Wonder of the Seas Quick Review

[xxHadleyxx]

I was recently on the Wonder of the Seas transatlantic sailing as well as on the second of the two 2 night industry sailings afterwards, so I thought I would write up a quick review for anyone who might be interested.  Just short and sweet.  I am popping in sections between various activites over the next few days...but really only plan to cover the ship in general, food, and shows unless someone wants to know about anything specific.

 

The Ship:

Overall I was pretty impressed with the adjustments to the ship compared to the other Oasis class ships I have been on (only Oasis and Harmony).  

 

Highlights among the changes:

the solarium is so nice and usuable

the outdoor heaters really opened up a lot of deck space to be usable in chilly weather

Playmakers was a lot of fun (and this surprised me, as I am rarely interested in sports bars).  The back room with the free arcade games from the 80s and the foosball and pingpong was a great space too.  The munchies on offer were tasty and not too expensive.  If you actually want to watch a game and it is not on but is one they can get, they cannot start the feed until the game starts and then there cane be a delay...this can be dissapointing: we missed the first 2 and a half minutes of a semi final match and that meant we missed a goal.  Also, we were told they cannot get ANY bundesliga games at all!  Seems odd for a ship in Europe with a giant sports bar.

I generally avoid the casino like I avoid covid (ie the plague), but the former jazz club is now a non smoking casino.  Gaming is still not my prefered way to spend money, but it was pleasant to at least use my free spins in there.

spotlight Karaoke is such a better set up than the old On Air.  MUCH more comfortable and usuable now.  The selection of music is very random though....so many pretty standard things were missing.

Windjammers buffet areas is a much better set up that spreads teh crowds out far better

El Loco Fresh is probably the best thing to happen on the ships...and seemed to get a lot more use than Mini Bites

The Zip line is much better now with an easier and safer ending instead of a jarring effect.

Probably the cutest of the mini golf courses

There are lots and lots of full handwashing stations at all the eating places (ok, only one at Central park cafe, but there is one!).  I really like this upgrade.

The bathroom doors all open without touching anything now, also very nice

 

 

The lowlights:

The movie screen over Central Park.  Really?  Seriously?  

I don't have little kids anymore, but I expected the playscape at the rear of the ship to something I would look at and wish had been around when they were small.  Nope.  Not at all.  There was nothing special or chamring about it at all.  Nada.  Zip.  The space was much better used for a second flo rider.

There is still no good nightclub space.  

 

 

Overall the crew were really excellent.  Nothing but good things to say about that.

 

 

[TexasCruiser84]

Did you happen to see the table minimums for the table games in the non-smoking casino? My research suggested that the non-smoking casino is a more of a "high-roller" casino with higher table minimums, which if true, is unfortunate for us non-smokers who like to keep it under $10/hand 😞.

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for the review.  Not a casino person so sad to hear the jazz club is now a non-smoking casino area.  Loved the jazz club on the Oasis ships. But goo to hear nonsmoking isn't adjacent to smoking section.  i know many here aren't fans, but I enjoyed the enclosed Solarium on the Odyssey and happy it's there on the Wonder.

 

Can you expand on "no good night club space"?

 

Thanks.

[xxHadleyxx]

13 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Thanks for the review.  Not a casino person so sad to hear the jazz club is now a non-smoking casino area.  Loved the jazz club on the Oasis ships. But goo to hear nonsmoking isn't adjacent to smoking section.  i know many here aren't fans, but I enjoyed the enclosed Solarium on the Odyssey and happy it's there on the Wonder.

 

Can you expand on "no good night club space"?

 

Thanks.

This is a problem on all of the Oasis class ships I have been on.  They usually end up trying to run the night club in The Attic (this was the case on this ship); Dazzles (called Music Hall on the Wonder Hall) or the solarium sometimes.  None are really good spaces for a nightclub with lots of dancing and a night club feel (the Attic works best IMO).  Other classes of ships have much better spaces for this (the venue called Music Hall on Quantum class ships is fabulous) and the Voyager class ships have nice night clubs too.  

14 hours ago, TexasCruiser84 said:

Did you happen to see the table minimums for the table games in the non-smoking casino? My research suggested that the non-smoking casino is a more of a "high-roller" casino with higher table minimums, which if true, is unfortunate for us non-smokers who like to keep it under $10/hand 😞.

Sorry, I did not notice.  I do think the room was originally designed as a high roller room for the Asian market (and probably not to be non smoking) but have no idea what that is now.  

[xxHadleyxx]

Food:

 

We encountered people both in person and on facebook complaining about the food quality.  I am honestly confused as to how we could have such vastly different experiences.  I thought the food qulaity was overall quite good (as mass market cruise ship food goes).

 

Windjammer, as mentioned above, is really nicely laid out now.  There are two huge rows of sinks at the entry (I really appreciate this and sometimes went to wash up again after filling my plate, having touched all the tongs, etc, before eating).  The new layout leaves far more space between pods and just feels less crowded.  You also get to the food before the seating and then there is seating on several different sides in smaller sections, overall it feels more intimate.  We never had any problems finding seats.  On this sailing we ate in Windjammer a few times for lunch and about a half dozen or so times for dinner (never for breakfast) and only the right hand side was ever in use (we sailed at about 65-70% capacity I think).

There are some "always available" items: salad bar, rolls, fresh olives, etc plus a hot area with burgers, hot dogs, brats and chicken breast available at every lunch and every dinner we went to as well as the areas which rotate the menu.  There was always a freshly prepared to order station: sometimes it was stir fry, at other times pasta, etc.

Our favourite themed evening was the tex mex night with delicious enchiladas, fajitas and a most excellent churro bar.

At no point did we ever find food that seemed like it had been sitting out too long and was no longer fresh.  One night we went to dinner early, having skipped lunch, and my chicken breat was not cooked through.  I notified the worker in that area right away and they instantly started removing all the chicken that had been put out.  So that was one glitch, but they were quick to fix it when told and things DO happen, even on land.  

They have added in a section for kids which is lower to the ground so they can serve themselves more easily (cleanly) and stock it with kid friendly items like PBJ, waffles, and rice krispie treats.  I thought that was a good idea, though we had so few children on our sailing I never saw any at the buffet anyway.  

Windjammer had a lot of servers and they kept carts with soda, wine, beer, etc to refill quickly and easily (though will happily run out to the bar at the entry to get other drinks too).  It became a running joke with us that it was impossible to go mre than 10 seconds without a glass, or with an empty glass before a waiter came by.  (it really did get to be funny if you ordered something they had to go fetch, in the short interim five or six others would come up trying to bring you something).

 

Main Dining Room: We only had dinner in the Main Dining Room and we ate there about 6-7 times.  On our sailing they were officially seating early dining at 5:30, late was at 8:00 I think and My Time Dining could arrive between 6:30 and 7:45.  We had booked late dining but somehow ended up with My Time, which was nice as we could work around shows, trivia, etc.  A couple of times we wanted to go early in order to fit other things in and they were happy to go ahead and seat us at 6:00, especially as we were content to sit with others.  The staff were, overall, as accomidating as they could possibly be in most all respects. On our sailing the upper level was closed entirely and both the fixed seating and the MTD tables were all on deck 4.  Tables were crammed very close together: it was difficult to walk between just going/coming (I really do not know how the waiters do it) and felt very busy.  When we were seated at our own table for 2 we were so close to tables on either side we easily had conversations with them (we are social, so that was fine...all the fun of socializing without having to be on the same dining speed as companions).  Overall this crowding had the unusual effect of making the MDR feel less elegant and Windjammer felt like the more relaxed and "nicer" of the two.

 

Menus were pretty typical of RCI from past years with one exception: the "classics" no longer had the spaghetti bolognese or the chicken breast. Those sometimes appeared outside on the digital menu but were not available (and not on the printed menu) once inside.  One night we chose to eat in the MDR even though we only liked those two classics, they were on the digital menu and we had not yet learned they would not be inside.  We were seated with others and then got the menus.  EVERYTHING on the menu was either beef (which I do not eat) or seafood (I don't eat shellfish and do not care for salmon and that knocked out all those choices) and one vegetariam curry dish.  If we had been at our own table we would have left at that point, but we did not want to be rude.  We asked the waitress if those classic were available and pointed out the digital menu showed they were and were told that no, they were not. What we saw on the printed menu was all she could get.  In hindsight I should have asked for a children's menu but did not think about it in the moment.   My son ended up with a beef dish that was ok but not anything he would have chosen and I had the curry (I generally like curry, just wasn't in the mood that night, especiall as I am not super fond of cauliflower).  This was the one bad meal we had.  The cauliflower curry had a little bowl with, I coulnted, 3 small pieces of cauliflower and 6 chunks of carrot!  Needless to say we hit up Sorrentos later that evening.  It was one bad meal out of 28 onboard so I am not all that worked up about it, more bothered by the lack of selection that night.

Later on, we would ask to see the physical menu to check if it matched the digital before we were seated.  At one point one of the Head Waiters came out with us to look at the digital and saw that indeed that did show Spaghetti and chicken under the classics, something he told us they were not offering at all on this sailing (why?! these are such basic things)...we noticed that after that the digital would be changed every evening around 5:30 and those were removed.  Honeslty, my biggest food frustration on the ship was that having a chicken (or poultry) option at meals in the MDR is now seemingly gone (or at least it was on the TA).

 

On our sailing you were supposed to have reservations for dinner in Solarium Bistro but it was never crowded so they were happy to seat us anyway the two times we asked.  It is the most quiet and elegant of the included venues, very peaceful.  It is a buffet and had the exact same options every night...more of a mid eastern flair with lamb. hummus, tzatziki, etc.  Also fried calamari which my son really liked.  Everything was very good and it was a nice change of pace.  We also like going there just for appetizers (hummus and veggies, some calamari) and then maybe getting pizza much later on an evening with a very busy schedule. We did not visit the Bistro for breakfast or lunch.

 

As mentioned above, El Loco Fresh was one of my favourite places to dine on the ship.  We ate about half of our lunches there and I would sometimes swing by and grab a plate of chips and pico de gallo to take with me up to the card room, etc.  

Here again are several nice sinks for hand washing, there is a freestyle machine right there and a bar off the back (they even serve aquas frescas at this bar!).  There were freshly made tortillas (the machine is right there churning them out), quesadillas, burritos, chips and taco makings (pork and chicken, black beans, cheese sauce, etc) in the hot area and a toppings bar stocked with pico, guacamole, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sur cream, limes, etc.  I most often took chips, topped them with beans and chicken and some melted cheese sauce from the taco area and added an array from the toppings bar and made my own laoded nachos.  YUM.

 

Park Cafe was pretty similar to how it is on other ships.  It had lots of seating, so we never struggled to find a table.  There is a sink at the enterance but not paper towels.  When we ordered hot paninis they gave us a number and brought them to our table when ready at lunch time (only went there a couple of times at lunch) so we did not have to wait at the counter.  Chips are not set where visible and I was lamneting that you can no longer get chips when my son noticed other diners had them so I asked....yes they are hiding inside drawers but still around if you ask for a bag!  We stopped by for breakfast bagels several times....breakfast in Central Park is just so pleasant.  

 

Sorrentos was cheerful and never too crowded.  Pizzas were always quite fresh and there is a nice antipasta selection as well.

 

We had breakfast at Johnny Rockets several times and really enjoyed it each time.  Everything was so fresh and delicious (breakfast at Johnny Rockets is included at no extra charge on Oasis class ships).

 

We never got anything from the Dog House, Promenade Cafe or Vitality Spa smoothie area so I cannot comment on those venues.  I will make a different  post for the upcharge venues we visited.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[TheHawk1]

5 hours ago, xxHadleyxx said:

I really appreciate this and sometimes went to wash up again after filling my plate, having touched all the tongs, etc, before eating

I thought the crew were still serving people in the Windjammer... is that not the case?  No wonder people are catching Covid on their cruise.

[xxHadleyxx]

56 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

I thought the crew were still serving people in the Windjammer... is that not the case?  No wonder people are catching Covid on their cruise.

No, they are not serving people anymore.

   I don't think that affected Covid counts much given that we've known for ages now that Covid is spread through the air. 

 It was the big party packing people into the Promenade, the full to capacity theatres, the really crowded hush party in the solarium, the tables really close together in the MDR,  etc all  without masks on the vast majority that fueled the Covid spread.

[ILOVESHIPS]

There were no covid protocols.  Staff had  covid.  My  cabin steward was there for   3  days  and  disappeared.  They said oh he has a bad back and  he is sea sick.   He had  covid  along  with many others on the ship.

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, xxHadleyxx said:

I don't think that affected Covid counts much given that we've known for ages now that Covid is spread through the air. 

Lots of reports show Omicron lasts far longer on surfaces than previous variants. Having multiple people all touching the same serving utensils doesn't sound like good public health, even at the best of times.  Seems like Royal has decided it's up to individuals to protect themselves once they're onboard, i.e. washing their hands.

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, ILOVESHIPS said:

There were no covid protocols.  Staff had  covid.  My  cabin steward was there for   3  days  and  disappeared.  They said oh he has a bad back and  he is sea sick.   He had  covid  along  with many others on the ship.

yes when I was on the Wonder for week 6, my steward fellow was so called sick the last two days.

I never had this happen.  I tested myself two days later when home and then 2 weeks later as well.

No covid for me so far but I did wear my mask indoors mostly like halls, elevators, shows, restaurants.

 

[xxHadleyxx]

21 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Lots of reports show Omicron lasts far longer on surfaces than previous variants. Having multiple people all touching the same serving utensils doesn't sound like good public health, even at the best of times.  Seems like Royal has decided it's up to individuals to protect themselves once they're onboard, i.e. washing their hands.

Interesting, I haven't seen those studies.   There was no distancing, no capacity limits, etc and things like the "NYE" party in the promenade encouraging lots of crowding, so yeah it was pretty much nothing (except masks on crew) as far as keeping guests Covid free.   

On my first two post Covid cruises (last fall) I felt safer on the ship than most other places I could be.  This time was totally different and I felt the cruise was among the biggest Covid risks I'd ever taken.  Sigh

[xxHadleyxx]

We didn't do a lot of Specialty dining but of the ones we did try, here are my thoughts:

 

We used a BOGO coupon at Wonderland the first night. I really love the set up for Wonderland on the Oasis class ships.  This one is really very nice....with painted Wonderland themed icons on the glass of the elevators near the entrance to start off the theme.

Whenever we dine at Wonderland we go early and get Chesire Cat Cosmos in the upstairs bar first.  The staff were great, and the Mad Hatter even stopped by to chat while we had our dirnks.  This was a particularly good Mad Hatter.  

We noticed the lighting level on Wonder's Wonderland is higher/brighter than on Harmony....we liked that.  We also heard the elevator down for those in wheelchairs was a little less "crew only" than on other ships....it finally occurred to RCI that a decent number of passengers are going to be using that.

In the past I have gone to Wonderland with my husband and other friends who like all the foods.  This time it was JUST my adult son and I and we are both picky eaters....so I was a little worried they'd give us a hard time about ordering mostly off the kids' menu....but they didn't at all and we had a lovely meal (we do get a handful of the adult items, and of course the dessert in the chocolate sphere).  The quality and whimsy were on point and we had a delightful dinner to kick off the cruise.

 

I ate at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen on the 2 night event, at a table with 4 others.  In my past experience I have not really enjoyed the standard Giovanni's (Giovanni's table) and I have really liked Jamie's Italian Kitchen.  Giovanni's Kitchen landed squarely between the two for me.  It is more "American Italian" or comfort food than Giovanni's table.  The food quality was pretty good overall, though we found the much hyped pizza to be a major letdown.  Portions were HUGE.  Of the various things we all got and shared around the table, the chicken parmesan was the best, IMO.  Dessert was another letdown.  I ordered the chocolate ravioli, which was really dry....adding a good ice cream would really help.  Overall, I enjoyed the experience but probably will not pay to dine there in future (but would eat there if I buy an Unlimited dining package, just for variety).

 

I also ate at The Mason Jar, on the two night event (for dinner).  I love fresh brewed iced tea, so being able to order that right off the bat got me off to an excellent start.  The selection of cocktails (which you can also order in the bar even if not dining there) was really good as well and we appreciated all the themed drinks.  Every table gets jalapeno cornbread (delicious) and biscuits (a bit dry).  We got pimento cheese (surprisingly good), the crab beneigts (very good) and gumbo (excellent) for starters and fried chicken with sides and shrimp and grits for entrees.  The fried chicken is supposed to come with three pieces...I asked to have only one as I was getting stuffed.  We had the Gone Bananas (a banana pudding) for dessert...it was sooooo good.  I wasn't expecting to like this venue as much as I did.  I likely will return next time I have the chance.

 

We ordered food at Playmakers a couple of times.  The onion rings were good but the only option is a HUGE portion, far more than I could eat.  Chicken fingers were pretty good.  The marshmallow topped cookie was delicious.  The pricing isn't bad for what you get and having some of the "game snacks" while watching a game is really fun.  On the trade event sailing Playmaker's was serving trays with 4 mini versions of the various menu items (2 onion rings, a little ramekin of poke nachos,  a mini burger, and a mini cookie, for example )...I wish that was available to order normally!  I would love that, and I get the feeling I am not alone.

 

Finally we did have lunch at Johnny Rockets once.  Sitting outside on the boardwalk is so pleasant, and the burgers were nice and fresh (though they took a bit to cook).  The shakes we got at JR were really good and creamy and thick.

 

 

[xxHadleyxx]

11 minutes ago, ChC said:

If I am not mistaken, this ship is designed for Chinese market, hence no Jazz Club but an exclusive casino. The Solarium Bistro would be what they call Gold Card Suite Restaurant and only full suite passengers are able to access (when doing Chinese itineraries), hence the full buffet and good food and ambiance there. 

 

Also Chinese likes buffet better than MDR so the enlarged Windjammer. Maybe OP can report back if you can see a big area of tables with a round centre enclosed that is designated to become a hot pot restaurant? That should be part of Windjammer and will be a paid Hot Pot restaurant when in China.

 

Finally they should have spaces for one or two noodle bar in the buffet. It is likely to be left empty at present. 

Yes it was designed for the Chinese market.  We have sailed RCI out of Shanghai in 2019 and loved it, though it is really different.  The entire solarium was only for those with suites or Diamond Plus or above on that sailing (not many status passengers in that market yet...might have even been Diamond and above, I do not recall, it was still basically empty all week).

I had thought the area that is now Hooked was designed to be the hot pot resturant originally (not a section of Windjammer)...we figured that was why it looks out over the Solarium, there is an appeal in that culture to others being able to see that you have an exclusive perk.  When we sailed in 2019 the Solarium Bistro on quantum had been converted into a hot pot specialty...we ate there our first night onboard.

And yes that is certianly why the Jazz club was replaced by more casino space...and it was planned as an exclusive high roller casino.  

I think that is why there were so many heat lamps in outdoor areas too...it gets pretty chilly in China...our late March sailing from Shanghai we mostly had single digit (celcius) temps.  Probably also why there is only one flow rider, it is not nearly so popular in that market.

the area being used for custom pasta and stirfry is probably the area which would have been the noodle bar.  

Edited May 14, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[xxHadleyxx]

8 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

On Spectrum, there are two dining areas. One is Gold Dining and Lounge on deck 16 among the high class suites, for full suite passengers. So nobody else can see them!

 

Then there is a smaller one, which would be named similar to Silver Lounge and Restaurant. This would be for Diamond members and Junior Suites passengers. And this is on Deck 14 in the Solarium area.

 

I don't know what is the plan for Wonder. Maybe someone in the Solarium with experience of working in China sailings can tell you.

 

Thank you for coming back to me so quick. I was going to take the Shanghai cruise but Covid changed everything. Thank you again, and enjoy your cruises.

I am home now, so no one to ask.

Yeah, we had book a sailing from Shanghai again for March 2020...it was our first covid cancellation.  I don't know if/when there will be sailings from China again.  But if things settle down and you have the chance, I defintely recommend trying it out.

[BecAus]

I was reading your review of Wonder just out of interest and then came across these last 4 posts which were very interesting and helpful for me! 😃

I've just booked a 4n on Spectrum out of Singapore in 2 weeks, travelling from Perth, Aus.

It was hard to find much information about the current info / conditions and the current requirements for sailing out of Sing on SC.

My son and I did duck up to Singapore to check out Spectrum on her inaugural sailing over to Asia so I am somewhat familiar with the ship.

We are Diamond and on that sailing (we had an inside room) we were able to use the Silver lounge & buffet - loved that venue, especially the dining area!

I've booked a Silver Jnr Suite for my husband and I.  Might be a bit of a waste if we are still allowed to use that area as Diamonds, I wasn't sure if that might have changed by now.  I only paid ~ $480 extra for the Jnr as opposed to a Balcony though so it's no big deal and the extra space will be nice even if it's only a 4n cruise - short and sweet but gotta take what we can get at the moment!

Very much looking forward to it as we haven't had the ships here for 2 years and are crossing our fingers hopefully that it is looking more promising that they will be able to return to Aus this November.

 

So...thank you for your review of Wonder xxHadleyxx which I was reading with interest even though I'll probably never sail on it unless they bring it downunder

and thank you to you & ChC for the last few posts which was timely and helpful for me to read 😃

[Merion_Mom]

@xxHadleyxx  If you go into the app and look at the MDR menu for the evening, scroll down to the bottom and there is a "vegan menu".  Some of those items are VERY good, and present some alternatives.  🙂 

[xxHadleyxx]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

@xxHadleyxx  If you go into the app and look at the MDR menu for the evening, scroll down to the bottom and there is a "vegan menu".  Some of those items are VERY good, and present some alternatives.  🙂 

That's interesting.  The waitress insisted that the printed menu was IT.  Nothing else.  (The one curry was vegan).  I wonder if there was really more, or if on this sailing the ball was really dropped?

[xxHadleyxx]

And entertainment, this is one if my favorite parts of cruising.   I know some people get sick of shows after enough cruises...I am not that person 🤣.  I'm the one who's go to even the shows on Vision class ships a couple of times on each leg of a back to back.

I'm only going to review the shows that are tied to the ship, nit the variety acts (Tap Factory, Beatlemania, etc) which vary from sailing to sailing.

 

Voices is the only main stage show currently up in the theatre (it sounded like the super hero show might not be up until fall).  

In spite of a very talented cast, Voices is by far the most disappointing Royal Caribbean Production that I've seen to date.  I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to design a live theatrical show which relies heavily on pre recorded audio and video clips and has the look and feel of watching a YouTube video or participating in a Zoom meeting, but it is a very bad idea.  Ugh 😩

 

One of the attractions of RCI has always been the live music in the theatre... including using a live orchestra for stage shows.  This show is "Acapella" so fair enough that there is no orchestra, but the beat boxers and several other vocal components (6-8 people on most songs) are pre recorded and piped in along with videos of their faces as it was recorded.  The same songs, with all live musicians would've been awesome (we've seen some damn good acapella groups with beat boxers as variety acts before and loved them).  

 

Additionally the "costuming" is just bland khaki and white throughout.  No real changes (sometimes they put on a sweater, scarf or hat).  Nothing interesting to look at.  No sense of theatre.  It's the look you get when the middle school choir director tells everyone to wear the same color scheme for a performance...great for a broke school, or maybe a few scenes of a major production, but pathetic for THE show on Wonder of the Seas.   And the khaki and white seem almost intentionally designed to fade into the background so that the brightly colored video screens become the focal point.

 

   Similarly, the "set" consisted of beige file boxes, some plain wooden chairs and a couple of wooden hat racks (plus all those expensive screens). It's all about highlighting the screens instead of the stage....there are even several times during the show when the cast turn their backs to the audience and watch the screens.   With the dull costumes and constant flickering of the screens it can be hard to focus on the amazing dancing sometimes happening.  Honestly the whole set up is almost an insult to the extremely talented cast.

 

What I DID enjoy was the selection of songs and the talented cast.  If it were all live, we had some costumes and sets and no more TVs it'd be a really good production.  Sigh.

 

(I'll be back later with my take on the Aqua show and ice show, this took longer than I expected and I need to catch a train).