Anniversary Tales – Episode XXI: From Galaxy’s Edge to the Wondrous Seas – WN 7/23/23 – 7/30/23

[GregD]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Going to spend the rest of the afternoon chilling out on our balcony. Trying to soak it up the best we can. I adore this view from the back of the ship. I can totally see why people love these Aqua Theatre suites now…

Shhhhhh, don’t let our secrets out!!

[Sweety]

Thank you for the food reviews. Mason Jar is high on my list. I might get a cruise on Wonder. Need to break in the new credit card.

[Sweety]

On 7/26/2023 at 7:16 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

OOOO That's a shirt I would love to give to my son-in-law!  LOL  It's perfect!

I got my shirts. Thank you for sharing.

[Lovetocruise2002]

50 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I’m more concerned with food strategy than photo strategy

I am really beginning to see that

40 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Are you still #TeamDeck17 given the choice?

I will let you know my final thoughts tomorrow

[Lovetocruise2002]

19 minutes ago, Sweety said:

Mason Jar is high on my list.

It’s going to be on Utopia too. I remember you said you booked that.

[MLH]

7 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

This is true. Even for genies. The short turn around is hard for all of them because now you are doing 2 turn arounds per week instead of 1. It will be interesting to see who goes to Utopia because of that. Many here on Wonder are headed to Icon. Again, they are taking the best. 

Not only turnarounds but double communication and planning each week with new  families.  I agree there will be some new genies on  utopia.  We are booked in Star for the inaugural so we will see.

[Lovetocruise2002]

57 minutes ago, MLH said:

Not only turnarounds but double communication and planning each week with new  families.  I agree there will be some new genies on  utopia.  We are booked in Star for the inaugural so we will see.

Exactly. It will be interesting to see which genies stay on Allure when she makes the switch to 3/4 night sailings 

[asquared17]

TRUFFLES

my one true love (besides cruising, of course!)

[MamaShark]

@Lovetocruise2002 i’m a little behind, but Happy Anniversary! Perfect timing for Royal Up, especially genie magic navigating this sort-of-a-different ship. There’s a lot about the Wonder that peaks my curiosity and as always your blog gives tons of insight. Now we know what happened to Ricky Matthews. He is HYPE+

Curious about the energy level on Wonder —in general.  Did you make any opinions or comparisons between the four Oasis Class ships and the Wonder? My guess is that this rendezvous on Wonder ATS won’t sway those of us with #teamdeck17 fever! With so many CK crew favorites transplanted on Wonder, maybe #teamdeck18 will also become a thing. Btw, about deck 18… hmmm?

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 minutes ago, MamaShark said:

i’m a little behind, but Happy Anniversary! Perfect timing for Royal Up, especially genie magic navigating this sort-of-a-different ship. There’s a lot about the Wonder that peaks my curiosity and as always your blog gives tons of insight. Now we know what happened to Ricky Matthews. He is HYPE+

Thank you! And yes, we loved sailing with Ricky Matthews again. He is hilarious. Definitely one of the better CDs that Royal has. I will let you know all my final thoughts tomorrow.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Last night on board…dinner back at Giovanni’s. Already in food coma status, we stuck with our favourites tonight. Excellent dinner as with all meals on this ship. Not a single complaint. 

After dinner, we headed back to the room to pack. That is our routine, no packing until we’ve enjoyed our last dinner. Anyway, when we got back, Intense was going on again (must have been an additional show because it was not on the original line up of shows tonight). Hubby decided he wanted one more round from Sugar Beach and I watched Intense one last time from our balcony. 

Now packed and headed to bed. Praying that we have a boring, uneventful travel day tomorrow back home.

We already said our goodbyes to Hannah because she is leaving the ship tomorrow as well and the plan is that Nityam will walk us off. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Final onboard account:

This, combined with our $0.77 win from our casino free play and we walk off the ship $1.82 richer! Darn! We really need to keep our day jobs.

[MamaShark]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Thank you! And yes, we loved sailing with Ricky Matthews again. He is hilarious. Definitely one of the better CDs that Royal has. I will let you know all my final thoughts tomorrow.

@Lovetocruise2002  YES please -safe UNREMARKABLE travels! I’m sure the girls will be so thrilled to have you home that they won’t take your social media privileges for posting a “cringey” hand heart picture. No more boudoir pics of you and Justin at least until the blog is complete. Jk

[OCSC Mike]

Wishing you guys safe, uneventful travels home!

Thanks for sharing! I aspire to make my own future semi-live blogs more concise & less wordy like you & Neesa manage to do.

[Sweety]

May you have a safe and peaceful journey home. Thank you for your reviews on Mason Jar.

[bellemiche]

Safe travels and praying for no disruptions! 

[Neesa]

What a wonderful blog....again. Thank you so much for taking us with you. Have an uneventful and safe day of travel. I am so happy your trip on the Wonder was so joyful! Can't wait for your next adventure!!

[WannaCruise]

Great live blog as always.  Thanks for taking us along.  You really make Wonder seems wonderful (couldn't resist ) so glad  and you both had an amazing anniversary cruise.  Safe, and uneventful flight home.

[tonyfsu21]

8 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Final onboard account:

This, combined with our $0.77 win from our casino free play and we walk off the ship $1.82 richer! Darn! We really need to keep our day jobs.

This is awesome! I’ve never been so lucky to see a bill like this after 7 days.

[Lovetocruise2002]

10 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

This is awesome! I’ve never been so lucky to see a bill like this after 7 days.

We started with some pretty good OBC

[Lovetocruise2002]

Nityam picked us up at 7:45am. From elevator to curb 10 minutes. Very smooth. 5 mins wait to catch Lyft. Now on the way to MCO. LyftXL is $115.78. Flight is on time at the moment, plane coming in from DTW is boarding

[WannaCruise]

I don't know Detroit but it's a nice sunny day over here where you are returning.  Fingers crossed.

[Lovetocruise2002]

We are now all settled and at the gate. Boarding starts at 11:39am so we have about 2 hours to spare. Pretty comfortable. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Some final thoughts….

Wonder, the ship itself, is awesome! They took the best features from sister Oasis class ships and added some really nice additions to it. The ones that stand out the most to me are Deck 17/18 suites area and the Mason Jar. We really enjoyed this sailing. The service in all venues was a 10/10. Not really a single complaint on that front. 

Some things that we did not care for are complaints that others have already mentioned. Getting an elevator was terrible, they need to do a better job keeping the doors closed to Deck 17/18, and Wonder seems to draw a lot of kids (and remember that we normally sail this time of the year) and really large groups, so people need to parent their kids better, or Royal needs better security or something on Wonder.

This week we witnessed so many kids unsupervised, running crazy in the halls and elevators. There was even a group of young kids under 10 pretending they were the Tap Factory/Intense cast, doing all sorts of flips and maneuvers in the middle of the Bionic Bar (with no adult in sight). That is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Teens were rude to elderly people in the elevators, just not nice things to see from younger generations.

[Lovetocruise2002]

The ATS…

As many of you know, this was our first time trying the ATS. We have long wondered about this room, many love it, and we were so thankful that we had the opportunity to try it. We were saying at dinner last night how grateful we were to get this Royal Up, as it allowed us the opportunity to fully experience all the venues on this ship, especially specialty. 

The room is great for families. Even if we had our girls with us, there would have been plenty of space. 6 would make it tight; and I would not recommend 8 in this cabin, even though it can hold 8 max. 

What others have said is true, the views make this room worth it. IMO, there is definitely no better views from any other  cabin on this class of ship. It is great for people watching as well, and the wrap around balcony gives you privacy if you so choose. 

The floor to ceiling windows in these ATS rooms on Wonder (and Symphony), eventually Utopia, are much better that the older ones on the first 3 OA class. It opens up the room more and the view is way better from the inside. 

The location of the ATS (Deck 8, 9, 10) allows you to use the stairs more easily. That came in handy this sailing because it was so hard to get an elevator. 

Downside of this room…

As @WAAAYTOOO has already mentioned, the bathrooms are not impressive at all compared to other star cabins. It is a bit of a walk, but we did not mind that at all. And of course, it lacks the “wow”‘factor of the lofts. 

The location of these cabins makes it a bit harder to hang out in the suites area. I found that we did not spend as much time there (lounge/sun deck) this week as we normally do. You also lose a bit of the exclusivity of being Sky or Star because the location is so far removed from those areas.

Our final thoughts, we are still #teamDeck17/18, however, given the right opportunity, depending on which ship, and price, we don’t mind this room as well, especially if we had the girls with us. 
 

 

[Geezer Of The Seas]

10 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

 

Wonder seems to draw a lot of kids (and remember that we normally sail this time of the year) and really large groups, so people need to parent their kids better, or Royal needs better security or something on Wonder.

This week we witnessed so many kids unsupervised, running crazy in the halls and elevators. There was even a group of young kids under 10 pretending they were the Tap Factory/Intense cast, doing all sorts of flips and maneuvers in the middle of the Bionic Bar (with no adult in sight). That is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Teens were rude to elderly people in the elevators, just not nice things to see from younger generations.

Sadly, the direction our species is heading, no respect, all about "me". It's not just Wonder (same bad behavior on Jewel Thanksgiving 2022 trip, just less of it), it's just more noticeable on Wonder. On our 7 day trip in April, never spent a minute at the main pool area. Too many people, too much dumped soft serve on the deck, too many drinks in the pool, generally not an enjoyable environment. I did go to the 'leper colony' a few nights around 9 or so to enjoy a cigar and a nightcap. That was relaxing.

Then there was the toddler roaming the pool deck one night, absolutely no parent in sight. A woman gathered her up and took her to a crew member. The parents?  At the pool bar. Told Security they told the girl who could not have been more than 3 to go to the Windjammer for ice cream & "knew where she was". Only problem, Windjammer was closed. Thankfully, the pool was being covered for the night at the time.

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Star class on Wonder…

I feel like it is hard for me to analyze this one because there was only two of us this time. Everything is easier with two people.

Anyway, this has been a very positive star class experience on this ship. It has been pretty standard with other star sailings we have had since the pandemic restart. Priority lines on the Flowrider are a thing of the past, being replaced by a star session on one of the sea day mornings. Ours was at 9am this sailing. There is still priority for other activities. 

This sailing it did not seem as restrictive as star on Harmony a few months ago, but that could have been because we had 10 in the party instead of 2. 

[OCSC Mike]

14 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The location of the ATS (Deck 8, 9, 10) allows you to use the stairs more easily. That came in handy this sailing because it was so hard to get an elevator.

Since the suite talk is mostly over my head, lol (yes, I know, I was actually in a Wonder GS last month but that's an anomaly), I'll chime in here...

That's exactly why decks 9-11 are our preferred decks on Oasis class and where we'll be on the 4 Wonder cruises we have booked. I'm easily pleased and too busy enjoying my cruise to complain about much but the crowded elevators make my short list. Being able to walk both up or down to the locations we frequent without it feeling like a mountain hike solves that issue.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Our Genie, Hannah

Hannah has been a genie for a few years. She trained on Oasis with Israel (Izzy), the went to Ovation, and she has been on Wonder since the start. She is from the UK, and she was very organized, personable, and never appeared stressed or frazzled. 

Hannah was perfect for us this cruise. She arranged everything that we asked for, moved some things around at the last minute with no issues, and she was very attentive. We knew it was a good sign already when we boarded last Sunday and she sat with us in our room for about half and hour just chatting. Everything that we asked her for this week was done quickly and efficiently. 

Every day she met us at all venues and she not only walked us in, but she always took the time to chat. We treasured those chats and getting to know her more. She is definitely a bit more reserved than some of the other genies we have had, but we really enjoyed our week with Hannah. 

She is going home to the UK today and she will be back on Wonder some time in September. 
 

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

That's exactly why decks 9-11 are our preferred decks on Oasis class

Before we fell into the “suites trap” we always booked Deck 8-12 as well. Mid ship, good central to everything. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

I think that sums it up. I cannot really think of anything else. Please chime in or ask away if there is something I have not answered, or said I would answer but forgot lol 

Thank you all for following our journey, it makes it way more fun to have you all with us. 

Leaving you with one final view of that beautiful balcony

[Geezer Of The Seas]

7 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Before we fell into the “suites trap” we always booked Deck 8-12 as well. Mid ship, good central to everything. 

That's been our booking strategy since we've been 'infected' with the cruise virus. It paid dividends on Wonder, especially with the constant chaos of the elevators. Less than fatal stair climb going up, a breeze going down from Deck 9. We did the walkaround of the entire ship on Deck 5 on a sea day. Felt like we walked from St Maarten back to Port Canaveral, but it got me and my decrepit, surgically altered back in shape for shore excursions. 

[SweetPea]

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on the ATS. Batman (to my utter chagrin) is NOT a fan of the Lofts. Given the choice of an A1 or SL on Symphony next year, he immediately chose the A1. This was despite my efforts to replay videos of the bathrooms in both suites.  His arguments were for 1) a snoring room for those nights where we've eaten or drank a bit too much 2) no stairs 3) the perfect balcony 4) no stairs .....

The 'no stairs' makes no sense to me either so i do welcome any commiseration.

Regardless, you had the perfect trip and it was so serendipitous that your RU came though. You made the most of it and i enjoyed following along. Thanks for letting us come along!

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 minute ago, SweetPea said:

a snoring room

Hubby got booted too for that reason a few nights! 

[LandstromCruise]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

 

 

 

If I ever get the pleasure of staying in one of these rooms this is what I will be doing a lot of. I love this view. So relaxing listening to the ocean and seeing nothing but the wake and horizon. 

[LandstromCruise]

Thanks for sharing your amazing anniversary trip with us!  Safe travels home. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

We are on board! That is a good sign. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

23 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

The 'no stairs' makes no sense to me either so i do welcome any commiseration.

Sorry. You'll get no concurrence from me on this one.  I'm with Batman.  No stairs is heaven.  ...the long walk aft, however, diminishes the lack of stairs' utility.  UGH.

[Lovetocruise2002]

29 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

...the long walk aft, however, diminishes the lack of stairs' utility.  UGH.

For me it was those trays in the hallway

[CravingaCruise]

Thanks for taking us along on your anniversary trip!  I’ve been out of the cruise mindset for months with two daughters about to be married off and it was nice to reconnect with sea life again. The ocean brings me so much peace and pleasure!

We determined a few years back that I would be very happy with one cruise each quarter but since then we got caught up in the suite trap and it thwarted our plans (our vacation budget was being spent on star class instead of multiple cruises).  We do tend to lean toward quality over quantity, so I suppose that is fitting for our life choices.  I just wish that our vacation budget was a little bigger!  Don’t we all, right?

This was a nice gap filler for me since our next cruise isn’t until October. 

Safe and uneventful travels home!!