Wonder Jan. 7th - Jan. 14.

[budmeister]

KEY welcome lunch was exceptionally good.

There was a person making specialty reservations with a short line at the key lunch entrance. Next to it is Hibachi, and you have to make Hibachi there. That was a 20 minute line at 11:00.

Diamonds still get full access into Crown lounge, but it is on deck 4, no windows. It has good coffee, was comfortable. and was not crowded for breakfast or 6:pm. The breakfast was not as fresh as I  expected. Bagels and lox pre- made, cold, and cream cheese thin and cracked,less condiments. Concierge was very nice and helpful.

Bathrooms had  larger showers, 4d balcony room. Guessing at 8-10 inches wider at widest part. The soap for washing hands is still revolting. Def bring your own, even if you don't bother with your own shampoo/ conditioner. 

Nightstands very narrow,  about 6 inches.There is an outlet and a USB outlet on each nightstand, and still the regular connections at the desk. Nice for cpap users to plug in at bedside,  no extension cords needed. But as shelves are very narrow too, can't fit a large book, magazine, iPad, and only cpap fits on surface.

Hangers come out of closets normally! And no clanging in the night!

No in wall closets. 2 closet cabinets cabinets turned out to be plenty of space. I either had more room than usual or less stuff.

The  bathroom no longer opposite closet, or in front of door.

Tv large on a wall directly across bed. Perfect viewing leaning back in bed for both people. Lots of sports came through, and  great selection of maybe 20 or more on demand movies.

This is the first time I have felt over crowded on a ship. It seems noisy everywhere too, except Central Park and Crown/diamond lounge, even on port days. It may be because there are TONS of children. We always sail this week each year, on an oasis or similar class ship. We have never felt crowded and have hardly noticed children. I have answered many posts saying children have not impacted our cruise on these big ships. This time was different.  I overheard someone say the school year was weird this yr. Maybe that is the difference. If feels like there were a 1000 -2000 kids on the ship, and they were much more noticable in the shows and just out and about around the ship, and in the hallways, than ever before. 

The elevators handled the capacity well. We did not wait longer than other cruises, and I think less than some.
 

Sorrento pizza was very good and cafe promenade served starbucks coffee as the coffee you would pay for.  It counts for refreshment package. There is an actual Starbucks stand that does not.

Aqua show seating all had backs to the bleacher type seating. I think maybe another ship did not. However it was cancelled  3 times or more. So I did not see the show.

The main theater has plenty of drink waiters again, as does some of the lounges around the ship.

The shows we saw have been the best on  cruise so far. The headliners were Adam something , a juggler and comedian,  and he was fantastic at both. We also saw 7th Heaven,  and that is musical heaven for me. The adult comedians were funny. They had some vulgarity but not meanness. And I almost skipped the ice show, thinking it was a repeat for us, but if was not. It is by far the best one we have seen. Costumes and the tech were new and fun. They made it look like fish were swimming under the ice and other fun tricks. The talent was the best yet with fast and fun dance music, I would guess a lot of 60s through 80s.

 

Captains corner talk was interesting and fun. Captain is a true comedian, knows his stuff, and enjoys talking about it.

 

All the specialty waiters have been unusually exceptional. They all asked us go do the surveys but did not asked for 10s.

I am not a fan of the Windjammer, but hubby likes it so we go a couple of times. There has been plenty of  waiters walking around with water, lemonade and cold tea offering drinks. This is a nice change.

Sometimes I skip the production shows, but I am glad we saw Voices.  If had a background of what my husband says was recorded base, but the rest was voice only, no band.The effectors2 was better than expected.

A common theme among all shows has been snippets of many songs with a focus on 60s-80s moving quickly from, kind of blending from one song to the next with fun we know lyrics. No more long drawn out slow music or the traditional production show music .It has been a great focus on what I consider fun music.

The pools are odd. There are several small pools, but not one main or large one. Actual swimming pools they were not. There were chairs sitting in shallow water and some wide  cushioned bleachers.

 

 The Viking crown lounge, the large one near the top on front of the ship that is 3/4 floor to ceiling windows , is now  a suite and pinnacle lounge. I asked the diamond lounge concierge if there was any other indoor comfortable place to settle in and watch the water,  and she confirmed what I found- no. It is the Windjammer or some specialty restaurants,  but no lounge to enjoy the view for those not in suites  or a Pinnacle. If I did not have a balcony room, that would have ruined my cruise. Luckily,  I did.

 

I didn't pay for the airport shuttle because it was at 8:30 and wanted the nice key breakfast. I thought i would get a taxi at 9. The "taxi" line was really for airport shuttles and the crowd was like getting out of a concert.  Jammed and chaotic. You just paid at a stand outside.  No taxis. And the people that paid for the 8:30 were still waiting at 9. We waited  1 hour 10 min to get on the bus. There has to be a better way to get 6900 people out of the terminal. We have not had this trouble on other Oasis class ships.I expect that some people missed some flights.

 

Restaurants are very subjective, but here is my opinion:

 

Masons Jar C-

Hooked A

Giovannis A

Johnny Rockets B

Chops B-

Central Park B-

Hinachis A

Izumi A 

Windjammer D

Key lunches A

Diamond lounge treats C+ - B

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by budmeister

[Gemina]

We’re on Wonder next month so I appreciate the review! Looking forward to seeing how it compares to our Sympnony cruises last year. 

[Havin'fun]

Just looking at Wonder cruises this morning - thanks!

[OCSC Mike]

12 hours ago, budmeister said:

Restaurants are very subjective

 

Definitely. Mason Jar BRUNCH (never had dinner) was one of the best meals I've ever had on a ship and the CL snacks were very good when I was on in June.

 

Also huge improvement of the WJ layout on Wonder, IMO, but I'm also a WJ fan in general.

 

Love seeing how many people on various ships have commented on how good the pizza at Sorrento's has gotten. On both Wonder in June and Allure in October it was crispy and much better than it used to be.

 

Thanks for sharing. Huge fan of this ship and looking forward to sailing her multiple times in the coming months.

Edited January 15 by OCSC Mike

[Tlbecker1]

Thank you for the review.  We will be on the Wonder 2-11 and we are really looking forward to it.  Your review helps a lot.

[Lv2sail_18]

Thank you for the detailed review! Given your experience leaving the shop on the last day, what would you recommend? Taxi? Uber? Pre-paid shuttle?

[budmeister]

1 hour ago, Lv2sail_18 said:

Thank you for the detailed review! Given your experience leaving the shop on the last day, what would you recommend? Taxi? Uber? Pre-paid shuttle?

We intended a taxi, but the line stating taxi turned out ot be the shuttles. I don't know how or where Uber would have worked. The pre-paid shuttles turned out to be the same shuttles as those in the taxi line. People were made because they thought pre-paying would get them on sooner, but it did not. 

 

I think I would try uber next time. I am not sure how it could be worse. 

Edited January 17 by budmeister

[Halfpound]

Thank you for your review. My family of six are on the Wonder in April. Regarding the shows, could you please tell me which nights and times they are? I’m trying to plan our dinner times. Thank you

 

 

[perfect match]

On 1/14/2024 at 9:14 PM, budmeister said:

Aqua show seating all had backs to the bleacher type seating. I think maybe another ship did not. However it was cancelled  3 times or more. So I did not see the show.

Since I first heard that Wonder only had benches in the AquaTheater I’ve been wondering how I would be able to sit through the show without a back rest! I still think the chairs would probably be more comfortable, but I’m sure the benches are cheaper and they can squish more people into each row! 😱 At least my arthritic back will be happy to have a backrest! 
 

Thank you very much for your review. We’re on Wonder in September and we’re excited to be sailing on her. Thanks again @OCSC Mike for convincing me to give Wonder a try! 
 

Thank you, @budmeister for your review and all the great information about the shows and food that you shared. 

[OCSC Mike]

Deleted. Misread something.

Edited January 17 by OCSC Mike

[budmeister]

23 hours ago, Halfpound said:

Thank you for your review. My family of six are on the Wonder in April. Regarding the shows, could you please tell me which nights and times they are? I’m trying to plan our dinner times. Thank you

 

 

Hi.

Most have multiple viewings and thing changed even from when I could reserve and whne I got on the ship. 8:30 -8:45 dinner times allowed me to see everything. 5-5:30s probably would too.

[TravisP]

Thanks for the review. We will be on Wonder the first week of March. Can't wait.