OCSC Mike

Personal preference. I’m about to sail Wonder 3 times between March and July and have already been on her once and seen every show plus the escape room. Obviously it doesn’t bother me one bit. I prefer the one hour drive to PC and love the ship. We’ll probably see the aqua and ice show again (not over and over) and comedy changes. There is no headliner on Wonder. I’m actually looking forward to not having show plans virtually every night. It leaves us free to wander, listen to music, go to a game show, just hang out & have drinks, etc.

Sounds right. They hold up well whatever they are.

The straws used onboard (ported in the US at least) are recyclable but not the paper ones that get all soggy. I've had no issues with them.

Hope you enjoy it! When are you going?

Yep, there are always exceptions and no set date. The early previous month is pretty solid but no harm in checking before the month starts like in your case.

Utopia and Wonder will both be doing 3/4 short cruises, one from PC (I assume Utopia but just an educated guess) and the other from either FLL or MIA. I know it's a very long thread but if you look at posts starting in October or so there is some additional info in there...

Here's my review from 2017 if you're interested. It's a bit long-winded; you've been warned. Also, if you do read it, sadly the small bar/restaurant Bob used to take people to lunch at was completely destroyed by Hurricane Irma and never re-built so lunch is now sandwiches on french baguettes. Obviously it's not stopping me from going back but I'll miss that little lunch spot. DW took the morning off from running and we slept in a bit to be well rested for our 6-hour excursion. After a light breakfast in the Solarium we got off the ship shortly after 9:00. Our excursion was booked privately with Captain Bob of Soualiga Destinations. We had never done a non-RCI excursion but the reviews between CC and TripAdvisor were so off the charts we couldn’t resist. It also seemed especially appealing b/c it had a little bit of everything. Well, Captain Bob delivered all that we had hoped for and then some. The only way it could have been better was if it had lasted even longer. We followed Bob’s instructions for the 10 minute walk down the sidewalk to the dock where his boats are kept. “Turn left at Chesterfield’s and ask for Bob at the docks” sounds sketchy but it wasn’t. After paying Bob our balance and waiting for more people to arrive, we were handed off to his son Brett (captain of one of Bob’s several boats) who introduced himself and his crew member Mike, collected everyone’s shoes since they weren’t needed the rest of the day, gave us a short safety speech, showed us where the coolers of unlimited beer/soda/water were, laid out the day’s plans, and off we went, flying and bouncing through the water. We sat in the back with the family of 4 of an extremely nice woman I “met” in our roll call on CC while the other 8 or so people sat in the front. The front was bouncier and perhaps more fun but the back provided shade as well as quite a bit of ocean spray, especially if you sat in the very back facing front. First stop was for snorkeling in an area known for sea turtles. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any. Next stop was a short one on an island literally crawling with huge iguanas that would eat from your hand. You could also swim in the shallow water just off the beach and spot fish. After that was snorkel stop #2 by a large rock and coral area. Snorkeling is more DW’s thing than mine so I sat this one out while she saw a bunch of different fish. I remained on the boat, talked to Brett for a bit, and had a couple beers. Next up was lunch on the beach on the French side of the island. Bob staggers his tour groups as best he can and literally helps serve lunch. We happened to be the last group to eat but that was no big deal. We had use of lounge chairs and umbrellas while we waited. I think I even dozed off for a few minutes. Lunch was served on real plates with silverware at picnic bench style tables. The restaurant looks like a bit of a hole in the wall but the food was delicious. We actually placed our lunch orders with Brett before we first left. We were given a choice of chicken, ribs, or fish along with either rice and beans or fries as a side item. Everyone also got a small salad. I had e-mailed Bob ahead of time and asked if picky DW could get a burger or chicken breast (the offered chicken was dark meat) and was assured it was no problem. When I mentioned this to Brett he told me no problem on the burger. I had mahi mahi and you could taste that it was freshly grilled. The rice was plentiful and tasty as well. DW’s burger was pretty large and she enjoyed it. The only thing not included on the excursion was drinks at lunch. I tried a guavaberry colada based on online reviews and it was good (DW even liked it until the rum hit her) but not sure I would bother paying $6 for a small cocktail again when the boat is stocked with beer and the bar also had cheap beers as well as huge bottles of water for $2 (which DW got). After lunch, we headed for Maho Beach, famous for being adjacent to St. Martin’s airport and so close that you can watch planes land at less than 100 feet above your head. Sadly, it’s also infamous for the occasional incidents that occur when people hang on the fence (and get blown off) directly behind the planes as they fire their engines for takeoff. As it turned out, Brett somberly told us how a woman was killed the day before our excursion. Anyway, as I’ve mentioned, this boat flies, but we hadn’t experienced its full capability until this point. We headed off from lunch at the speed we had experienced all day (which was quite fast). A short time later I saw Mike talking to Brett and pointing up into the distant sky. Suddenly we were going full throttle. We later learned that the summer is less busy so there are fewer large planes to see land. So when Mike spotted one Brett did all he could to race it to the beach before it landed and came pretty darn close to getting there in time. We saw it pass over just before we got to where he parked the boat offshore. Apparently it was an American Airlines flight out of Charlotte. We saw a few smaller planes land before leaving for one last swim stop just outside of what appeared to be a beach resort. The water was calm there and Brett encouraged us to take this opportunity to (safely) jump, cannonball, or dive off the front of the boat. He then offered up beverages by tossing them into the water to any takers. This was just a short relaxing stop before we had to head back to the dock by 4:00 since we had to be back on Oasis by 4:30. Brett joked about the all aboard being 6:00 which I think worried the family I had met through CC. I, however, appreciated his humor. He was soft spoken but full of both genuine information as well as the occasional comic relief. I failed to mention that he shared plenty of island information when we weren’t flying along. Sadly, all good things must come to an end and we arrived back at the dock just before 4:00. After saying goodbye to Brett and Mike (and leaving them some gratuity) we stopped for one last treat. There’s a Dutch cheese shop right across from the dock and all of Bob’s guests get a free ice cream cup on their way out to eat on the way back to the cruise ship. I’m sure he has a deal with the shop and the ice cream doesn’t cost very much but it was a nice way to end an already amazing day (also, fwiw, the pistachio was actually delicious). I can’t imagine not going back on this excursion the next time we’re in St. Martin. Even with the ice cream slowing us down a bit (not really) we arrived back on Oasis at 4:10.

I've always had the same thought. Back in the day, Royal had "First Night, Done Right" where everyone got a BOGO for night 1 to help fill the restaurants. We used it on almost every cruise back then.

This. It's usually early in the month prior to your sail month.

No they are not all out. Here's the remaining release schedule... https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2025_2026/2025-2026_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

All this stuff varies greatly by ship and sailing. There have been numerous threads about it.

Same here. For a while I brought a travel mug which I filled from the to-go cups and took that with me... I have a bit of a problem... especially when the coffee is fancy and included.

I've seen your posts. I know this isn't what you had in mind when you decided to move near PC but it may wind up working out since it made you try a TA and go to Europe. Hopefully you enjoy the new experiences.

It was a new, weird type of sale at the time that I don't remember anyone seeing or mentioning again except maybe once. And yes, they were good deals. When my wife and I sail alone, it's frugally (we don't spend a penny on CocoCay except to tip on our voucher drinks). When I saw that sale I remember telling her how I wish it was an extended family cruise... when we're a party of 8 including some less frugal family members who would have jumped at those prices but wouldn't pay the usual $3000+ prices you normally see.

What they did in the past does not indicate what they will do in the present or future.

It was a joke about me sailing Wonder over and over... which clearly missed. My bad. 🙈 I don't blame you for wanting standardized rules and agree 100%. The Allure situation was particularly crappy.

There was a C&A sale for Diamond and above shortly before my Allure cruise in October. OTW cabanas were surprisingly something like $1749 and Beach Club cabanas were a few hundred less.

You could be a weirdo and just sail on the same ship over and over... then you would know the rules. Who would do that though? 😁

My bad, completely read over that part somehow. New answer... try Park Cafe. It has different opening times on different ships but can open as early as 6:30am.

Technically you are not supposed to book them ahead of time, only onboard, but many people do what was described above. No judgment intended, just sharing info. I will turn D+ on my next cruise and am looking forward to using my BOGO's after that. Haven't decided how to handle it yet.

Complimentary self-serve coffee machine in the Crown Lounge for coffee, espresso, cappuccino, lattes, etc. One of my favorite Diamond perks. The lounge is open 24/7. The coffee machine is sometimes available VERY early, other times it is being serviced in the morning and will be ready by 7am or so. I'd definitely cancel the vouchers but that's just me.

There's a sale on the DBP and Hideaway Beach Passes until tomorrow. The prices vary but it's there for my next 3 Wonder sailings (March, June, July). Hideaway Beach is $26.99 for March... too bad I have no interest.

We got free prints on Allure in October.

And others are entitled to respond to those opinions.

And some of us have enjoyed recent cruises as much as cruises from years ago and don't feel we're paying "dramatically more." Everyone has their own experiences, opinions, and preferences.