FlatFooted Freda

We were on Wonder last January. We certainly enjoyed, but decided we were paying for a lot of bells and whistles we were too old to really enjoy. Will likely avoid the biggest, newest ship in the future unless itinerary dictates. Do note, our late Jan sailing also was Yeshiva Week. That brought many kids, and some of the venues were closed off to us ( Solarium bistro). Also lost part of Windjammer to kosher food. I thought the kids were very well behaved, but they are still just kids. A ship full of kids was not what we were expecting on a late Jan cruise. We are planning a Jan cruise for next year, so I will first search which ships are offering Yeshiva Week cruises and likely avoid.

Agreed. DH & I found a very nice conference at sea, in July. Just happened to be on the Wonder. Price of conference was appropriate. But then we found the interior room would cost approx $2500 each, for a 7 d Caribbean cruise. Nope. We'll be doing a nice land based conference instead.

We were able to visit Labadee from the Wonder in late Jan this year. Overall, I enjoyed it and hope to return. I was just sitting on the beach that day, but will definitely try either the zipline or the coaster if I return. Of note, I am melanin challenged, and need some shade. So I pre-purchased 2 chairs and an umbrella. The Wonder with its 3-4000 passengers was the only ship there. If I had hit the beach fairly early , would have been able to find free shade, either an umbrella and chair, or a towel under a tree. Being slow to get there, $$ was needed.

For a northern cruise such as that, is it worth paying more for a balcony? Or just a room with a view? We rarely used balcony on Alaskan cruise. Even colder for this one?

We had Aon for a west Med cruise in May. Purchased thru cruise line. Porting in and out of Barcelona. We were staying 3 days post cruise. This was still in the time of needing a negative Covid test to cruise or fly. I developed symptoms the day I stepped off the ship, then tested positive the day before I was to fly home. American Airline would not refund ( and only effective voucher was to take same flight - from Barcelona to US a month later or more). I was in a fine Hilton hotel for another week before testing negative. I filed a trip delay claim. AON did not respond for several months, then ultimately asked for receipts, and proof that I was quarantined. KEEP EVERY RECEIPT - and flight info. I was able to obtain a brief letter from my local primary care provider stating I had been positive for Covid and was quarantined. 7 months later, we did receive a payout of approx $1600. Certainly didn't cover entire cost, but we'll take it. Patience and persistence.

Hah. That was frozen custard. DH is an ice cream snob. Wouldn't touch the stuff! 😜

We were on this Wonder cruise. We had never heard of Yeshiva week prior to this sailing. We found it more interesting than anything. Did not encounter rude guests. There were a lot of kids, but we did not find their behavior to be outrageous - just kids being kids. We were on a Spring Break - March- cruise last year. I'd take the Yeshiva kids 10 to 1 over that cruise ( also Royal). I would have liked the option to eat in the Solarium Bistro. We did notice that they only ate on paper plates/cups. Can someone educate us on that one?

DH got one as well - for May cruise.

Enjoying your posts. Please hang in there till your final day. We have had a few Royal cruises, and are considering giving Celebrity a try. I assume that Celebrity:Royal as Cadillac:Chevy. Please tell me if I'm wrong. We're just off the Wonder, Royals' newest ship. Interestingly, the Wonder had the best jogging track we've encountered at sea. Deck 5, encircled entire ship. I recall 2.4 laps = 1 mile. My question is in regards to the Solarium. It was big and beautiful - but stuffy. Humid. Never able to last more than 1 hour. Very few windows that could open. Similar on Beyond?

Just off the Wonder last week. Still loved it - but I love them all. - Jogging track was one of our favorite aspects of this ship. - We appreciated Central Park, and especially the Park Cafe. Bagel Bar for breakfast, then something akin to a salad bar at lunch ( more options for the salad than in the Jammer). - Solarium was likely biggest disappointment. It was big and beautiful, but my mother could not tolerate the humidity. We never lasted an hour. Then the wind by the pool the last 2 days was rough. Had a hard time finding a place to sit ( outdoors) that was out of the gusts. - DH was disappointed by the ice cream in Wind Jammer. They now have a specialty sweet/candy/ice cream shop on the BoardWalk for purchase out of pocket. Seems quality of the included ice cream in Windjammer dropped. - But those are nit-picky points. Wouldn't keep me from booking the Wonder in the future. We have learned since sailing the "biggest ship" that the big new ships are all about the boat. Need to get the smaller older ships to access the less visited ports. That's our next plan. Just many fewer fewer options - across all companies.

Forgive me for not reading entire thread. Is Jewel equipped with StarLink? We're on JOTS in May, northern Europe. Regardless, how is the connection?

Some closing thoughts. Parting is always such sweet sorrow. Mama had wheelchair assist for departure. One thing we did not think of - as she had a separate room from DH & I, she had a different baggage claim tag number. Higher number = later departure time and baggage claim. Concern was with meeting our shuttle. Fortunately there wasn’t a huge difference Cruise Control is our shuttle -as usual. They all waited patiently for us. Thank you all. But - note to self - next year we’ll try to have guest services make those claim numbers match Overall, we loved the Wonder. Big new beautiful ship. We are all of the age that we are not very “adventurous “. DH & I did do the zip line , but that’s it. We have realized that we are paying for all those fun adventures on Oasis class. Will keep that in mind for future cruises. May try Celebrity or Princess next. The Windjammer was not the best buffet we’ve encountered, but certainly not the worst either. They need more vegetable variety. And perhaps just more variety in general. Exact same breakfast every morning. Not quite enuf communal space for bad weather days. The rooms were great, the beds comfy, and all the staff was top notch. Overall - the Wonder was wonderful. Would cruise her again- when the prices come down.

Sorry , i did not. I purchased our internet package on Black Friday. Last day here. As I was checking on our final account bill, I could not find $150 of On Board credit. Went down to guest services. They found it had been applied to that internet purchase back in November.

Here’s a pic of back row of aqua theater.