A Year of Wonder - Part 1 (Wonder OTS Feb 9-13)

[Lovetocruise2002]

18 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Agree.  Worst AT show by far.

+2 on that point

[CruisingAndy]

DD loves the arcade so that’s where we spent our pre dinner time. Also, shoutout to Hossain. He’s been FANTASTIC so far, especially with DD. She also did some pre dinner karaoke - if she overcomes her shyness, we have a star on our hands . 

Dinner at Gio’s. We went fairly easy this evening. Calamari and caprese for starters. Cheese pizza for DD, alfredo, pomodoro, and seafood linguine for the mains. Don’t hate us… we skipped dessert (hides in shame). 

Currently relaxing at the Schooner Bar (hello, toasted marshmallow old fashioned) in anticipation of watching Intense again, this time from the main section. DD has really enjoyed it and requested to see it again. 
 

 

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

we skipped dessert

 For the love of the cruise gods, someone order the chocolate ravioli!!!

11 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

DD has really enjoyed it and requested to see it again. 

We finally found an audience for InTENse!  She's adorable btw.

[ScottD]

Dinner looked great.. I GUESS we can let the dessert thing slide this time,ha ha.  FIgures the show you guys don't love would be the one thing she wants to do again and again .  It's mini golf when we are on with our son...mini golf all frickin day

[CruisingAndy]

14 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

We finally found an audience for InTENse!  She's adorable btw.

Thank you - and yes completely enthralled…

13 hours ago, ScottD said:

Dinner looked great.. I GUESS we can let the dessert thing slide this time,ha ha.  FIgures the show you guys don't love would be the one thing she wants to do again and again .  It's mini golf when we are on with our son...mini golf all frickin day

Right… the sacrifices we make as parents

Breakfast in CK this morning and currently enjoying the suite sun deck. 
 

 

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

enjoying the suite sun deck

Love that CK and suite deck... compared the huge sample of ONE OTHER to which I've had access, lol.

That said, it seems to be a pretty popular opinion that the change to the suite areas on Wonder/Utopia were a big upgrade over the older O-class ships.

[Southern Dan]

44 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Love that CK and suite deck... compared the huge sample of ONE OTHER to which I've had access, lol.

That said, it seems to be a pretty popular opinion that the change to the suite areas on Wonder/Utopia were a big upgrade over the older O-class ships.

As mentioned in a thread in Gen Discussion, I am going to splurge for a Sky Jr Suite on Wonder in the next few years just to experience the CK/Suite Deck bc it is such a huge upgrade.  
 

Also have to get on Wonder to check out this amazing Aqua show y’all are raving about!!!

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, Southern Dan said:

Also have to get on Wonder to check out this amazing Aqua show y’all are raving about!!!

Noooooooo! 

The ice show is great though.

[Southern Dan]

14 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Noooooooo! 

It’s okay Mike, not everyone can handle the inTENSITY of the Aqua Theater show on Wonder!!!

I loved Hiro on Symphony and am excited for Aqua 2 80’s on Utopia.  I’d like to see the OG on Oasis one day and check out Portside BBQ as well.

How’s the Aqua show on Harmony?

[Lovetocruise2002]

8 minutes ago, Southern Dan said:

It’s okay Mike, not everyone can handle the inTENSITY of the Aqua Theater show on Wonder!!!

I hate to say it, but the aqua show on WN is not intense at all lol

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, Southern Dan said:

How’s the Aqua show on Harmony?

I was last on Harmony in 2022... I'm too old to remember that one, lol. I need to sail ships 4-5x in a row to remember stuff. The story I tell about only sailing from PC is a lie.

[CruisingAndy]

3 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

How’s the Aqua show on Harmony?

Better than Wonder . But personally it’s a close second to the bottom (IMHO). It may also get switched out post amplification. 

 

4 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

That said, it seems to be a pretty popular opinion that the change to the suite areas on Wonder/Utopia were a big upgrade over the older O-class ships.

Yes - it’s so much nicer. I told DH today that in April I’m not planning to leave deck 17/18 except to go to Coco Beach Club. 

Lunch brought us back to CK for my favorite lunch menu. Caprese salad, mozzarella sticks, lobster risotto, flounder, and cheese tortellini. For dessert, Hossain had a cake brought out for DD’s upcoming birthday. He also let us know that he arranged a meet and greet with the cast for her later today. 

 

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

I told DH today that in April I’m not planning to leave deck 17/18 except to go to Coco Beach Club.

Wonder again or Utopia?

7 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

Lunch brought us back to CK for my favorite lunch menu. Caprese salad, mozzarella sticks, lobster risotto, flounder, and cheese tortellini.

The only lunch I remember from CK was amazing ribs but that menu sounds great! My wife would even eat some of those items.

7 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

For dessert, Hossain had a cake brought out for DD’s upcoming birthday. He also let us know that he arranged a meet and greet with the cast for her later today.

I know the cake is a common perk (we got one in CK for my MIL from getting to know the CK manager) but the meet n greet is very thoughtful and pretty cool.

[CruisingAndy]

5 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Wonder again or Utopia?

Wonder. 2026 is all about Wonder for us lol. 

 

5 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

but the meet n greet is very thoughtful and pretty cool.

Agreed. Hossain has truly been incredible. 

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, CruisingAndy said:

2026 is all about Wonder for us lol.

Nothing wrong with that. I only had one non-Wonder cruise between June 2023 and April 2025. 

[GatorCruiser]

Suites on icon class are even better. The grove is awesome. If it wasn’t for some of the other bars around like trellis or 1400 or the coffee bar . I’d never leave the suite area. 

[ScottD]

Love that your daughter is having a great experience! Hope she loved the meet and greet.   

 

[Southern Dan]

A sky jr suite for Icon Class is currently very out of my price range unfortunately so it will be years before I can splurge for that.  It does look super awesome though, maybe in like 10 years.

[CruisingAndy]

I am dying to try sky class on an Icon-class ship for the Grove. But the prices remain insane . 

We had a bit of a rough afternoon. DD’s lack of naps and overall sleep caught up with her. Who doesn’t love public meltdowns with an almost 5 year old!

Meltdowns aside, it was a good evening. It was so wonderful to meet some of the Intense performers and they were wonderful. DD loved it! 

Dinner was Chops. Crispy goat cheese salad (my favorite RC salad), specially request escargot, surf and turf, plus petite filet. Sides were mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, mushrooms, and tater tots. 

DD and MIL are in bed and DH and I are about to watch the Effectors II. 
 

[CruisingAndy]

Our last day has arrived . But enjoying a cocktail on the balcony while DD naps. 

Circling back to last night and this morning. We enjoyed Effectors II. The tech used within the show is incredible and the performers were excellent. I found the show pretty corny and sometimes hard to follow. But overall, I would see it again. 

Breakfast was back in CK. Morning was pool/slide time for DD (plus Sugar Beach ice cream). Lunch at Izumi. Don’t ask me what sushi it was… plus yaki udon (with chicken), gyoza dumplings, spring rolls - DH basically tried to eat the whole restaurant . The food was excellent but possibly the worst service we’ve had at Izumi and on this trip. 

Hoping to squeeze in a few more activities for DD after nap. And then she wants to watch Intense again , and the cast incited her to take a post show picture. Dinner is 150CP. 
 

[OCSC Mike]

25 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

The tech used within the show is incredible and the performers were excellent. I found the show pretty corny

Agree on all counts. We saw it a 2nd time and then really lost interest. The tech was definitely the high point for me and it's clearly geared towards families so I don't fault them for the (sometimes cheesy) superhero theme.

25 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

DH basically tried to eat the whole restaurant

25 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

And then she wants to watch Intense again

Obviously parents do far harder things for the sake of their kids but that's rough.  At least she knows what she likes.

On our first family cruise after my first niece was born (I think she was 3), all she wanted to do was ride the carousel 8 hours/day. 

[CruisingAndy]

21 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

it's clearly geared towards families so I don't fault them for the (sometimes cheesy) superhero theme.

Agreed. More so than most RC shows, they designed this one for families. All good. 

 

21 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Obviously parents do far harder things for the sake of their kids but that's rough.  At least she knows what she likes.

When the performers said, “we have two more shows tomorrow and we’d love for you to come watch. Afterward, you can take a picture with us”, I wanted to jump overboard (kidding). It’s very thoughtful of them. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

20 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

A sky jr suite for Icon Class is currently very out of my price range unfortunately

 

20 hours ago, CruisingAndy said:

I am dying to try sky class on an Icon-class ship for the Grove. But the prices remain insane . 

Consider category VP, the Panoramic Suite. It's full Sky class, no balcony, but being on Deck 16 and 17, you are so close to the Grove, you don't really miss the balcony.

[CruisingAndy]

So the “show” ended up being a rehearsal as they’re bringing on almost an entirely new cast. Again, DD was completely enthralled. A couple of the cast were so kind to take a pic with her afterward. Grateful for them and Hossain. At 150CP now. Pics to come . 
 

[CruisingAndy]

A great last supper tonight at 150CP. Short rib (the only “meh” thing) and scallops for starters. Lobster thermidor and veal medallions for main course. And, of course, the best bread and martini in the fleet. I have some flashback of not loving the veal on Harmony in December but it was excellent tonight. We ended the evening with another cake at 150 and then an ice cream bar in the room. 

All packed up and ready to roll off in the morning! More wrap up and final thoughts tomorrow . 
 

[OCSC Mike]

I'll likely never get to eat at 150CP but looks good, as does that ice cream spread.

At least when you go back in April I won't be as thirsty for food pics, lol. We're exactly 4 weeks out from the March Utopia B2B.

Thanks for sharing and safe travels home!

[CruisingAndy]

Attempting to get picked up from Terminal A this morning is kinda why I don’t love sailing from Miami. Such a cluster. Our driver wasn’t able to go to the bus area (on Monday this wasn’t an issue). So he got redirected and we walked all over the terminal. Fun! After that, easy sailing to the airport and through security. Waiting at our gate for around 90 minutes now. 

We had a great four days this week. This is our first time sailing with DD when we’ve had a genie and I’m trying not to let that skew my perspective, but Hossain was our favorite for that reason. He was so wonderful for all of us, but especially DD. His son is about six months younger than her and I think that made a difference. We’ve enjoyed all of our genies and not had a bad experience, but Hossain would be my top choice if we we were ever sailing star class on the same ship as him. 

The ship, staff, service, etc., were all excellent (save the Izumi experience). We were the deck 10 ATS, which was fine for the four of us. However, with four or more adults I’d prefer deck 9 (or 8 ) with the larger balcony table. The suite lounge and suite deck are so much nicer than the older OA class ships. Genuinely, without DD I could be happy never leaving . 
 

Already counting the days to April and our first Team Deck 17 experience!

[OCSC Mike]

10 minutes ago, CruisingAndy said:

This is our first time sailing with DD when we’ve had a genie and I’m trying not to let that skew my perspective, but Hossain was our favorite for that reason. He was so wonderful for all of us, but especially DD. His son is about six months younger than her and I think that made a difference.

That's awesome. While I'll never get anywhere near Star Class, I did have a similar experience...

We got very close with the CK manager on Wonder when were deck 17 and he was amazing. We ate almost all our meals there that week and he spent so much time at our table it was genie-esque. There were some special requests and some that he just sprung on us or at least offered. In any case, he also showed us pics of his kids back home in India and we also thought that played a roll with our nieces. The younger one has several food allergies and a very limited palate so she just wanted to eat her 3 things at every meal. He made her some sort of simple rice dish that he said he makes for his son at home. It was lost on her and she didn't like that he was "making her" try stuff, lol, but it was a nice touch. He also brought her a pack of pre-packaged cookies that were nut-free to try since desserts/snacks onboard are a little tough to find for her. She liked them and the next day he had like 12 more packs for her.

[Lovetocruise2002]

23 hours ago, CruisingAndy said:

Attempting to get picked up from Terminal A this morning is kinda why I don’t love sailing from Miami. Such a cluster.

That is the worst part about Terminal A! Whenever we disembark from there, we try our best to get out of the curb by no later than 8am. We find that sort of helps a bit. 

[CruisingAndy]

23 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

We got very close with the CK manager on Wonder when were deck 17 and he was amazing.

I don’t remember his name but I’m guessing I know who this is. We had a similar experience on Wonder last February with DD. 

 

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

That is the worst part about Terminal A! Whenever we disembark from there, we try our best to get out of the curb by no later than 8am. We find that sort of helps a bit. 

Might have to try this in April when it’s just the two of us. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, CruisingAndy said:

I don’t remember his name but I’m guessing I know who this is.

His name is Vinay.  @Lovetocruise2002 knows him and we discussed what a waste it was to move him out of CK. He was in CK in June 2023 but we saw him in those other positions in March and June 2024. I would love to hear that he was back in CK for you. Our last Wonder cruise was April 2025 but we didn't see him on that one (and of course didn't have CK access).