A WONDERful trip! Wonder of the Seas 7 Night Eastern Caribbean March 18, 2022

[SoFlaCruzer]

Enjoying the review. We board her in a few weeks for the TA to Barcelona! Got the dining package and we are foodies, so Wunderland certainly seems like a place to try more than once! 

[danp2482]

39 minutes ago, SoFlaCruzer said:

Enjoying the review. We board her in a few weeks for the TA to Barcelona! Got the dining package and we are foodies, so Wunderland certainly seems like a place to try more than once! 

It definitely is! After the second meal, we've basically had all the small plates except 2 and between the 2 of us we had 3 out of 5 main courses.

[CaptainBazz]

Thanks for this review danp2482...we are sailing on Friday...can't wait. Flying out tomorrow so may not see the rest of this review until after we sail. Hope you had a great week...looks like you did. We will probably be following in your footsteps for the next week 😄...will post my review on our return.

[danp2482]

Day 4 Continued:

 

We stayed on the beach at Great Bay into the early afternoon. We took a quick walk down the boardwalk, poked in and out of the duty free shops and grabbed a drink. The plan was to head back to the ship around 2 and grab a late lunch. We just figured it was close enough, why buy lunch off the ship!

 

I snapped a few afternoon pictures of the beach too! Water looked even more blue!

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the ship and poked around the port a bit before getting back on!

 

 

 

One more of the biggest cruise ship at sea!

 

 

When we made it back on the ship, we headed to playmakers. For those that don't know, the UDP gets you a credit there for food. We started with water! It was HOT outside and after the walk back we were thirsty. For lunch we shared a burger, fries and 12 BBQ wings. The food was really good! They even split the burger and fries for us before they came out. We finished up and headed up to the sports area where the great Wonder mini golf battle of 2022 took place.

 

The mini golf on Wonder is very well themed and flows into the Wonder Playspace which is a underwater themed kids play area on the back of the ship in the sports zone.

 

 

 

 

I lost by 2 points! Nichole was unaware that she beat me! She just goes under the assumption that I always win.... She won graciously though and didn't rub it in too bad!

 

After my defeat, we headed back to the solarium to relax before getting ready for dinner and as we agreed. We again sat in a different spot! This guy was at the towel station.

 

 

 

We finished out our afternoon and headed downstairs to get ready. The plan for night 4 was name that tune, dinner at mason jar and then a bar crawl! The show tap factory was showing that night but we'd already seen it on Odyssey. More on that later...

 

Next up: Day 4 continued

 

 

[LEMJMcC]

Can you comment on the large screen overlooking Central Park?  I've read other threads that state how obtrusive it is, particularly at night due to the volume level.

 

We just booked a cabin on Wonder for next February, though it's a JS on deck 8 so the screen wouldn't bother us in our room, but how is it walking around CP at night if there's a movie playing?  Have they reduced the volume at all?

Edited March 31, 2022 by LEMJMcC

[danp2482]

Day 4 Continued:

 

We started out our evening by starting the bar crawl early! We headed to the Wonderland bar first as it closes around 9pm and we knew it would be closed by the time we finished dinner. Again the Wonderland is kind of a hidden gem. Its creatively decorated and always very quiet plus they have specialty drinks there. I started off with a smoke rings which is a rye drink that is smoked using a wood smoker. I wasn't sure about the rye because I have never had it. I usually stick to vodka and bourbon. The drink was good and the smoke definitely added to the flavor of it.

 

 

Nichole had some type of martini but I can't remember what it was. We stayed for a few rounds and made it down to spotlight karaoke for name that tune. We were a few songs late so we only competed with ourselves. Thank goodness! There are some people out there that know every song! I think we got 16 or 17 out of 20! We finished up and headed to Mason Jar for dinner. The bar area at Mason Jar was busy! Not slammed just busy!

 

 

We were seated and our friend Jaime from brunch and Navigator greeted us! He was "dandy like a piece of candy"! We started out again with medicine. Nichole got the "Far from Manhattan" and I started with another "Southern Belle".

 

 

 

We ordered the pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes for an appetizer.

 

 

 

For dinner I had the brisket with collard greens and Mac and cheese. Nichole had ribs with collard greens and sweet potato mash.

 

 

 

For dessert we had the twice fired Oreos.

 

 

We also both had a PB & J old fashioned.

 

 

The PB&J old fashioned is a favorite with the bloggers and vloggers. I thought it was good but for the most part, I could only taste the screwball whisky!

 

I will say the Mason Jar dinner was as delicious as the brunch! The food may sound a bit heavy and it is compared to other offerings on the ship but its not overly heavy and if you don't overdo it, you can still enjoy a great meal here. I would recommend it for sure!

 

We finished up dinner and headed out to the Mason Jar bar where I believe we had another round consisting of Basil Hayden Old Fashioned's.

 

Once we finished up at Mason Jar, we headed to rising tide and then finished up for a few martinis from the martini genie at Schooner Bar.

 

 

 

 

We finished our evening at schooner bar with Lennora but Andy C was off. The DJ was spinning 70s and 80s out on the promenade. The theme parties have not returned on the Wonder yet.

 

When we got back to our room, this guy was monkeying around!

 

 

Next Up Day 5: St. Thomas

[danp2482]

13 minutes ago, LEMJMcC said:

Can you comment on the large screen overlooking Central Park?  I've read other threads that state how obtrusive it is, particularly at night due to the volume level.

 

We just booked a cabin on Wonder for next February, though it's a JS on deck 8 so the screen wouldn't bother us in our room, but how is it walking around CP at night if there's a movie playing?  Have they reduced the volume at all?

Covered that and answered already in an earlier post! 👍

Edited March 31, 2022 by danp2482

[LEMJMcC]

6 minutes ago, danp2482 said:

Covered that and answered already in an earlier post! 👍

 

Found it!  That's great to read, I'm glad steps were taken to quiet it down.  Enjoying your review!

Thanks.

[danp2482]

Day 5: St. Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

We weren't really sure what we'd be doing in St. Thomas. We'd discussed the night before that we may just poke around the port and stay on the ship. The initial plan was to head to Sapphire beach and do something similar to what we did in St. Maarten but neither of us had been there and we weren't sure if it was worth the trip out there. We had been to St. Thomas before and snorkeled with the turtles and gone to honeymoon beach. We decided to poke around the port and then stay on the ship.

 

 

 

 

We grabbed our morning run and juice from vitality cafe. Then we got cleaned up and headed to solarium bistro for breakfast!

 

 

Breakfast was good! Same offerings as the windjammer just on a smaller scale. I will say we probably had our best cruise ship doughnut ever in the solarium bistro that morning. The avocado toast in solarium bistro was much better than windjammer as well. It was made to order and delicious!

 

During our breakfast, the Captain welcomed us all to St. Thomas and during his announcement he mentioned bringing an umbrella with you if going ashore. I've never heard a Captain say that before and we started thinking, who would pack one of those?! As we ate, the dome of the solarium started to roar! It was pouring but just a quick passing shower! We finished up breakfast and headed out to see the port.

 

Empty pool deck this morning!

 

 

As you can see...quite gloomy. I think we made the right choice to stay close to the ship. We didn't even know what the weather was going to be!

 

 

 

 

We got off the ship and headed into the port area. It was starting to sprinkle and then rain again. Not sure if these were going to be passing showers.

 

As we passed security, we were required to put on masks even though we were outside. It appears masks were required outside and in while in St. Thomas.

 

 

 

The ship is so big, I could barely get it all in but they're all like that! I hated the big writing on the front at first but it has really grown on me! Makes a statement!

 

 

We poked in and out of the shops in the port grabbed a dress for our little one and a new beach bag and headed back on board the ship.

 

Just before we got off the ship, we heard the crew beginning their safety drill. This is not unusual but this drill was much more involved than previous ones we've seen and heard. The drill started with an emergency and progressed to an evacuation. As we got close to getting back on the ship, the drill was still going and we saw the forward staging area. I tried to capture it in a picture.

 

 

 

 

The drill lasted a few hours at least and I had never been on the ship when a drill of that magnitude was conducted. We talked to some crew about it later and they said that one was nothing compared to some of the other drills. 

 

When we got back on, we headed to the solarium to stake our spot. We knew that with how the weather was, many would be coming back to the ship and the quiet port day would change rather quickly!

 

Next up: Day 5 Continued

Edited March 31, 2022 by danp2482

[danp2482]

29 minutes ago, LEMJMcC said:

 

Found it!  That's great to read, I'm glad steps were taken to quiet it down.  Enjoying your review!

Thanks.

Agreed! We were real worried about this. Not only because of where our room was but because of the ambiance of the park!

[danp2482]

Day 5 Continued:

 

We hung out in the solarium for the rest of the day. It continued to shower occasionally throughout the morning and by the afternoon, it felt that many had abandoned their plans for St. Thomas. Our all aboard was 3:30 anyway! We grabbed lunch at park cafe. I love the Royal Kummelweck at the park cafe. I had to have it at least once! After lunch we returned to the solarium. There were some breaks in the clouds in the afternoon and by 4pm the sun was just starting to shine! Of course! I think we headed down around 5ish to get ready for dinner. Back to Giovani's! Yes, we like it that much!

 

We made it down to Giovani's and it was beautiful outside so we sad on the patio once again. This time we were served by "Marco from Sicily" or Avinash if we see him elsewhere on the ship. Avinash was awesome. Another server that stuck out, took great care of us and made a great experience!

 

Nichole started with her salad of choice, the Giovani's House salad. We also got the meat plank and the Stromboli.

 

I knew I had a picture of the meat plank!

 

 

 

We shared the chicken parm! it must have been good! No picture!

 

For dessert we had gone bananas which is a Banana and Nutella Stromboli and we also had the cannolis!

 

 

 

After another great dinner we ended with Limoncello!! This was exciting because the first few trips to Giovani's they told us they didn't have it on board.

 

We headed down to the main theatre for comedic juggler Pete Matthews!

 

 

 

 

We've seen Pete Matthews twice now and I would go see him again and again! The show is a blend of comedy and juggling and he is hilarious and talented! His show is not to be missed. The guy actually juggles real axes! If he is on a sailing you're on, do not miss his show!

 

This night we actually caught the early show. It was supposed to be 50 mins but ran over an hour. We didn't mind at all! Once the show was over, we headed to Schooner bar for martinis and piano with Andy C.

 

 

We wouldn't end our night here! Tonight was RED. If you've read any of my previous reviews, you'll know where I am going. During my intro, you would've noticed that I mentioned trips to Vegas. During those trips, we have been to numerous night clubs. Nichole and I have a big interest in dance music and I even dabbled in DJing a little bit.

 

We always make a habit to at least check out "RED the Night Club Experience" which is billed as the "Hottest Nightclub at Sea". Each time we've gone its been pretty disappointing! I'm not going to sit here and say that they can compete with a "Vegas Nightclub" experience but each time we've gone to check out RED, the DJ is playing the "cha cha slide" and other wedding favorites. Hardly a "Night Club Experience". I will say I had heard DJ Bosco by the pool and on the promenade and had hopes it would be different! It was!! He was spinning and mixing like a pro and his music choices were on point. I was watching him work to gain the trust of the crowd and the dance floor was packed! The energy in the room was great! Best RED I have seen!

 

 

 

 

The only problem with the atmosphere and vibe being so good was that we didn't to leave! I think we called it a night around 12:30 but from what I heard, this party kept going past 2! 

 

Next up Day 6: Last Sea Day

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by danp2482

[danp2482]

Day 6: Last Sea Day

 

 

 

 

 

We started out the last sea day splitting up! Nichole decided to get an extra run in and since it was the last sea day and we knew every pool area would be busy, I would go to the pool and grab a spot for the day. The goal was to get a lower level day bed that looks out the front of the ship.

 

Well as I stated, you have to be an early riser to grab one of those beds or padded loungers. I was up there at 7:10am and all but one day bed was claimed. I use the word claimed because there were only people in a few of them. I managed to get a daybed 2nd level near the bar. I will say as the morning progressed, the beds and chairs filled and remained occupied all day. Very little chair reserving going on.

 

After her run, Nichole met me and we went and grabbed a quick breakfast in the Windjammer. No complaints there! Good breakfast as always.

 

I forgot to mention that we had done the perfect storm slides and cyclone on day 5 in St. Thomas. The slides were fun and we had a good time.

 

After breakfast we headed back to the solarium where Nichole lounged most of the day until lunch. I kind of split my time between exploring a bit, lounging in the main pool and hanging at the solarium bar.

 

We headed down to Giovani's for one more lunch! I think we might have gone to Mason Jar again but reservations were difficult for the seas days.

 

Giovani's was good but unfortunately our server was the same as the first night. Not bad by any means but just not one of the all stars like the others. We both had the salad this time and then shared the Mama Italia pizza again. Can't go wrong with a pizza that has prosciutto on it!

 

After lunch we went to try out the Ultimate Abyss. We vowed we would do it this time. 13 days between 2 ships that have this and we almost didn't do it again!

 

 

 

 

We both entered the Abyss and made it out the other side! It was actually a lot of fun! Nichole said it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be! Just before she got on, Nichole looked at me and said "I hate you a little bit right now!" It really looks more intimidating than it really is.

 

When we were up at the Abyss, someone was surfing on the flow rider. Maybe some day, I'll try one of those out. All the ships have them, I have no excuse!

 

 

After the Abyss, we headed back to the Solarium and finished our day there. Nichole took a very long nap and I again split my time between the main pool, our day bed and the solarium bar.

 

 

As the evening closed in on us, I woke Nichole up and we headed downstairs to get ready for Chops. Hopefully it would redeem itself tonight...

 

Next up: Day 6 Continued

[danp2482]

Day 6 Continued:

 

We got ready, talked to our little one and then headed to chops. It was also the 2nd formal night. I like seeing everyone all dressed up!

 

 

Chops was good! I don't recall our servers name but he was attentive and took good care of us. Definitely all business but the experience didn't suffer. The food was delicious as always. The issue is usually never the food.

 

I started with the Shrimp Cocktail and Nichole had the crispy goat cheese salad.

 

 

 

We both had petit filets and shared sides of tater tots, sautéed spinach, Mac & cheese and asparagus. 

 

 

 

We finished out dinner with the cheesecake and the warm chocolate cake!

 

 

 

The meal and service were delicious but there was one hiccup to the experience. Our table was very close to the table next to us. The couple next to us were crew (we guessed performers) and appeared to be on a date. It's all good but they talked very loudly. We were not sure if they didn't care that we could hear them or didn't realize it.  With the tables being so close, it was hard to concentrate on anything but their conversation and their date. It didn't ruin dinner by any means, just something we noticed.

 

We finished dinner and Nichole wanted to check out Giovani's wine bar. You'd think we would've done that already since we'd been to Giovani's so many times. The space and venue were nice! Very quaint and quiet. They had dozens of high end wines by the glass. They also had a few higher end bourbons and Don Julio 1942. The Don Julio was 15 dollars a shot which boils down to $2.36 if you have a beverage package. That's a steal. I did have some 1942 because I've wanted to try it! I should've had more! We spent more time in the wine bar than I thought we would. We had reservations for the comedians but I gave Nichole the choice of comedians or martinis at Schooner bar. She picked martinis!

 

On the way to Schooner I snapped a pick of the Mustang. It amazes me that they have these cars on the promenades!

 

 

After 3 martinis at Schooner, we called it a night. We got back to the room where froggy was waiting to say goodnight!

 

 

Next up Day 7: Last day and Perfect Day at Coco Cay!

[danp2482]

Day 7: Last Day & Perfect Day at Coco Cay (Well almost perfect)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bittersweet day! Today is Coco Cay day but it's also the last day....

 

We woke up around 7 and planned on working out. I really wanted to try the peloton but to my dismay, no such luck...all 4 occupied. We settled for a run on the track. They had told us that we would be arriving at Coco Cay around 10:30am. At 8:00 when we were running the track, we were on approach! Sweet! We're early! We finished up our run, got cleaned up and headed to solarium bistro for breakfast. Another great breakfast, can't get enough of that avocado toast! As we finished our breakfast, cruise director Mike welcomed us to Coco Cay and then they played the Coco Cay song which I love and think is hilarious every time I hear it! It was around 9:15-9:30. We finished up breakfast and headed down to the gangway.

 

We were at Coco Cay with Mariner this time. Mariner had arrived around 7:30 and a lot of her passengers appeared to be off already!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We absolutely love Coco Cay. We literally book sailings based upon if they're stopping there or not. In my opinion, its the best private island in the cruise industry! We usually split the day, we hang at the beach in the morning, have lunch and then party at the pool with the crowds and DJ in the afternoon.

 

The last few stops at Coco Cay we landed on Chill island at Harbor beach. The water is tranquil there and its not too hectic even with the zip lines overhead.

 

 

Great view of both ships coming over the harbor bridge!

 

 

 

Even with another ship already in, there is plenty of seating everywhere. No need to stress or rush to get a seat. You'll be fine wherever you want to be!

 

Harbor Beach! One of our happy places!

 

 

We spent the morning and a bit of the afternoon on harbor beach before grabbing lunch. We ate ate skipper grill but the food is the same around the island except for Captain Jacks, Coco Beach Club and the snack shack.

 

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Oasis Lagoon! The DJ was playing and the party was already going strong! The swim up bar area was slammed! Ive never seen it that way either. I'm not sure if it was a new point of sale system or what but the tablets seemed to be slowing the bar tenders down huge. It took like 15 minutes to get a drink when we first got there. The party kept going for awhile but the clouds started to build and the wind was picking up! Around 3:15 it sprinkled for about 5 minutes. Because of the rain, the DJ stopped playing and that was it.

 

People starting packing up and heading back. I told Nichole we should just hang for a bit. I could see in the distance that the clouds were already breaking. We held our ground and by 3:45 the sun was back! The damage was done though! Everybody had started to leave and the DJ never came back. The party was over! We hung out in the pool and had a few more drinks. By 5:00 we started to gather our stuff and head back towards the ship. Our all aboard was 5:30. Another (almost) Perfect Day at Coco Cay was done! As we made it to the dock, we watched as Mariner pulled away. Pretty cool, we've never seen it from that angle before!

 

 

We got back on board and headed to the room to get ready for the night! Name that tune, dinner in Wonderland and a few drinks.

 

Next up: Day 7 Continued

 

 

[danp2482]

Day 7 Continued:

 

After getting ready and making sure the majority of things were packed, we headed out for the night. I think we grabbed a drink at boleros and then head across to spotlight karaoke for name that tune. This time we did compete but didn't win. I think there was someone with a perfect score! We headed up to Wonderland for dinner.

 

Another great experience at Wonderland! Teppan was our server once again and his service was even better this time. This evening was a bit slower and he even took the time to chat with us and get to know us better. He also talked about his time with Royal. The experience was another great evening we had some small plates repeated and some new ones! By this point, with exception of 2, we've had all the small plates.

 

 

 

 

 

For mains we got the pork belly and the chicken and both were outstanding!

 

 

 

For dessert were another chocolate globe, a magical mushroom and a cotton candy creature (one of Teppans own creations!)

 

 

 

We finished a delicious meal and agreed to just one final drink at Schooner to say goodbye to the crew there!

 

I've highlighted Lenorra but the entire crew at Schooner was awesome! Friendly, fun and attentive. Gede was another awesome bartender at Schooner! In previous cruises, I've fallen into the trap of living the last night to the fullest! Knowing that the next day was a travel day, I knew we didn't want to got down that road again. We had one final martini a bid farewell to a bunch of great crew members!

 

These moments are always kinda sad. They're job is to make us feel welcome and take great care of us. They do such a great job that at the end, you feel like you're saying goodbye to good friends! 

 

We had an amazing week on this cruise. The staff and ship were awesome and we can't wait to experience another week at sea!

 

Next up: Debarkation Day and Final Thoughts

[danp2482]

Day 8: Debarkation Day and Final Thoughts

 

We awoke for debarkation at around 7:00. We planned on doing unassisted walk off because we had an 11:30 flight. We got ready, headed up to Windjammer and grabbed our last breakfast. It always amazes me that even on the last day before you get off, they give you a full breakfast with the same quality as all the other days! We finished up breakfast, grabbed our bags and off we went. Goodbye Wonder of the Seas! It was a great week! We grabbed an uber and we were at the airport by 8:30.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

The crew on this ship was amazing! They took great care of the guests and for the most part did it with a smile!

 

The ship itself is awesome! The solarium has to be the best if not one of the best on any of the ships! People have been saying the ship is a bit different because it was for a different market and I can see that.  The ship is modern and has a very contemporary feel!

 

The passengers on this sailing were awesome. I've been on plenty of sailings where I've witnessed entitled and rude people treating crew members terribly. I didn't see that at all this sailing!!

 

I've sailed on 2 other Oasis class ships besides Wonder and this class is by far my favorite.

 

Finally, the fact that we were the 3rd sailing on this ship didn't really strike me. Having sailed on multiple ships, I honestly didn't notice a "brand new" feeling vs an older ship. That being said, we tend to stick to the amped ships but kudos to Royal for keeping the older ships appearing and feeling just like brand new ones!

 

Thank you to everyone who followed along in this review! If you have specific questions that I didn't cover, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to answer them for you!

 

 

 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Great review, thank you.  We sail on her for Thanksgiving with kids and grandkids.  So looking forward to it.  

[perfect match]

Thanks for a great review, @danp2482!  We just booked a cruise on Odyssey a couple of days ago, and my next target ship is Wonder. I loved your pictures and hearing about your experience onboard the ship! I appreciate your taking the time to share with us. 

[cjhadf]

Great Review....

I'm on Wonder in a week!

I have the same UDP concerns about booking.

Which restaurant is that hardest to get  a reservation?

-Chris

[Norwich Cruiser]

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write such a detailed review with excellent pictures.

[danp2482]

2 hours ago, cjhadf said:

Great Review....

I'm on Wonder in a week!

I have the same UDP concerns about booking.

Which restaurant is that hardest to get  a reservation?

-Chris

Awesome! You'll love the ship! Out of the restaurants we went to, it appeared that Mason Jar was probably the most illusive with reservations but we also had a Hooked reservation (traded it for 2nd Wonderland) that we had to be flexible to get. I guess it really depends where you want to be each night but Mason Jar seemed to be full every night and every brunch. Probably because its a new concept! Have a great cruise!

[mariefisher]

Thank you for taking the time to write a wonderful review! So excited to spend 5 nights on Wonder in a few weeks. 
 

 

[John&LaLa]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:58 PM, coaster said:

Seeing some blogs and other sites saying Wonder is the best ship to be on now. Seems like they pulled lots of staff from other ships to get good reviews. Other ships seem to be suffering thanks to Wonder staff wise.

 

I think it's highly overstated

[RBKL]

Thanks for your review. We get on April 15.

 

what was the Playmaker credit for the UDP?

 

Were reservations required for the lunches using the UDP? How about on embarkation day?
 

Thanks in advance.