OCSC Mike

3 hours ago, Sweety said:

Mason Jar!  Can't wait.

Me either.  

7 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Shoot we’ve never even done star class.

Oh how terrible! I took my first cruise in 2002 for my honeymoon... didn't see a suite until 20 years later, lol. If you're small potatoes then I'm a burnt hash brown crumb.

Great way to start the cruise. I may pop into the bar for a blackberry moonshine lemonade to go with my WJ lunch. Very good drink for early in the day.

17 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

I’ll try to post some pics of the suite lounge and coastal  to make @OCSC Mike ‘s mouth water.

Again, I had a GS on Wonder. Nothing I haven't already seen, big shot.

I'll miss night one filet in CK and the SL drinks but otherwise I think I'll manage. FWIW, we'll be at Mason Jar brunch on day 3 at 11:30.

Pics of Giovanni's dinner would be good though. We're likely using our first D+ BOGO there in June.

7 minutes ago, Sweety said:

Have a joyful cruise. Looking forward to food pictures.

Thanks. I never normally take pics but going to try to start and have enlisted my wife to help.

1 minute ago, FionaMG said:

I'll be following along too. Your shore excursion in St Martin looks really good.

I recommend it b/c it has a little bit of everything and you don't have to love snorkeling or love the beach or love swimming in the ocean to enjoy it. You can do as much or as little of the different parts as you want. You just have to be OK with a really fast boat. They have 3 engines and fly!

Back in 2017, lunch was served at a tiny shack of a restaurant/bar that was really good. You picked your protein and it was grilled fresh. I still remember the fish I had (my wife got a hamburger of course). Sadly, it was destroyed by Hurricane Irma and never rebuilt so lunch is now packed sandwiches on french baguettes (which I assume should be good given the island is half-French). It won't ruin the excursion of course but I'll miss that lunch.

BTW, I plan to go back through your recap for all the great MDR info. I remember telling my wife about the one dessert that you said was like the warm chocolate cake but I know there were a few other things I wanted to take note of. Thanks again for sharing.

4 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I’m getting close to possibly trying one of these myself

Go for it. Share as much or as little as you like. Lots of pics or no pics. Any blog is better than no blog.

Intro

I don't normally start blogs early since I don't have any flights, hotels, or packing shenanigans to share. We live an hour's drive from PC and I finish packing the morning of the cruise but here goes anyway. BTW, while this intro post will be long, I do plan to try my best to keep my reports from the ship much shorter and spread out rather than long daily recaps. We'll find out how successful I am when the time comes.

We sailed Wonder last June with family and absolutely loved the ship... but it was not our usual cruise M.O. as we were freeloading in Sky Class and spent A LOT of time in the suite neighborhood with the fam. Semi-live blog here if anyone hasn't read it and wants to: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/41233-semi-live-trip-report-wonder-june-4-11/.

Cabin

Since it's just me and my wife, we're back in one of our beloved caves... err... interiors on deck 10. We like being somewhere in between the higher and lower decks to avoid elevators in either direction when possible so 10 seemed to fit the bill. We actually have three more Wonder cruises booked after this one and they're all in roughly the same area, deck 10 forward near the elevators. I chose forward after noticing from YouTube cabin videos that many (all?) aft interiors don't even have the small couch, just a tiny chair with a strange layout. I may not need a fancy room but I do like the little couch so forward it is.

Food

Anyone who reads my posts knows I like to eat and do so off and on from the early AM throughout the day and into the evening. Between frugality and my picky wife, the only specialty dining we have planned is Mason Jar brunch on day 3 (LOVED it in June and it was 40% off during the Black Friday sale) and one dinner in Playmakers b/c we love the burgers and garlic parm fries there. Breakfast and lunch could be wherever (likely not the MDR) and our other dinners will mostly be in the MDR (early seating). We didn't step foot in the WJ for dinner last time b/c we were always busy going from CK to a show. We will definitely pop in there this time, even if it's after the MDR, and if my wife finds something appealing, we could wind up skipping the MDR for a night or two and just heading there (@Lovetocruise2002's worst nightmare, I know).

Shows

We saw every show offered in June (including the now retired Tap Factory) so this time around the only shows we will definitely see are the ice show (our new favorite) and adult comedy b/c obviously that changes with the comics. We will probably see InTENse (aqua show) again just for the heck of it and if there's a headliner and it's an act we feel like seeing, we could go to that. The app shows singers on the last couple and next week's Wonder cruises and that's not something we'd bother with.

I'm actually looking forward to not having plans every night so we can just find something random to do... game show, music at a bar, watching Karaoke, etc.

Ports

Day 2: CocoCay - We'll be parked at our favorite spot by the Oasis Pool making frequent trips to the nearest Snack Shack and Chill Grill while using a few Diamond vouchers. We could have tried Hideaway Beach for $19.99pp, which I know is a very low price, but other than the additional food options (of which my wife would eat none unless she wanted plain pizza), it held no appeal to us and I'd rather spend $40 at Playmakers or Mason Jar. We've always been very happy with the included food on CocoCay.

Day 4: St. Thomas - No plans as we don't dock until 12:30pm and finding an afternoon excursion wasn't appealing to us. We may just stay on the ship unless we decide to take a quick walk around the port.

Day 5: St. Martin - We're going back on Captain Bob's powerboat snorkeling tour after loving it 7 years ago. If you're not familiar, I highly recommend it as it has a little bit of everything... fun fast boat ride, tour of the island by sea, a couple snorkeling stops, a couple beach stops, a stop near Maho Beach to see the planes, plus lunch and beverages (mostly beer and soft drinks) included. Bob and his kids are from New York and moved to the island a long time ago. His son, Brett, was our boat captain in 2017 and I requested to sail with him again. Here's their website if you're interested... https://www.soualigadestinations.com/most-popular-tour-for-cruise-ship-visitors/. Like many things, I first chose this as something we could both enjoy. My wife is far more into snorkeling than I am but I can handle it in small doses and I'm content to chill on the boat with a drink if I get tired of it before she does. I also like that it has multiple stops. The only time I park myself on a beach is if there's shade and food/drink included (like CocoCay or a beach club).

Milestone

I almost forgot, we will be turning D+ on this cruise, woohoo!

Shipmates

@GatorCruiser will be on this cruise and has promised to pop in with his own commentary. He'll also be posting from the luxurious trappings behind the (rarely) locked glass doors of deck 17.

@Matt will also be onboard with his kids for spring break (same as my teacher wife's as we live very close to him) and he's more than welcome to drop in if he wants to grace us with his presence. At the very least, I hope to run into him just to say hi but I'm an introvert IRL and I don't want to impose since he'll be with his family.

Not sure I'll have much to share between now and then. I don't think this intro was TOO long-winded by my standards and, again, I will truly try to keep my posts from the ship shorter and more spread out. Looking forward to bringing you all along as I definitely feel more like a part of the community since I've been posting so much over the past however many months.

10 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This made me laugh! We do have bookstores in Canada, but it’s way cheaper in the US. 

Obviously I was kidding but that's interesting.

I like that you'll look to save money on some books while on vacation as you're about to board the suite that you are. Serious comment, not snarky. I'm pretty frugal in all aspects of life and yes we book interiors but if I was truly that cheap I wouldn't have continued booking cruises as prices just got higher and higher (the Utopia B2B's I just booked are significantly more than my Wonders, some of which were already pretty high). Some things are just worth spending extra on for various reasons.

2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We made it out with just 8 hardcovers. I asked them how they plan to carry these home?

Do you not have bookstores in Canada? Or do they like buying ones in the US that spell words like favorite without that extra U?

36 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

For those on this cruise, the entertainment reservations opened up today.

I saw it mentioned elsewhere that May Symphony cruises also had entertainment open. Sounds like I now have to keep an eye out for my upcoming Wonders far sooner than the old "early in the previous month" to which I had become accustomed (and/or keep an eye on the dreaded FB pages).

46 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, no clue how boring this blog will be once I get on the ship since I don’t plan to leave my cabin

Meant to respond to this part... I highly doubt it will be boring. The fam can relay what's going on in the "outside world" for you to share and there's always food porn.

Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Some of us don’t have the luxury of driving to the port.

For sure, that's unavoidable... but my brain still can't handle the big dinner, lol. It's one step away from having a big breakfast before going to the port!

12 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Shopping first, then La Bamba! 

I love how different our day before embarkations are. We sit around, pack (which I actually finish in the morning before we drive to the port), and make something healthy for dinner, lol.

2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

so have a look over at that other place, if only for just this week.

You know I browse and occasionally post over there but I enjoy the vibe here so much more and the regulars like yourself are a big part of it. I was cross-blogging in June (basically just cutting and pasting my long daily recaps in both forums) but I'm going RCB-exclusive this time. I may get less views but I know they'll be from good people. It will also be more relaxing and less of a chore this way.

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I just spoke to the concierge in the lounge now and she was wonderful!

Best feeling ever when someone takes care of your issues and does so in an exceptional way.

Humans, IT, etc. will always make mistakes or have glitches... it's how the person you deal with takes care of the problems to me.

Glad your day has started out so well!

50 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, I just realized that I took a page out of @OCSC Mike’s playbook and got super long winded with that post about our hotel troubles. Sorry, I went on a rant lol. I just need to go sleep. Lol

You had good reason. I can go on and on about nothing. I already promised to work on it for myself as much as anything but now that I’ve been publicly tag-shamed…

Sorry about the hotel shenanigans. Things can only get better from here! Hope you get some sleep & everything is taken care of tomorrow.

50 minutes ago, Floski said:

All of the alcohol and food has made my legs super swollen, and I know a lot of my new tonnage is in them.

I eat a lot when we cruise and have several drinks per day and this happens to me (I usually gain about 10 lbs. per 7N cruise). It freaked me out the first time it happened until I learned it’s not uncommon. I’ve taken water pills (Diurex) during every cruise since & it makes a huge difference for me.

Thanks for sharing your positive experience. I’ll be on Wonder in 9 days & I wasn’t concerned as I’ve enjoyed the food post-covid but still nice to read about. I’m not a huge MDR fan but it was perfectly fine on Allure in October & I’m sure it will be fine on Wonder. I eat so much throughout the day that dinner itself isn’t super important to me anyway.

15 minutes ago, Magoody said:

people also complain about the solarium on it not being enclosed and not been able to enjoy in bad weather, if I remember correctly.  

Some people also complain about the enclosed solarium on Wonder being too hot in the Caribbean (even though it's climate controlled). FWIW, we've sailed every Oasis class ship except Symphony as well as Freedom and Indy and we always hang out in the solarium, never the pool deck... I'm personally fine with all of them (although I'm partial to the topiary gorilla on Wonder).

9 minutes ago, Magoody said:

Nassau

Nassau is almost definitely the least-liked port there is and MANY seasoned cruisers just stay on the ship there (although I've heard they've improved the port area).

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other port that receives such a predominantly negative opinion.

47 minutes ago, JFCruise said:

If they are in the app, they are certainly not easy to find. I just checked any tab I could think of in my upcoming cruise and there was no info on theme nights. I guess I could go to a different sailing on the ship and check - but I'm sure 90% of the guests have no idea about that.

If you look in the daily planner section, the theme should be listed at 5:00pm each night.

If you click on the "welcome aboard" section just under the picture of the ship when you open the app, each day is listed with various info... including the theme.

26 minutes ago, Magoody said:

2.) We have been cruising out of Orlando because it was the closest port that had the ship we wanted at the time (9.5 hour drive).  Should we also consider Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, or Miami? Disadvantages/Advantages/pros/cons with leaving from any of these ports?

Common sense advantages are more to choose from in terms of ships, itineraries, dates, prices, etc.

Common sense disadvantages would mostly involve the longer drive and any associated costs and time.

I pretty much only sail from PC b/c I can drive there in an hour. I have no desire to drive to South Florida and Tampa only has smaller, older ships which I don't care for. That's all personal preference though.

26 minutes ago, Magoody said:

3.) Some ships that are sailing with southern/eastern itineraries right now that we have not been on are: Oasis, Freedom, Adventure, Serenade, and Enchantment. Disadvantages/Advantages/pros/cons with any of these ships?

I suggest researching each ship via YouTube, the RC website, this website, etc. Only you can determine what differences will matter to you. Other than Oasis, none will be similar to Wonder and Enchantment is so old and small that it might feel like a rusty lifeboat if you've only been on Wonder, lol. Pros and cons again depend on personal preference. I prefer Oasis class to any other by quite a bit but I would happily sail Freedom and could tolerate Adventure. I really don't care for anything smaller. Plenty of people enjoy smaller ships though.

Hope that helps get you started as far as the home ports and ships go. I'll let others chime in with destination port opinions (but, once again, there will be personal preference involved). I could tell you we love XYZ b/c it has great snorkeling but if you don't enjoy snorkeling that wouldn't make it a must-visit for you.

2 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I believe many of the cruises also have Facebook pages specific to cruise dates.  If you have a Facebook account (I do not) it should be easy to find your specific cruise.  I also believe there are many more passengers on Facebook than there are on this blog!

Agree this is OP's best bet. I don't have a FB account either but I use my wife's to check our cruise groups every so often. I personally can't stand them. I love helping others like I do here but these FB groups are just so crowded and noisy and full of bad info I can't handle it.

On the plus side, we found a nice couple in our FB group to split a cab with in October and saved $10 going to Nachi Cocom... so there's that.

On 3/5/2024 at 9:24 AM, bobroo said:

And there are now a couple Portillo's locations in the Orlando area too.

We went to the first one not long after it opened. I knew nothing about it except that the hype was ridiculous (as were the crowds). I enjoyed it and would probably go back from time to time if it were closer.

36 minutes ago, Rags1 said:

May the loft retractable television Gods smile on you and it works as designed

This leads me to believe there's a long running issue with retractable TV's?

The only time I had one (freeloading in a GS on Wonder) it bounced its way out of the ceiling and made an awful noise, lol.

7 minutes ago, Eighty8 said:

On 2/12/2024 at 3:31 PM, Vlad said:

I was thinking about that as well. Back to back in the same cabin is a problem on its own. 

But the biggest one is the islands. 2 visits to CocoCay is pretty good. But Nassau? Twice? Total waste... There's absolutely nothing to do there. Especially after you've benn there before... 

 

Don't forget you'll likely also get repeats of the same MDR menu. No Royal night, etc... Definitely not the same as a true 7 night. 

No, it's definitely different, but if you really like CocoCay and sailing for the ship more than the ports, they can be enjoyable.

We did one before and recently booked two more (coincidentally on Utopia). I totally understand why some wouldn't find them appealing though. Different strokes...

3 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Agree, actually moved from a balcony to this. With kids the extra room, full bath, walk in closet will be very nice. I think it was a good move. 

I'm somewhat biased b/c I don't use my balcony even when I have one but I agree the extra room is more valuable than a balcony.