Wonder of the Seas, smallest Windjammer ever or am I missing something?

[Cruise Gopher]

Currently onboard WOS and there are like 6,200 people on this sailing (why aren’t kids back in school here) and the Windjammer area seems SO small

compared to other Royal ships. The seating stops at the crossover bridge thing. There are hardly enough seats. 
 

Am I missing something here or did they drastically shrink the seating as compared to other Oasis class?

[Maria63]

I don't know about the seating in WJ, but summer school holidays continue into the second week in September in Italy and also some regions in Spain.

[leisuretraveler223]

Royal has shrunken the WJ starting with the Oasis Class as they have expanded other fast casual complimentary dining options.  This was even more so on Wonder, originally designed and built for a very different Asian market.  The reality is that the smart cruisers know to seek out superior alternatives at busy times.

[lovelife]

I found the Wonder Windjammer huge.

 

"Largest Windjammer at sea

Royal Caribbean Vice President Food & Beverage, Linken D'Souza, said the Windjammer on Wonder has 1048 seats, 300 bigger than any other Windjammer. They also added a "kidjammer" station at right height for kids so they can grab their own food."

[Bushdog]

3 minutes ago, lovelife said:

I found the Wonder Windjammer huge.

 

"Largest Windjammer at sea

Royal Caribbean Vice President Food & Beverage, Linken D'Souza, said the Windjammer on Wonder has 1048 seats, 300 bigger than any other Windjammer. They also added a "kidjammer" station at right height for kids so they can grab their own food."

That's cool with the kidjammer! Solves an issue many have. 

[twangster]

I always found the rear wrap around or cross over area to have open seating,  Have they closed down the aft cross over area?

[lovelife]

23 minutes ago, twangster said:

I always found the rear wrap around or cross over area to have open seating,  Have they closed down the aft cross over area?

We always ate there or that big room around the corner from the coffee bar. Love that Jammer!

[time4u2go]

It has "jam" in the name for a reason!

[leisuretraveler223]

1 hour ago, lovelife said:

They also added a "kidjammer" station at right height for kids so they can grab their own food."

 

That's just super. Because little kids are so good at remaining sanitary.  Sorry, nope. Kids don't need to be grabbing their own food.  Basically until they learn to keep their hands out of their mouths, noses, shorts, and stop touching every conceivable thing in their universe, they don't need to self serve.

[sgmn]

3 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Currently onboard WOS and there are like 6,200 people on this sailing (why aren’t kids back in school here) 

Most schools in England went back yesterday, Scotland earlier. 

Maybe they're being kept out of school an extra week 🤷‍♀️

[orville99]

The biggest problem we have with the WJ on Oasis class ships is not the seating, but the layout of the food kiosks. There is no logical linear flow from one station to the next like there is on all of the other classes of ship. It makes people wander back and forth to find what they want and jams everyone up.

Edited September 6, 2022 by orville99

[Cruise Gopher]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I always found the rear wrap around or cross over area to have open seating,  Have they closed down the aft cross over area?

It’s open but has always been full. 

[loman]

Where i am , first day of school is today for about half the region , and the other half goes tomorrow . Teachers decided to have a professional development day 

on the first day of school so they go in tomorrow. 😂

Really... they needed an extra day after a couple of months off.

[bajathree]

36 minutes ago, orville99 said:

The biggest problem we have with the WJ on Oasis class ships is not the seating, but the layout of the food kiosks. There is no logical linear flow from one station to the next like there is on all of the other classes of ship. It makes people wander back and forth to find what they want and jams everyone up.

One of the reasons I have always stayed out of Windjammer on Oasis class.

[Plum Happy]

School starts in some parts of the U.S. in August, and parents have no problem taking kids out of school to go on vacation when they get "their time off".  Also, many parents homeschool their kids then ever before, which also allows then flexibility as to when they "teach" them.

[BillOh]

2 hours ago, lovelife said:

I found the Wonder Windjammer huge.

 

"Largest Windjammer at sea

Royal Caribbean Vice President Food & Beverage, Linken D'Souza, said the Windjammer on Wonder has 1048 seats, 300 bigger than any other Windjammer. They also added a "kidjammer" station at right height for kids so they can grab their own food."

Having been on Allure, Oasis, and Symphony, I understood the OP's message. I am now about 250 days away from boarding Wonder and a few of the videos I've watched on youtube seem to imply they expanded things out again realizing it was a mistake, but there are plenty of alternatives. Thanks for your post. 

[BecciBoo]

Looks like a huge one to me.  Love these two, they make the best vids

Edited September 6, 2022 by BecciBoo

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, loman said:

Really... they needed an extra day after a couple of months off.

 

Perhaps Canada is different, but my wife was a public school teacher here for over 20 years and she had to do tons of work over her summers "off" and was especially busy in the last two weeks leading up to the first day.

 

(She still works in the same school, just has a different position now that thankfully doesn't require to do nearly as much work when she's technically "off.")

[OCSC Mike]

More on topic, won't be on Wonder until next June, but I've never had a problem with Oasis class WJ's. If you avoid the super crowded times, there's plenty of space.

 

Early breakfast and dinners (don't go the second it opens) have usually been quite peaceful in my experience.

[ARandomTraveler]

3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Perhaps Canada is different, but my wife was a public school teacher here for over 20 years and she had to do tons of work over her summers "off" and was especially busy in the last two weeks leading up to the first day.

 

(She still works in the same school, just has a different position now that thankfully doesn't require to do nearly as much work when she's technically "off.")

Teachers do a lot of work over summer breaks. They don't leave as early as the kids do on the last day, and they come back a couple weeks before it starts up again.

 

Many of them use their summer breaks to take classes for their continuing education credits, to get certified in other teaching areas, or to advance their degrees so they can get higher on the pay scale. Teaching is not an easy job, and they're way underpaid for what they do. It surprises me that anyone goes into teaching anymore. God bless 'em though!

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

It surprises me that anyone goes into teaching anymore.

 

My wife has been telling anyone considering it to stay away for many years, lol. She's too vested in the retirement system to leave though... fortunately she's finally out of the classroom in a support position where she's still helping kids but has an office and a lot less off the clock work.

[exm]

6 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Currently onboard WOS and there are like 6,200 people on this sailing (why aren’t kids back in school here) and the Windjammer area seems SO small

compared to other Royal ships. The seating stops at the crossover bridge thing. There are hardly enough seats. 
 

Am I missing something here or did they drastically shrink the seating as compared to other Oasis class?

 

Lots of parents, including this one, pull their kids out of school for cruises.

[loman]

51 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Perhaps Canada is different, but my wife was a public school teacher here for over 20 years and she had to do tons of work over her summers "off" and was especially busy in the last two weeks leading up to the first day.

 

(She still works in the same school, just has a different position now that thankfully doesn't require to do nearly as much work when she's technically "off.")

Up here most of them dont extend themselves during the summer break .

I do know of some teachers though that do make themselves available before and after regular hours . And one bought school supplies for her young students to make it easier for her students to learn.

For most of them though , as Alice Cooper would say ... School is out for summer ! 

Hey , its a good gig if you can tolerate the parents .

If you get a job right after Uni, you can retire around 55 with a pension.

Then you have lots of free time for cruising .🙂

[exm]

We were on Odyssey in August at full (above) capacity. They had to close WJ for breakfast on a few days, I think most large cruise ships simply can't handle above capacity.

[retired dude]

2 hours ago, BillOh said:

Having been on Allure, Oasis, and Symphony, I understood the OP's message. I am now about 250 days away from boarding Wonder and a few of the videos I've watched on youtube seem to imply they expanded things out again realizing it was a mistake, but there are plenty of alternatives. Thanks for your post. 

missed sailing a couple of times with you two on the brilliance out of tampa....we wish you well. B&B in clearwater.