LIVE from Wonder of the Seas Transatlantic April 2022

[clochette]

I am really looking forward to your review thanks for taking the time to share with us.

[maryann2]

18 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

Hello from a fellow Canadian!  Looking forward to following along!

Another Canadian following here.

I am sailing on the Carnival Pride TA from Tampa to Barcelona leaving April 24th arriving Barcelona May 8th so a few days behind you.

I love TAs.

Safe journey.

[seadog67]

Have a great time and I will be following along!  What a nice long cruise to look forward to.

 

Thanks for taking the time to bring us along.

[taglovestocruise]

18 hours ago, tradercj said:

I would be interested in knowing how the outdoor temperatures are on your trip. I always wanted to do a transpacific trip but was afraid the spring or fall trips would be cool out on the pool deck.

It is a transatlantic,  we have done several TA'S from the Med in Oct and pools and flowriders are always in use. Not sure of temps but it is hot after day 3.  

[laurieal]

Hello from Fort Lauderdale!

 

My flight from Montreal ended up leaving two hours later than planned because the snow made everything more complicated and there was a lot of traffic at the plane de-icing stations. 

 

At the airport, I had no issue getting an accessible taxi. I asked the person who was manning the taxi station and it took less than 5 minutes for a taxi with a ramp to show up. 

 

I am staying at the Hyatt Place on SE 10th Ave. I have an accessible room with a king bed. The room feels a bit dated, but the bathroom is great for me accessibility-wise. It has a roll-in shower with a large bench and two sets of faucets so it’s just as conveniently placed if you’re standing up or using the bench. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hotel is close to the Harbor Shops where I bought my two bottles of wine to bring onboard (Total Wine) and cabin snacks (Publix). As much as there is to eat on a cruise ship, I always miss chips.

 

Later tonight I am reuniting with my cruise friends who are also doing the transatlantic.

 

A lot of you mentioned doing transatlantics in the past or having one booked in the future. What was everyone’s favourite transatlantic crossing (ship/itinerary) and why? 

[cruising twosome]

Have a wonderful cruise! My husband uses a scooter, we also need an accessible room and wants to book the Wonder. Looking forward to your reviews!

Thank you!

[avs88]

Thanks for the review...would love to do a TA in the future.  Will be following along....

 

[cruiseboy89130]

Big waves ahead

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9HAsUWyqQto

[aphrodite6528]

Eager to follow along! A TA is on the bucket list. Love your writing style 🙂

[perfect match]

Sounds like I’m not alone among your followers who haven’t done a TA yet, but have it on the bucket list. I know the day will come when I’m able to check a TA off my own bucket list, so I love reading other people’s  experiences and learning from them. I’m glad you’re off to such a great start! 😀

[Teeara]

We'll also be on the Wonder EB TA in late October.  It will be our first TA and we're very excited.  Looking forward to your full report on the trip!  So far you're doing a great job.  Love the pix!  Safe travels!

[xtremegk]

16 hours ago, laurieal said:

A lot of you mentioned doing transatlantics in the past or having one booked in the future. What was everyone’s favourite transatlantic crossing (ship/itinerary) and why? 

 

8 hours ago, perfect match said:

Sounds like I’m not alone among your followers who haven’t done a TA yet, but have it on the bucket list. I know the day will come when I’m able to check a TA off my own bucket list, so I love reading other people’s  experiences and learning from them. I’m glad you’re off to such a great start! 😀

 

Personally, I prefer the westbound TAs over the eastbound -- I'm a night owl on the ship and enjoy the extra hour gained heading west versus the hour lost heading east.

 

I enjoy TAs because I feel I tend to slow my pace -- with several sea days in a row, there's not as much of a rush to see and do everything you want on the ship in just a couple of days. I will say, however, that the first port stop after 5-6 days at sea is a welcome change.

 

Also prefer TAs that start or end in FL, as they take a more southern route that generally has calmer seas and warmer weather. The North Atlantic TAs that go to/from the Northeast can be a pretty wild ride.

[StanleyandGus]

16 hours ago, laurieal said:

A lot of you mentioned doing transatlantics in the past or having one booked in the future. What was everyone’s favourite transatlantic crossing (ship/itinerary) and why? 

I have only done one TA, with another one booked.

 

We like sea days. I was concerned that they might be boring, but what with trivia, exercising, going to lectures etc the day passes nicely! We went to the Canaries, which was new for us, and got several bottles of Malvasia wine (all declared).

Lanzarote is amazing, I have never seen a landscape like that. Very volcanic.

We also stopped at Coco Key and had a great day. 
 

[crzndeb]

I have done 3 TA’s and 3 TP’s, with a one of each on the books. It’s hard to pick out a fave, since they were all great, but for a TA, I enjoyed the Northern route, visiting Iceland, and for the TP, love the South Pacific, but ending in Singapore has been one of my favorite cities. I love sea days, and being a crafter, I always have projects with me. I don’t travel now, without a crochet project (or 2) along with me.

 

Bon Voyage! 🍸

[Teeara]

5 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I have done 3 TA’s and 3 TP’s, with a one of each on the books. It’s hard to pick out a fave, since they were all great, but for a TA, I enjoyed the Northern route, visiting Iceland, and for the TP, love the South Pacific, but ending in Singapore has been one of my favorite cities. I love sea days, and being a crafter, I always have projects with me. I don’t travel now, without a crochet project (or 2) along with me.

 

Bon Voyage! 🍸

Debbie, did you see we have an onboard Hand Crafts daily event on the WB TA now?  Not sure if you noticed that or not.  Every sea day at 2pm in the Windjammer.  Check out the spreadsheet under the Onboard Games & Activities tab and scroll to the far right after the Chef's Table.  Let me know if you want to be added to it.

[bobmacliberty]

We have our first TA/TP coming up this fall...a half TP from Vancouver to Hawaii, followed by a week on Kauai.  We're doing a 1 week Alaska cruise right before then.  Will make for some interesting clothes packing.

[mchin]

Following along!  Love your review thus far!  We haven't done a TA yet, but we are flying to Barcelona in June to sail Wonder on a Mediterranean cruise.  Look forward to hearing all about her while you deliver her for our turn in six weeks.  Have a great time.

[RicoRoxy]

Thanks for sharing. Great info!  If you get a chance, would you mind posting the onboard Deluxe beverage package price in FLL?  I've recently seen $88 with a second package 1/2 off on first day of cruise.  This is usually published in the daily Compass.  Thanks & bon voyage!!!!!

[DeputyDawg46]

Shows for this cruise. 

[Teeara]

9 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

Shows for this cruise. 

Oh man!  I would've loved to see "Dune" as the Movie on Deck!  Disco Skating looks fun, too ;o)

[maryann2]

20 hours ago, laurieal said:

 

A lot of you mentioned doing transatlantics in the past or having one booked in the future. What was everyone’s favourite transatlantic crossing (ship/itinerary) and why? 

I have done many Transatlantics ,over 20, and love the sea days. You can get addicted.  I usually spend time in Europe before or after the cruise but not this year with Covid.

The Southern route to Florida is much warmer than the Northern routes to New York.

Seas can be smooth like a mill pond or very very rough.

I have sailed on Celebrity, Royal, Costa, Carnival and MSC. 

I love Rome as an embarkation port as love spending time in Italy.

MSC Meraviglia in Sept 2019 was different for me sailing from Copenhagen and visiting Iceland and Halifax before ending in New York.

I have yet to do a Transpacific. My Celebrity TP has been cancelled 4 times but hope to make it Sept.2023. Vancouver to Japan.

 

[Teeara]

Looks like two overturned kayaks are at the breakwater by the port (watching Port Everglades webcam).  I missed what happened, but nobody appears to be in them.  The Coast Guard is investigating (2 boats), plus someone on the walkway above (looks like a Coast Guard guy) and two men who are trying to retrieve the pieces of the kayaks (looks like the two kayakers).  One kayak has been rescued (ripped up).

Edited April 20, 2022 by Teeara

[BeginnercruiserHD]

Can you confirm that the double balconies still exist in the Central Park rooms next to the Ivy Walls? Room 229, 629 etc,?

Edited April 20, 2022 by BeginnercruiserHD

[4everAfamily]

52 minutes ago, BeginnercruiserHD said:

Can you confirm that the double balconies still exist in the Central Park rooms next to the Ivy Walls? Room 229, 629 etc,?

Yes, the 29 CP balconies on the Wonder are doublewides. My dad had 12229 on her second sailing. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by 4everAfamily
Clarify

[arctickitty]

Hi Laurie, 

I’ve done one TA and it was my favorite cruise so far.  I loved the sea days and really having time to explore the ship and try everything I wanted.  I also liked that the cruisers were mostly far older than me and the gym, sports deck, etc were empty all the time.