Gemina

We also made our reservations at the kiosk in February on Wonder. I sent my teens up to deck 8 to check things out and I believe at least Chops was doing reservations as well. I was second in line at the kiosk so decided to just do it there. It was relatively quick. One note - all reservations for Izumi (not just Hibachi) had to be made there. It would have been easy but the first person in line when I arrived was making all of her reservations there. By the time she finished there had to have been at least 25 people behind me.

We did this exact thing on our cruise on Wonder in February. My husband dropped me and our three teenage boys off and then went and returned our rental car. The boys and I checked in and boarded without him with no issues whatsoever (we also had two cabins and my husband was the primary name on one). He managed to get on a shuttle almost immediately after dropping the car and ended up boarding about 20 minutes after we did.

We were on the Wonder in February and had an amazing time. It’s a fantastic ship! We did specialty dining so unfortunately I can’t help with MTD. On Roatan we did the Jolly Roger Catamaran and Snorkel. All 5 of us had a great time. On Costa Maya we did the Donut Boats and it was a blast. Nice boat ride and barbecue with drinks and then open bar and beach until it was time to head back to the boat. Really friendly staff. Both excursions were thru the ship.

They had two people taking reservations at a kiosk right where you stepped onto the ship on deck 5. This is where I did mine as there was only one person in front of me when I got in line. I had my teens check out the restaurants on deck 8 and they were also taking reservations (as usual). My husband boarded about 15 minutes after us as he was dropping our rental car but if he had been with me I would have sent him to deck 8 to see which one of us made it to the front of our line first. One note - you could only make Izumi reservations at Izumi (for both sushi and hibachi). When I got over there I was third in line but the first person was making all of her reservations there so it was very slow. My the time I got to the front to book there were at least 20 impatient people behind me in line.

We were on Wonder in February and able to get on board early. Our arrival time was 11:00 but we were on board and finished making dining reservations by about 10:30. It was the quickest I’ve ever been on board! I don’t remember specifically looking but my recollection is that Solarium Bistro was open embarkation day, at least for dinner.

We were on the Wonder a couple of weeks ago and it was super fast. We had an arrival time of 11:00 but arrived at Port just before 10:00. We were on the ship by about 10:20 - definitely the earliest I’ve ever been onboard!

We will be in the Haven on the Escape this Saturday and I’ll try to post a wine list for you if you don’t get an answer sooner. It’s our first Haven and NCL experience and I am very excited!

Looking forward to hearing all about the Icon! Quick question - has anyone sailing on the first few cruisers been able to make advance dining reservations with the UDP? We’re on Wonder next month and being able to do so would eliminate the last bit of stress for me when boarding.

Thank you so much for the review! It makes me so excited for our 2 weeks on the World Europa in October.

We’re also a family of five (three boys 16, 15 and 13). Our favourite configuration is an ocean view balcony for my husband and I and a boardwalk balcony for the boys. We did this on Symphony last week and will do the same on Wonder next month. We’ve done connecting rooms as well but like to have a choice of views. We loved the Symphony and I imagine we will enjoy the Wonder as well. So much to do and I absolutely love the Central Park area. My husband and I were on Ovation in September and we didn’t love the layout of the ship as much. As far as intinerary goes, I love the Caribbean for the weather but I’m not fussed on whether we do and Eastern or a Western - but we do love having a stop at Coco Cay! I will add that we’ve also done a couple of Disney cruises (2 years ago and 6 years ago) and we just booked one room for the 5 of us on both. The split bathroom makes it doable, although cozy. Now that the boys are all teenagers I would always opt for the extra room.

We’re on Wonder next month so I appreciate the review! Looking forward to seeing how it compares to our Sympnony cruises last year.

Well if you decide to keep the tour you will see us on it! We are also booked for the Feb 11th sailing.

We are booked for this excursion for our Feb cruise on the Wonder. If your cruise is after mine I will report back and let you know. My husband thought it looked like something everyone would enjoy - especially our three teenaged boys.

Thanks so much for the replies!

Just slightly off topic - does anyone know what the B2B procedure is on a Med cruise? We’re two week on the World Europa next October and I’m curious as to how it will work vs North American cruises.