Just off the Wonder - Second RCL Cruise - Brief Review/Thoughts

[Newcruiser215]

Hello everyone. 

 

We are fresh off of the 7/2 sailing of the Wonder of the Seas and I wanted to share my experience with anyone who is interested. Just as the title states, this is our second RCL cruise. Our first was last summer on Symphony. See that review below. I'll try to keep this one as brief and to the point as possible. Hopefully I can answer any questions someone may have. 

 

Embarkation - We took an Uber from Disney ($68) and we arrived to the terminal a little after 11 since our check in time was 10:30-11:30am. No one bothered to check our check-in time so we just moved along. The entire process from curbside to ship took maybe 15 minutes. 

 

First Impressions - Being that we just did Symphony a year prior, we weren't blown away when we first boarded. Other than a couple changes, everything looked exactly the same, however, we were still very happy to be onboard. Our first stop was to the Windjammer since we were very hungry and as expected, it was packed. I will say our first experience with the Windjammer on Wonder was much better than our first experience on Symphony. The food was much better this time around. Not a great selection of food but it hit the spot for lunch. .

 

Stateroom - We had a Oceanview balcony (6306) and the staterooms on our deck opened at 1:30. I don't want to compare everything to Symphony but we much preferred the lighter tone of the room versus the darker tone on Symphony. Like others have stated, the door for the bathroom & shower are magnetic and it's not quiet so we could hear when others around us were in & out of their bathrooms. For anyone curious, our bed was next to the balcony. 

 

Entertainment - We saw every show during the week including the adult comedy shows. The adult comedy show had two comedians and we only sat through the first one. I believe they performed every night. The second guy just wasn't funny to us. Tap factory was a solid show. It was like a cross between tap and STOMP with no storyline to follow. 365 (ice show) was probably my favorite show. Amazing production, music and it told a story. Intense was...intense. Lol. Great show. Better than Hiro? Not to me but it was still really well done. The Effectors was probably the most anticipated show for me because I'm a nerd for anything super hero related. Is it cheesy? Absolutely but I enjoyed it. This was shown on nights 6 & 7. The Love & Marriage game show was definitely our favorite. There was always some sort of live music band playing around the ship throughout the day. By the pool, central park, the music hall, the promenade, etc. We even ran into the piano guy one night on the elevator. 

 

Activities - There was always something happening around the ship for all ages. Trivia, escape room, flowrider, zipline,  bingo, sales, etc. They offer a lot during the daytime & nighttime. No one should ever find themselves bored on this ship. Not sure if gambling counts as an activity but, I did participate in the Blackjack tournament. Buy-in was $25 with a $500 cash price. They give you $500 in chips, 6 hands per round. The top 6 with the most chips made it to the final table. A lot of participants and it took a long time since they were only using one table but it was still fun. 

 

Specialty Dining - This sailing we did Chops Grille, Gio's kitchen, Mason Jar (brunch, dinner & late night menu), 150 CP, Hooked & Playmakers, if you count that. Chops & Mason Jar were good. 150 was excellent. Playmakers was also a hit & yes, the cost of wings has gone up. Gio's and Hooked were disappointing. The taste was simply not there and the entire experience took a very long time.  

 

Complimentary Dining - Here's where we noticed the biggest difference between this cruise and our last one. The issue was not the taste of the food, it was the temperature and the variety. Food in the Windjammer and the Solarium bistro was never hot. On some instances the food was cold. From day to day, the options really never changed. The Windjammer is big but we still found it difficult finding seats at times. Our experience in the main dining room was more consistent than our specialty dining. Service was great, the food was actually hot and on some occasions, tasted better. Our only issue was the menu selections. Just not as many options as before and dinner would take long. Sorrento's & Boardwalk Dog House were solid options for a quick bite. 

 

Pools - CROWDED. Not crowded to the point where it wasn't enjoyable but, we got in and got out. We did witness a lot of moments where lifeguards or a crew member would speak to a kid for doing something they shouldn't be doing in the water. Waterslide lines were always long. World's biggest ship, we understand crowds are expected so we didn't let it ruin our experience. Finding seating wasn't too bad. There was only one day where we couldn't find anything by the pool but it wasn't a big deal since we easily found something in the solarium. One thing we really did enjoy was the lounger seats they have that sit in the water. 

 

Ports / Excursions - This sailing was Eastern Caribbean so we made stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Perfect Day. For Perfect Day, we had nothing planned so we just hit the beach at Chill Island. We were back on board by 12. In St. Thomas we did the Magen's Bay Getaway excursion. It was very crowded since there was another cruise ship in port but still a good beach day. For St. Maarten we did the Afternoon at Orient Beach excursion. This was our first time at this beach and it is a very beautiful beach. Only a few vendors walking around and a lot of dining options in the area. Since we were on the French side of the island, the menus were in French (where we ate anyway) and the currency was listed in euros. There was also some confusion when my wife ordered steak frites and they brought her a plain hamburger patty. We laughed about it. 

 

Voom (WiFi) - Much, much, much better this time around. Speeds seemed to be the fastest in our staterooms but, I'm sure that's because they have routers in each room. We had no issue casting to the TV. 

 

Crew members/Staff - Nothing but positive things to say. These people work really hard to ensure you have a great experience on your cruise. Every staff member we walked past always greeted us with a quick hello, good morning or enjoy your day. A+ all around. 

 

Elevators - I say this jokingly. This was the worst part of our cruise. They took forever and most times when it would finally come, you had to squeeze in and out. 

 

Disembarkation - You never want it to end but it was a seamless process. It took us maybe 5 minutes to get off the ship. The nightmare was once we made it off the ship. So many people scrambling for an Uber/lyft, finding their shuttle or trying to purchase one and no clear signage of where to go. It was crazy but eventually we made our way to the airport. 

 

Final thoughts- Overall, this was a good experience. A lot of kids but that was expected given it's summer. I can’t say we enjoyed this sailing more than our previous one but, we still enjoyed ourselves tremendously. No major complaints. We are booked for Icon next summer so as of right now, that will be our next cruise and we are looking forward to that.  

 

Thanks for reading. 

 

 

[OCSC Mike]

Well-written review. Thanks for sharing. Mine are extremely long-winded, lol.

 

We were on Wonder early last month and agree with several of your opinions.

[Gemina]

Thanks for the review! We were on Symphony this past February and will be on Wonder this coming February. We really enjoyed Symphony so I’m hoping our experience on Wonder will be the same. 

[Newcruiser215]

38 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Well-written review. Thanks for sharing. Mine are extremely long-winded, lol.

 

We were on Wonder early last month and agree with several of your opinions.

Thanks Mike! Did they have any pool side games on your sailing? Like the belly flop, sexiest man, etc.? I heard some other people complaining about it during our cruise. I overheard one passenger mentioning that Royal was really sued because someone broke a rib during the belly flop competition. Not sure how true that is. 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Thanks Mike! Did they have any pool side games on your sailing? Like the belly flop, sexiest man, etc.? I heard some other people complaining about it during our cruise. I overheard one passenger mentioning that Royal was really sued because someone broke a rib during the belly flop competition. Not sure how true that is. 

Don’t think that’s true. I have seen 3 belly flop contests this year 

[OCSC Mike]

33 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Thanks Mike! Did they have any pool side games on your sailing? Like the belly flop, sexiest man, etc.? I heard some other people complaining about it during our cruise. I overheard one passenger mentioning that Royal was really sued because someone broke a rib during the belly flop competition. Not sure how true that is. 

 

Wish I could help but we never sit by the main pool, sorry.

 

We were being treated to a suite by a generous family member so we spent our lounging time on the suite sun deck but when alone my wife and I stick to the Solarium. We're boring and I can't handle the sun so we prefer quiet and shade.

[George C]

12 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Wish I could help but we never sit by the main pool, sorry.

 

We were being treated to a suite by a generous family member so we spent our lounging time on the suite sun deck but when alone my wife and I stick to the Solarium. We're boring and I can't handle the sun so we prefer quiet and shade.

We always book suites and definitely would like to try Wonder for their suite sun deck . Just checked rate for grand suite and it is almost double what my harmony rate is for same week, I will stick with harmony.

Edited July 12, 2023 by George C

[HUNKY]

What did you pay for internet?

 

Thanks for the review - will be onboard in October with extended family.

[Newcruiser215]

4 minutes ago, HUNKY said:

What did you pay for internet?

 

Thanks for the review - will be onboard in October with extended family.

If I remember correctly, I paid $230 for two devices. I think it was $19.99/per day. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Newcruiser215

[OCSC Mike]

18 minutes ago, George C said:

We always book suites and definitely would like to try Wonder for their suite sun deck . Just checked rate for grand suite and it is almost double what my harmony rate is for same week, I will stick with harmony.

 

Being in the suite neighborhood right outside CK/SL and right by the suite sun deck is definitely nice and does add something over Harmony... but not for the price difference. I don't blame you.

 

We've only ever sailed suites twice so you already know far better than I do but coincidentally those suites were on Harmony last year and Wonder last month so this is the one time I can compare suite experiences, lol. Back to our interiors...

Edited July 12, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Stateroom - We had a Oceanview balcony (6306) and the staterooms on our deck opened at 1:30. I don't want to compare everything to Symphony but we much preferred the lighter tone of the room versus the darker tone on Symphony. Like others have stated, the door for the bathroom & shower are magnetic and it's not quiet so we could hear when others around us were in & out of their bathrooms. For anyone curious, our bed was next to the balcony. 

 

Did you like the location of your stateroom?  Any noise from Playmakers?  I'll be it that same area on Oasis in the spring.

[Newcruiser215]

6 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Did you like the location of your stateroom?  Any noise from Playmakers?  I'll be it that same area on Oasis in the spring.

I liked the convenience of being close to the Boardwalk & the promenade. We definitely felt the motion a lot more than our last cruise (cabin was mid-ship). No noise from Playmakers that we could hear from our room. We could hear noise walking in the hallway but it wasn't overbearing. We could also smell the food from Playmakers but I love onion rings & wings so it didn't bother me. 

[Newcruiser215]

57 minutes ago, George C said:

We always book suites and definitely would like to try Wonder for their suite sun deck . Just checked rate for grand suite and it is almost double what my harmony rate is for same week, I will stick with harmony.

We booked a suite for Icon but I'm having buyer's remorse. 

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

We booked a suite for Icon but I'm having buyer's remorse. 

Check the prices for balconys and change before prices go up again? Rcl allows you to downgrade. I'm assuming you are before final payment.

Edited July 12, 2023 by firefly333

[Newcruiser215]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

Check the prices for balconys and change before prices go up again? Rcl allows you to downgrade. I'm assuming you are before final payment.

Oh, I have. Prices for a balcony & a suite aren't that far apart, which seems crazy to me. Here's an example. 

 

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Oh, I have. Prices for a balcony & a suite aren't that far apart, which seems crazy to me. Here's an example. 

 

Why do you have buyers remorse?

[Mum2Mercury]

3 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Being that we just did Symphony a year prior, we weren't blown away when we first boarded.

Oh, no, that makes me sad.  No matter how many times I cruise, I want always to be excited when I step foot on board!  

 

I enjoyed your review.  I always like reviews that give plenty of solid details like yours! 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[OCSC Mike]

16 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Oh, no, that makes me sad.  No matter how many times I cruise, I want always to be excited when I step foot on board!  

 

I just took it to mean it looked similar to Symphony and maybe he expected it to have more differences to wow him. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Other than the suite neighborhood (b/c it's a rare treat for us), I can't say I was overly wowed by Wonder more than the other 3 Oasis class ships I've sailed just stepping aboard, but that's not meant as a negative as I'm excited about any cruise I take. Some of the food venues & shows that were new to us made us enjoy Wonder more than some of her sisters though.

Edited July 12, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[Newcruiser215]

9 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I just took it to mean it looked similar to Symphony and maybe he expected it to have more differences to wow him. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Other than the suite neighborhood (b/c it's a rare treat for us), I can't say I was overly wowed by Wonder more than the other 3 Oasis class ships I've sailed just stepping aboard, but that's not meant as a negative as I'm excited about any cruise I take. Some of the food venues & shows that were new to us made us enjoy Wonder more than some of her sisters though.

You hit the nail on the head. We were excited to board Wonder, it just didn't have the same "wow" feeling when we boarded because we've seen this before. 

[Newcruiser215]

27 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Oh, no, that makes me sad.  No matter how many times I cruise, I want always to be excited when I step foot on board!  

 

I enjoyed your review.  I always like reviews that give plenty of solid details like yours! 

 

 

Thank you! I was worried it was too long. 

[Destaw71835]

Thanks for sharing. I’m going to check out your Symphony review as I’m booked for May 2024. I started to second guess it and thought maybe I should’ve opted for Wonder since it is a newer ship.

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Thank you! I was worried it was too long. 

 

LMAO. Not at all. You want a link to my past reviews? Yours are short compared to how long-winded I am.

[OCSC Mike]

10 minutes ago, Destaw71835 said:

Thanks for sharing. I’m going to check out your Symphony review as I’m booked for May 2024. I started to second guess it and thought maybe I should’ve opted for Wonder since it is a newer ship.

 

FWIW, having been on every Oasis class ship now except Symphony, I'd only choose Wonder over the others if the price was identical or only slightly higher (or if it's a short drive to its port as in my case, I'd be willing to pay more of a premium, which I am). Wonder is my current favorite because it's newer, we LOVED Mason Jar (I like to eat a lot on cruises), and it has other food venues I enjoy like Playmakers and El Loco Fresh. I also thought the Solarium was very nice and we usually spend some time there each day but I've enjoyed the other Solariums too, even on smaller ships, so that's not a big deal.

 

PC is only an hour drive for me so I usually just sail whatever is based there out of convenience. I feel very fortunate to have Wonder home ported there and have 4 more cruises booked on her. I'll be sad to see her go when the time comes (unless Utopia takes over the 7-nighters).

[Newcruiser215]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

FWIW, having been on every Oasis class ship now except Symphony, I'd only choose Wonder over the others if the price was identical or only slightly higher (or if it's a short drive to its port as in my case, I'd be willing to pay more of a premium, which I am). Wonder is my current favorite because it's newer, we LOVED Mason Jar (I like to eat a lot on cruises), and it has other food venues I enjoy like Playmakers and El Loco Fresh. I also thought the Solarium was very nice and we usually spend some time there each day but I've enjoyed the other Solariums too, even on smaller ships, so that's not a big deal.

 

PC is only an hour drive for me so I usually just sail whatever is based there out of convenience. I feel very fortunate to have Wonder home ported there and have 4 more cruises booked on her. I'll be sad to see her go when the time comes (unless Utopia takes over the 7-nighters).

Any plans to try Utopia? 

 

You just made me realize I forgot to mention El loco in my review. In terms of free food, I'd rank it behind Sorrento's. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, Newcruiser215 said:

We booked a suite for Icon but I'm having buyer's remorse. 

The main problem with booking a suite is you don’t want to book anything else afterwards . Have done suites for about last 20 cruises. Mostly rccl and celebrity.