Brett B

I am aboard Wonder of the Seas with my family this week, and for some reason I was thinking back to when we first started sailing back in 2007.  Our kids were young when we first sailed on Freedom, and like may parents we were concerned (and frankly uneducated) on door locks and balcony safety.  For parents looking to travel with young kids, I took some photos to help you understand the backing door locks and balcony railing for Wonder (which I think is consistent with at least Freedom and newer vessels).
Please note my numbers are ESTIMATES
First, the balcony door has a manual lock apx 5.5’ up high.  When engaged, a lever is inserted into the door and the door between the stateroom and the balcony will not open.  See image 1 and 2
Secondly, in image 3, the balcony height itself is pretty high at about 4’.  A child certainly could use a balcony chair to help get up higher, which is why not leaving children unattended combined with the interior door lock to the balcony are the best tools for momentary lapses (like being in the shower).
I hope parents with little one’s fine this helpful.
BTW- Wonder is amazing.  So many wonderful upgrades from the other Oasis ships. It’s our second time onboard, and they also greatly improved the water show Intense, and the show the Effectors II is also wonderful! 

I am aboard Wonder of the Seas with my family this week, and for some reason I was thinking back to when we first started sailing back in 2007.  Our kids were young when we first sailed on Freedom, and like may parents we were concerned (and frankly uneducated) on door locks and balcony safety.  For parents looking to travel with young kids, I took some photos to help you understand the backing door locks and balcony railing for Wonder (which I think is consistent with at least Freedom and newer vessels).
Please note my numbers are ESTIMATES
First, the balcony door has a manual lock apx 5.5’ up high.  When engaged, a lever is inserted into the door and the door between the stateroom and the balcony will not open.  See image 1 and 2
Secondly, in image 3, the balcony height itself is pretty high at about 4’.  A child certainly could use a balcony chair to help get up higher, which is why not leaving children unattended combined with the interior door lock to the balcony are the best tools for momentary lapses (like being in the shower).
I hope parents with little one’s fine this helpful.
BTW- Wonder is amazing.  So many wonderful upgrades from the other Oasis ships. It’s our second time onboard, and they also greatly improved the water show Intense, and the show the Effectors II is also wonderful! 

I am aboard Wonder of the Seas with my family this week, and for some reason I was thinking back to when we first started sailing back in 2007.  Our kids were young when we first sailed on Freedom, and like may parents we were concerned (and frankly uneducated) on door locks and balcony safety.  For parents looking to travel with young kids, I took some photos to help you understand the backing door locks and balcony railing for Wonder (which I think is consistent with at least Freedom and newer vessels).
Please note my numbers are ESTIMATES
First, the balcony door has a manual lock apx 5.5’ up high.  When engaged, a lever is inserted into the door and the door between the stateroom and the balcony will not open.  See image 1 and 2
Secondly, in image 3, the balcony height itself is pretty high at about 4’.  A child certainly could use a balcony chair to help get up higher, which is why not leaving children unattended combined with the interior door lock to the balcony are the best tools for momentary lapses (like being in the shower).
I hope parents with little one’s fine this helpful.
BTW- Wonder is amazing.  So many wonderful upgrades from the other Oasis ships. It’s our second time onboard, and they also greatly improved the water show Intense, and the show the Effectors II is also wonderful! 

I am aboard Wonder of the Seas with my family this week, and for some reason I was thinking back to when we first started sailing back in 2007.  Our kids were young when we first sailed on Freedom, and like may parents we were concerned (and frankly uneducated) on door locks and balcony safety.  For parents looking to travel with young kids, I took some photos to help you understand the backing door locks and balcony railing for Wonder (which I think is consistent with at least Freedom and newer vessels).
Please note my numbers are ESTIMATES
First, the balcony door has a manual lock apx 5.5’ up high.  When engaged, a lever is inserted into the door and the door between the stateroom and the balcony will not open.  See image 1 and 2
Secondly, in image 3, the balcony height itself is pretty high at about 4’.  A child certainly could use a balcony chair to help get up higher, which is why not leaving children unattended combined with the interior door lock to the balcony are the best tools for momentary lapses (like being in the shower).
I hope parents with little one’s fine this helpful.
BTW- Wonder is amazing.  So many wonderful upgrades from the other Oasis ships. It’s our second time onboard, and they also greatly improved the water show Intense, and the show the Effectors II is also wonderful! 

I am aboard Wonder of the Seas with my family this week, and for some reason I was thinking back to when we first started sailing back in 2007.  Our kids were young when we first sailed on Freedom, and like may parents we were concerned (and frankly uneducated) on door locks and balcony safety.  For parents looking to travel with young kids, I took some photos to help you understand the backing door locks and balcony railing for Wonder (which I think is consistent with at least Freedom and newer vessels).
Please note my numbers are ESTIMATES
First, the balcony door has a manual lock apx 5.5’ up high.  When engaged, a lever is inserted into the door and the door between the stateroom and the balcony will not open.  See image 1 and 2
Secondly, in image 3, the balcony height itself is pretty high at about 4’.  A child certainly could use a balcony chair to help get up higher, which is why not leaving children unattended combined with the interior door lock to the balcony are the best tools for momentary lapses (like being in the shower).
I hope parents with little one’s fine this helpful.
BTW- Wonder is amazing.  So many wonderful upgrades from the other Oasis ships. It’s our second time onboard, and they also greatly improved the water show Intense, and the show the Effectors II is also wonderful! 

I am on wonder of the seas today with two connecting balconies overlooking the boardwalk. Stateroom attendant had no problem opening the glass divider on the balcony 

This is a really interesting topic, thank you everyone for providing your feedback. My son takes a controlled substance so this is great wisdom that in the future we should travel with the original bottle instead of the pill organizer we have been doing in the past just in case this becomes an issue. I never even thought of this being an issue until now!

One more tip on doing the emed Abbott test and my apologies if someone else mentioned this to my messages. 
 
someone did mention do not open the box before the live call which is just on super important. They tell you when to open the box. My tip is about reading the end results. 
The way they phras the question at the end of the test in my opinion is loaded. They will say something like “do you agree there are two pink lines on the test” and if you say “yes” that means you are saying you are positive. If you only see one line which means you are negative, then be clear that you do not see two lines- you only see one line. 
 
I have use the emed test for my last three Cruises, and while they are a little expensive it is super convenient and easy. I typically do it the night before the cruise. I think they are available 24x7

My son has been chatting it up with the film crew and an according to them for the most part everyone there filming our professional actors. But to your point you could be shot in the background. At first I thought the film crew was maybe 50 people but I’m thinking it could be closer to 100 with all the people on equipment.  

@IPetRocksI just realized my kids have retained their cruise compasses form their stateroom.  I will take pictures and get these uploaded (here or somewhere else, not sure of the space or rules) either before I leave or shortly after. 
 
Can anyone please confirm posting the cruise compasses will not put in in violation of any rules here?

Don’t forget you get escorted OFF the boat too with key, which is even better as you can zip right though to immigration. 

Some other fixtures are so unique it’s hard to tell. Also some of them are highly recessed but it appears as the most has moved to LED as best I can tell but someone else correct me on this. 

Yes it’s on the schedule for tonight. I was also on Independence a few weeks ago and it As well – although they did it feel differently on that ship which I did not prefer

I’ve been throwing them away but I’ll try to keep them for the next couple days

This community has been so helpful to me in the past I like to get back whenever I can.
I am currently on Wonder of the Seas. I plan to leave a full review once I get back home, but let me know if you have any questions I could check out while still on board.  I get off Friday (April 15). I can also answer any question specific to Diamond status. 

This community has been so helpful to me in the past I like to get back whenever I can.
I am currently on Wonder of the Seas. I plan to leave a full review once I get back home, but let me know if you have any questions I could check out while still on board.  I get off Friday (April 15). I can also answer any question specific to Diamond status. 

This community has been so helpful to me in the past I like to get back whenever I can.
I am currently on Wonder of the Seas. I plan to leave a full review once I get back home, but let me know if you have any questions I could check out while still on board.  I get off Friday (April 15). I can also answer any question specific to Diamond status. 

I don't think in your case you would receive any meaningful value, unless you want to be connected all four days.  For us there was so much overlap between Diamond, Suite and Key so our main benefits were the welcome lunch, departure breakfast, and internet. 

I was told it was at about 70% capacity which surprised me being thanksgiving week.  I don’t think they are intentionally limiting.
And normally the Nassau stop is a great time to enjoy the boat as most people get off… but it was pretty packed on the ship that day.  My Theory is the requirement that you can’t just get off the book and explore if you have unvaccinated children- you are required to purchase an excursion via RCCL. But that’s just my guess.   Having been to Bahamas so many times, plus vacationed at Atlantas, we prefer to stay onboard that stop. 

OK the muster drill was weird I must say.  I remember being told (or reading somewhere) that what is supposed to happen is you get on the ship, and you have so many hours to visit your muster station and “check in” using the App.  But that’s not what happened.  As soon as we got onboard we were directed to our muster station where an employee was standing there and giving a brief (and I mean BRIEF- like 90 seconds) overview of the life jacket to people in small groups of about 5-10 (or even as small as just your family).  
Since I mentioned the app… it’s worth nothing everyone should DOWNLOAD THE APP BEFORE YOUR CRUISE.  Everything is in the app, it’s so much easier.  

There is no additional cost for the welcome lunch.
The ice skating show was not too crowned on our sailing.  If you haven’t seen it before on Freedom…. Not to be a downer here but it is defiantly my least favorite entertainment across the entire Royal fleet. I found it barely watchable but I hope you enjoy it!
Key members have a logo added to their sea pass card.  And for the special meals they seem to have a paper list they work off as well before admitting you into the lunch or breakfast. 

There is no additional cost for the welcome lunch.
The ice skating show was not too crowned on our sailing.  If you haven’t seen it before on Freedom…. Not to be a downer here but it is defiantly my least favorite entertainment across the entire Royal fleet. I found it barely watchable but I hope you enjoy it!
Key members have a logo added to their sea pass card.  And for the special meals they seem to have a paper list they work off as well before admitting you into the lunch or breakfast. 

OK the muster drill was weird I must say.  I remember being told (or reading somewhere) that what is supposed to happen is you get on the ship, and you have so many hours to visit your muster station and “check in” using the App.  But that’s not what happened.  As soon as we got onboard we were directed to our muster station where an employee was standing there and giving a brief (and I mean BRIEF- like 90 seconds) overview of the life jacket to people in small groups of about 5-10 (or even as small as just your family).  
Since I mentioned the app… it’s worth nothing everyone should DOWNLOAD THE APP BEFORE YOUR CRUISE.  Everything is in the app, it’s so much easier.  

Last week for thanksgiving I sailed on Freedom for a 4 night cruise with my vaccinated wife and daughter, and 11yr old unvaccinated son. 
 
We are diamond members or stayed in an owners suite and also our purchased the “Key” package. 
 
At coco cay we rented a cabana at the beach club, and our kids enjoyed the water park. We stayed on the boat in Nassau.
We also used NextCruise to book Wonder next year. 
 
For those not yet back to sailing yet, ask me anything and I will do my best to and we your questions. 

Last week for thanksgiving I sailed on Freedom for a 4 night cruise with my vaccinated wife and daughter, and 11yr old unvaccinated son. 
 
We are diamond members or stayed in an owners suite and also our purchased the “Key” package. 
 
At coco cay we rented a cabana at the beach club, and our kids enjoyed the water park. We stayed on the boat in Nassau.
We also used NextCruise to book Wonder next year. 
 
For those not yet back to sailing yet, ask me anything and I will do my best to and we your questions.