🛳️🏝️🍹🥩 Semi-Live Trip Report: Wonder June 4-11

[OCSC Mike]

Going to try to keep this brief-ish (or not, I’m long-winded) with few or no pictures. Too hectic with extended family & I eat too much to take pics of every item.

 

Background

 

This is a "bonus" family cruise for us after my generous FIL had such a good time on last year's family cruise (we normally take one every 5 years as the anniversaries of my wife's parents, her sister, and our own are fairly close together (May-June) and different multiples of 5 years apart).

 

My FIL splurged last summer b/c it was their 50th (our 20th) and got us all suites on Harmony. Now he's spoiled and when he learned about the suite neighborhood on Wonder he booked this cruise shortly after we got back from the last one.

 

Anyway, it’s my wife's parents, us (mid-40's, no kids), and my SIL/BIL (mid-40's) along with my 13 and 9-year-old nieces

.

We may not leave the ship except for Cococay (love it there and we have a Beach Club cabana after getting an OTW cabana last summer before prices went nuts). This is mostly due to family preferences. When we cruise without the extended family we do things very differently (i.e. frugally, different eating habits, excursions, etc.)

 

That said, I am not ashamed to say I cruise primarily for the ship's amenities and the food & drink, especially since we've spent 20 years going around the Caribbean because it's just too damn convenient to drive an hour to Port Canaveral to go anywhere else. (With the exception of our 2018 Alaska adventure which was our best vacation ever.) So taking advantage of the suite perks for what will likely be the last time for a while works for us.

 

Day 1

 

-Parking & embarkation at PC went smoothly as usual. They actually began boarding well before 10:30, earliest I’ve seen.

 

-Unfortunately a 12:12pm SpaceX launch was scrubbed. Would have been cool to watch from the ship. 

 

-Redesigned WJ is nice. Not crowded at all if you go early (which has been my experience on most ships). No day 1 paella (my favorite) but selection was fine & I can always find stuff. Indian food was good as usual. Dessert was actually better than usual.

 

-Suite neighborhood is very nice and having everything in one area is very convenient. I only have that one previous experience in a GS on Harmony & the room, SL, & suite deck are nicer on Wonder (absolutely nothing wrong with them on Harmony, just having the suite deck above your room is very convenient).

 

-Park Cafe has a few less offerings (less paninis, no more quesadilla I used to get, no chips of course), but my 3 cheese panini was hot & crispy & I was served the largest kummelweck I’ve ever had.

 

-My first experience at El Loco Fresh was about as expected. The premade burritos & quesadillas weren’t very good. Making your own tacos was better but I thought the guac was pretty bad.

 

-Dinner at CK was very good. Had escargot & filet mignon.

 

-All staff in the SL/CK have been excellent. We have a favorite bartender named Ajit who has made off menu drinks including an adult milkshake for my wife who doesn’t drink much (he said he opened Wonder & is opening Icon). Our server, Jimmy, was friendly with a good sense of humor. We will have him all week. They have also taken great care of my 9-year-old-niece who has severe nut & sesame allergies. The CK manager asked my SIL to just order ahead & he’ll have them make whatever she wants.

 

-Saw InTENse, the aqua show. I understand why it has mixed reviews. It has a lot of non-diving aspects that some people might not like compared to other aqua shows. We liked it but most shows aren’t really my thing.

 

-Our cabin attendant is friendly & efficient, no noticeable difference from any past cruise but of course suites still get serviced twice daily so perhaps he’s still on the old schedule & not overworked.

 

-So far, in general, have not noticed hardly anything significantly diminished from past cruises. Just sharing my experience of course. Not trying to say the complaints of others are unwarranted.

 

-I’ll try to keep the updates coming but may not have downtime everyday like this. I just happen to be chilling on CocoCay today.

 

-Questions are welcome & I will get to them when/if I can.

[molly361]

Thanks  Keep it coming!!   I'll be onboard end of August  Have fun

Edited June 5, 2023 by molly361

[island lady]

Happy cruising my friend.  Will be following along! 🙂 

 

Our turn in our favorite GS again end of Oct. B2B.  

[OCSC Mike]

Day 2 recap coming later.

Finishing brunch at Mason Jar & the whole family loved it. We must have tried over half the menu, so much food, chicken & waffles and peanut butter stuffed french toast are the consensus favorites. Our server is amazing & the band even took a request from my 9-year-old niece.

[Tree_skier]

Good stuff!  I'm following along.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Day 2 recap coming later.

Finishing brunch at Mason Jar & the whole family loved it. We must have tried over half the menu, so much food, chicken & waffles and peanut butter stuffed french toast are the consensus favorites. Our server is amazing & the band even took a request from my 9-year-old niece.

 

Peanut butter stuffed French Toast?  Oh my....sounds yummy!!  😋

[OCSC Mike]

Day 2

 

-We got up early and fell into our usual morning routine. Wife went walking on the track (she switched from running earlier this year) while I went for cappuccino & what I normally call pre-breakfast.

 

-The coffee machine in the DL or SL has always been one of my favorite perks (insert broken machine joke here) and the machine in the Wonder SL is new to me and the best one yet (not just b/c it’s working). I usually have multiple cappuccinos every morning but this is the first machine I’ve used onboard that lets you increase the size so you can actually make one that fills a to-go cup to the very top. I’m assuming the DL has the same model but will have to check later.

 

-The SL staff continues to impress. I often go to get my coffee pretty early & on my recent cruises the machine was sometimes down for servicing until 7am or so. I wasn’t there crazy early (for us) but at 6:40am, not only was the machine ready but breakfast was already out. So I grabbed my 1st large cappuccino & took a couple chocolate croissants for my wife b/c they’re her favorite & you never know when one flavor will appear or disappear in our experience. Then I went down to Park Cafe for a “McMuffin.” Yes, it’s just a premade egg sandwich that they quickly heat up but the runny egg does something for me & I have simple tastes. Central Park at 6:30-7am is also so quiet & peaceful.

 

-Fast forwarding, my family had actual breakfast in CK later that morning but most everyone had something small like a pastry or parfait in anticipation of our Beach Club cabana & snack shack food.

 

-We got off the ship around 9:45am & walked to the Beach Club. Someone in my family actually requested our cabana attendant from a year ago when we had an OTW cabana b/c he did such a great job & to my surprise the request was granted. He seemed to sort of remember us but not really important either way. We had cabana 21, one of two beach cabanas secluded from the rest on the left side of the beach club if you’re facing the ocean. While it was missing some of the features of the OTW cabana, it provided even more shade thanks to the surrounding trees and everyone enjoyed it.

 

-Lunch was very good, just like last time. Everyone agreed that the lobster from last time was overrated but the coconut crusted lobster sandwich was really good so just about everyone had filet mignon (yes, most of us had it last night in CK, oh well) & a sandwich. My picky wife is happy just to have something she likes so she even had 2 filets since she won’t eat seafood. Everything was similar to last year. The apps were good, especially the ceviche, the mains were excellent (we wasted so many potatoes & fries), & the desserts were lacking. The good news is no one cares about the desserts b/c the funnel cakes from the snack shack are so good. When our cabana attendant (Ready from India btw) brought the funnel cakes, we noticed they had shrunk to individual size from the standard carnival size. He explained they decided the old ones were too big, people wasted them, & they could only make 2 at a time in the fryer. Nice tweak by RC here. The smaller ones are crispier, they keep the lines moving, & you can always get more than one if you want more.

 

-Not much to share about being on CocoCay itself. We normally sit by the Oasis Pool in our favorite spot making food runs, sitting on the underwater bench to cool off, etc. We did have the snack shack chicken sandwiches & they were crispy & delicious as usual. I spent most of my time chilling in the cabana (I can’t handle much sun or heat) while my nieces spent plenty of time on the beach or swimming in the pool. We headed back to the ship around 3:00, hot, tired, & stuffed.

 

-Dinner in CK was fine, nothing bad, nothing great. Several family members ordered chicken parm from the MDR to be sent up to CK. They liked it but it was not as hot as it could be after making its way all the way up to deck 17.

 

-We had reservations for Voices at 9:45 (there was only one showing on the earlier side & it didn’t fit with dinner) but the long day caught up with half the family so we called an audible & decided to see it at 9:30 the next night right after the ice show. I grabbed a drink & called it an early night.

[shasha17a]

Following along. We will be on the sailing right after this one. How has the Windjammer been? I have been hearing that its overcrowded and hard to find a place to sit. Are you finding this to be true?

[OCSC Mike]

3 hours ago, shasha17a said:

Following along. We will be on the sailing right after this one. How has the Windjammer been? I have been hearing that its overcrowded and hard to find a place to sit. Are you finding this to be true?

 

My extended family aren’t WJ fans so other than quickly popping in, I really haven’t been there since day 1 lunch. When my wife & I cruise alone we go there quite often.

 

I’ll update if I head there at some point. I’d like to check out Tex-Mex & Indian night. My go-to answer based on past experience is that the WJ is crowded at peak times but it’s not crowded 24/7. I can say it’s definitely not crowded at all early in the morning this cruise, which has always been my experience.

Edited June 7, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[perfect match]

Thank you very much for doing this review, @OCSC Mike! I know you were on the fence as to whether you were going to take on the task of doing a review of this extended family cruise on Wonder or not. I for one am glad you decided to do it! You’re off to a great start. I’ll be here happily following along.Enjoy your cruise and your time with the family. We’ll be here when you can find time to keep us up to date.

 

Happy anniversary to all who are celebrating in your family! 🥂🎉

[PompeySailor]

Following along 👍🏻
Will be on her this September, so interested in your thoughts and observations 

Edited June 7, 2023 by PompeySailor

[OCSC Mike]

Glad people are finding this useful/entertaining.
 

I know it would be better with pics, and my MIL is actually taking lots of food & drink pics (for an album I think), I just don’t have the patience & I’m not much of a picture taker in general.

 

Ice Show was very cool. Back with day 3 tomorrow.

[cruisegirl1]

Thanks for your comments. Sound like you are certainly enjoying the cruise. 
 

Wonder is a fantastic ship.  Hope you get to see Effectors 2. 
m

Edited June 7, 2023 by cruisegirl1

[molly361]

Nice that you could get dinners from the MDR (even if they were not hot)  I tried that once in CK and was told no.  I had read lots of reports on here that it could be done.  

[OCSC Mike]

8 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Hope you get to see Effectors 2. 

Night 6. We should have seen each show once by then.

[OCSC Mike]

7 hours ago, molly361 said:

Nice that you could get dinners from the MDR (even if they were not hot)  I tried that once in CK and was told no.  I had read lots of reports on here that it could be done.  

A year ago the CK supervisor on Harmony said that they basically did away with it during the restart. Don’t know if it’s back everywhere or it’s a ship by ship thing now.

[molly361]

Just now, OCSC Mike said:

A year ago the CK supervisor on Harmony said that they basically did away with it during the restart. Don’t know if it’s back everywhere or it’s a ship by ship thing now.

It was the Harmony when they said no. 

[OCSC Mike]

Day 3

-Wife went walking again so I went to get SL cappuccino at 7am & was a bit confused when I saw no breakfast out since it was out so early the day before. We hadn’t done the Western Caribbean since pre-covid & I hadn’t opened the app yet. See where this is headed? I got a laugh & shot my wife a text letting her know that we “gained” an hour last night. Nothing like forgetting time changes after 20 years of cruising.

 

-We had brunch scheduled at Mason Jar for 10am, a somewhat last minute purchase by my SIL (we likely would have chosen a later time), so the time change worked out. No one really had breakfast, just coffee/juice & pastries.

 

-Everyone except my FIL loved the brunch. He’s not a huge eater & I guess southern isn’t his thing. We must have ordered 75% of the brunch menu (including the kids menu, mainly by my wife & niece, lol, but I’ll explain) for the table to mostly share & our server couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. She let us know which items were large & could be split many ways & which were more individually sized. Chicken & waffles (your choice of dark or white meat) were a big hit as was the peanut butter stuffed French toast. The cinnamon roll covered with what seemed like candied pecans was very good too. The kids menu has some more lunch/dinner type items that appealed to my wife & would also let us know if we wanted to have dinner instead of brunch here when we’ll be back on Wonder next year. She loved the chicken pot pie & mashed potatoes so that’s a yes to future dinner. I’m not a bourbon drinker but I had to try something unique to Mason Jar so my BIL & I both had the blackberry moonshine lemonade (seemed like more of a morning drink anyway, sort of). It was very good. Not strong, tons of fresh blackberries floating around, served in a mason jar (obviously). They also have some boozy adult milkshake/float options that I plan to try randomly one night since you can always just hit up the bar there. I know the PB&J bourbon drink is popular so I may try that too. That’s what Diamond vouchers are for, right? We were all stuffed but the fried Oreos & banana parfait type dessert were both so good too. I know Mason Jar gets mixed reviews but I highly recommend the brunch… just don’t eat breakfast that day & don’t plan on being hungry for a while after.

 

-A couple more non-food Mason Jar anecdotes… The country band started playing partway through our meal & even though I’m not a country music fan they did a good job & spent some time talking to the crowd. I’m blanking on her name but  our sever was so nice that she took my 9-year-old niece up to the band to make a request (they listen to way more music than I do) which was honored along with a shout out. It was that song about Applebees (told ya I don’t do country but even I’ve heard that one) & their rendition seemed pretty spot on to me. The lead singer even stopped by the table after their short set to see my niece & tell us to come back as they play every night. I’ll be back to try a drink or two at the very least & we’ll almost certainly try dinner here when we’re back on Wonder without the family.

 

-That was much longer than intended, per usual, so I’ll cut this short. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful anyway. Dinner in CK was fine again, nothing amazing nor bad. MDR items were again brought up when requested.

 

-The ice show, 365, is probably my favorite of any ice show I’ve seen. They all have great skating but this show added some very cool special affects.

 

-I didn’t care for Voices. It’s not my kind of show anyway but my wife didn’t love it either. 

 

-We have 3 straight port days coming up without much planned other than enjoying the ship which I’m kind of looking forward to. Time to check out anywhere I haven’t yet or have barely been and/or revisit new/old favorites as far as food & activities. I’m sure the family will spend a bunch of time on the suite sun deck, which is fine with me in shorter doses, but I can’t just lay there for days. A few hours in the morning maybe then I’d rather be winning more coveted RC highlighters in between snacking & drinking (we kicked butt on Indy last July & October, lol) I’m not even sure if we’re getting off just to walk around any of the ports. I may be the forum reader of the family & my wife & I have the most C&A points, but I take a back seat on most things when it’s a family cruise unless my knowledge can enhance something. Speaking of C&A points, my wife’s parents earned their 1st crystal block this cruise. They haven’t dealt with it yet but they’ll ask for it onboard as long as they are in stock.

 

-Crap, I knew I was missing something. The SL concierge invited our entire family on a bridge tour. We’ve never done one before and it was very cool. It was led by a female officer who said only 7% of bridge officers in the fleet are female.

 

-Random thoughts… Spotlight Karaoke is way too small for trivia, internet has been excellent (having a WAP in each cabin makes a big difference on that front), the service continues to be excellent (and not just from staff we see everyday like in the SL/CK).

[OCSC Mike]

21 hours ago, shasha17a said:

How has the Windjammer been? I have been hearing that its overcrowded and hard to find a place to sit. Are you finding this to be true?

Sticking with my general answer until proven wrong. Plenty of seating around 1pm for lunch today, although it is a port day, fwiw. Want to pop in during dinner tonight but not sure I’ll be able to.

[shasha17a]

Thanks! I appreciate it. We have a few young kids in our party so we will probably be utilizing Windjammer more often than not during our trip.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, shasha17a said:

Thanks! I appreciate it. We have a few young kids in our party so we will probably be utilizing Windjammer more often than not during our trip.

If everyone is ok with basic breakfast buffet items (plus cook to order omelets) and outdoor seating, check out El Loco Fresh during breakfast hours. There’s nothing really Mexican about it unless the bowl of salsa counts. They have eggs, bacon, hash browns, waffles w/ toppings, pastries, etc. and it’s been almost completely empty when I’ve passed by. WJ has more options but if you find it crowded, just a thought.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Night 6. We should have seen each show once by then.

 

The little drones are a new upgrade to original show we saw on Odyssey.  It's pretty cool...definitely geared to the kids (or the kid in you) but fun!  

 

Hint:  Sit just in front of the control box on the main floor.  Drones and flying bad guy will be right over your head.  😄 

[irishgal432]

I have read on other forums that the Suite party is being implemented fleetwide. Have you seen an invite?

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, irishgal432 said:

I have read on other forums that the Suite party is being implemented fleetwide. Have you seen an invite?

Since I don’t know what a suite party is, I guess not. 🤣

 

To be fair, I might not invite us either.

[irishgal432]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Since I don’t know what a suite party is, I guess not. 🤣

 

To be fair, I might not invite us either.

Lol.  It is a little cocktail party. It used to be held on the helipad during a sailaway and then went to a little party in the suite lounge where officers do a little meet and greet,