They are not sold out.
What is happening with the inventory is the following.
There are very few double occupancy cabins D2 and D4. TA's are allowed to block space (not specific room) When they do this Royal pulls the same number of cabins from inventory so that they can fulfill their obligations for that group space.
That's why you will suddenly see an entire deck or one side of the deck disappear or in this case all the aft cabins.
There are a lot of sailings that actually look sold out...like the first sailing. There are plenty of cabins left but Royal isn't showing them. The space is held in a group...I know, I'm holding 16 spaces in what looks like a sold out category but I can still book it and when a client books a 2D for example they end up booking a 2D guarantee and then Royal assigns it from one of the cabins they are holding
Don't forget that Wonder was initially destined and built for the Asian market which had a big impact on shows. By the time they decided to move her to the US it was too late to change them and there is still the possibility that she eventually goes to Asia.
It depend entirely on what kind of cabin you are booking. For balconies and below many TA's have access to group rates which are refundable and lower than Royals non refundable rates. You won't in most cases see them as they are not supposed to be publicly advertised but you may find a TA that promotes them. Junior suites and above are the same price with or without a TA.
Depends on when the ship is ready as to whether she will do a TA or not. It is quite likely that it has just not been released. In 5 years she will also need to make her way back to Europe for a drydock and there will be a TA both East and West bound.
Balcony cabins that hold 2 guests are only found on decks 12 and 14 so you won't find availability on any sailing date until Royal removes the occupancy restrictions for the cabins that are designed to hold 3 or 4 guests.
Count us out for the time being. Not paying these prices. I have a feeling the only way I'm getting aboard is if I get lucky and get an invite to one of the 2 day preview sailings
Royal has not lifted many of the restrictions for booking.
2 guests looking to book an Oceanview balcony are limited to deck 12 and 14. For a CP Balcony they are limited to deck 14.
This is crazy, there are so few cabins that hold 2 guests on this ship, no way will they fill them all with 3 and 4 guests
I am guessing that Royal is making a major departure from their policy of not allowing 2 people to book a triple or quad occupancy cabin.
Nearly all balconies on the ship can hold 3 or 4 guests with the exception of some Oceanview balconies on decks 12 and 14. All Infinite verandas hold more than 2 as do all the CP balconies and Surfside (hard not saying BW).
Most of the Oceanview and insides also hold more than 2 guests with the exception of the smaller insides.
It will be interesting to see how the base fares of the cabins that hold 2 guests compare to the base fares of the cabins that hold more than 2 guests as in the past the triple and quad occupancy cabins nearly always had a higher base fare for guests one and two since there were less of them and in demand.