Wonder of the Seas 6/9-6/16 Review

[Jthomasou]

We had 14 on the 6/9 Wonder of the Seas sailing…..8 adults and 6 kids (ages 12-7). 
 

We interported joining the cruise in Rome that started in Barcelona.  The app was not really functional (which was a downer). However, the ease in joining and exiting the cruise far outweighed the app not working. I would interport every cruise every time if I could.  
 

I never heard an exact number but I assume the ship was at 50-60% capacity. So some of our perceptions of the ship may not be fair or consistent when the ship is at 100% capacity.  

Positives

 

The ship is the nicest, most thought out, most perfect ship for the group we were with.   
 

The boardwalk neighborhood setup with the free carousel, free foosball, free old school arcade games was a huge winner with our kids. The regular arcade was a blade too but can get expensive quick.  
 

The Central Park neighborhood was popular with the adults to grab a drink and sit outside pre-dinner. It was just beautiful at night.  
 

The kids loved the water slides and the ultimate abyss.  The mini golf course was awesome.  It was never hard to find a pool chair (probably a low capacity issue). 
 

The dining staff was amazing. We had 2 tables a 4 top with 4 kids and an 8 top next to it with everyone else.  Willy/Jumai were our wait staff and they were amazing with the children. They spent time with them talking about the menu options made napkin animals and were great. Every kid spent some of their souvenir money on buying something for the two waitstaff.  One of our party has a gluten allergy the head waiter came over every night with the next days menu to make sure he could have something he was excited about.  
 

The food in the dining room was consistently good to great. 
 

We had an ocean view balcony the room was great. Lots of storage lots of outlets. The bed was comfortable and our daughter enjoyed the trundle.  
 

Windjammer food was consistently good to great.  Never had trouble finding table to put our 14 relatively close together.  
 

The negatives. 
 

Not many to be honest.  
 

The food in the Steakhouse was ok but the dining room was good and consistent enough that it wasn’t worth the 60 dollar upcharge. 
 

I had never been to Europe so we spent a lot of time exploring our 6 stops.  Ok Caribbean cruises I have been know to never get off the boat.  So I didn’t have enough time on the boat.  
 

My wife is vegan. The vegan dining room options were hit and miss.  However they did have dedicated Vegan options at every meal and that was a win. Lots of fruit not enough vegetables.  
 

Not negative or positive just funny. 
 

In Marseille, Greenpeace (or a similar organization) had a bunch of kayaks baracading the port so we couldn’t get in.  They were protesting carbon emissions.  After about an hour of talks the coast guard set up some Red Cross type vessels near the kayakers then they has a Coast Guard Speed boat speed past the kayakers and flip them all over and pulled them out of the water.  It was handled safely no one was hurt.  It was amazing to watch from a distance.  
 

There’s so much more I’m happy to answer any questions.  

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, Jthomasou said:

I never heard an exact number but I assume the ship was at 50-60% capacity.

Very unlikely it was that low, but I guess very good job for RCI designers for you to think it was.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Biker19

[kayjaypea42]

When we were on in May, she only had about 4k people.  It was an awesome trip!  Glad to hear yours was great too!

[mafig]

22 minutes ago, Jthomasou said:

 

In Marseille, Greenpeace (or a similar organization) had a bunch of kayaks baracading the port so we couldn’t get in.  They were protesting carbon emissions.  After about an hour of talks the coast guard set up some Red Cross type vessels near the kayakers then they has a Coast Guard Speed boat speed past the kayakers and flip them all over and pulled them out of the water.  It was handled safely no one was hurt.  It was amazi

😄

[mafig]

I can just image them doing that at an American port.  It would be the lead-in news story for days, followed by lawsuits and firings.

[barbeyg]

51 minutes ago, Jthomasou said:

In Marseille, Greenpeace (or a similar organization) had a bunch of kayaks baracading the port so we couldn’t get in.  They were protesting carbon emissions.  After about an hour of talks the coast guard set up some Red Cross type vessels near the kayakers then they has a Coast Guard Speed boat speed past the kayakers and flip them all over and pulled them out of the water.  It was handled safely no one was hurt.  It was amazing to watch from a distance.  

Thanks for the review. Betcha the Coast Guard had fun with that. 🙂

Edited June 18, 2022 by barbeyg

[nyer]

Thanks for your review.   It was fun to read since I will be on the Wonder next weekend.

 

I have a question for you.   Did you tip the staff (if you tipped extra), in Euros or USD?  TIA

[Jthomasou]

We had euros left we needed to spend so we tipped on euros.  

[di T]

Just back last week after two weeks on her! First week we were told 5000 passengers 2nd week 6000 absolutely fantastic ship and a great crew! 

[mapleleaves]

For those of us in the planning stages, it would be wonderful to hear details about the ports; sights, excursions, DIY info, etc.  Thx!

[SeaHunt]

4 hours ago, Jthomasou said:

Every kid spent some of their souvenir money on buying something for the two waitstaff.  

 

Such a small sentence but this is one of the nicest things I have ever read on CC. What lovely kids to think of doing that with some of their souvenir money! And thanks to you for your enjoyable review! 😊

[little britain]

4 hours ago, kayjaypea42 said:

When we were on in May, she only had about 4k people.  It was an awesome trip!  Glad to hear yours was great too!

When I was on in May it was just over 4000. Any more than that and finding sunloungers on a sea day, or finding a seat in a bar would be a hassle imho and the ship would feel crowded.

 

[crewsweeper]

6 hours ago, Jthomasou said:

 

 

 

 

In Marseille, Greenpeace (or a similar organization) had a bunch of kayaks baracading the port so we couldn’t get in.  They were protesting carbon emissions.  After about an hour of talks the coast guard set up some Red Cross type vessels near the kayakers then they has a Coast Guard Speed boat speed past the kayakers and flip them all over and pulled them out of the water.  It was handled safely no one was hurt.  It was amazing to watch from a distance.  
 

 

There was a tweet this morning on my feed that had a video of Italians carting off protesters blocking the highway.  Not just police, but people getting out of their cars to help move the protestors to the shoulder.  You could learn some good Italian curse words from the motorists watch that.😁

Try that in the States and you'd get arrested.

[andreasfcb]

How was it in Windjammer? I always felt on Oasis class it was way overcrowded. I am kinda surprised there were not more people on the ship yet

[little britain]

4 hours ago, andreasfcb said:

How was it in Windjammer? I always felt on Oasis class it was way overcrowded. I am kinda surprised there were not more people on the ship yet

WJ is larger and far better laid out in a big circle. Could always find seats at the back overlooking BW

[kayjaypea42]

On 6/18/2022 at 1:42 PM, little britain said:

When I was on in May it was just over 4000. Any more than that and finding sunloungers on a sea day, or finding a seat in a bar would be a hassle imho and the ship would feel crowded.

 

Agreed.  

[andreasfcb]

According to my contact at Royal the capacity remains at 80 % this summer on Wonder of the Seas.

[ECUTeacher1997]

On 6/18/2022 at 8:53 AM, Jthomasou said:

 

There’s so much more I’m happy to answer any questions.  

Without the app working- did you just make reservations, etc when you got on board?  How was it with people getting on/off in Barcelona too?