First time on oasis class?

[mattR]

Largest we have cruised before was Freedom class.  What do I need to know about the Wonder of the Seas.  I hear you have to book shows?  Are the line up's huge for activates since there are so many people on these ships.  We will be sailing Sep 22/24 will that help with sport activities line-up since school will be back in or will they still be huge?   How long of a wait should we expect for the sport activities such as slides and zip line and flow rider?  We are looking at booking the 3 night specialty dinning will we have trouble getting reservations for Wonderland and the Japanese chef dinner?  Can you reserve any of the sport activities or is it just show up and wait in line? 

[OCSC Mike]

I am about to sail Wonder for the 3rd time in the summer (plus once during spring break) when the ship is completely full with lots of kids.

 

It's not nearly as bad as it sounds like you think it is. There is so much to do in so many different areas that Oasis class ships handle all those people very well. The pools will be crowded, the WJ will be crowded at peak hours, but things are so spread out and many people (like us) have no interest in the activities you mentioned that it's really not bad at all in our experience.

 

You should have no problem booking any dining you want (Hibachi is the only one that I've read can be a bit difficult b/c of the limited space/seatings). I am sailing in 18 days and can still book pretty much anything. They also hold plenty of reservations back for booking onboard (for people who book dining packages or want to use their D+ BOGO deals).

 

Some people even feel that Oasis class does a better job with crowds than Freedom class (I've had no significant issues on either). If you haven't yet, I suggest finding a nice long YouTube tour of Wonder to get an idea of where everything is. Hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns.

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, mattR said:

What do I need to know about the Wonder of the Seas. 

Read some O class reviews.

[robmtx]

Just don't try to go play trivia in the Schooner bar on a rainy sea day.. 

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, robmtx said:

Just don't try to go play trivia in the Schooner bar on a rainy sea day.. 

 

Or Spotlight Karaoke. I'm Wonder's biggest fan but turning On-Air into Spotlight was a big miss, IMO. Unless it's during a port day, just about any event held there (trivia or karaoke) is overcrowded.

 

It's totally worth it to add to my highlighter and key chain collection though!

[silentbob007]

You reserve shows about a month out so that they can spread people around the ship in different entertainment venues. People without reservations are let in about 10 minutes before the show starts. 

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, silentbob007 said:

You reserve shows about a month out

 

It was 60 days out for my July 14th Wonder sailing (and 50 for my June Wonder). It seems they are releasing entertainment reservations much earlier now.

[silentbob007]

2 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

It was 60 days out for my July 14th Wonder sailing (and 50 for my June Wonder). It seems they are releasing entertainment reservations much earlier now.

Great. I feel better when everything is locked in … so it can all go to hell when they cancel the aqua show I booked. 🤣

[TeeRick]

6 minutes ago, silentbob007 said:

Great. I feel better when everything is locked in … so it can all go to hell when they cancel the aqua show I booked. 🤣

Recently on Symphony they cancelled the Aqua Show twice due to high winds.  We ended up missing it.

[Starry Eyes]

About the 3 night dining plan…if you buy the plan, you make reservations once on board.  I’d suggest you now add up the pre-cruise sale prices of your three chosen restaurants and compare it to the price of the 3 night plan (plus any surcharges like Hibachi).  Depending on the current sales and the restaurants that interest your family, the 3 night plan may or may not be a significant savings.  If the savings are small, I’d forget the plan and reserve the individual restaurants pre cruise; that way you know you have the restaurants and times you want locked in without any hassle on day 1. OTOH, if the savings are substantial, you may want to take the 3 night plan.  Board as early as you workable can.  Since you want Hibachi, go there immediately; they can tell you if they have space for you or perhaps put you on a waitlist in case there are cancellations.  They can also make the other reservations.

[jcc1025]

13 hours ago, mattR said:

Largest we have cruised before was Freedom class.  What do I need to know about the Wonder of the Seas.  I hear you have to book shows?  Are the line up's huge for activates since there are so many people on these ships.  We will be sailing Sep 22/24 will that help with sport activities line-up since school will be back in or will they still be huge?   How long of a wait should we expect for the sport activities such as slides and zip line and flow rider?  We are looking at booking the 3 night specialty dinning will we have trouble getting reservations for Wonderland and the Japanese chef dinner?  Can you reserve any of the sport activities or is it just show up and wait in line? 

We agree with the others. Have sailed both classes and like them both but due to the way the Oasis Class is layed out we actully felt less crowed then on some of the other classes even with more passengers on board. The wait for the sports activities will be determined by the time you choose. If its the middle of a sea day there will be some waits but nothing terrible, at more off hours there will not be much of a wait. 

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Recently on Symphony they cancelled the Aqua Show twice due to high winds.  We ended up missing it.

On Harmony in December it was cancelled for the whole week.  Eventually they put on a very reduced version of it that didn't include any diving.

[taglovestocruise]

Book the Aqua show for the first available night, not uncommon to be canceled sometime during the cruise. Often first timers on Oasis Class do not realize that there is a free JR breakfast every morning. Even though the ship is huge and carries 6000 guests I have found them to feel far less crowded than the Freedom Class. Be sure to get into the showrooms at least 15 minutes before show time.  With the 3 night package be sure  to make your reservation as soon as you board, we have found the line for making all your reservations is usually very short in Wonderland  or Izumi. You can only make reservations for Izumi at the venue itself, but you can also make all other reservations for any other restaurant while at Izumi. We have sailed Oasis Class several times in February and there is still a huge amount of kids. We have done 4 transatlantic crossings on Oasis Class ships, they seem to sail with 1500 fewer kids on those sailings.   There has been a few reports recently that there is someone in the terminal taking Specialty reservations, if you come across that person you are off to a great start. 

[mattR]

5 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

 Often first timers on Oasis Class do not realize that there is a free JR breakfast every morning. 

What is a JR breakfast?

[Starry Eyes]

2 minutes ago, mattR said:

What is a JR breakfast?

Johnny Rockets has a free breakfast

[mattR]

How does the zipline work show up when it's open and wait in line or more like ice skating when you book a time window? 

[Another_Critic]

50 minutes ago, mattR said:

How does the zipline work show up when it's open and wait in line or more like ice skating when you book a time window? 

Show up with no lose items, close toed shoes, and nothing in your pockets.

[Roybthered]

In May JR was empty at 8am and it was great to just walk in and have breakfast. Zip line was just a walk up especially in port and you could go multiple times. I would also book the Aqua show as soon as you can just in case it does get cancelled.