OCSC Mike

Me too, but given that I've seen $3499 on other cruises, it's a good price for anyone in the market. It's also a bit more palatable if you have a party of 8 and break it down that way. Some people pay $200pp for just the Beach Club. Those people aren't me of course, just sharing and making conversation.

One of the better phrasings to this beat to death topic I've read. Agree with every word. Well said.

I can relate to that. I don't think I could handle airport shenanigans. I've barely flown at all in the past decade but when we took our epic 18-day trip to Alaska in 2018 I had excessive layovers built in just to avoid any issues. We almost went to the Mall of America we had so much time to kill in Minneapolis on the way there but the peace of mind was worth it. Hope your new travel plan goes as smoothly as possible!

For future reference, don't stress if you miss any reservations. They always hold a % back for booking once onboard and you can easily see anything via the standby line as well (only adult comedy can be harder b/c of the small venue).

Royal isn't offering many longer sailings these days. Others would know better than me but I'm not sure there are any Florida cruises left to be waiting for.

I prefer the website.

Some good sale prices on CocoCay cabanas popped up. Saw the same thing on Allure in October. Too bad it’s not a family cruise. Is it too late to start a gofundme? We could share it with @GatorCruiser's family.

Seems like entertainment is now opening 2 months before your cruise month instead of 1 like it has been for a while. Seeing reports of this for multiple ships.

At which point you can at least do the bar code trick to find your cabin before it is officially assigned (usually). For those unfamiliar... Bar Code Trick Method 1. If you have an Apple device, add your set sail pass to your Apple wallet. Numbers will now appear under your bar code. The numbers after the dash represent your cabin. Method 2. Scan the bar code with a QR scanner from another device and that should also show you the numbers. NOTE: If you see "GTY" instead of numbers, you truly haven't been assigned yet. One tip off is that if you don't see a muster station on your set sail pass then you almost definitely don't have an assignment yet.

Wait, slow down, hold on a minute... Did someone boarding her dream suite in like 2 hours just complain about lack of a restaurant? It gives you something to look forward to (plus it's on Utopia as well). But if you wanna be jealous of me b/c I will will be eating there in 9 days and on my next 6 cruises... I'll allow it.

Me either.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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).

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.

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!

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. 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.

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!

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.