Wonder of the Seas questions

[nanseev]

Hi all,

 

We will be on Wonder in March 2024.  We are Diamond, as we live near Navigator’s West Coast port so we’ve taken advantage of many weekend getaways plus some 7-night Mexican Riviera trips over the past two years.  We haven’t been on a Royal ship other than Navigator in a few years (cruised Oasis, Harmony, Adventure and Liberty).  My question - are the Windjammer options the same from ship to ship?  For example, I know on NOS they only have a carving station in WJ on Day 1.  The “theme” WJ daily options are always the same….will all of those options be the same on Wonder in the WJ?  Also, is there a specialty dining lunch option on Day 1 embarkment on Wonder?  We have started purchasing specialty lunch on Embarkment Day 1 on Navigator to mix things up (and elevate the food experience since MDR isn’t open)…I’m thinking if the WJ lunch options are basically the same from ship to ship, I’d like to buy specialty for day 1 lunch if it’s available.  I quickly checked my app and nothing was listed for Day 1 lunch.

 

Any other Wonder-specific or even Oasis-specific suggestions?  Or Diamond suggestions for Oasis class?   Planning on the aqua show, visiting Park Cafe (not on Nav), Diamond club, and comedy shows….we have such a routine on Navigator (it’s like that old comfy sweater!)  and I just want to make sure I get the full experience where we don’t often cruise from the east coast or on Oasis class ships anymore.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[OCSC Mike]

WJ - The layout is a little different on Wonder but food options are becoming pretty similar across the fleet. You can see the nightly themes by looking at the current sailing in the app but it’s the usual American, Italian, French, Tex Mex, Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean.

 

Embarkation Lunch - Highly recommend Mason Jar brunch. One of the best meals I’ve had on any cruise & can only be found on Wonder (and Utopia eventually). You’ll have several other specialty options though if that doesn’t appeal to you.

 

Wonder-specific thoughts - If you want the full experience, see all the shows (I didn’t like them all but I’ll see any 45 min show once), The stage shows are pretty unique the ice show was very good. The free “escape room” was fun & very difficult. It’s actually a bare room with puzzles b/c they never re-did it when Covid made RC send Wonder here instead of China. It books up fast. The Solarium is large & climate controlled. Very nice for adults only.

 

Which sailing in March? We’ll be on Wonder 3/17.

Edited August 7, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[Teeara]

4 hours ago, nanseev said:

Hi all,

 

We will be on Wonder in March 2024.  We are Diamond, as we live near Navigator’s West Coast port so we’ve taken advantage of many weekend getaways plus some 7-night Mexican Riviera trips over the past two years.  We haven’t been on a Royal ship other than Navigator in a few years (cruised Oasis, Harmony, Adventure and Liberty).  My question - are the Windjammer options the same from ship to ship?  For example, I know on NOS they only have a carving station in WJ on Day 1.  The “theme” WJ daily options are always the same….will all of those options be the same on Wonder in the WJ?  Also, is there a specialty dining lunch option on Day 1 embarkment on Wonder?  We have started purchasing specialty lunch on Embarkment Day 1 on Navigator to mix things up (and elevate the food experience since MDR isn’t open)…I’m thinking if the WJ lunch options are basically the same from ship to ship, I’d like to buy specialty for day 1 lunch if it’s available.  I quickly checked my app and nothing was listed for Day 1 lunch.

 

Any other Wonder-specific or even Oasis-specific suggestions?  Or Diamond suggestions for Oasis class?   Planning on the aqua show, visiting Park Cafe (not on Nav), Diamond club, and comedy shows….we have such a routine on Navigator (it’s like that old comfy sweater!)  and I just want to make sure I get the full experience where we don’t often cruise from the east coast or on Oasis class ships anymore.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

You're going to be blown away by Wonder compared to Navigator.  Food options will be the same and different since there is so much more space in the WJ on Wonder compared to Navigator.

 

Yes, they offer specialty dining on day 1 for lunch, but be aware that those areas will get crowded on day 1 as people rush to them to book their specialty dining for the remainder of the cruise.  If you're looking for a relaxing lunch after boarding the ship you might want to wait until day 2 for your specialty dining.  The specialty dining menu is always the same every day at each venue, so you might want to do WJ for lunch on day 1.  

 

If you're interested, I have a playlist of videos from our Wonder TA last year and I go deck by deck (although I can't believe I forgot to shoot Central Park).  It might help you to get an idea as to what to expect when you're onboard.  You can find the playlist here:  Wonder of the Seas

 

Have a fantastic cruise!

[OCSC Mike]

In case you're interested, my semi-live trip report from June...

 

 

 

[nanseev]

Thanks for the the playlist and reviews!  I will definitely check them out.

 

We are on 3/31 - this is our free Prime cruise for the year.  I’m used to the “Day 1” craziness at the maitre d stations, and I’m planning an early boarding time because I typically check in as soon as it opens.  As long as Mason Jar is open on embark day that sounds perfect!!!!  We already purchased the 3-night specialty so I can avoid Mexican and Caribbean night menus (not my favorite as I don’t like shrimp and live in SoCal so Mexican is amazing at home).

I wonder if the Escape Room is the same as the one on Nav?  It’s extra $ on Nav, and we’ve done it once. 
 

I’m excited to be back on an Oasis class ship…and to have Park Cafe again!  I love Navigator, but she’s missing some decent food options that other ships have.

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, nanseev said:

As long as Mason Jar is open on embark day that sounds perfect!

 

It is. Sadly the brunch price used to be $24.99 ($21.99 pre-cruise with the standard 10% off) but a couple weeks ago it jumped to $34.99 ($30.99).

 

FWIW, people don't seem to enjoy the dinner as much as the brunch but I've only had brunch.

 

6 minutes ago, nanseev said:

I wonder if the Escape Room is the same as the one on Nav?  It’s extra $ on Nav, and we’ve done it once. 

 

I doubt it as this one was designed for China (as I mentioned). It's free b/c it's not a full escape room experience like the others. Without spoiling anything, I worked on a math puzzle with my niece that was kinda screwy... after we solved it and the whole thing was over, the crew member running it explained it was screwy b/c of how math is done in China, lol. It was a left to right, right to left issue.

 

10 minutes ago, nanseev said:

I’m excited to be back on an Oasis class ship…and to have Park Cafe again!  I love Navigator, but she’s missing some decent food options that other ships have.

 

I get it. We went on Indy last year after almost nothing but Oasis class for many years and that was my only complaint... the lack of another 1-2 included food venues like Park Cafe or El Loco Fresh (which I'm sure you think is awful given your Mexican comment, lol, but I take what I can get since my wife is picky and doesn't eat Mexican and I found the tacos passable as a snack... the other items were pretty bad, IMO.)