Day 2: Nassau, Bahamas
We ordered in room service (complimentary/continental) this morning since my wife was motivated by our friends and headed down to the gym around 6:30am. I decided instead to walk round the ship and take shots of the pool deck, etc.
OK, here is the first photo dump of the upper decks of Wonder…
Some pics of El Loco Fresh and Cantina Fresca…
Heading to bed… absolutely exhausted! Will finish Day 2 tomorrow (or is it technically today? 😃
Today (it’s 12:30am), we visit CocoCay!
Goodnight everyone!
Great pictures and descriptions! I’m really enjoying your blog as we’re sailing on Wonder from Port Canaveral next Sunday, our first RC cruise!! Enjoy the rest of the cruise
Great pictures and descriptions! I’m really enjoying your blog as we’re sailing on Wonder from Port Canaveral next Sunday, our first RC cruise!! Enjoy the rest of the cruise
DAY 1: Embarkation Day (Port Canaveral)
Hi everyone! Wow, busy first day as usual! Everyone else has hit the hay except for me.
I’m sitting outside on our CP balcony and enjoying the light breeze that’s passing through Central Park. CP is still busy on this first evening. The musicians stopped playing less than an hour ago and many folks are still enjoying the park. I love the evening since the balconies are more private since there are no balcony lights. I do not see a single person out on their balcony across the park from us. Maybe many of them are going to the ballon drop.
Now back to this morning… we ate breakfast in the hotel and checked out. We booked the shuttle to the port through the hotel. It completes the loop of terminals on our side of the port. First we stopped at the Carnival terminal to drop folks off for the Mardi Gras, then we headed to Terminal 1 for our sailing. I believe the final drop off for this shuttle was the NCL terminal for the Escape.
Just some random shots heading to the terminal…
Let me tell you this was the easiest boarding we’ve ever had to date! The shuttle bus dropped us off and the baggage porters immediately greeted us as we exited the bus to collect the luggage. We arrived at the terminal about 20 minutes early around 10:10am. We have the Key and we also selected the earliest boarding window of 10:30am-11:00am.
At the entrance there was signage for the Key guests. We entered the “line” (only us, no other passengers ahead of us) and promptly went through security. Next, we were directed to lines dedicated to the Key for Royal’s check-in process which literally took about 3-4 minutes. The waiting area is adjacent to the check-in and we were told to walk to the Key waiting area. As we approached the area, they had already started boarding the suite and Key guests so they directed us to just walk right through and board. We never had to wait on a line and were on the ship and in the promenade at 10:20am before our scheduled boarding time! Literally, 10 minutes from baggage porter outside the shuttle bus to entering the Royal Promenade! Very good timing and very smooth process for sure!
We headed to the Key check-in desk located at Deck 4 of the MDR. Checked in and dropped off our carry-ons for delivery to our stateroom. The Key lunch was scheduled from 11:00am-1:30pm. Since we had some time to kill, we headed up to Central Park and stopped in Chops Grille to make our specialty dining package (3-night) reservations. So easy… no line once again. We booked Hooked for tonight, 150 Central Park for Day 4, and Giovanni’s for Day 5. We may book Izumi for lunch on the last day… we’ll see!
Our friends had to take care of something at Guest Services, so we all agreed to meet back at the MDR for the Key lunch at 11:30am. Lunch was the typical Key menu…
I ordered the Wild Mushroom soup, Angus Filet Mignon, and Mac & Cheese and Mashed Potatoes. For dessert, I ordered the cheesecake.
The soup was excellent as usual. The filet was good, but not as good as in the past. This is our third time with the Key. First, back in 2019 (Allure) when it was actually held in Chops. That of course was the best experience all around. Back in FEB 2022 (Odyssey) we had it for the first time in the MDR, but were wowed and felt it was just as good! This time, the filet was not quite hot enough (had cooled before serving)… the waiter brought broccoli instead of mashed potatoes and the mac & cheese was luke warm to cool. We believe the waiter was relatively new and there also was somewhat of a language barrier as he had difficulty understanding most of us. The cheesecake was excellent of course! Overall, most of the group’s food was good, but I was not overly impressed this time around.
During lunch, we completed 2 of the 3 steps for the muster drill. After we finished eating we headed to our muster stations to check in and complete the drill. We headed back to the Royal Promenade to walk round and kill time before the staterooms were ready. Around 1:00pm or so, the announcement was made and we headed back to our staterooms. Our Key carry-ons were on the bed waiting for us, but our luggage had not been delivered just yet. Eventually, they were delivered to our deck, but the bags were left about 10 cabins away down the hall.
Some random shots…
Some pics taken from our CP balconies on Deck 11 above Giovanni’s and across from the Park Cafe…
After unpacking we headed to the aft of the ship, had a few drinks from the Wipeout Bar, and waited for sail away. Some more shots from our vantage point including the port, Grill’s Restaurant (where we had lunch yesterday) and the Carnival Freedom, NCL Escape, and Disney Fantasy heading out… the Mardi Gras was on the other side and departed before us…
With the setting of the sun, I need to go to bed as it’s now 1:00am! The lights in CP just dimmed to the overnight light levels.
We’re getting up very early tomorrow… Christine is going to the gym with her friends. I may wander the ship and try to complete Day 1 tomorrow morning!
Have a good night if you’re still awake like me! 😆
Check the app 30-45 days prior to sailing and see if the shows are showing up to be reserved. This feature just came back recently.
My Time Dining is for the main dining room. If you're on My Time you can make a reservation or you can show up as a walk-in and wait in line. The other dining types is Early and Late dining where you will have a fixed time and an assigned table to eat at in the main dining room every night.
It’s our first cruise with Royal Caribbean (so excited!), so not sure how some things work. For example, when can we make reservations to the Broadway show? Is it only when we’re on board? Also, not sure I understand the ‘My time dining’: is that for the buffet restaurant or for another restaurant? Any help or tips much appreciated!
Ana got a reaction from JohnK6404 in We've Come Full Circle - Wonder to Wonder! 1/7/23-1/15/23 (8-Night)
Ana got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in We've Come Full Circle - Wonder to Wonder! 1/7/23-1/15/23 (8-Night)