Disappointing Experience on Wonder

[Sunshine3601]

14 hours ago, allisonb22 said:

how would we go about doing this? we definitely will for future trips as January is our preferred time to travel (usually off season so not too many kids!) 

Had you emailed rcldining for your special request for a 12 top table?    It is best to do that 2 weeks within your sail date.

 

When you boarded the ship did you go to the dining room to speak with host about 12 top table?

When planning special things it is important to double check before arriving at dinnertime.

 

[lovesthebeach2]

8 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

I board Wonder this Sunday, and today we went to Disney. I thought a weekday in February would be a good time to visit Disney. I was so wrong! It was EXTREMELY crowded. I’ve been there many times, and it’s the worst I’ve seen it. Elbow to elbow crowds. Boxed in by double strollers or electric scooters at every turn.Totally overwhelmed and exhausted. I feel like it’s unsafe. If there was an emergency, people would get trampled in the park. Ready for a relaxing cruise. After my experience at Disney today, I’m sure getting on Wonder this week will feel much more relaxing.

Disney is no longer enjoyable, between the crowds and so many strollers and scooters that people who rent don’t know how to use properly and bash into others. No longer magical.

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, matj2000 said:

 

I don't have an issue of anyone being critical.

 

When you post is more of a short story

 

Most people will not read it.

 

Quite amount of time wasted.

 

But I guess the OP has a lot of time.

Then don't waste yours!  Let the rest of us waste ours as we see fit.  I read every word.

[Diver2014]

We were on Wonder Jan 15-22.  Yes, the Solarium Bistro was closed the entire week.  Didn't care.  Yes, there were tons of kids onboard.  Yes, some of them were loud and noisy in the middle of the night.  So what?  We had no issues with the MDR or the Windjammer.  In fact, I can't think of one thing I can honestly complain about.  A cruise is what you make of it depending on how perfect you want it to be.  I find the OP's complaints to be nit picky but this is CC so I guess this is the right place to complain, not that any good will come of it. 

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Had you emailed rcldining for your special request for a 12 top table?    It is best to do that 2 weeks within your sail date.

 

When you boarded the ship did you go to the dining room to speak with host about 12 top table?

When planning special things it is important to double check before arriving at dinnertime.

 

With our group of 16 I emailed 3 weeks before and they put us in the very back of Liberty's MDR right next to the windows and we had early seating....perfect!  All it takes is some conversation with the Dining people and asking for exactly what you want.  2 long tables of 8 and at one point our daughter invited 2 others she met to eat with us, they put them at the end of the tables.  No problem.

[ddled]

INTERESTING. We were on the Allure last week and there were a lot of kids on board for January. I just assumed parents taking their kids out of school. Maybe there was more to it. Didn't know about Yeshiva. Thanks

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 hours ago, allisonb22 said:

-CHILDREN! So. Many. Kids. definitely not Royal’s fault, just something we noticed. For the last week of January we weren’t expecting there to be SO MANY.

like others already mentioned - Yeshiva week....

 

But not expecting "so. many. kids" on an RCI cruise is kind of unreasonable.

 

I hear you on everything else. It's certainly not good when the cruise is chartered and they don't even tell you about it. It's equally not good when they tell you about it at the last minute and cancel your cruise in favor of the charter group.

[Mum2Mercury]

I'm surprised that after so many positive cruises with RC you're swearing off their product; I'd think it's more reasonable to say, "I am not a fan of the big-boy ships and maybe January is a bad time for me to sail."  I read your list of positives and thought, "Wow, that's a lot of good.  What's left to complain about?"  

 

We're sailing on Wonder next year (with family, who chose the ship and the sailing), and I'm a little concerned because it's CONSIDERABLY more expensive than our usual cruise, and with a higher price I do expect more /better.  

 

Specific thoughts: 

- I've seen several threads about groups lately -- I've sailed with groups who were a pleasure, but I can absolutely see how they could detract from your experience. 

- I would be upset at two important venues being closed.  Very upset.  If indeed the SB was set aside as a Kosher area, I don't see why they couldn't allow non-Kosher eaters to partake as well.  

- I wish the cruise world were not structured so that the staff essentially have no power to say NO to rude people or people doing ridiculous things.  

- Dinner is a big part of any cruise, and I've definitely seen tables arranged for large groups -- probably larger than 12.  I think your mistake was thinking this could be managed ahead of time; if you'd talked to the dining manager (who is always on hand during boarding) on your first day, I feel sure he would have "fixed you up".  

- No excuse for unsanitary bathrooms.  Like you, I've never seen this before.

- I don't believe the food was cafeteria-grade, but I work in a high school and am better acquainted with cafeteria food than most people.  

- I'm with you on chair hogs by the pool.  This issue could be fixed so easily, if Royal weren't so dead-set on their staff having no power /no authority to say NO to entitled passengers.  

 

[orville99]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

We have also experienced a cruise with the group. 
 

We were also shocked at the way they treated staff and their sense of entitlement. They were incredibly demanding in the dining room and so rude to the poor waiters.

On a Yeshiva week cruise, there should have been no one from the group ever being in a non-kosher dining room - considering that they spent $420/pp to have all of their daily meals in the SB. We were on Wonder for the week of January 15-22 (second leg of a B2B), and quite honestly, the Yeshiva week group was the most respectful, quiet, and reserved group that we have ever encountered on a cruise - and according to the cruise director there were approximately 600 on board. As for the Music Hall, it was reserved for specific group activities at specific times, but the majority of the time it was featuring all of the same entertainment that it had the week before (and we passed by it several times each day as our cabin was on deck 8 just around the corner from the entrance).

Edited February 3, 2023 by orville99

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, matj2000 said:

 

I don't have an issue of anyone being critical.

 

When you post is more of a short story

 

Most people will not read it.

 

Quite amount of time wasted.

 

But I guess the OP has a lot of time.

Well anyone is free to skip over a thread, but since this thread now has 50 posts....

[dada2199cc]

I ended up on a bear cruise.

 

It was horrifying. 
 

I made it very very clear on the ship that the cruise line needed to fix this with immediacy or terminate the occupancy of some guests who were repeatedly doing things in public areas and in public hot tubs that were unsanitary.

 

By day 3 they refunded my cruise entirely and by day 6 I had a free cruise coming.

 

Sadly, the free cruise with that cruise line was actually worse, so I stopped cruising with them.

 

As for @reallyitsmema, your responses are hilariously wrong.  You did say it makes sense to research kosher cruises.  I would do no such thing.

[mandyleighflies]

This is all good information to know!! My birthday is in the beginning of February so we usually take a cruise around this time of year. Might just start cruising Virgin for birthday cruises just to be safe, I do not like children (unruly, feral children, not well behaved clearly parented children)  and their adult's only concept is fantastic. 

[Starry Eyes]

3 hours ago, matj2000 said:

 

I don't have an issue of anyone being critical.

 

When you post is more of a short story

 

Most people will not read it.

 

Quite amount of time wasted.

 

But I guess the OP has a lot of time.

Quite a bit of time???? Perhaps you are a very slow reader.  It took a very short time for me to read that post. 
 

That said, it is a shame the OP did not ask the most important questions here on CC before booking and before sailing.  If the OP asked about winter cruises with lots of kids, Christmas, NY, Yeshiva and Presidents weeks would have been the likely mentions.  If the OP had asked how to get a table for 12 on CC, the OP would have sent an email rather not than wasting 90 minutes on the telephone.  Instead the Op only started a thread about freezing breast milk; I guess that worked out.

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[Mum2Mercury]

47 minutes ago, orville99 said:

On a Yeshiva week cruise, there should have been no one from the group ever being in a non-kosher dining room - considering that they spent $420/pp to have all of their daily meals in the SB ...

I live in the South, which has never been a preferred spot for Jews, so I don't know the ins-and-outs of being Kosher.  

So you're saying the people in this group should have left extra space for others in the MDR and Windjammer and should have been taking ALL their meals in the SB -- and they paid extra for this.  But does that mean non-group members should have been excluded from the SB?  My daughter, for example, considers that her favorite place to eat, and she would have been outraged to be told she couldn't eat in the SB for the whole cruise -- especially if she found that out once she was on the ship!  

33 minutes ago, dada2199cc said:

I ended up on a bear cruise.

Are those still a thing?  

[orville99]

10 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

So you're saying the people in this group should have left extra space for others in the MDR and Windjammer and should have been taking ALL their meals in the SB -- and they paid extra for this.  But does that mean non-group members should have been excluded from the SB?  My daughter, for example, considers that her favorite place to eat, and she would have been outraged to be told she couldn't eat in the SB for the whole cruise -- especially if she found that out once she was on the ship! 

Anyone who wanted to purchase the $420/pp kosher meal plan would have been able to enjoy kosher meals in the SB, but there was no option available to book (and purchase) single meal reservations (like you would in the other specialty restaurants). I raised this issue several weeks prior to this cruise with Miami since DW and I both enjoy an occasional Kosher dinner and would have liked to be able to add one or two evenings to our dining plans for the week, but their response was "all or none".

 

BTW, the SB on Wonder was fully buffet the week before this cruise, with no more cooked to order mains, and judging from how the food was prepared and served (cold. dry, overcooked, peppered to the edge of incineration, and swimming in grease), I doubt your daughter would continue to consider that a desirable dining choice.

[Starry Eyes]

32 minutes ago, mandyleighflies said:

This is all good information to know!! My birthday is in the beginning of February so we usually take a cruise around this time of year. Might just start cruising Virgin for birthday cruises just to be safe, I do not like children (unruly, feral children, not well behaved clearly parented children)  and their adult's only concept is fantastic. 

While school schedules can shift, winter breaks for the Yeshivas seem mostly in late January (3rd week for example).  I doubt you will be impacted substantially if you cruise in early February.  When I happen to cruise that week the kids were kids; they were not feral.  They were clearly parented and those children were not especially unruly.  I have seen far more unruly children on other cruises.  

[DaniDanielle]

Unfortunately with Kids Sail Free there aren’t many cruises without a ton of them.  Parents are willing to keep the children out of school nowadays!

[crazyfrazee]

I don't have the time at the moment to read all the posts but will read them later. I just had to comment. 

 

We were on the Oasis in January and had the same experience as the OP. I am an experienced cruiser and did my homework. I googled every week looking for any groups on this cruise. Nothing. The ship was over run with the same kind of people, I think Jews. More kids than a normal January cruise. The SB was closed for us all week so they could have their kosher food. We never seen a crowd in there as they were all in the WJ and Sorrento's. We felt like if they had the SB to themselves we should have WJ to ours. 

[reallyitsmema]

41 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Anyone who wanted to purchase the $420/pp kosher meal plan would have been able to enjoy kosher meals in the SB, but there was no option available to book (and purchase) single meal reservations (like you would in the other specialty restaurants). I raised this issue several weeks prior to this cruise with Miami since DW and I both enjoy an occasional Kosher dinner and would have liked to be able to add one or two evenings to our dining plans for the week, but their response was "all or none".

 

BTW, the SB on Wonder was fully buffet the week before this cruise, with no more cooked to order mains, and judging from how the food was prepared and served (cold. dry, overcooked, peppered to the edge of incineration, and swimming in grease), I doubt your daughter would continue to consider that a desirable dining choice.

 

The cruise line was offering the kosher dining for sale to the whole ship, not just those traveling with that travel agency?

[RCLcruiser2012]

More parents are homeschooling now days and can take their kids on vacation whenever they like! I am a mom and I don't want to be on a cruise with a million kids either.  That is what Disney is for (bucket list cruise).  No need to criticize him for not having the best cruise.  It's okay to form that opinion.  I'd be aggravated too if a venue was closed the entire time for a specific group.  You paid to be there too.  I do think WOS is going to be more family orientated with theme park like attractions....  

[crazyfrazee]

7 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

The cruise line was offering the kosher dining for sale to the whole ship, not just those traveling with that travel agency?

I wouldn't have reserved it if it was offered on the Oasis January 15th but there was no mention of it to us at anytime.

[reallyitsmema]

6 minutes ago, crazyfrazee said:

I wouldn't have reserved it if it was offered on the Oasis January 15th but there was no mention of it to us at anytime.

 

That option is listed as something that can be bought through the travel agency that had the group on the cruise.  Additional options like that are typically only available to the group, not the ship as a whole.  I know when there are music partial charters, the cruise fares that the group pay are considerably higher due to the added concerts, parties, etc.  I know I have seen non-group people have asked on the ship to see a concert and the cost to attend was ridiculously high.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

The cruise line was offering the kosher dining for sale to the whole ship, not just those traveling with that travel agency?

Yes. We could have purchased the kosher dining package from the cruise planner pre cruise.

[orville99]

55 minutes ago, crazyfrazee said:

I wouldn't have reserved it if it was offered on the Oasis January 15th but there was no mention of it to us at anytime.

Apparently there were multiple Yeshiva week cruises that week. We were on Wonder, and the package was available for purchase pre cruise in our cruise planner.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Anyone who wanted to purchase the $420/pp kosher meal plan ... I doubt your daughter would continue to consider that a desirable dining choice.

So what do people who eat Kosher do on regular weeks?  No Kosher option is available normally, right?  Maybe I just don't know.  

 

Thing is, my daughter, who so enjoys the SB, wouldn't have had any way to know the quality was different that week -- until she arrived.  

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

Unfortunately with Kids Sail Free there aren’t many cruises without a ton of them.  Parents are willing to keep the children out of school nowadays!

Something that's happening here in my area:  We have a severe teacher shortage, and it's only going to get worse. 

 

We're dealing with this by putting high school kids into online classes; experts write the material for the class, and teachers are contracted to manage /grade the work for a classroom of kids.  I'm a retired teacher, and I've taken a part-time job supervising a study hall in which kids sit /complete online work.  I'm here to manage computer problems, explain assignments, read the occasional tough word -- and to manage discipline.  In a situation like this, why shouldn't the students work hard to "get ahead" and then vacation at less expensive /less crowded times?  

 

I'll add this:  The worst cruise I ever took was over Thanksgiving.  It was overcrowded and a part of that was kids.  I'll never sail a holiday again.