Live Inaugural Cruising Review Wonder of the Seas 3/4/2022 - 3/11/2022 Plenty of Pictures!

[BennyBrun]

36 minutes ago, Fontaid said:

@BennyBrun The cruisers outside the terminal waiting to board at 8:20 am wanted you (and everybody else) out of your cabin and off the ship before 7:00 am lol. They want to board! There are places to go and things to do.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed "our" cruise this week. You posted a wonderful (no pun intended) review of a great inaugural cruise - well except for that little mishap when the deluge system accidentally went off and dumped thousands of gallons of water onto the Promenade... new FlowRider location perhaps? I cringed watching a vintage Mustang convertible get "hosed".

 

You have just enough time to get some laundry done before you board the Symphony tomorrow - unless you packed for 2 weeks - which I think you probably did. Enjoy the Symphony.

 

Dave

Thanks so much.  I packed enough for two weeks because I don’t want to deal with laundromat in Miami.  Just going to relax and get into the cruising mode again for tomorrow.

[BennyBrun]

7 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

You're immune Benny because you have at least a half dozen more cruises between now and the fourth of July to enjoy including your British Isles cruise.  That little voice inside your head is reminding you about what is to come in the near future.

It’s more like screaming at me with a check list of things to do before the next cruise 🚢 … rinse and repeat!

[BennyBrun]

Day 8 

 

Made it off the shuttle and now on another shuttle to Fairfield Inn & Suites West Doral.  If you are looking for a dependable airport shuttle this is not the place for you.  They have limited shuttle operations and only picks you up at Door 23 so if you are arriving from other airlines like American… good luck!  You have to walk to door 23 and that’s not an easy walk with luggage that’s full of Wonder Freebies!  But I have lots of time on my hands today so I can deal with it.  Also as a tip, cruise port hotels are notoriously more expensive on nights before the cruise so if you have loyalty points saved up it’s a good place to use them unless you are going to Hawaii or some other places that’s even more expensive!

[BennyBrun]

Day 8 
 

These are the hotel rates and it was maybe 10 % cheaper like 60 days ago.  These are the Marriott/ Fairfield  and other chains around MIA.

[cindyscruise]

Thank you so much for your review.  The pictures were awesome.  I hope you enjoyed your week and I am sure you will enjoy the next cruise.  Cannot imagine why I felt hungry all week LOL.

[loug1601]

Benny,
Thank you so much for the wonderful review and great pictures. You really entertained so many folks on this board through the week. 

We will be on Wonder 04/08/22. I hope to like it as much as we love the newly revamped Oasis. 

 

We will be on Odyssey 04/08/22. I hope we like it as much as we love the Anthem. 
 

Both of these ships sail from NJ. No flying!

However, we are willing to fly for a side 2 side on two new ships. 

Edited March 11, 2022 by loug1601

[BennyBrun]

14 minutes ago, cindyscruise said:

Thank you so much for your review.  The pictures were awesome.  I hope you enjoyed your week and I am sure you will enjoy the next cruise.  Cannot imagine why I felt hungry all week LOL.

Hahahahha… thank you so much!  It was a great week.  I liked the Wonder and everything was brand new and it’s a beautiful ship with lots of entertainment.  I really would like to hear back from cruisers this week and next month to see if they are still doing the same cool things!

[BennyBrun]

4 minutes ago, loug1601 said:

Benny,
Thank you so much for the wonderful review and great pictures. You really entertained so many folks on this board through the week. 

We will be on Wonder 04/08/22. I hope to like it as much as we love the newly revamped Oasis. 

 

We will be on Odyssey 04/08/22. I hope we like it as much as we love the Anthem. 
 

Both of these ships sail from NJ. No flying!

Wow I think one of cruise might be in 2023?  It’s hard to be on two ships at the same time 😂!  No flying is definitely a plus.

 

Wonder is a beautiful ship with lots to offer.  It needs time to work out all the kinks and the newness and for the staff to get used to working with each other.  A great cruise requires a great ship and a great fun loving staff which takes time.  On my Oasis trip last month the staff have been there for a while and they loved working with each other and it showed which in turn provided an excellent cruising experience even without some of the newer bells and whistles and having to sit through Cats 🐈 🐱 😝 

[Hogladyrider]

@BennyBrunwhew I was getting "fooded out" this week on the virtual Wonder Cruise.....

 

In the time you were cruising on Wonder a lot has changed on land here in the USA.  ALL prices are skyrocketing....be thankful you have your hotel and future cruises booked.  Lord only knows when the bottom will finally fall out of this mess going on.

 

Hope you have a "chill back" day at the Fairfeld to prepare for your Symphony cruise.  Gonna check for your virtual link so I can follow along.

 

We aren't cruising, but we are traveling soon.  As full time RVers we will be traveling from Arizona to New Hampshire....with the price of fuel we could probably go on at least 3 cruises!

 

Great job on this live review.

[BennyBrun]

Day 8

 

The time has come to start the debarkation process on this virtual cruise.  I hope you had a great time and saw what you wanted to see in the Wonder (except the Suite Neighborhood) !  I will be making my comparison comments at the end of the Symphony cruise comparing Oasis to Symphony to Wonder.  If you would like, please come along on the virtual Symphony cruise as the embarkation process just started.  I provide a leisurely boarding process with plenty of time to get onboard the virtual cruise.

 

 

[BennyBrun]

4 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

@BennyBrunwhew I was getting "fooded out" this week on the virtual Wonder Cruise.....

 

In the time you were cruising on Wonder a lot has changed on land here in the USA.  ALL prices are skyrocketing....be thankful you have your hotel and future cruises booked.  Lord only knows when the bottom will finally fall out of this mess going on.

 

Hope you have a "chill back" day at the Fairfeld to prepare for your Symphony cruise.  Gonna check for your virtual link so I can follow along.

 

We aren't cruising, but we are traveling soon.  As full time RVers we will be traveling from Arizona to New Hampshire....with the price of fuel we could probably go on at least 3 cruises!

 

Great job on this live review.

Thank you much.  I try not to look at Apple News while I am on a cruise but with so much happening I couldn’t stop to look.  It’s so sad what is happening right now.  It almost feels like when the world  is going in the right direction something else bring us back to square one.  We are resilient and we will prevail!!  Just don’t look at gas prices right now.  I saw $5.49 at MIA airport but I think they are gouging the tourists because a few station down it was $4.39.  I say that like it’s normal oye!

 

I certainly understand your decision with your mode of travel and I am sure you will have a blast on your adventure!  Take advantage of Costco / Sams Club gas along the way it saves a few Pennies and you get to stock up!

 

See you on the Symphony cruise!

[Colorado Buffalo]

46 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 8

 

The time has come to start the debarkation process on this virtual cruise.  I hope you had a great time and saw what you wanted to see in the Wonder (except the Suite Neighborhood) !  I will be making my comparison comments at the end of the Symphony cruise comparing Oasis to Symphony to Wonder.  If you would like, please come along on the virtual Symphony cruise as the embarkation process just started.  I provide a leisurely boarding process with plenty of time to get onboard the virtual cruise.

 

 

Can't wait for your Symphony Cruise as we will be sailing on her May 28th which will also be our first Royal cruise too. I know you have the UDP but can you report on the MDR as least once ?

[pbxtech]

Thank You

[BennyBrun]

4 minutes ago, Colorado Buffalo said:

Can't wait for your Symphony Cruise as we will be sailing on her May 28th which will also be our first Royal cruise too. I know you have the UDP but can you report on the MDR as least once ?

Yes I will. I have to go to the MDR to deliver a message from the head waiter from the Wonder any way so there will be a live report.  I might fit in a snack in between my Izumi snack and Hooked/Wonderland/150 Park Dinner!

[crewsweeper]

Much appreciate your review and pictures.  Looks like a great ship, but we have over 400 days to go!

Maybe the fire sprinklers will be fixed by then.😉

[catella02]

How was the Central Park interior room with the window? Did you hear much noise from the band playing on pool deck or the movie that played at night?

Thanks for taking your time to do a review on this new ship.

 

 

[BennyBrun]

51 minutes ago, catella02 said:

How was the Central Park interior room with the window? Did you hear much noise from the band playing on pool deck or the movie that played at night?

Thanks for taking your time to do a review on this new ship.

 

 

Yes you hear the music at night until 10PM ( when the music stops). If that bothers you and you are an early sleeper/ uses the room a lot during the day the interior window / Central Park balcony most likely will not work well for you !  

[luvcruzing]

Great review, Benny, thank you.  Debarking Wonder now and embarking Symphony.

[joand452]

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise!  I think I missed the links for our next virtual sailing. Would you mind reposting?  
 

Wonder looks amazing. We’re looking into it for next April, which is usually when we cruise. Very fortunate this year as we have Celebrity Apex, Harmony (both in April), and Oasis (July) coming up.  
 

[cruise1957]

On 3/9/2022 at 2:59 PM, BennyBrun said:

Day 6

 

The gifts just keeps on coming… this one came without a card so I don’t even know why I got this … neat wine bag… it came with a corkscrew too!  A bon voyage on the Symphony gift??  Does this count as my two bottles allotment 😂… 

That is one of my favorite Pinot Grigio's, enjoy!

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, joand452 said:

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise!  I think I missed the links for our next virtual sailing. Would you mind reposting?  
 

Wonder looks amazing. We’re looking into it for next April, which is usually when we cruise. Very fortunate this year as we have Celebrity Apex, Harmony (both in April), and Oasis (July) coming up.  
 

That sounds like a great cruise schedule!  Enjoy!

[Oceansaway17]

21 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

Twenty-one cruises with NCL, and every time NCL comes out with a new “enhancement,” I lose one of my benefits.

sorry to hear this.   I just know that NCL has good customer service and even credited back my vacation protection money when I canceled a cruise last year. It went into Cruise credit.

Other cruise lines do not do this.

[Oceansaway17]

2 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

Yes you hear the music at night until 10PM ( when the music stops). If that bothers you and you are an early sleeper/ uses the room a lot during the day the interior window / Central Park balcony most likely will not work well for you !  

well I am glad I did not book that room.  have a nice time on SOS next week.

[cruise1957]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:49 PM, SNJCruisers said:

Benny, when you're there you can take a poll amongst the locals as to the proper ingredients in a trifle. 😄

Here is the Traditional Scottish Trifle, we always used Bird's custard.

 

http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_trifle.htm

[Oceansaway17]

19 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 7 More Spring Breakers 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wow that is some crowd.  I guess the water must have warmed up for some many to be in the pool