Thisguylikestocruise

On the app “select another cruise”➡️“browse our ships”. Choose a ship and date. You can see what excursions are offered. Downside is it’s inconvenient and possibly not all excursions are loaded.

I’m doing something similar. Have a 5/4 night b2b booked on Voyager. 2 days Coco Cay which is a favorite port for us. The option to get a drink package for 1/2 the b2b is another perk. Fits into my work schedule perfectly and saves a little money compared to other 9 night cruises I looked at. The E-muster takes us less than 30 seconds now. Personally I feel like the pros outweigh the cons.

Not everyone saves millions for retirement, or if they do perhaps there’s no children to leave money to. I used to be a big saver but my healthcare job changed my perspective. Life is short and fragile. I don’t want to save a lot and end with up with cancer, or mobility issues to the point I can’t enjoy my money. I’d rather spend while I’m in good health. Personally I wouldn’t spend $20k on a suite, I still like to look for value in purchases.

One cruise hack is take 2 short cruises b2b, and only book the drink package for half of the b2b, and only drink during that 4-5 day sailing.

With the drink package if you don’t feel well and want to take a Tylenol you’re at risk of not breaking even. Found that out when I developed a severe migraine unrelated to drinking at the beginning of my cruise. Lost a day using the package and barely made up for it later in the week.

What happens if you have the refreshment package and buy a few alcoholic drinks? Do they deduct a certain amount of money from the alcoholic drink since you have the refreshment package?

I sail out of that port and have a Wonder cruise booked for 2/11/24, $2,993 ocean view balcony w/tips. Wanted to do a b2b, however the following week is $4,800 so I’m not doing it. Prices have risen dramatically since I booked. Voyager out of Canaveral 2025 is still fairly affordable, doing my first ever b2b on that, making 2 stops at Coco Cay. Reasonable prices are still there, but much harder to find.

I’d like to take a transatlantic cruise on this. 7 nights isn’t enough time to explore a new class of ship this large.

Wonder is awesome. We booked it again within days of returning home. Food, drinks, shows, and staff were excellent. One night they had crispy breaded cauliflower in chili sauce at the windjammer, very tasty.

I understand the gratuity for bartenders. But why are gratuities automatically added for the soda package, when it’s typically self service?

Shows for Oasis class ships open up to reserve online the first day of the month, a month before your cruise. So if the cruise was 5/18, shows would be open to book 4/1. Seems to be the current pattern.

Seems to be the only advantage right now is booking 1-2 years in advance for certain dates and ships.

I have 4 cruises booked and they’ve only gone up. It’ll be interesting to see if this summer I can reprice lower like last year.

I liked the Marcella Royal Hotel in Rome, great hotel with breakfast and rooftop views overlooking the city. Checkout Ostia Antica ruins while you’re in Rome.

Similar experience, I told the waiter I liked the appetizer, and he brought me 2 more.

A lot of people here mentioned a wait for MTD. This wasn’t my experience on Wonder. We arrived at 7:30 without reservations and were seated immediately. Service and food were excellent.

On Wonder they did have breakfast, it must vary by ship.

The Windjammer is divided in half. When you walk into the Windjammer stop, look left and right. Both sides serve the same food. Sometimes one side is less crowded than the other. Get on the app the night before your cruise to complete the safety videos and health questionnaire. The E-muster is really easy, you just show up at your station and confirm you watched them. Pack everything you need in your carry on bag, like a swimsuit, because rooms aren’t ready until 1pm.

There’s premade wrapped burritos like you mentioned, and the option to make your own burritos or nachos on Wonder. I considered it more of a snack than a full meal. They also had breakfast and it was never busy for that.

I’ve never sailed Carnival so can’t compare them. However, Wonder has differences vs Oasis. El Loco Fresh is complimentary on Wonder. They have a machine that makes fresh tortillas in front of you. You add toppings like rice, beans, meat, cheese, salsa, guacamole, chips. Similar to a Chipotle. Most days it was good, although one day the guacamole was watery. I’ve been on Oasis and Wonder, Wonder is a beautiful and fun ship, we enjoyed it more than Oasis. Booked another cruise on it because we had so much fun.

The aqua show and ice show are very popular and excellent, but we noticed open seats at both throughout the week on Wonder in February. I think if you really want to attend you’d find seats at some point. Arrive 30 minutes early and wait in the standby line.

Can’t go wrong with either one. They both are loaded with activities. It’s a matter of preference. Wonder: Aqua theater, boardwalk, zip lines, ice rink which turns into a night club, water slides, huge dry slide, Central Park. Odyssey: SeaPlex sports area with bumper cars, ifly, North Star. Both have silent discos.

I’m really looking forward to the Odyssey. It’s being used for our 9 night-fall 2024 Greek Isles cruise. First junior suite. Hope we like the ship as much as Wonder which set the bar pretty high.

I really enjoyed Wonders solarium. They had windows open, so there was a comfortable breeze flowing through.

I wish parents would supervise their kids in the Windjammer. Some touch the food directly with their hands, one even used their hand to grab spaghetti 🤮