Live from WOTS Eastern Caribbean 4-14-24

[Steelers0854]

Day 2 Coco Cay cont

 

You’re going to see DW eat quite a bit of filet this trip. For more than one reason but she is trying to see if she can do Carnivore. So this trip is going to be a little bit of a test in seeing how it goes eating red meat the majority of her meals to see if it’s even feasible to do it solely instead of with other veggies etc. 

 

Dinner tonight was at Giovanni’s. This is one of the trickier meals for DW this trip. Just about everything here has eggs or dairy. But she found a few selections she was happy with. She got the house salad which thankfully the Italian vinaigrette she was able to eat and she said it was delicious. She got the filet and gluten free pasta with olive oil. She actually prefers her pasta with olive oil versus a tomato sauce. She said the filet was very good.

 

 

 

I got the meatball and the osso bucco. The meatball was very good sans one part that was clearly still raw. The osso bucco was mouthwatering tender and delicious as was the risotto that it came with.

 

 

 

We were so full from dinner we skipped dessert. It was pretty cool out tonight with a stiff breeze but we enjoyed sitting out on the balcony until it was time for the ice show 365 at 8:30. We are excited to see this show as we follow Jordan Bauth on YouTube and she is an ice cast member. This show looked incredible. And it was absolutely fire. Such great music, incredibly talented skaters. 10/10!

 

[perfect match]

10 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

Day 2 Coco Cay

 

 

 

We had 1 mission today. Be one of the first off and secure a good spot at the beach club. We got downstairs at about 7:45 and a few minutes before 8 the line was moving. Having never been here before we didn’t realize what a short walk it was and so we rode the tram. No big deal it was quick and easy and we were one of the first 10 people in.

 

 

 

 

 

We got very lucky, we grabbed one of the very few large loungers by the pool. These things are soooo comfortable. It’s worth hustling off the ship to snag one of these.

 

 

We paid $220pp for the beach club. I’m on team worth it. For what we got, the food, the floating mats, quiet atmosphere and not a hoard of people. I’m all in. I’ve paid far more for excursions and gotten much less.

 

We got a delicious coconut lime non alcoholic welcome drink. It was delicious. I would have paid for another but they said they couldn’t do that. SMH. Seems kinda silly. We had absolutely beautiful weather. High of 75, a cool breeze all day, and a few clouds in the sky.  Couldn’t have been better!

 

 

 

 

When you walk in to the beach club on your right when you walk in make your lunch reservation. They have slots based on the ship you’re on. We got 11:45. The beach club is beautiful. The bathrooms are very nice, it’s quiet, they have vibey music in the background but nothing loud or that stands out. The pool is great, service was outstanding. Always someone walking around asking if you needed anything. Towels were provided so no needing to wait in line and give your first born in exchange for one.

 

 

Before we knew it, it was lunch. You get a Bento box with all the appetizers. They brought DW bread that was safe to eat and the hummus and babaganoush was safe. DW doesn’t do seafood (preference) but the shrimp and ceviche would nah e been fine as well. The appetizers were good. Solid. Nothing to write home about.

 

 

The main course is where they knock it out of the park. DW got the filet (no modifications) and I got the surf and turf. It’s not on the menu but there are no issues ordering it. You get a half a lobster, 1 claw and what I’m guessing was a 6 ounce filet. It was amazing. Everything from the potatoes to the vegetables and the meat. All outstanding. And our server was fantastic.

 

 

 

 

 

Some fun facts we learned from our server. He was from India and is on a 5 month contract. 600 people live on the island full time. The ship only sends some crew to supplement the front part of the island. He said about 70% of the staff were bahamanian and they work 2 month contracts.

 

After lunch we lounged around for a bit before calling it quits, visiting some other parts of the island before heading back to the ship. All aboard was at 3:30 and we got on at 2:30.

 

 

 

We certainly had a Perfect Day at CoCo Cay. I think the only other private island we have been to that gives it a run for its money is Disneys Castaway Cay.

Thank you very much for this Beach Club report and pictures! It is exactly what I’ve been hoping to find. 
 

On previous Coco Cay trips I have resisted booking the Beach Club due to the price. Then the price kept going up! 😱 However, on our last Coco Cay stops it was just way too packed with people to suit us, so I started looking for bargains. 
 

I first booked us into Hideaway beach but really didn’t think the vibe there would be what we were looking for. Then I found the Beach Club on sale! $76.99 for our upcoming Allure cruise and currently at $114.99 for Wonder cruise in September. It was a no brainer to cancel Hideaway and book the Beach Club! Maybe I’ll get really lucky and the price for our Wonder cruise will drop to the price we got on Allure. That would be awesome!

 

Is it really worth it to head out early and get seats by the pool? I’m a beach person myself but I think DH might prefer the pool. I don’t really care about the big beds much, but was pool seating I still available later in the morning? 
 

I think I’m a lot more excited about going to the Beach Club than I ever thought I would be!  😎

 

 

[perfect match]

One more Beach Club question. I think we would prefer a later lunch time since we will probably just end up snacking for dinner after our big lunch. Did the restaurant seem to be functioning normally later in the afternoon or were they busy packing up or running out of food later in the afternoon? We will be making a reservation. I’m thinking maybe around 2:00. What do you think? Too late?

[Steelers0854]

6 hours ago, perfect match said:

Is it really worth it to head out early and get seats by the pool? I’m a beach person myself but I think DH might prefer the pool. I don’t really care about the big beds much, but was pool seating I still available later in the morning? 

I think it is. Pool seating specifically is very limited. Basically just the beds. The beach is directly adjacent to the pool and there were plenty of chairs. But if you want pool seating specifically then the beds are your only real bet and they filled up in 5 minutes. 

 

6 hours ago, perfect match said:

Did the restaurant seem to be functioning normally later in the afternoon or were they busy packing up or running out of food later in the afternoon?

gonna completely depend on who else is in port with you and who leaves first. Given an all aboard time of 3:30 I highly doubt they will seat you at 2. Lunch took us just under an hour at 11:45. The latest time slot I heard them offer was 1. But I didn’t ask specifically so ymmv. 

[OCSC Mike]

11 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

She said the filet was very good.

 

Good to hear. Giovanni's Table was always our favorite partly b/c we enjoyed ordering filet plus a pasta dish. Trying Kitchen for the first time in June.

 

11 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

we skipped dessert

 

Blasphemy! At least get something to go, lol. I'm still trying to figure out how to try the pizza and I think I'll wind up getting it to go. I eat a lot on cruises but everyone has a limit.

 

11 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

This show looked incredible. And it was absolutely fire. Such great music, incredibly talented skaters. 10/10!

 

Agreed. My favorite ice show of any I've seen. The special effects help put it over the top, IMO.

[Steelers0854]

Day 3 Sea Day 1

 

We slept in this morning. Got up and hit the gym for a workout. Atleast what we could put together given how crowded it was. But that’s expected. The first day at sea everyone is motivated, let’s see what happens later in the cruise.

 

We got ready and headed to Mason Jar as it was time for brunch. This meal was going to be a tough one for DW but we went and spoke with the staff last night and, after they discussed with the chef, DW preordered Avocado Toast, Overnight Oats and a Watermelon salad. So fingers crossed it all turns out well.

 

 

After we sat the assistant maitre d (shout out to Avinash he was amazing) whom we preordered from last night came over with the chef. Last night they didn’t make her bread, the GF bread they made contained egg. They apologized and said they would ensure they made her bread each day going forward. He said he was working on something for her. Her salad came out and it was a huge portion. She said the vinaigrette was very good. They brought out a wonderfully grilled and seasoned chicken breast with avocado and salad and DW was over the moon. She always is hesitant to get chicken on board as it usually comes out plain and boring but this was delicious. Finally they brought out her oats which we think was muesli which she was totally fine with. We had to take the muesli to go because it was so much food. As a special surprise they brought out a piece of chocolate cake for DW. We are praying there is t egg in it as DW said it was the most delicious things she has had in a while. It tasted like the inside of a truffle. We are thinking it may be what she will get at booked tonight as when we placed her dinner order last night they said they would make her a dessert. If that’s the case DW will be ecstatic. lol.

 

 

 

 

 

I got the bread starter and the cornbread was warm and sticky and soft. Both the butters were delicious as was the pimento cheese. This is a hit. Then I got the cinnamon roll which was huge!  It was warm and soft and delicious. The frosting was interesting as it wasn’t overly sweet, it had a sour cream undertone and the pecans complimented it nicely. I also got the breakfast biscuits and these were delicious. They skimped on the gravy and that was my only complaint. But I would 100% get these again. Everything was excellent.

 

 

 

 

All in all this was a great brunch. Our server was not good, this was our first time with anything but exceptional service, but everything else was excellent.

 

After that meal we started walking, we needed to probably run the rest of the day but a walk will have to suffice. It was a beautiful day outside.

[Steelers0854]

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Blasphemy! At least get something to go, lol. I'm still trying to figure out how to try the pizza and I think I'll wind up getting it to go. I eat a lot on cruises but everyone has a limit.

I know. I feel ya. But I’m still on a weight loss journey and while I expect cruises to be bad I have to set some limits so it’s not catastrophic. Believe me passing on that bread strater took a ton of will power!

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

I know. I feel ya. But I’m still on a weight loss journey and while I expect cruises to be bad I have to set some limits so it’s not catastrophic. Believe me passing on that bread strater took a ton of will power!

 

Understandable. Even though my only limit while cruising is whatever my stomach can handle (which is a pretty good amount), I fear what the UDP would be like.

 

I tend to eat a bunch of smaller meals/snacks throughout the day unless we have a specialty meal booked. When I stuff myself at Mason Jar brunch, no way could I eat a big specialty dinner later that night.

 

We just turned D+ on our last cruise so we're using a BOGO for Giovanni's on night one. I've lost count of how many times my wife has already told me that I can't go nuts like I normally do on embarkation day b/c we have Giovanni's... and we haven't even checked in yet!

 

 

[LisaLisa87]

Thanks for the info and photos from your brunch at the Mason Jar. That's one of the things I'm most excited about on Wonder! I have to say, as good as a lot of their menu items sound, your DW's food looks amazing.

[Steelers0854]

On 4/14/2024 at 3:40 PM, sandym718 said:

I'd love to hear about any fairly quiet sunning spots you find/see on Wonder.

so far I found 1 for you. Deck 16, forward next to Hooked. It’s fairly quiet and at peak sunning time (1pm) there were still quite a few seats open. 
 

[wolfcathorse]

Can you find out who the captain is? You may have to ask at Guest Services. Is the Captain Rob Hempstead?

[Steelers0854]

2 hours ago, wolfcathorse said:

Can you find out who the captain is? You may have to ask at Guest Services. Is the Captain Rob Hempstead?

It is Captain Rob!  He’s a pretty funny guy. 

[Steelers0854]

Here is the Day 3 Planner

Day 3.pdf

[OCSC Mike]

34 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

It is Captain Rob!  He’s a pretty funny guy. 

 

Agreed. Dry sense of humor. Sailed with him both times on Wonder.

[Steelers0854]

30 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Agreed. Dry sense of humor. Sailed with him both times on Wonder.

todays navigational briefing started “you see that land mass off our bow, you’re probably wondering what it is. So am I. My navigational officer says it’s Puerto Rico so we will go with that.”  lol. Love it. 

[Steelers0854]

Day 3 Day at Sea 1 cont

 

We went to the Make a Wish auction, it was nice to see them support such a great charity. The Champaign toast with the captain and you get to sound the horn went for $1.200.

 

After that was the Love & Marriage show and that was fun. We lounged around and read until it was time for dinner.

 

We had dinner tonight at Hooked. It was disappointing. It came down to a lack of care and attention.

 

 

We had preordered for DW the night before. A salad, filet with corn and fries and they said they would do a dessert for her. The salad came out and it was chunks of lettuce and whole slices of tomato And a side of olive oil and vinegar. I would have expected this had we not preordered but we did. For a specialty restaurant In particular it was disappointing. She got her filet, several minutes later the corn came out and then towards the end of the meal her gross came out. It was poor timing on their part. Now DW said it was one of the better filets she has had on board. So that’s a win. It was time for dessert and they brought a bowl of fruit. Sad. Especially after we had such a wonderful lunch at Mason Jar with an incredible dessert. It was disappointing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the bread starter and their Red Lobster biscuits, iykyk, were on point. I got the crab cake and coconut shrimp. The crab cake as one of the best I’ve had. Full of crab meat and even more on top. 10/10. The coconut shrimp were exactly what you would expect. On point but nothing earth shattering. I got the Captains Platter with Bronzino. The Bronzino had perfectly crispy skin, a few bones but otherwise was good. The lobster tail was so small. Smaller than what you get at the Beach Club at CocoCay and had I actually paid for the meal I probably would have asked for another. I expect this size lobster to be served in the MDR, not a specialty restaurant you paid extra for.the Cole slaw also had good flavor, invoking KFC vibes in a good way, but was waaaay over dressed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service tonight overall was hit and miss. In general, I advise to skip Hooked altogether.

 

We have 8:45 reservations for Intense the aqua show. I highly doubt they do it. The boat is a rockin and has been most of the afternoon and it’s pretty windy. But here we sit on our balcony enjoying a beautiful sunset while we wait.

 

Edited April 16 by Steelers0854

[sandym718]

10 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

so far I found 1 for you. Deck 16, forward next to Hooked. It’s fairly quiet and at peak sunning time (1pm) there were still quite a few seats open. 
 

Thanks so much!  Looks like a great spot! 

[mellibee]

On 4/14/2024 at 10:55 AM, Steelers0854 said:

Day 1 Embarkation Day

 

It’s a crystal clear cold morning in Orlando. We started the day off with breakfast at Kona Cafe. DW heated a cinnamon roll she got last night from Erin McKennas and said it was good, more cake like than cinnamon roll, but that’s expected with GF vegan. She did get a side of sausage.

 

I had wanted to try the infamous Tonga Toast for a while and I tell you it lived up to the hype. Super crispy in the outside and fluffy on the inside. The banana filling was excellent. And of course we split a pot of pressed Kona coffee. Great start to the day.

 

 

We scheduled our Uber for 9:30. It should take just over an hour to get to the port which would put us there about 10:45. Our boarding time is 11:30 and we are hoping we can get onboard a little earlier. We will see how it works.

 

None of my upgrade bids were accepted. I got the emails this morning. I only bid aggressively on one of the suites. I think this cruise is fairly sold out so it’s not surprising.

 

It took us exactly an hour to reach the port. It took us another 10 min to get through port traffic to drop our bags. We entered the terminal at 10:40 and essentially never stopped walking. Feet on the deck at 10:55. Glorious embarkation process.

 

 

We headed to the desk on the promenade and booked our dining reservations. We didn’t have any issues getting every one we wanted but we like to eat early so the 5:30ish time slots were all available. We headed to Izumi to book habatchi and were able to do it for tonight. We are hoping DW can eat there. Our plan is to go back a little later and ask in advance of our reservation.

 

We acquired our coffee card and my soda cup from the coffee bar on the promenade. Pro Tip: IMO the coffee card isn’t worth it if you don’t like hot coffee and any iced coffee drink is going to take 2 punches. So you get max benefit from small hot coffee drinks. Disappointing in my opinion. When looking at the information in the app I feel it’s misleading as this isn’t listed when you purchase the card.

 

 

We didn’t want to explore too much with our backpacks so we grabbed a good people watching spot for a bit.

Following along! Cruise on Wonder in Aug! :) 

[TwoMisfits]

11 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

Day 3 Day at Sea 1 cont

 

We went to the Make a Wish auction, it was nice to see them support such a great charity. The Champaign toast with the captain and you get to sound the horn went for $1.200.

 

After that was the Love & Marriage show and that was fun. We lounged around and read until it was time for dinner.

 

We had dinner tonight at Hooked. It was disappointing. It came down to a lack of care and attention.

 

 

We had preordered for DW the night before. A salad, filet with corn and fries and they said they would do a dessert for her. The salad came out and it was chunks of lettuce and whole slices of tomato And a side of olive oil and vinegar. I would have expected this had we not preordered but we did. For a specialty restaurant In particular it was disappointing. She got her filet, several minutes later the corn came out and then towards the end of the meal her gross came out. It was poor timing on their part. Now DW said it was one of the better filets she has had on board. So that’s a win. It was time for dessert and they brought a bowl of fruit. Sad. Especially after we had such a wonderful lunch at Mason Jar with an incredible dessert. It was disappointing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the bread starter and their Red Lobster biscuits, iykyk, were on point. I got the crab cake and coconut shrimp. The crab cake as one of the best I’ve had. Full of crab meat and even more on top. 10/10. The coconut shrimp were exactly what you would expect. On point but nothing earth shattering. I got the Captains Platter with Bronzino. The Bronzino had perfectly crispy skin, a few bones but otherwise was good. The lobster tail was so small. Smaller than what you get at the Beach Club at CocoCay and had I actually paid for the meal I probably would have asked for another. I expect this size lobster to be served in the MDR, not a specialty restaurant you paid extra for.the Cole slaw also had good flavor, invoking KFC vibes in a good way, but was waaaay over dressed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service tonight overall was hit and miss. In general, I advise to skip Hooked altogether.

 

We have 8:45 reservations for Intense the aqua show. I highly doubt they do it. The boat is a rockin and has been most of the afternoon and it’s pretty windy. But here we sit on our balcony enjoying a beautiful sunset while we wait.

 

 

Question since I have a Hooked lunch - could your wife have preordered a fish appetizer vs a salad?  Or was salad the only option they offered?

 

I expect no dessert (so 2nd paid place with no sorbet or even option for a complex allergy that includes dairy), but I'll be bummed if all the apps are also no bueno except a salad...

[Steelers0854]

Day 3 Day at Sea 1 cont

 

We got to the show at about 8, and got a good seat. We sat til about 8:45 (show scheduled to start at 8:30) and they announced it had to be cancelled due to the weather conditions. They are rescheduling us for Day 5 at 7:30pm.

 

We headed back to the room to settle in for the evening. At 10pm a call rang in the room. It was room service. They tried to deliver a dessert but we had our do not disturb sign up. I said we hadn’t ordered dessert and she said it was from the manager at Hooked. It was DW’s cake. So we told them to come on down and we ended up getting her cake that day. We had told our waiter they had made her a dessert but I guess he didn’t know where to go or didn’t care to do so. It was very nice of the manager to send it to us. DW saved it for the next day due to it being so late.

 

Day 4 St Thomas

 

It’s a beautiful morning with flat clam seas today.

 

 

We don’t arrive in port til 12:30 so the plan is to get up and get a workout in and get ready then head and grab some food before hopping off the ship. No plans today but walking around the city. We just want to browse around since we have been here so many times before.

 

[Steelers0854]

1 hour ago, TwoMisfits said:

 

Question since I have a Hooked lunch - could your wife have preordered a fish appetizer vs a salad?  Or was salad the only option they offered?

 

I expect no dessert (so 2nd paid place with no sorbet or even option for a complex allergy that includes dairy), but I'll be bummed if all the apps are also no bueno except a salad...

yes she absolutely could have had several seafood items that were safe for her, she just doesn’t like seafood. But we knew this going in, she took one for the team since I love seafood so much and there was something she could eat on the menu. 
 

take a look at my last post I just put up. It was because of the Hooked Manager that she got her delicious chocolate cake that day at both Mason Jar and Hooked (eventually). So make sure you go speak with them in advance and they will definitely take care of you. But yes, there is a lack of sorbet on the ship and many of the menu options have the common allergens in them. Virgin Voyages was amazing with this as in every restaurant they had something on the menu DW could eat. And Princess has a sorbet on their MDR menu each night. It why those are our 2 favorite lines. 

[BillOh]

On 4/14/2024 at 3:01 PM, Old lady cruiser said:

Thank you for doing this.  146 days to go!!

I second that sentiment! But only 40 days for us and we are on the same itinerary, watching for Wonder to arrive in St Thomas now!

[BillOh]

On 4/16/2024 at 2:18 AM, perfect match said:

One more Beach Club question. I think we would prefer a later lunch time since we will probably just end up snacking for dinner after our big lunch. Did the restaurant seem to be functioning normally later in the afternoon or were they busy packing up or running out of food later in the afternoon? We will be making a reservation. I’m thinking maybe around 2:00. What do you think? Too late?

I  think you will be ok with 2pm, I didn't see that much tearing down until about 3pm.  

[BecciBoo]

On 4/16/2024 at 7:49 AM, Steelers0854 said:

Basically just the beds

I didn't like the beds at all...too difficult to exit and enter at my age, prefer the loungers, there are some on the pool level.  In any event we never even laid down in the darn things anyway.  We were always in the pool.  I'll be looking to snag the sale too but I'm not holding my breath. Icon coming up in Sept. with Hideaway booked at this time.  Today's price is $159...better but still too steep for us.

Edited April 17 by BecciBoo

[elizabethbp]

I agree  about the  beds at the pool.  At my age they are also difficult to exit and enter but I  have found the lifeguards are able to assist me as I try to get a bed near the end   where the guard stands.  I love the pool and we try to be the first ones there as then I feel it is like a private oasis.  The pool was packed later in the day on the 2 times last year I was there.