove beach does not have a charge.  There are no amenities there other than chairs and umbrellas.  You may be thinking of the Beach Club or Hideaway Beach. 

Yes, what Mike said...they are the same beach essentially.  Cove beach is just at the far end. Most people don't walk that far so it's very quiet.  That's what we like about it.  But it is a further walk for food, drinks and bathrooms. So it depends on what you want. 

Cove Beach!! 

Trying again! 

Darn, didn't work.  I will have to try again later, need to get back to work

Sharing a few photos from the Cove Beach area, hope this works:

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1 hour ago, JeffT237 said:

You may be correct, I've never been to that beach but I remember seeing this video. It's a couple of years old so maybe it's changed but at the 1:52 mark it shows a sign posted "Crew Area". Maybe this is a different beach, but the location seems to be the same.

 

I can't tell if this is the same beach or not.  sort of looks like it but the way it's edited before, I can't tell where they walked from to reach it.  Cove seemed more isolated. 

41 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

Cove beach at one time was crew only. Not sure if it is right now or not. 

can't speak to the past but in May it was definitely not.  

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

It doesn't look very big, and its location means that only people who've looked at the map and made a conscious choice will be out that far. 

I'd love to hear a report after you've visited.  What's the water like?  How big is the area really?  That kind of thing.  

It's not a very big area, but felt plenty spacious with just 6 of us total over there.  Maybe 30 lounge chairs and umbrellas?  I looked to see if I had any pictures of the whole set-up over there but I don't. The water was wonderful!  We saw several stingrays and small sharks. I'll post the few pictures I do have in a minute.  Our day was overcast and drizzly off and on (but still warm) so that may have contributed to how few people were over there.  It is a bit of a walk from the ship initially so that helps.  There are trails through the wooded area there that make it a shorter walk to the bathrooms, etc.  

Cove Beach!  My family and one other couple were the only ones there on a day in late May.  We were the only ship there, but it was Oasis.  Beautiful and peaceful! 

Following along, can't wait for more!  I like your style 

Loving your review!  Can't wait for Week 2!

Really enjoying your review!  We sail Oasis in May.  No suite, no UDP, but it's still fun following along!

These pool chair pictures are making me nervous.   Not a morning person and on my vacation, there’s no way I’m getting up early.  Guess we’ll be making do with whatever we can find. 

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

So I’ll take advantage of the good wi-if and post some pictures of the Aqua 80’s show last night. If you are a fan of 80’s music you will love this. I really liked how  the music was layered with sometimes 3 songs on top of one another. You would hear a Prince song with say a Sting song with vocal samples from other songs. Very creative

 

 

.MOV 37.44 MB · 4 download

 

 

Can't wait to see this in May!  DH and I are big 80's music fans.  The kids will probably grumble about the music while secretly enjoying it.  😉

1 hour ago, niksmom630 said:

Area outside the lower level of the Solarium…. Not sure how I could have missed this. Decent amount of extra space. 
 

 

 

 

Nice  views….will have to

compare this space on a sea day 

 

 

 

 

Specifically chose RC for our first family cruise (and my first in 22 years) because of this.  DD is 19 and the other lines have their adult areas 21+.  This way we can all hang out together and I think we'll be spending a LOT of time here.

27 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Just to show how much you guys have inspired me.  While shopping at Costco today I picked up the first item to accompany me on our cruise next month.  I'll never cruise without it again. 

 

Have this on the list to pick up for Easter baskets.  DS turns 21 in May.  DD is 19 but a "thriving" college student with a good "fake" 😉 so I think both will appreciate it.  

20 minutes ago, carlosalonsor said:

 

This! Totally agree. 

 

Wow! This is bad!

My sail is in 4 days, I haven't received the email yet and I hope I don't get it.  Why should I have to pay for someone else mistakes? $50 does nothing to help with my plans. It would be terrible to mess with my plans when nothing else is available in this short notice. 

Hopefully you’ll be lucky since it’s so last minute and they’ll honor for your cruise 

I basically got nowhere.  She said that the excursion is being held as Sold Out now until they cancel all the "Glitch" bookings.  She could not tell me when it would become available again or how much it would be.  Said I could try calling again when it's available to see if they would honor my original price.  Honestly, as long as they do the 50 pp credit, I could go up to $257.99 pp and still be exactly where I was to begin with.  Anything higher than that though and I'll be calling and trying to get my original price back.   Very frustrating but I guess I have to wait for them to cancel it and work it out.  I'm not cancelling it myself because then wouldn't get the OBC I'd assume.  Worst case, I guess I'll book direct through Atlantis.  I am not a patient person lol, so waiting this out will be tough!

It's $250 pp at Atlantis directly.  No transportation of course but we probably would've taken a cab back anyways so not a big deal.  If we can get 50 pp credit...it would basically balance out to what we had originally paid with a little extra towards transportation.  But I need to see if the day pass through Atlantis can be cancelled if we don't dock for some reason.  That is why I booked through RC to begin with