Two questions concerning Wonder of the Seas

[Reijo]

First time on Wonder, can you tell me if the Solarium Bistro is open on embarkation day.  Also, I have a late boarding time and just wondered if I got to the port, perhaps, 30 minutes before my boarding time, will I be turned away and made to wait.  After 42 cruises, we've never boarded this late (last minute cruise) and you just NEVER know if there will be a problem or not.  Prior to the pandemic, Diamond and Diamond Plus had priority boarding but I'm assuming that went away with the scheduled times.

 

Also, has anyone had any issue with the Royal App.  I've gone in to schedule the events that we want to attend, I've chosen the times/day/etc.  and it appears that everything is saved but it hasn't appeared in my calendar.  It's as if nothing is scheduled.  I appreciate any help.  

[RocCruisers]

On my last two cruises at Port Canaveral, nobody checked the boarding time.  Go when you want.  I'll assume you are D+, so you can always use that card to get special seating.  Plenty of no-shows at all the entertainment locations.  

[Gemina]

We were on Wonder in February and able to get on board early. Our arrival time was 11:00 but we were on board and finished making dining reservations by about 10:30. It was the quickest I’ve ever been on board!

 

I don’t remember specifically looking but my recollection is that Solarium Bistro was open embarkation day, at least for dinner.  

[GTO-Girl]

The Solarium Bistro is open on boarding day, but it doesn’t open until 11:30 or 12:00 (can’t remember which 🥴)

[PhillyFan33579]

You need to schedule shows on the website, not the app. 

[alfaeric]

48 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

You need to schedule shows on the website, not the app. 

Sure you can. Have done it multiple times. Some of the shows may not really be open until you get on the ship and connect to the ships internet. 

[PhillyFan33579]

10 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Sure you can. Have done it multiple times. Some of the shows may not really be open until you get on the ship and connect to the ships internet. 

I should have clarified I was talking about making reservations prior to the cruise. I have only been able to make reservations using the app when I was on the ship. If there is a way to reserve shows on the app 30-40 days prior to a cruise I don’t know how to do that. I have always had to use RCI’s website to make reservations in advance. 

[alfaeric]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I should have clarified I was talking about making reservations prior to the cruise. I have only been able to make reservations using the app when I was on the ship. If there is a way to reserve shows on the app 30-40 days prior to a cruise I don’t know how to do that. I have always had to use RCI’s website to make reservations in advance. 

You can do it, as I've started once or twice, but the web page planner route is a lot easier since seeing your entire calendar then is easier.

[Halfpound]

Just curious- once you boarded where was the quickest place to go to make your dining reservations - my family of six have the 3 night speciality dining package and I’m nervous that we are going to have a hard time securing reservations- thanks so much

[Gemina]

They had two people taking reservations at a kiosk right where you stepped onto the ship on deck 5. This is where I did mine as there was only one person in front of me when I got in line. I had my teens check out the restaurants on deck 8 and they were also taking reservations (as usual). My husband boarded about 15 minutes after us as he was dropping our rental car but if he had been with me I would have sent him to deck 8 to see which one of us made it to the front of our line first. 
 

One note - you could only make Izumi reservations at Izumi (for both sushi and hibachi). When I got over there I was third in line but the first person was making all of her reservations there so it was very slow. My the time I got to the front to book there were at least 20 impatient people behind me in line. 

[lovesthebeach2]

On 4/3/2024 at 10:40 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I should have clarified I was talking about making reservations prior to the cruise. I have only been able to make reservations using the app when I was on the ship. If there is a way to reserve shows on the app 30-40 days prior to a cruise I don’t know how to do that. I have always had to use RCI’s website to make reservations in advance. 

I was able to make all our show reservations in the planner on the web prior to boarding on our Wonder cruise in January 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I was able to make all our show reservations in the planner on the web prior to boarding on our Wonder cruise in January 

I have always made reservations in planner on the web without any issues. Another poster said you could make reservations prior to the cruise on the app, which has never worked for me. 

[BillOh]

On 4/2/2024 at 8:26 PM, Reijo said:

First time on Wonder, can you tell me if the Solarium Bistro is open on embarkation day.  Also, I have a late boarding time and just wondered if I got to the port, perhaps, 30 minutes before my boarding time, will I be turned away and made to wait.  After 42 cruises, we've never boarded this late (last minute cruise) and you just NEVER know if there will be a problem or not.  Prior to the pandemic, Diamond and Diamond Plus had priority boarding but I'm assuming that went away with the scheduled times.

 

Also, has anyone had any issue with the Royal App.  I've gone in to schedule the events that we want to attend, I've chosen the times/day/etc.  and it appears that everything is saved but it hasn't appeared in my calendar.  It's as if nothing is scheduled.  I appreciate any help.  

For what its worth, people on our May 26 sailing have had no luck with the app, everything is being done on the website. 

[AnnetteK]

We are sailing on The Wonder May 5th. Used the web to make our reservations.....rather be exploring the ship instead of in line.Just a few more days!!😁

[SuzD123]

On 4/4/2024 at 9:19 PM, Halfpound said:

Just curious- once you boarded where was the quickest place to go to make your dining reservations - my family of six have the 3 night speciality dining package and I’m nervous that we are going to have a hard time securing reservations- thanks so much

Once you get onboard you can make your reservations a couple of different ways, but I would try to get those taken care of fairly quickly as you get onboard.  There will be 1-2 kiosks in the Promenade area where they will be making dinner reservations...there may be a little line but it moves quickly. You can also go directly to any of the specialty dining venues and they should be able to make dinner reservations for you.  The other way we have made our reservations on boarding day is (assuming you are sailing in a GS or above) reach out to your Suite Concierge and he/she will be able to make them or if you are D/D+ that concierge will be able to help as well.  All are fast and effective

[BND]

We're back on Wonder in Nov, but we have Mason Jar for boarding day.  We were on in Jan for a b2b and never got into Solarium Bistro due to it being used for kosher meals for Yeshiva (both weeks of our b2b).   Hope to use it in Nov.  Personally, I think it stinks that we didn't have any access in Jan without any notice, but whatever.  We like it for breakfast on sea days when we hang out in the solarium.