Thoughts on Wonder

[olesiabr]

I am currently sitting on my ocean view balcony about halfway through the Wonder's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Clearly the wifi package is working beautifully!  This is my first experience on the Oasis Class or larger,  so some preliminary thoughts.

 

I miss the open water views on the promenade deck (deck 5.)  Now it is primarily a jogging track with views almost entirely obscured by the lifeboats except for the aft section.  It's a great boon for joggers, because threading through the sunbathers above the pool was never a viable option.   Now deck 6 can have balconies because lifeboats moved down.   I understand the reasoning,  just really miss after dinner strolls.

 

Entertainment is amazing. Period.

 

New menus are good. 

 

I feel like in general this class of ship has its emphasis inward: the promenade, central park, even boardwalk with very little reminding you that you are at sea. 

 

Solarium is positioned nicely forward. Not as stuffy as some posters have mentioned.  It's a little loud at times. 

 

Overall, I would cruise on this ship again,  but I think my favorite size is voyager class. 

 

A day at sea beats a day at work anytime!

[matj2000]

24 minutes ago, olesiabr said:

I

 

I feel like in general this class of ship has its emphasis inward: the promenade, central park, even boardwalk with very little reminding you that you are at sea. 

 

 

 

 

That has been the general concession about the Oasis class ships

 

Which has been discussed on this site many times.

 

Ever since 2009.

[newcruzer2]

Ty for taking time from your vacation to share your thoughts I appreciate it. Not sure why some ONLY post snarky comments 🤔 

Edited February 1, 2023 by newcruzer2

[JeffT237]

1 hour ago, olesiabr said:

I am currently sitting on my ocean view balcony about halfway through the Wonder's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Clearly the wifi package is working beautifully!  This is my first experience on the Oasis Class or larger,  so some preliminary thoughts.

We'll be on the Wonder next month and we're looking forward to it.  Glad to hear your'e enjoying your cruise and thanks for the update!

 

[rbschultz]

1 hour ago, olesiabr said:

I miss the open water views on the promenade deck (deck 5.)  Now it is primarily a jogging track with views almost entirely obscured by the lifeboats except for the aft section.  It's a great boon for joggers, because threading through the sunbathers above the pool was never a viable option.   Now deck 6 can have balconies because lifeboats moved down.   I understand the reasoning,  just really miss after dinner strolls.

 

I actually really like some of the views from Deck 6 on the Oasis class ships. The back of the ships have nice areas to sit and watch the wake.

 

As far as jogging track goes... I love it (as I am a runner and use it daily for that purpose)

 

1 hour ago, olesiabr said:

Entertainment is amazing. Period.

 

Is the lack of a full-length (or slightly appended) Broadway show not a detractor? We booked Harmony in April over Wonder because it has Grease whereas Wonder has a Royal created show. 

 

1 hour ago, olesiabr said:

I feel like in general this class of ship has its emphasis inward: the promenade, central park, even boardwalk with very little reminding you that you are at sea. 

 

Oasis is definitely geared more towards the "resort" crowd, but you definitely still know you're at sea when you step up to the pool decks in my opinion.

 

I personally love the Oasis class ships - they have the most entertainment, most stuff to explore, best outdoor space to people ratio, best use of outdoor space, and I could go on forever.

[orville99]

31 minutes ago, rbschultz said:

but you definitely still know you're at sea when you step up to the pool decks in my opinion.

Not on Wonder. Deck 15 dead ends at the WJ, the windows on the pool deck only open about 6 inches, the solarium is completely enclosed with no windows that open anywhere, and the huge Crown and Anchor signs on both sides completely block the view at the pool bars. You need to go up to deck 16 if you want to actually feel the ocean (as long as you go aft - deck 16 dead ends at the forward elevators because of the Hooked restaurant).

[3eaglesfam]

Can you tell me what night the Love and marriage show and quest is?  

[LEMJMcC]

2 hours ago, olesiabr said:

I miss the open water views on the promenade deck (deck 5.)  Now it is primarily a jogging track with views almost entirely obscured by the lifeboats except for the aft section.  It's a great boon for joggers, because threading through the sunbathers above the pool was never a viable option.   

One of our favorite features of the Oasis class. 

 

2 hours ago, olesiabr said:

A day at sea beats a day at work anytime!

Amen!  Except instead of getting paid, I am the one paying🙄, but it's worth it!😁

We're on Wonder next week (Lord willing) for the first time.  Thanks for sharing, we are excited about exploring this ship.

[LEMJMcC]

BTW, is there by chance a musical group entitled "LA Vation" onboard Wonder?  I had read elsewhere that they were a good U2 tribute band.

Thanks.

[Mum2Mercury]

We'll be sailing Wonder next year, and I appreciate this info!  

- Does Wonder have nothing similar to the open Deck 4 that the medium-sized ships have?  That's a place we've particularly enjoyed ... as you said, after dinner strolls, also a good place to watch the ship come into port (we've sailed in interiors lately).  I don't think it's a make-or-break, but it is something we'll miss.  

- However, I do look forward to the jogging path.

- I don't know for sure, but it seems logical to me that the lifeboats have "moved down".  Closer to the water, surely, is better.  

- We will have a balcony on Deck 6 on Wonder and are looking forward to having a balcony "as close as possible to the water".  

- I'd love to hear more about the entertainment -- are reservations necessary?  When are they available? 

- I don't welcome the "inward focus".  

- I don't welcome the louder Solarium -- if I want loud, I'll go to the main pool.  

- At this moment, yes, Voyager class is my favorite -- but I'm looking forward to sailing Wonder.  

[PhillyFan33579]

I have been on Wonder twice and will be on her again in two weeks. During my cruises I never found the Solarium to be loud, although it was definitely on the stuffy side.  I also liked the bar and music at the Mason Jar. That was the one bar that was crowded every night of my two cruises on Wonder. 

[rbschultz]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Not on Wonder. Deck 15 dead ends at the WJ, the windows on the pool deck only open about 6 inches, the solarium is completely enclosed with no windows that open anywhere, and the huge Crown and Anchor signs on both sides completely block the view at the pool bars. You need to go up to deck 16 if you want to actually feel the ocean (as long as you go aft - deck 16 dead ends at the forward elevators because of the Hooked restaurant).

Well that is excessively disappointing.

[Diver2014]

We were on Wonder OTS from Jan 15-22.  It's a 'wonderful' ship!  Even with being sold out, there were plenty of places to get away from everyone.  We had no complaints.  We've been on 3 Oasis class ships now and found Wonder to be the best.  Ignore Matj2000.  We can discuss these ships as often and as many times as we want.  Other people like to hear about your experiences.  

[gottacruisemore]

3 hours ago, olesiabr said:

New menus are good. 

 

I feel like in general this class of ship has its emphasis inward: the promenade, central park, even boardwalk with very little reminding you that you are at sea. 

 

Thanks for sharing.

My very few disappointments with the new menu was, no Waldorf Salad and no souffle.

I think the inward facing casitas are not the greatest choice, so I passed on booking one.

Still excited to try Royal and a "mega" ship.

[TheHawk1]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

the windows on the pool deck only open about 6 inches

I noticed this too.  I'm sure on older Oasis ships the windows opened fully, or they did at one time?  I have a feeling this is related to that recent lawsuit and is RCI's way of reducing future liability.

 

42 minutes ago, rbschultz said:

the solarium is completely enclosed with no windows that open anywhere,

There are some windows that open in the solarium, although few and far between.  However, I think they can only be opened by crew and they keep them closed up, which explains the higher temperature and humidity compared to older Oasis ships.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, TheHawk1 said:

I noticed this too.  I'm sure on older Oasis ships the windows opened fully, or they did at one time?  I have a feeling this is related to that recent lawsuit and is RCI's way of reducing future liability.

 

There are some windows that open in the solarium, although few and far between.  However, I think they can only be opened by crew and they keep them closed up, which explains the higher temperature and humidity compared to older Oasis ships.

We were on Wonder for two weeks in January and found no windows that would open in the solarium (and we looked at everything that might be an openable window, even the glass panels hiding behind the steel grates). The only way that there was any flow through ventilation was when the crew opened up the glass doors between the deck 14 solarium area and the bridge wings, and they only did that once in two weeks when we were docked. When the ship was moving both of those doors were cordoned off and could not be opened.

[olesiabr]

4 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

We'll be sailing Wonder next year, and I appreciate this info!  

- Does Wonder have nothing similar to the open Deck 4 that the medium-sized ships have?  That's a place we've particularly enjoyed ... as you said, after dinner strolls, also a good place to watch the ship come into port (we've sailed in interiors lately).  I don't think it's a make-or-break, but it is something we'll miss.  

- However, I do look forward to the jogging path.

- I don't know for sure, but it seems logical to me that the lifeboats have "moved down".  Closer to the water, surely, is better.  

- We will have a balcony on Deck 6 on Wonder and are looking forward to having a balcony "as close as possible to the water".  

- I'd love to hear more about the entertainment -- are reservations necessary?  When are they available? 

- I don't welcome the "inward focus".  

- I don't welcome the louder Solarium -- if I want loud, I'll go to the main pool.  

- At this moment, yes, Voyager class is my favorite -- but I'm looking forward to sailing Wonder.  

Our balcony is on deck 6, yes close to the water!  Here we are in San Juan

[olesiabr]

The rooms are wonderful:  calm blues and browns.  Wonderful closet and storage!

 

The shows that we couldn't get reservations for before the cruise opened up upon boarding (through the app.)  We also had no trouble going in "stand by."  Reservations that are not there by ten minutes prior get released.

 

Love and Marriage Show was at 3pm on the first sea day. 

 

 

[sealeggs]

Thanks for your experiences on Wonder. We will be boarding her in June. Can't wait.

[Mum2Mercury]

4 hours ago, gottacruisemore said:

 

Thanks for sharing.

My very few disappointments with the new menu was, no Waldorf Salad and no souffle.

I think the inward facing casitas are not the greatest choice, so I passed on booking one.

Still excited to try Royal and a "mega" ship.

I love Waldorf salad, but I didn't particularly like Royal's take on this classic.  

Yes, the casitas would've made a lot more sense if they faced the ocean.  

43 minutes ago, olesiabr said:

Our balcony is on deck 6, yes close to the water!  Here we are in San Juan

Nice!  When we've sailed with a balcony, it's usually been a higher-floor ... but on a recent cruise we agreed that we really enjoy walking on Deck 4 because it's "closer to the water".  I think we've made a good choice to go with a Deck 6 balcony.  

[TheHawk1]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

We were on Wonder for two weeks in January and found no windows that would open in the solarium (and we looked at everything that might be an openable window, even the glass panels hiding behind the steel grates). The only way that there was any flow through ventilation was when the crew opened up the glass doors between the deck 14 solarium area and the bridge wings, and they only did that once in two weeks when we were docked. When the ship was moving both of those doors were cordoned off and could not be opened.

 

The glass panels with the horizontal black dividers appear to open like shutters, since there is a crank mechanism on the side.  However, since I didn't actually see one open, I'm not 100% sure.

[FlatFooted Freda]

Just off the Wonder last week. Still loved it - but I love them all.

- Jogging track was one of our favorite aspects of this ship.

- We appreciated Central Park, and especially the Park Cafe. Bagel Bar for breakfast, then something akin to a salad bar at lunch ( more options for the salad than in the Jammer). 

- Solarium was likely biggest disappointment. It was big and beautiful, but my mother could not tolerate the humidity. We never lasted an hour. Then the wind by the pool the last 2 days was rough. Had a hard time finding a place to sit ( outdoors) that was out of the gusts. 

- DH was disappointed by the ice cream in Wind Jammer. They now have a specialty sweet/candy/ice cream shop on the BoardWalk for purchase out of pocket. Seems quality of the included ice cream in Windjammer dropped. 

- But those are nit-picky points. Wouldn't keep me from booking the Wonder in the future. We have learned  since sailing the "biggest ship" that the big new ships are all about the boat. Need to get the smaller older ships to access the less visited ports. That's our next plan. Just many fewer fewer options - across all companies.

 

 

[Diver2014]

There was 'free' ice cream from a machine outside near the pool on deck 14.

[orville99]

17 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

 

The glass panels with the horizontal black dividers appear to open like shutters, since there is a crank mechanism on the side.  However, since I didn't actually see one open, I'm not 100% sure.

We asked about those, and all we got was a blank stare from crew. They may very well have been designed to be openable, but no one had a clue how to do that. 

[orville99]

4 hours ago, Diver2014 said:

14

15