Starting my Wonder research

[Mum2Mercury]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:31 AM, OCSC Mike said:

but a few seats opened up for an aqua show day/time

How do the day /night aqua shows compare?  Is one better than the other?  

On 10/17/2023 at 10:07 AM, OCSC Mike said:

FWIW, I pretty much always board early & head to the WJ when it opens. In my experience, it takes some time to get crowded.

And, in my experience, it's not as crowded as the nay-sayers claim.  We can't always get a prime window-side seat, but we've never failed to get a seat.  

On 10/17/2023 at 10:07 AM, OCSC Mike said:

Besides the improved layout, I also liked that there was a good amount of counter seating along the outside for when I popped in alone for a snack or to just see what I could find. 

I looked up that counter seating ... nice, but Grandeur has nicer counter seating, which faces out towards the ocean.  A great place to sit if you're having a solo meal.

On 1/5/2024 at 10:11 AM, OCSC Mike said:

Yep. Like your experience on other Oasis class ships, I agree they are hit and miss. Just depends on the slice of beef you get and how picky you are.

I love the roast beef sandwiches, but it's true that they're not all the same.  They slice the beef in front of you, and we all know that every slice isn't going to be equally good.  

On 1/5/2024 at 10:11 AM, OCSC Mike said:

but boarding actually began even earlier than that 

Good to know!  

On 1/8/2024 at 3:57 AM, Teeara said:

I did a walkthrough of El Loco Fresh being set up for breakfast in this video.  Start at 9:37.

 

 

Thanks for that walk-through!  I enjoyed it.  

On 1/24/2024 at 12:28 PM, BillOh said:

In the past I have found a stretch of 8 or 9 chairs all with cruise line towels on them at 7am with nobody around. I may have used one of them on occasion after my hot sweaty walk.  I of course returned it to a towel station.

You did right.  Down with the chair hogs!  

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

How do the day /night aqua shows compare?  Is one better than the other?  

 

Haven't seen one during the day (maybe a long time ago, definitely not this one). I think I'd prefer night for multiple reasons (special effects look cooler, it's not hot and I mostly sail in spring/summer, etc.).

[BillOh]

FWIW, my app just updated (had been giving an error for our cruise)  The Coke Freestyle machines do show up on the deck maps!

 

[BillOh]

It seems a significant step to know who the CD for our cruise will be - Ken Jones.   Don't know anything about him, might have to do some looking around about him.   For the people reaching for the reply button to tell me they don't care who a/the CD is, great for you!  I just like knowing, to me a CD can add to a cruise, but not hurt it.  I look for good morning shows, a good emcee for shows and hopefully a good quest and Love and Marriage.

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, BillOh said:

It seems a significant step to know who the CD for our cruise will be - Ken Jones.   Don't know anything about him, might have to do some looking around about him.   For the people reaching for the reply button to tell me they don't care who a/the CD is, great for you!  I just like knowing, to me a CD can add to a cruise, but not hurt it.  I look for good morning shows, a good emcee for shows and hopefully a good quest and Love and Marriage.

 

Everyone has different preferences and things that matter to them, that's what makes cruising great. The CD doesn't matter to us anymore like they used to but if it matters to you, nothing wrong with that.

[BillOh]

Just now, OCSC Mike said:

 

Everyone has different preferences and things that matter to them, that's what makes cruising great. The CD doesn't matter to us anymore like they used to but if it matters to you, nothing wrong with that.

Mainly curiosity and cruise prep helps me keep my sanity and not take it out on my co-workers. This is the last cruise I will take that I have a  full time job, so another tradition is going the wayside - I have always posted a pic of me walking out the office door on my last day of work headed out to my cruise.   Now that I think about it,  the pandemic killed that tradition,  the last time I did that was before leaving for Symphony in 2019.   My last 3 cruises have been while working at home.    There was some rumor of us having to return to the office this year, but it looks like I will get to finish my career here in my basement!

[cruisegirl1]

36 minutes ago, BillOh said:

It seems a significant step to know who the CD for our cruise will be - Ken Jones.   Don't know anything about him, might have to do some looking around about him.   For the people reaching for the reply button to tell me they don't care who a/the CD is, great for you!  I just like knowing, to me a CD can add to a cruise, but not hurt it.  I look for good morning shows, a good emcee for shows and hopefully a good quest and Love and Marriage.

Just spent 2 weeks on Wonder and honestly can't tell you the CD.  We mostly interacted with the terrific activities staff.  

 

Way back, the CD had a larger presence to introduce shows/entertainers etc.  Now with several shows going on at a times, that doesn't happen.   They do tend to make an appearance at the end of the ice show.  

 

Didn't go to the quest or love and marriage show but I agree that he/she can make or break the experience.      

 

I hope the CD (whoever it is) makes the cruise an enjoyable and memorable one for you.

M

 

[lovesthebeach2]

We were on Wonder recently and the CD is Ricky Matthews. He came an odd the same day as we did. We only saw him at the Top Tier event and the Lunch with an Officer.

[OCSC Mike]

18 minutes ago, BillOh said:

Mainly curiosity and cruise prep helps me keep my sanity

 

I won't go into detail but I can definitely relate to this. It's also why I post so much on cruise forums.

[BillOh]

11 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 

 

Way back, the CD had a larger presence to introduce shows/entertainers etc.  Now with several shows going on at a times, that doesn't happen.   They do tend to make an appearance at the end of the ice show.  

 

 

I can definitely relate to that, my experience since 2019 has been about the same.  I will say having an active CD was one thing we did see on our one and only Carnival cruise last fall. 

[BillOh]

This thread has been informative and entertaining,  Today watching her arrive in St Martin I am beginning to wonder if Wonder has the escalator like Allure and Oasis. Will have to check the deck plans.

 

This might be it?

[PhillyFan33579]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:00 AM, BillOh said:

Mainly curiosity and cruise prep helps me keep my sanity and not take it out on my co-workers. This is the last cruise I will take that I have a  full time job, so another tradition is going the wayside - I have always posted a pic of me walking out the office door on my last day of work headed out to my cruise.   Now that I think about it,  the pandemic killed that tradition,  the last time I did that was before leaving for Symphony in 2019.   My last 3 cruises have been while working at home.    There was some rumor of us having to return to the office this year, but it looks like I will get to finish my career here in my basement!

Retirement is great when it comes to cruising. Since I retired in December 2022 I have cruised at least once a month. The two things I like best is when a cruise ends I don’t have to worry about going back to work and the next cruise is only 3-4 weeks away. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, BillOh said:

I am beginning to wonder if Wonder has the escalator like Allure and Oasis.

 

You mean an escalator for when you get back on the ship from a port? I only got off on CocoCay when I was on Wonder but that sounds right. I could just be thinking of Allure though.

[LuCruise]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:18 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

We were on Wonder recently and the CD is Ricky Matthews. He came an odd the same day as we did. We only saw him at the Top Tier event and the Lunch with an Officer.

We had Ricky on Oasis last year, Odyssey in December, and funny enough, we'll be on Wonder in a few weeks and he's the CD again.  He's great...very funny and runs the events well (Top Tier, belly flop, intro to shows, etc).  To me, he is one that stands out (in a good way) and you remember.

[BillOh]

39 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

We had Ricky on Oasis last year, Odyssey in December, and funny enough, we'll be on Wonder in a few weeks and he's the CD again.  He's great...very funny and runs the events well (Top Tier, belly flop, intro to shows, etc).  To me, he is one that stands out (in a good way) and you remember.

We enjoyed him 3 times on Majesty, would have loved to see how is MO translated to a big ship. I'd have to guess well as he has been around a while,. I think we first had him on Majesty in 2007

[Thisguylikestocruise]

We just got off Wonder. Ricky was fantastic, had a presence at every show and was very funny. 

[BillOh]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:21 AM, OCSC Mike said:

 

I won't go into detail but I can definitely relate to this. It's also why I post so much on cruise forums.

Your many posts and seeing your avatar got me to thinking, I wonder if the Columbus Crew play Orlando City and sure enough the day before our cruise, they do play each other, but here in Columbus.    

[BillOh]

As part of my continuing research, I did verify that Wonder has USB ports in the cabin. This did remind me that when Oasis came out they had Iphone 3 docking stations in every cabin. I bet you could find those cheap on Ebay now.

[OCSC Mike]

50 minutes ago, BillOh said:

Your many posts and seeing your avatar got me to thinking, I wonder if the Columbus Crew play Orlando City and sure enough the day before our cruise, they do play each other, but here in Columbus.    

 

I've been helping a Crew supporter??? 😠 🤣

 

You were the team most OC supporters saw as our biggest obstacle once we got into the playoffs. Scary offense. It's a shame we couldn't finish that match and our CB ruined it by getting sent off but good match. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if we are both near the top of the table again this season.

 

That May 25th match is actually here in Orlando. Remember soccer is opposite US sports in that the home team is on the top not the bottom when listed in schedules like that. If you could swing going to the match before the cruise that would be pretty cool. We have a very nice stadium and our fans are passionate but mostly not hostile (except towards Miami and maybe Atlanta supporters).

Edited February 23 by OCSC Mike

[BillOh]

2 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I've been helping a Crew supporter??? 😠 🤣

 

You were the team most OC supporters saw as our biggest obstacle once we got into the playoffs. Scary offense. It's a shame we couldn't finish that match and our CB ruined it by getting sent off but good match. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if we are both near the top of the table again this season.

 

That May 25th match is actually here in Orlando. Remember soccer is opposite US sports in that the home team is on the top not the bottom when listed in schedules like that. If you could swing going to the match before the cruise that would be pretty cool. We have a very nice stadium and our fans are passionate but mostly not hostile (except towards Miami and maybe Atlanta supporters).

What I know about soccer is next to nothing.  I've told the Crew that if they pay me $1000 a game I won't watch.  I've watched hours and hours of soccer live and have never seen a goal scored,  But as soon as I turn it off they score!   I will be at Fishlips this evening. 

[BillOh]

Ok, next question,   Anyone done the thermal suite on Wonder? We did this on Jewel a couple of times and it was wonderful.   I remember when Oasis came out in 2009 I think it was people said that they didn't limit the number of people and it was always crowded and hard to get a spot to relax.  We toured it on Allure in 2011 and verified with people there, and they agreed, but that info is now 13 years old. 

[BND]

On 2/22/2024 at 7:41 AM, BillOh said:

This thread has been informative and entertaining,  Today watching her arrive in St Martin I am beginning to wonder if Wonder has the escalator like Allure and Oasis. Will have to check the deck plans.

 

This might be it?

Yes, Wonder has the escalators also.

[Thisguylikestocruise]

58 minutes ago, BillOh said:

Ok, next question,   Anyone done the thermal suite on Wonder? We did this on Jewel a couple of times and it was wonderful.   I remember when Oasis came out in 2009 I think it was people said that they didn't limit the number of people and it was always crowded and hard to get a spot to relax.  We toured it on Allure in 2011 and verified with people there, and they agreed, but that info is now 13 years old. 

My wife and I just got off Wonder and had a 1 week thermal suite pass. When you go to the spa it’s downstairs to the deck below. We really enjoyed it overall, most times there were never more than 2 people. There’s 8 heated loungers, 2 tropical rain showers(one shower is much larger than the other). 1 wet sauna which was really intense, I had to cover my head with a towel to tolerate it. 1 dry sauna. Locker rooms next to the thermal suite and a room with fruit infused water.

 

Only negative thing was the wet sauna wasn’t cleaned during our cruise, there was water on the floor that accumulated debris from people’s sandals and after a few days it was floating around. Also we were charged $260, and refunded $256, nobody at the spa could explain what this was for. Everything was booked months in advance from the cruise planner, including tips. 

[Thisguylikestocruise]

Have had a few massages on land, the hot stone massage on the ship was the best massage ever. 

 

 

Edited March 2 by Thisguylikestocruise

[island lady]

1 hour ago, BND said:

Yes, Wonder has the escalators also.

 

Though we have docked port side twice this week...which is unusual.  No escalator use those days.   Usually it's when they run the life boats on starboard side when they dock up on port side...but though they had drills, they did not launch the life boats.   Strange.