LVinTennessee

Wondering the same about Wonder?

@OCSC Mike, I’ve never been on Wonder or this class of ship. Can cabanas on the ship be rented? Either by the day or the week?

Prior to this old phone, he had a flip phone. I had to talk him into a newer device so we could text. He rarely has his phone with him to receive my calls or texts so I’m not sure my plan is working. 😂

My husband’s phone is too old and can’t download the app. He got by just fine without it. I checked us in, we did muster videos on my phone (I believe I was able to check his name that he watched it), etc.

To Poffles: I was on HAL Nieux Amsterdam, March 2023, and the casino was non smoking and very busy.

I was in a similar situation to you, and here is what I did: I just got off a cruise in March and had the internet package (on a Holland ship). Sometimes my texts to family back home did not go out or arrive in a timely manner. My friend who was on the cruise with me decided to use WhatsApp and had zero problems with texting so I second the recommendation to use that app (even if you purchase the internet/ Wi-Fi package). I called my cell phone carrier and told them where I was traveling - told them each port we were docking - and they set up international calling on my phone for 30 days. It was around $50-60. She looked up each port and since each of them were in the same zone #, I only had to pay one charge. Had the different ports/islands/countries been in different zones, I would have had to pay for each zone. I don’t know how your carrier will charge but it would be nice if they did the same for you as they did for me. I use Patriot Mobile. Now, when you get into port, you have to hope you have a signal. At one port, I never had a signal and could not make a call. My friend who had a different cell phone carrier was getting a signal so I borrowed her phone. hope that helps! Have a good time!

Friday - At Sea Day I don't have a lot to report. We were total couch potatoes. We ate breakfast in the Lido and then basically relaxed all day in the Cabana. We didn't play Bingo, we didn't get in the pool, we never went back to the spa/hydro pool, we didn't play trivia, we didn't go to "Permission to Dance" again even though we had so much fun the first time. I mentioned this earlier, and I've decided I won't provide a lot of details, but I had a negative experience with my first time HAL spa visit on the first night of the cruise. It did not ruin my cruise nor have a negative impact on my overall opinion of HAL. Maybe it was a one time thing. I'm not mad at all, but I did provide a detailed report of what happened in my online survey at the end of the cruise. I've been to my local spa numerous time plus a fancy/luxury spa in a nearby town on 3 occasions, and I've never experienced what happened - I only mention this to say that I'm not a spa newbie. Okay - after all that relaxing, we ate dinner in the MDR and had excellent service with Katino and Geno. Then we decided to go up the Crow's Nest to play cards. We took pictures of the sunset, and one of us got a mocha latte. Fun times! Guess what we did next? Yes, we went to Billboard On Board for All Requests with Brady and Caroline. We sort of stopped by B.B. Kings but it was always pretty crowded (whether it was the comedian or the band). And truthfully, Billboard On Board could get crowded. Sometimes, people stood in the walkway in front of the casino because all of the seats would be taken. Luckily, we were able to get 4 seats together because by Friday night, we had learned to get there early. At 9:45, we got to experience Chocolate Surprise (either they didn't have this on the 2018 Alaskan cruise or I just didn't know about it). Suddenly a parade of servers came through the area with various small bites of chocolate - I personally sampled a chocolate macaron, white chocolate covered raisins, milk chocolate covered nuts. It was a great treat! To be continued - our last port day on Saturday - Freeport, Bahamas

On Wednesday, 3/22, we docked in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. We had an excursion scheduled for first thing and we had a tight window to disembark due to the Carnival Mardi Gras coming in after us. After the Carnival docked, disembarkation would resume agin but we had to get off at the earlier time so we wouldn’t miss our excursion. We requested early room service and it was delivered promptly. I ate light - toast and juice. the planned excursion was a catamaran snorkeling trip. We walked around the port for a little while waiting for the group to form up. We took pictures of the many orchids growing on the trees. Soon it was time to board our bus - a typical tour bus. It was comfortable an air conditioned. Our tour guide gave us a running commentary as we drive thru town, he covered many aspects of life in the Dominican Republic. Eventually, we arrived at a golf course near some homes (possibly vacation rentals?), and we took a short walk down to the beach to find the catamaran waiting for us. We were advised that we would have to wade thru the water to board - water was up to my thighs. Not too bad - there were plenty of crew to assist us. there were 6-8 crew and each one was introduced to us. We all found seats but some had to sit directly on the deck and those people at the front of the catamaran got lots of splashes at one point. The catamaran does have two toilets which was convenient. I think it took 20 min or so to get to our snorkeling location out in the ocean. It seemed to be smooth sailing for the most part (I’ve been on plenty of boats - tours and rentals (never deep sea fishing though)). For the first time ever, I got sea sick. There was quite a bit of up and down motion, and that eventually got to me. I had time to get up and request a bucket from a crew member (they had advised us earlier about what to do if we got sick). I was sick repeatedly and a crew member was by my side the whole time, holding my hair out of the way, and he brought me water and napkins. Eventually, he led me to the side of the boat and told me to sip my water and to keep my eyes on the horizon in the distance. I felt much better but I drank two cups of water because my throat was on fire. we got to our snorkeling location and we were given instructions on using the gear. Once we were all in the water, we were sort of herded around. There were plenty of fish to see, sea urchins, coral, etc. one of my friend saw starfish too. 2-3 crew were in the water with us with one taking underwater pictures. They all had food that they fed to the fish which made for some good pictures. They sold us a jump drive of the pictures later. I ended up swimming back to the boat sooner than everyone else because I felt sort of weak and wrung out from the earlier ordeal. Once everyone finished snorkeling and we’re back on the boat, they served lunch and water, beer, soft drinks, and rum punch. I was told I could eat because it would be a smoother ride back to the drop off spot. I did not get sick again but I did borrow my friends sea bands just to be safe. the crew members were fun and they joked around and performed a few dances. They also sold some T-shirt’s and passed around a tip box. I also personal tipped the man ho was so nice to me during my unfortunate situation. I thought I was the only one who got sick, but later I found out that 2-3 other people got sea sick too. once we got back to the beach, I noticed some local police presence during our walk back to the tour bus. We got more local info from the guide on the way back to port. Three of us decided to go back to the ship and one of us stayed in port exploring, shopping, and soaking up the beach views. I was kind of sorry that I didn’t stay in port longer. after dinner, we visited the shops on the ship for a little bit and then met up with other TN lady and wound up at Ocean Bar where Third Avenue West was performing. Not a lot of people were here. We ran into another fellow snorkeler and chatted for awhile. The music wasn’t loud and was at a relaxing tempo so this was a good spot for conversation. Then we spent the rest of the evening at “All Requests” at Billboard on Board. to be continued -

this was my favorite dessert from Tamarind. It’s called Mango Posset and it was delicious and I ate every bite. Our server was Ing Ing and she was a hoot! We had great service. and here is a photo dump of various food pics. 1-2 are from room service and the rest are from MDR Geno is on the left and Katino is on the right. We loved them!

at the Asheville airport - super excited and ready to get away from the cold weather view from our hotel- The Riverside - I splurged on a corner balcony Views from our water taxi ride two pics of our meal from Shooters in Ft Lauderdale in our van from Elite Shuttles - headed to the port ready to board Nieuw Amsterdam

the island rooster at Half Moon Cay E18DEF60-DBBB-47B8-9C00-5AD30AF5306D.MOV he was crowing just for me 8798781C-665A-4294-A489-F62929CA85E5.MOV listen to this sweet song from a Bahamas bird kimberly, our cruise director - she just boarded this week or last week I believe. This pic is from the sail away party. My sweet roommate surprised me with this arrangement on embarkation day. I got to keep the vase which is really pretty. I got it home without breaking it. My first pina colada in the cabana. Very tasty! I do not like the paper straws. I would much prefer another type of biodegradable straw. Little ice chunks get stuck and clog the straw and paper straws get too damp and mushy. This is about the only complaint I have. our complimentary sparkling wine each afternoon in the cabana. Wine is not my thing, but I enjoyed this one. We turned it down most days. Cauliflower starter at embarkation lunch in MDR. Not my dish so I can’t give a review but I believe my friend really liked it. My embarkation lunch in the MDR. I really liked it. Club sandwich with slaw. the tomato bisque starter that I had before my sandwich. I would say this is one of the best tomato bisques I’ve ever had. I ate every bite! my friends fish tacos from embarkation lunch. this is a Caribbean/jerk pork terderloin with plaintain and beans and rice for our first dinner in the MDR. I loved it! a shrimp cocktail starter in MDR. I can’t remember which night. I ate every bite. It was not a traditional shrimp cocktail. It had a creamy sauce and some corn in it. This is me on the first Gala night. If you recognize me and met me on the ship, please let me know. this is my main course - beef tenderloin with shrimp - on the first gala night. Perfectly prepared. a tart from afternoon tea from our first at sea day sorry my pics aren’t really in order. And I have an older phone so my camera is not the latest/greatest. more pics/ more review will be upcoming. the seafood deviled eggs starter that I mentioned in a previous post. I wish I had ordered two. They were so good. my bbq lunch from Half Moon Cay. We all really liked the lunch we had here.

3/21 - Tuesday - At Sea Day I enjoy getting the paper copy of the Daily Program, and I keep it with me all day because I carry a cross-body purse. I like to circle the activities that I'm interested in. All the other gals used the app. I used the app some too. We did get reliable notifications of activities that we had selected on the app. Sending messages to each other thru the chat feature was very unreliable. So we just got in the habit of saying: "Where are you going? When are we meeting up next? Where will you be after that? When should we meet - tell me again?" etc etc. This worked pretty well for us. 🙂 Just like when we took our Alaskan cruise on the Eurodam, we used the cabana as our go-to meeting spot and hang out spot. The lido cabana is for 2 people but all 4 of us used it. We are very laid back and easy going, and we were no problem for our attendants. And I made sure our attendant was okay with all of us being there. I *think* all of the cabanas were sold out, but we rarely saw anyone in theirs. It was kind of strange. But that made for quiet, peaceful days. Most of the time, two of us would order food and two of us would go fix our own plate at the Lido. One person really enjoyed napping on the lounger in the cabana, and we were all really good about switching spots from the lounger to the table depending on if one of us wanted to eat at the table or nap or read or sit at the window facing the water. On a side note, with it being March and the typical Spring Break month, we did not see a lot of kids. At 10 am, we went to the Sea View Pool to attend Permission to Dance hosted by Al. He taught us 4-5 line dances with one being "Dollar Wine" which I had never heard of or seen. We had a lot of fun! We also struck up several conversations with the people around us, and I went around asking several people if they wanted to join us. I basically have two left feet, but I still had fun. One gal never dances, but she joined in and enjoyed it too. It's a nice 30 minute work out to help get ready for lunch and dinner. At 11:30, two of us went to buy Bingo tickets (I think we ate lunch after dancing and before Bingo). Bingo started at Noon. We didn't win. We struck up a conversation with three other ladies sitting near us, and they were very nice. One of them won one round, I think $100+. She was very happy. Next, my friend and I went to the Hydro Pool (my first time, her second time). We checked the thermal loungers before we got in the pool, but they were all full. We stayed in the pool for the recommended time and enjoyed each of the different areas of it. We chatted with a nice couple from Georgia. We checked the thermal loungers again, and they were still full. Not sure if they are always full or just on "at sea" days because I never went back again. 🤨 We went back to the cabana to dry off and lounge. At 3:00, we went to one of my favorite activities - Afternoon Tea. We sat with a nice family from Canada who were very well traveled. We questioned them a lot - getting ideas for future cruises (to Hawaii, for example). Then we lounged in the cabana some more and spent time getting to know our attendants - Oka and Manuel. They took such good care of us all week. Such nice young men! Tonight was dressy night so we spent extra time getting ready. Until the other ladies upload their pictures to a shared album, I will have to share pictures later. I know I ordered the beef tenderloin, and it was very well prepared. We got our pictures taken, but we didn't buy any. I actually meant to buy one, but I guess it's too late now. At 7:30, we went to Billboard On Board for The 1960's and stayed for The 1970's at 8:45 and All Requests at 10pm. Yes, we love Brady and Caroline! Do you all want me to take pictures of all the Daily Programs? I have all of them. Just let me know. Now is a good time to mention staffing. I, personally, did not notice any issues except one that I will mention in a second. I didn't experience slow service at meals or bars. One evening, it seemed like an extra server would have been handy in Billboard Onboard, but I'm not sure how many would have typically been working this area. Our MDR attendants did not seem overworked or stretched too thin, but I do know they work long hours. Not sure if they are working more hours than usual?? There seemed to be plenty of cabana/pool attendants. We were across the hall/elevator area from our other two friends (we were in the even section; they were in the odd section), and we had different attendants. I think I saw our attendants a total of 3 times (one of those 3 times, I had to track them down because I wanted to double check their names so I could fill out their tip envelopes - for extra tips because we did the prepay too). My friends in the odd section said they rarely saw their attendants. BUT our cabins were always clean, well stocked with clean towels, they always remembered to bring the beach towels for when the next day was a port day. So I tipped generously and left a very favorable review of everyone (by name) on the app at the end of the cruise, and I will leave great reviews whenever I get an email survey. I think we mostly had our cabin serviced once a day, but I know they came to our rooms twice in a day on more than one occasion because we had towels animals with chocolate twice and the beach towels would show up. On another staffing note - our toilet had problems twice on two separate occasions. When we called, someone showed up promptly to fix it. We ordered room service for breakfast 4-5 times, and it was always on time and hot and exactly what we ordered. I also called for room service for lunch once, and my call was answered quickly and showed up on time. I have zero complaints about staffing. I had to go to guest services several times - not for complaints - 3 times about a refund/charge on my statement and 1 time to get cash and 1 time to get a cabana printout for someone else interested in renting one in the future. Boy oh boy! The things you overhear from others visiting guest services! To be continued - tomorrow is Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

3/20 continuation - In the MDR, we sat at table 42 and our head waiter was Katino and his assistant was Geno. WE SO ENJOYED THEM SO MUCH ALL WEEK!!! They took great care of us and those in our party that were gluten free. Katino brought the next day's menu every evening at the end of the meal so that the GF people could choose their meal for the next day. We spoke to these nice gentlemen every evening learning about their families, where they are from, when they're going home next, etc. By the end of the week, we hugged each each one and had our picture taken with them. I can't remember what I ate that evening because I am not a "take a picture of every meal, everything I do type of person," but I do remember that the seafood deviled eggs that I had as a starter were excellent!!! After dinner, we had to run a variety of errands for various reasons (more on that later) and then we went to Billboard On Board for the 8:30 Majority Rules Game show. We sat in the far corner of the bar area and met a nice lady named Chin and she joined our group/team. We did not win this time 😞 Afterwards, Chin had to leave and more seats opened up closer to the pianos so we moved and played Music Trivia at 9:30. During Music Trivia, we met two more ladies who just happened to be from Tennessee too, and we struck up a friendship that lasted throughout the cruise (and will probably continue back home - we don't live in the same town but not too far apart either). We didn't win music trivia despite Al awarding us additional points for dancing and singing along. We laughed a lot! I'm not really sure when we called it a day. Tomorrow is an "At Sea" day. To be continued....

Okay, we are all back home now. The internet was unreliable. Especially at night when I would be settled into bed, ready to type out my daily review. Also, I've never gotten the internet package before so there was also user error. I typed out a continuation of 3/20 and then could not post it. I kept trying, but eventually the post was lost. Along with that problem and my pictures not syncing between my phone and iPad, I just decided to wait until I got home. Not the best way to do a LIVE review, I know. But it is what it is. Here's a spoiler alert - we all had a great time! To be continued

The other ladies are taking food pictures but can’t share them with me yet. 3/20 - Half Moon Cay - I’ve never been here. our room service showed up at 7 am promptly and was hot and delicious. My bacon was crispy - just the way I like it. we were in a short line by 8 am to take the tender to HMC. It was a bit overcast. this is my first time to the Bahamas. The water is absolutely lovely! We went straight to the water sports area and someone took us to our clamshells. We got in the water which was chilly, but not horribly cold, and we enjoyed ourselves. On the beach, we sunbathed and read our books before lunch. lunch was jerk chicken, Pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad, and cole slaw. Everything was excellent! Our whole group thought so. There were also options for hamburgers, hot dogs, and fish. it started to rain while we were eating and it seemed to have set in so I headed back to the ship. One person stayed on the island and waited out the rain. Took a shower to warm up then went to hang out in the cabana and then going to adult coloring at 2:30. all of my photos aren’t loading between my phone and iPad. So I will have to do a photo dump later. p.s I enjoyed the island chickens and their babies! And there was a pretty gray bird in the bushes singing so sweetly and I got it on video. Maybe I will be able to share it after I get home.

Our cruise director is Kimberly and she is full of energy and upbeat. The couple at the dueling pianos is Brady…and I can’t remember the lady’s name but they are a couple in real life (if I understood it correctly). They also sang “Shallow” duet by Lady Gaga. Phenomenal!

Embarkation Day 3/19 Our shuttle service with Elite went very smoothly. They called me to confirm our hotel pick up time at 10:30. At 10:16, he called to say he was 2 minutes out and that he would be in a black sprinter van. We arrived at the port and a porter promptly unloaded our bags. Things went so smoothly and efficiently that I had zero time to take pictures. Before we knew it, they called group 16 and we were on the ship! The crew has been so friendly and genuine. I love all of them! we went to our rooms (sea passes were at our door), watched the muster drill on the tv then reported to our muster station. The arts and craft lady, Rose, was our safety person and she gave us a little preview of what classes she would be teaching (because I asked). next we ate lunch at the MDR. I got the tomato bisque and the club sandwich and both were the perfect temp, perfectly seasoned and so yummy! The other gals got the Southwest quinoa bowls. We skipped dessert. next we went to our lido cabana which has been a big hit with my group. A couple of us went to the excursion desk to reserve a clamshell for HMC. After touring the spa and thermal suite for the first time ever, I booked a spa service and the thermal suite because it was half off and a great deal in my opinion. then the rest of our group took the tour and one more lady booked it too. I think I will give a review of their later (the service we got). then we did the sail away party at 3. We did not depart until 4 because 2 people had not completed the muster drill and had to be tracked down. Two of us enjoyed dancing on the sea view deck and then met a super nice couple - Laura and Michael - that we enjoyed chatting with. around 4:45, we started getting ready for dinner for 5:15 seating. Based on comments here, I was worried about the food quality. Another gal and I ordered the Jerk Pork Tenderloin and it was delicious! Again perfect temp and flavor and seasoned. The other two gals ordered salmon. I can’t remember their review of it. They will share pics with me later because they didn’t get the internet package. Our servers were wonderful. Two gals are gluten free and were impressed that they were brought two varieties of bread. we split up at this point for various appointments/demos. More on that later. Then we met in the Ocean Bar to play “Majority Rules,” and we won! We got a little charm bracelet as a prize. Next up was Billboard On Board for the dueling pianos. This couple was fantastic! One friend requested a song and they played it/sang it - Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. In my opinion, they knocked it out of the park on every song. I can’t wait to go back. afterwards, we walked around the casino a little bit just watching. we’re in bed now, getting up at 7:00 am and plan to be in line at 8:00 to tender to HMC. No plans except to have an excellent beach day. We have our fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain (which is on the forecast). one more thing - we have had a lot of ship movement. Not sure if it was rough seas or if something is wonky with the stabilizers. None of us have gotten sea sick though. Right now, I don’t have an option to add pictures so I will try again tomorrow.

Hello Iamthesea - maybe we know each other! Sunny is my cruising alias. I will be posting a picture soon and you will hopefully be able to figure out if you know me. If your child(ren) went to a private school in JC then there is a good chance we know each other. What a great mystery! cruise related - we have had a GREAT embarkation day. Will post more LATE this evening. I’m burning the candle at both ends. 😉

Continued for 3-18 Ate at Tommy Bahamas. Service was kind of slow but the food was really good. Ahi Tuna Wonton tacos, fish tacos, chicken mango salad, and coconut shrimp is what we ordered and we ate every bite. Then we strolled the River Walk (I enjoyed seeing all the pooches being walked) and drooled over some of the boats (me - my husband and I would like to buy a live aboard boat and do the Great Loop or maybe just sail up and down the ICW), and then we boarded the water taxi. We enjoyed the scenery and dreamed of living in one of the houses, and we enjoyed the sunset as we motored to stop 9 where we ate at Shooters. It was sort of spur of the moment and found out that they weren’t taking any walk ins. But we got a table at the bar easy-peasy with no waiting. We ordered the charcuterie board with fruit, a shrimp cocktail (6 plump shrimp), and the veggie sushi roll. Enough for all of us to share. We took an Uber back to the hotel and settled in for the next day. Tobecontinued for 3/19 - embarkation day! no time to edit. We are currently sitting and waiting to board the ship. Doing thisquick - on the fly!

We left a super cold and windy Asheville to head to a sunnier location! Flight was a bit bumpy, but we had a smooth, safe landing. Met a lot of friendly people going to other various cruise lines. Ahhh! The For Lauderdale temps were perfect at 83. A man approached us in baggage claim offering us a ride (and gave us his card), but that seemed sketchy. We took an Uber to The Riverside Hotel. Luckily we were able to get an Uber to take the 4 of us and our 7 suitcases. We were able to check in early to our corner balcony room. We have a great view of the river and can see the cruise ships in the distance. The hotel is great and smells nice and clean (and is clean). We ate at Tommy Bahamas for lunch. To be continued….

Another internet package question - I bought the premium internet plan. We are going to the Caribbean. Do I still need to put my phone in airplane mode?

We went on an Alaskan cruise with extended family (16 of us) and none of us bought the internet plan. I don’t remember my phone ever working properly to text anyone when we were underway (I had Verizon). Here is what worked for us - we had two side-by-side lido cabanas rented for the week. It was the “go to” place for everyone all week and worked extremely well (our cabins were on 4 different decks so leaving post it notes would not have worked for our group). When we were not at an activity, we went to the cabana to see who was there or to to see if anyone had left a note there. Plus it was really enjoyable to relax in the cabana to watch the scenery, or relax and read a book, or eat lunch, etc. It always seemed like someone was there to hang out with or someone had heard where someone else was. Another idea is to have different color highlighters and mark your daily activity planner with the events that various family members are interested in (you are yellow, parents are blue, sister is pink, etc) and you would know, in general, where people will likely be when you’re not together.

One more “this is a first” tidbit - the 4 of us have traveled together before, but we have never cruised together before.

We have two balcony rooms. Could not get side by side since we booked late, but we are on the same deck.

Just getting my post set up before next week and thought I'd give a little background information. Four ladies are headed to the Caribbean for a 7 night cruise! We are in our late 40's/early 50's. One of us has cruised on Holland once (2018), two of us have never cruised with HAL, and one of us has never ever been on a cruise so I think we will have some interesting perspectives. I, personally, have never been to any of these ports. Here's the itinerary: March 19 - Fort Lauderdale March 20 - Half Moon Cay March 21 - At Sea March 22 - Amber Cove March 23 - Grand Turk March 24 - At Sea March 25 - Freeport March 26 - Fort Lauderdale Our husbands will drop us off at the airport and then we will fly to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, March 18. We are staying at the Riverside Hotel and plan to eat/shop/tour around Fort Lauderdale for the day. Maybe we will take the water taxi - if you have any tips for that or stops we should make, I am all ears. We are using South Florida Elite Shuttles to haul us to the port on Sunday morning. We are so stinking excited and have really enjoyed planning for this cruise! We booked the cruise the very end of January and have been texting daily about what we're packing, the woes of trying on bathing suits in winter, which excursions we want to take, etc. I will start posting regularly when we get to Fort Lauderdale. The countdown has begun - 6 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes. Cheers, Sunny