Live from Wonder of the Seas! March 4 to 11, 2022 Inaugural Cruise!

[twangster]

Maiden Voyage Certificate (with name removed)

 

[ocean sounds]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:30 PM, twangster said:

They have transformed Central Park in a bad way.  At least when they run movies on the pool deck.    … Even deeper in Central Park where you can't see the screen you sure can hear it. …

 

Rip it off and give it to Liberty….. 
 

 

This!!  Save the sanity of Wonder CP wanderers and balcony dwellers. .   And Liberty REALLY needs a working TV. 
 

Thanks, @twangster, for your wonderful pictures, and ship commentary (and Wonder CP noise warning)      Safe travels home. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by ocean sounds
Space

[FionaMG]

Thanks for bringing us along on another great @twangster cruise. 😊

[John&LaLa]

On 3/12/2022 at 9:25 AM, twangster said:

Maiden Voyage Certificate (with name removed)

 

 

Thanks for the great review, truly professional photography, and answering questions during your vacation.

 

Would have followed along live, but I was enjoying my own trip on Symphony. 

[Oceansaway17]

58 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Thanks for the great review, truly professional photography, and answering questions during your vacation.

 

Would have followed along live, but I was enjoying my own trip on Symphony. 

I get to do her end of April after Wonder.

Any suggestions for SOS?  I am in a Jr Suite.  for the first time ever too.

[SherriZ366]

Very enjoyable review.  Thank you for taking the time to write it and for posting a PDF of all the Cruise Compasses.  Much easier to download and read.  

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I get to do her end of April after Wonder.

Any suggestions for SOS?  I am in a Jr Suite.  for the first time ever too.

 

Get up to CK right away and try for dinner reservations on night 1. The tomato soup and filet ate awesomeness.

 

Ice show is great, sit in center section

 

Flight is another must, sit down in lower section in front of sound booth

 

El Loco fresh is a nice free venue, and the wings at Playmaker's are a good value if you get 2 dozen.  Medium is as hot as I can take.

 

Have fun

[Oceansaway17]

16 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Get up to CK right away and try for dinner reservations on night 1. The tomato soup and filet ate awesomeness.

 

Ice show is great, sit in center section

 

Flight is another must, sit down in lower section in front of sound booth

 

El Loco fresh is a nice free venue, and the wings at Playmaker's are a good value if you get 2 dozen.  Medium is as hot as I can take.

 

Have fun

okay will try your advice.  Any reason why only night 1 for CK.

Also I was thinking CK is good for breakfast.

I suppose my SOS will be a test as I do have JR Suite on Oasis in the fall

 

Also I have heard so many things positive about El Loco but I do no like Jalep peppers or hot stuff.

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

okay will try your advice.  Any reason why only night 1 for CK.

Also I was thinking CK is good for breakfast.

I suppose my SOS will be a test as I do have JR Suite on Oasis in the fall

 

Also I have heard so many things positive about El Loco but I do no like Jalep peppers or hot stuff.

 

JS are only allowed for dinner. As far as 1 night, that's the best menu. Formal night is good, but might be more crowded. The rest are underwhelming 

[twangster]

25 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

okay will try your advice.  Any reason why only night 1 for CK.

Also I was thinking CK is good for breakfast.

I suppose my SOS will be a test as I do have JR Suite on Oasis in the fall

 

Also I have heard so many things positive about El Loco but I do no like Jalep peppers or hot stuff.

Food is personal.  Look over the menus in the app and see if any jump out for you.  As a meat & potatoes cruiser the night one filet is usually pretty good.  There is one or two other nights that appeals to me, the rest are ‘meh’ for my tastes.  Lobster night isn’t the tails served in the MDR so if lobster tails are important to you eat in the MDR that night.  

[Oceansaway17]

8 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

JS are only allowed for dinner. As far as 1 night, that's the best menu. Formal night is good, but might be more crowded. The rest are underwhelming 

oh then I only get to go once and only dinner.

Well    *&^*%^ that then.  I think more and more just the Windjammer is fine.  I do not go on ships for fine dining as I can do that on land.  I prefer good entertainment.

[Oceansaway17]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

Food is personal.  Look over the menus in the app and see if any jump out for you.  As a meat & potatoes cruiser the night one filet is usually pretty good.  There is one or two other nights that appeals to me, the rest are ‘meh’ for my tastes.  Lobster night isn’t the tails served in the MDR so if lobster tails are important to you eat in the MDR that night.  

gotcha I am a tail person too.  I have two cruises in Jr Suite and will venture into and learn about the overrated CK (or at least from what I have heard lately).

 

What I really like on any ship is appetizers and the wonderful variety of bread.   And most soups too.

[Mikew0805]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:29 PM, SilkySal said:

Yum! That B.E.L.T. from JR is always my favorite breakfast! Very happy it was added to the menu!

 

BTW, it looks like Playmaker's on the Wonder is a great location! On the Odyssey, you can only access Playmaker's by stairs and "there is no restroom up there!" Not a good thing for us old farts who like their beer!!😲 I also am the main sports fan between DH and I, especially during NFL season. They need to make changes to that venue IMO. Maybe it would help if those with higher status would complain.

There is an elevator on Odyssey from 15 to 16 for Playmakers.. but yeah no restroom on the same deck, which was odd to me.

On 3/10/2022 at 12:30 AM, twangster said:

I love so much about how they have evolved and transformed Wonder beyond her sisters except for one major problem.  

 

They have transformed Central Park in a bad way.  At least when they run movies on the pool deck.    

 

Central Park used to be such a peaceful and relaxing space in the evenings but my worst fears have come to fruition.  When I saw the renderings of the outdoor TV screen on the pool deck at one end of Central Park this quickly became a concern for me and I am sad to report it is what I hoped it wouldn't be.

 

Listen for yourself.  This video is straight from the phone without any sound adjustments made.  It is exactly how it was recorded except for compressing it down to 720p so I could upload it more easily from the ship.  Video captured at 11:18pm.  

 

Even deeper in Central Park where you can't see the screen you sure can hear it.

 

I've spoken to someone with a Central Park balcony and it is impactful to these cabins.  She won't ever book one again.  

 

As far as I am concerned turn it off.  Paint over the screen.  Hang a banner on it.  Play silent TV like ChiveTV on it.  Rip it off and give it to Liberty.  Stop running movies on the pool deck.  It can't be worth appeasing the folks who want to float in a pool and watch a movie if it means destroying the ambiance of Central Park.

 

I book on deck 8 to be close to Central Park.  This is one change on Wonder I am not a fan of at all.

 

 

 

Oh that is not good. Maybe they could set up something like the silent disco and have headsets up top so people could still watch the movie, without destroying the ambiance of CP. That would of course require staff, so probably not. 

 

 

Twangster - Thanks for all the pics. I plan to sail on her in March of 2023.

[trotzoll]

On 3/4/2022 at 12:02 PM, di T said:

Have a great cruise! Roll on 29th of May when we experience the Wonder ourselves, we have a balcony on deck 7 same cabin for our two consecutive cruises so maybe your cabin will be the same! Dianne

We'll be on Deck 7 in June. You'll have to let me know what room you're in. 

[di T]

15 hours ago, trotzoll said:

We'll be on Deck 7 in June. You'll have to let me know what room you're in. 

Sorry deck 8, 8530! What date are you on? We leave Barcelona on May 29th and leave the ship on June12th.Dianne

[trotzoll]

5 hours ago, di T said:

Sorry deck 8, 8530! What date are you on? We leave Barcelona on May 29th and leave the ship on June12th.Dianne

We'll be on the same cruise! We board in Rome on the 9th! We just may need to have a cocktail together!

[Ozark_Kid]

@twangster what do you edit your 360 pics and videos on, a phone or laptop. I have a Samsung S21 and wondering if it would be capable.  I have been considering a new laptop but have not figured out what would be best for editing pics and video.  Are you using Insta’s newest editor?

[twangster]

10 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

@twangster what do you edit your 360 pics and videos on, a phone or laptop. I have a Samsung S21 and wondering if it would be capable.  I have been considering a new laptop but have not figured out what would be best for editing pics and video.  Are you using Insta’s newest editor?

 

I was previously using an iPhone with 256GB of memory but the problem with 360 videos are the huge file sizes.  I recently needed to upgrade my phone and while I was looking at Samsung they hadn't released details of larger memory options so I went with the largest iPhone I could get my hands on. 

 

360 videos are often 6 to 12 GB files and i was so tired of having to constantly manage my content storage so carefully with just 256GB.  The 1TB iPhone I use now is so much better when dealing with multiple large 360 video files.  

 

360 photos are not an issue.  It's really the videos that are storage pigs. 

 

I use the native Insta360 app for the editing then export it into iMovie to add a fade a black, a basic core feature absent in the Insta app.  I'll often then send the final video to my laptop to compress it in handbrake so it's easier to upload over Voom.  

[Ozark_Kid]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

 

I was previously using an iPhone with 256GB of memory but the problem with 360 videos are the huge file sizes.  I recently needed to upgrade my phone and while I was looking at Samsung they hadn't released details of larger memory options so I went with the largest iPhone I could get my hands on. 

 

360 videos are often 6 to 12 GB files and i was so tired of having to constantly manage my content storage so carefully with just 256GB.  The 1TB iPhone I use now is so much better when dealing with multiple large 360 video files.  

 

360 photos are not an issue.  It's really the videos that are storage pigs. 

 

I use the native Insta360 app for the editing then export it into iMovie to add a fade a black, a basic core feature absent in the Insta app.  I'll often then send the final video to my laptop to compress it in handbrake so it's easier to upload over Voom.  

Thanks.  So if I am understanding you correctly the size of the files can be a problem when it comes to storage but the phone can handle the processing.  
I got the Samsung before my October cruise.  I forgot I had my video set to record 4k so I was having problems loading to CC and when they did load people were having a problem viewing.  I found that I was able to downsize to 720 with the Samsung editor.

I am considering getting the Insta 360 one x2 before our May cruise.  We are going whale watching and I figured it might be easier to take the pics holding it on a stick above everyone and less likely to miss a pic.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Thanks.  So if I am understanding you correctly the size of the files can be a problem when it comes to storage but the phone can handle the processing.  
I got the Samsung before my October cruise.  I forgot I had my video set to record 4k so I was having problems loading to CC and when they did load people were having a problem viewing.  I found that I was able to downsize to 720 with the Samsung editor.

I am considering getting the Insta 360 one x2 before our May cruise.  We are going whale watching and I figured it might be easier to take the pics holding it on a stick above everyone and less likely to miss a pic.

Everything will be wide angle when shooting with a 360 camera.  They are a neat toy but they don’t replace a conventional camera.  There is also a learning curve to everything.  Learn it well before your Alaska cruise.  

[Sea Dog]

8 hours ago, twangster said:

 

I use the native Insta360 app for the editing then export it into iMovie to add a fade a black, a basic core feature absent in the Insta app.  I'll often then send the final video to my laptop to compress it in handbrake so it's easier to upload over Voom.  

 

Smart work flow.

[di T]

20 hours ago, trotzoll said:

We'll be on the same cruise! We board in Rome on the 9th! We just may need to have a cocktail together!

We board in Barcelona on the 29th after 4 days in Barca, would be nice to meet for a drink once you join us! 😘🥂

[perfect match]

@twangster, I finally managed to get back here, and I’m all caught up. Thank you very much for another fantastic review and photos. I’m actually glad I waited until I could take my time reading so I could really enjoy my virtual voyage.

 

I now have a previously unforeseen problem. I had planned to book our next cruise on Odyssey since we’ve yet to sail on a Quantum class ship, but after cruising along with you on Wonder I’m now seriously considering booking on her instead even though 5 of our last 6 cruises have been on Oasis class ships. I’m thinking that’s a nice problem to have. I’ll probably end up booking a cruise on each! 😎🛳🤩🛳  Problem solved. 

[twangster]

7 hours ago, perfect match said:

I’ll probably end up booking a cruise on each! 😎🛳🤩🛳  Problem solved. 

 

That's always the correct solution.  🙂 

[trotzoll]

On 3/22/2022 at 1:02 PM, di T said:

We board in Barcelona on the 29th after 4 days in Barca, would be nice to meet for a drink once you join us! 😘🥂

I'd love that!