Wonder of the seas Mediterranean live blog! 22nd May - 29th May 2022. Come cruise with us!

[trotzoll]

Thank you for allowing us to cruise with you. I appreciate all the information and can't wait to get on this ship in just a little over a week.

 

[Cruisingcouple22]

On 5/30/2022 at 10:04 PM, bobmacliberty said:

Thanks for posting the flowrider videos.  Very cool.  You seemed to go to the Mason Jar a lot.  What did you like about it? I'm wondering if it will show up on other ships that go through an upgrade.

We really liked the music in there, and they had some different cocktails like the PB&J old fashioned which you can’t get anywhere else on the ship. I enjoyed sitting in the rocking chair watching sunset and the food menu was really good too. It’s just a bit different to any of the other places on the ship and I can definitely see Royal fitting into older ships like they did with playmakers

[Cruisingcouple22]

20 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.  Your pictures are stunning and I loved the underground tour in Naples.  Your food pics onboard were great.  Have fun on your next cruise.  Were you overwhelmed by the sheer size of the ship?

We are definitely big ship people and have been on all the other oasis class ships except oasis itself! We really enjoyed noticing all the changes from the other ships we’ve been on but there is too much to do in just one week. And certainly too many places to eat at 😂 Wish we’d been able to do a back to back!! Maybe next time 

[Cruisingcouple22]

15 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Did they have a captains corner on this cruise?

They did, I think it was on the sea day at 1030 but we weren’t able to make it there, not sure if anybody else reading did? 

[Cruisingcouple22]

Departure day meant another early morning. Our flight was at 1100 but ryanair recommended we get there 3 hours earlier, which meant leaving the ship about half 7.
 

 

One quick last walk around the ship and then it was up to the suite lounge for a quick, light bite (it was too early to eat anymore and we were still full from the Mason Jar brunch!) before the suite concierge escorted us off the ship. This is a really nice service, however the departure process looked like it was going smoothly for everyone and we did not see a line anywhere! It was nice to get the lift all the way from 17 to 5 without stopping though! Luggage collected and we grab a taxi, a wait of about 2 minutes whilst the groups in front of us loaded up their cars. There was an enormous line of taxis so i wouldn’t worry about not catching one. Ride to the airport was about 20 minutes and we got there about 0800. Which it turns out is too early as despite Ryanair sending us a message to get there 3 hours early, they don’t open the bag drop until 2.5 before the flight! Once that was done though, security went smoothly and we were through and relaxing with coffee and breakfast.

 

Overall we had an absolutely fantastic holiday, and if people are looking for a cruise ship with a lot to do on then i’d say this is the one for you. The only probably with doing this ship on a port intensive itinerary (only 1 sea day in a week) is there are sometimes activities you miss as you are in port. For example we like doing the ice skating but couldn’t fit it in, as between the ice shoes and the laser tag and nightclub the put on, it was only on one or two days in the middle of the day i believe. Other than that there are just so many options for you to choose from on this ship there is something for everyone, they even still have the card room which had some very comfy looking chairs. I would say i’d be interested to see how the ship does when it is back at full capacity, but they should also have more crew by that point too so that should help make any lines manageable, although it won’t create more space on the pool deck!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions, i’ll be doing a short room review as well with our thoughts about it. 

Thanks very much for reading and all the interactions from everyone, and to little britain for their contributions from the ship. It’s really nice to know that people actually read and enjoy these!

We are going on virgin valiant lady in july, and on NCL pride of america in september so keep an eye out as i’ll probably do a live-ish blog on those cruises too! Until then, happy cruising!

[Cruisingcouple22]

Here’s a few of the random bits of paperwork you get given around the ship including:

 

 

special offer if you attend the spa raffle

 

onboard emerald perks

 

onboard diamond perks

 

 

 

 

and departure info 😟

 

 

the safe in the room had a light in which was a really neat feature!!

[little britain]

40 minutes ago, Cruisingcouple22 said:

We really liked the music in there, and they had some different cocktails like the PB&J old fashioned which you can’t get anywhere else on the ship. I enjoyed sitting in the rocking chair watching sunset and the food menu was really good too. It’s just a bit different to any of the other places on the ship and I can definitely see Royal fitting into older ships like they did with playmakers

I loved the rocking chairs and the moonshine cocktail and the music.

I wasn’t a fan of the food! #indigestion ! 
 

[AF-1]

I am looking forward to your Pride of America cruise in November.  Cheers

[bobmacliberty]

Thanks for a great review!  Thanks also to @little britain for contributing.  I can't wait to cruise on Wonder.

[CubedTofu]

Thank you so much for all your updates, photos and explanations! Really appreciated all of it and looking forward to more of your blogging. I hope my trip is as successful as yours!

 

Thank you to @little britain as well!!

[topanga49er]

Hi.  I am really looking looking forward to your suite review.  Can you tell me which ATS you had and what you thought?  Thank you.

 

[TRUEBLUE66]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:03 AM, Cruisingcouple22 said:

 

We are going on virgin valiant lady in july, and on NCL pride of america in september so keep an eye out as i’ll probably do a live-ish blog on those cruises too! Until then, happy cruising!

Will look forward to your blogs on both these cruises. We did Pride of America in 2019 and loved it. Top tip: Book a plane or helicopter flight at Kauai over the Na Pali coast and Waimea canyon. Just breathtaking! 

[norcruiser82]

On 5/31/2022 at 5:37 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

Did they have a captains corner on this cruise?

 

As @Cruisingcouple22 said, there was a Captains Corner on Sea Day. Only Captain Henrik and Cruise Director Michele. 

[hal2008]

Glad to know that your particular sailing has not been ravaged by Covid. 

Hopefully, it will stay that way.

[topanga49er]

Thank you so much for the great review.  Yes I've seen the two videos.  I am pretty sure the one is of your ATS and the other with the more animated guy was on the 14th floor ATS.  The second one looked narrower all around.

 

Where can I find your room review?  Was it worth it in your opinion?  Keep going back btween that and CLS.  But we also booked the balcony next door for teen kids so that we could have privacy /share.

 

Thank you, 

[Cruisingcouple22]

 

Sorry it’s taken so long to get this out! There’s even less time when you are back from holiday than when you are on holiday! 

 

So as we said we had a one bedroom aqua-theatre suite, room 11334. Overall we found this room amazing! There were some pros and cons and we’ll go through all our thoughts about it!

Pros:

Size. This room was ENORMOUS, especially for just the two of us. There were no less than 5 double door wardrobes, along with endless drawers and other cupboards. There were small drawers underneath each of the desks which were perfect for storing cruise compasses and other documents. There was the double bed, a table with four chairs, a 3 seater sofa and two armchairs. There was plenty of room to move the furniture around as well

 

Balcony. Now, this may be an obvious one, but the balcony is a big pro of this suite. Again, the size of it is one thing, but also the variety you get. If you want privacy and sea views, you have the section outside the bedroom which faces to sea with armchairs and foot stools, . If you want to eat breakfast or relax, you had the deep section right at the back with a table and loungers, or if you want to catch the aqua-theatre show you have the high stools and bar! Absolutely the best balcony i have ever seen on a ship.

 

Suite perks. Again this goes without saying but the perks with a suite are amazing, especially on Wonder of the seas with it’s suite neighbourhood. The suite lounge is lovely, and has amazing views over the sports court and wake of the ship. Even watched a few of the flowrider sessions from up high. Also the included drinks, beer, wine and soda 11-11 and anything you like from 5-8, were incredible! The concierges were fantastic and able to arrange dining reservations at short notice and the reserved seating in the main theatre were very useful too. The suite sun deck was great, especially on sea day as there was always a space up here. 

 

Coffee. The nespresso coffee machine in the room was a great way to start the day, and then having freshly ground coffee in the suite lounge later on was perfection. But then again, i am a little addicted to my caffeine fix! 

 

Included room service. Technically a suite perk but having room service breakfast in the room or on the balcony was incredible. They bring a tablecloth and everything and it really sets it apart. We didn’t try lunch or dinner but really wish we had now! That’s the problem with the ship, too much to do and so little time. 

 

Cons:

Pool on the sun deck. I showed some of the photos of the pool earlier on, and the maintenance levels were not great on such a new ship. The shape of the pool was pretty cool though

 

Noise. There's no getting around it but the cabin was noisy. Most of the time it wasn’t an issue as we stayed up quite late, but when we wanted to go to bed early (before 11!) on those nights the show started at 11 it could still be heard in the bedroom with the doors shut. Something to consider if this could affect your stay and there were shows this late 4 nights of the week,. 

 

Bathroom. There were a couple of small, niggly issues with the bathroom. The bath was very narrow, to the point where it was a bit difficult to balance if the ship was moving and we had to remove the plug cover to be able to stand under the shower. The tap on the sink was very close to the edge of the sink and water split on to the surround each time you used it. Not too much of an issue you might think, but then when the ship rocked a little this all dribbled on to the floor. And there is nothing worse than unsuspectingly stepping into a puddle with a sock on and have a wet sock for formal night! Also there was poor shower pressure. 

 

Long corridor. I know this sounds petty, but the corridor to the room was really long! At the end of a long port day it really drains you! And if you have mobility problems this is something else to consider.

 

Opinion:

So would we book the room again?

 

Absolutely, as long as the price was right. We got a really good deal on this room, and it was not much more than a grand suite when we booked it. The balcony is absolutely incredible and really sets this room apart from any other room on the ship, except the two bedroom ones which are even bigger! We loved that balcony and spent so much of our time out there. We would definitely recommend trying the room, as long as the noise isn’t a deal breaker for you.

[saw777]

3 hours ago, Cruisingcouple22 said:

 

Sorry it’s taken so long to get this out! There’s even less time when you are back from holiday than when you are on holiday! 

 

So as we said we had a one bedroom aqua-theatre suite, room 11334. Overall we found this room amazing! There were some pros and cons and we’ll go through all our thoughts about it!

Pros:

Size. This room was ENORMOUS, especially for just the two of us. There were no less than 5 double door wardrobes, along with endless drawers and other cupboards. There were small drawers underneath each of the desks which were perfect for storing cruise compasses and other documents. There was the double bed, a table with four chairs, a 3 seater sofa and two armchairs. There was plenty of room to move the furniture around as well

 

Balcony. Now, this may be an obvious one, but the balcony is a big pro of this suite. Again, the size of it is one thing, but also the variety you get. If you want privacy and sea views, you have the section outside the bedroom which faces to sea with armchairs and foot stools, . If you want to eat breakfast or relax, you had the deep section right at the back with a table and loungers, or if you want to catch the aqua-theatre show you have the high stools and bar! Absolutely the best balcony i have ever seen on a ship.

 

Suite perks. Again this goes without saying but the perks with a suite are amazing, especially on Wonder of the seas with it’s suite neighbourhood. The suite lounge is lovely, and has amazing views over the sports court and wake of the ship. Even watched a few of the flowrider sessions from up high. Also the included drinks, beer, wine and soda 11-11 and anything you like from 5-8, were incredible! The concierges were fantastic and able to arrange dining reservations at short notice and the reserved seating in the main theatre were very useful too. The suite sun deck was great, especially on sea day as there was always a space up here. 

 

Coffee. The nespresso coffee machine in the room was a great way to start the day, and then having freshly ground coffee in the suite lounge later on was perfection. But then again, i am a little addicted to my caffeine fix! 

 

Included room service. Technically a suite perk but having room service breakfast in the room or on the balcony was incredible. They bring a tablecloth and everything and it really sets it apart. We didn’t try lunch or dinner but really wish we had now! That’s the problem with the ship, too much to do and so little time. 

 

Cons:

Pool on the sun deck. I showed some of the photos of the pool earlier on, and the maintenance levels were not great on such a new ship. The shape of the pool was pretty cool though

 

Noise. There's no getting around it but the cabin was noisy. Most of the time it wasn’t an issue as we stayed up quite late, but when we wanted to go to bed early (before 11!) on those nights the show started at 11 it could still be heard in the bedroom with the doors shut. Something to consider if this could affect your stay and there were shows this late 4 nights of the week,. 

 

Bathroom. There were a couple of small, niggly issues with the bathroom. The bath was very narrow, to the point where it was a bit difficult to balance if the ship was moving and we had to remove the plug cover to be able to stand under the shower. The tap on the sink was very close to the edge of the sink and water split on to the surround each time you used it. Not too much of an issue you might think, but then when the ship rocked a little this all dribbled on to the floor. And there is nothing worse than unsuspectingly stepping into a puddle with a sock on and have a wet sock for formal night! Also there was poor shower pressure. 

 

Long corridor. I know this sounds petty, but the corridor to the room was really long! At the end of a long port day it really drains you! And if you have mobility problems this is something else to consider.

 

Opinion:

So would we book the room again?

 

Absolutely, as long as the price was right. We got a really good deal on this room, and it was not much more than a grand suite when we booked it. The balcony is absolutely incredible and really sets this room apart from any other room on the ship, except the two bedroom ones which are even bigger! We loved that balcony and spent so much of our time out there. We would definitely recommend trying the room, as long as the noise isn’t a deal breaker for you.

Thank you very much for the detailed review.  It has been very helpful.  We sail on Wonder this coming sunday and are in a grand suite.  We can not wait for this cruise.

 

Thanks again

[topanga49er]

Thank you so much!  That is exactly what I wanted to hear.  I did feel like the main bathroom was disproportionally small compared to rest of suite.  Maybe they will fix that in the next ship.  Otherwise sounds perfect for us!

 

[little britain]

On 5/22/2022 at 4:31 PM, Norwich Cruiser said:

That’s brilliant timings.

 

Will be following we’re onboard soon.

 

If you grab a minute can you please try and find out when Effectors2 starts.

 

Thank you.

 

Have a great cruise.

Update:

Effectors 2 - first showing was this week and my friend said it was the best show she had ever seen on a ship ( and she’s been on a lorra lorra ships!!)

LB

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 hours ago, little britain said:

Update:

Effectors 2 - first showing was this week and my friend said it was the best show she had ever seen on a ship ( and she’s been on a lorra lorra ships!!)

LB

Thanks for that.

 

Funnily enough I had just read it.

 

We’re only a few weeks away now so grandson will be pleased.

 

I read you’re off again soon.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise will key an eye out for your updates.

[little britain]

3 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Thanks for that.

 

Funnily enough I had just read it.

 

We’re only a few weeks away now so grandson will be pleased.

 

I read you’re off again soon.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise will key an eye out for your updates.

Funny you should say that…..Just sailing out of Civ at the moment on Odyssey!!!! 

Will be interesting to compare Wonder and Odyssey as the new gals ! 
LB 

[Norwich Cruiser]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

Funny you should say that…..Just sailing out of Civ at the moment on Odyssey!!!! 

Will be interesting to compare Wonder and Odyssey as the new gals ! 
LB 

Our very good friends got off Odyssey about two weeks ago has a brilliant cruise.

 

Lime and coconut was there go to place.

[excitedtocruise]

Just got back from our cruise on Wonder of the Seas, from Rome June 16-23. We saw the second showing of the Effectors 2 on Wednesday evening. The creator/director was in the house to watch. The technology was amazing it was the best show on the ship by far! Really enjoyed the cruise.

[Host Jacquelyn]

On 5/26/2022 at 3:14 PM, little britain said:

No Ukrainian juggler! 
They just need to get rid of the contortionist guy now.

 

 

I’m currently in Schooner Bar…. The singer is excellent, quiet…. Very Nat King Cole. 
 

Just over 4200 on this week now ( turnaround day in Rome). Ship delayed leaving as waiting for an ambulance … Captain said it would be 30 mins delay and it’s now an hour later. 

Ukrainian Juggler was moved to the ice show

[Bizzie07]

On 6/26/2022 at 4:30 PM, little britain said:

Funny you should say that…..Just sailing out of Civ at the moment on Odyssey!!!! 

Will be interesting to compare Wonder and Odyssey as the new gals ! 
LB 

Hope you don't mind me asking but my daughter is sailing on Odyssey in a few weeks.  What are the Covid requirements at Civi.  Are you able to get tested at the port?