Last Summer we joined Wonder of the Seas for her inaugural season sailing around the Mediterranean. We flew to Barcelona and boarded what is currently the world’s biggest cruise ship, along with some 6,000 other passengers from across the world. The boarding process, considering there were such an enormous number of passengers, was really smooth and we were on board in a short space of time. We had time to explore before finding our Balcony Stateroom, as the bags were being processed and would appear in due course (1 to 2 hours).
Now, having been on several Royal Caribbean ships before, I will say the layout and the restaurants and cafes are all very familiar. This can be very comforting as you know what to expect. However, some might say this is a bit predictable and they would like a change or a surprise? I suspect Royal Caribbean know their market demographic and play to that, i.e., give the people what they want.
A quiet lunch
So, once boarded we joined the rush to lunch. There was, of course, no need to rush as the food would not run out anytime soon! Instead of attending the Windjammer buffet crush we opted to have a lighter lunch of pizza, cake and coffee at Sorrento’s and the Café Promenade on the Royal Promenade. This is effectively the heart of the ship and here you can spend some time having a light lunch or a snack or drink at your leisure. For us, cruising is all about relaxing, visiting nice places and spending time together. While the teenagers went off to explore and discover new and interesting things to eat, we sat and took our time over a nice coffee from the Starbucks stand further down Royal Promenade and did some people watching.
The Stateroom
We arrived at our stateroom to find our bags waiting and we quickly unpacked. The cabin/stateroom was a little snug for four people (two adults and two teenagers) but hey, what can you do! We did have a balcony as well. Although – I must say a design flaw here is that when the sofa bed has been converted to an additional bed for the night it is difficult to clamber over it and make use of the balcony if you want a quiet secluded drink watching the sunset. You can’t access any of the drawers/cupboards at the foot of the bed either, as they are blocked in by the mattress. This aside, the cabin was comfortable and well equipped.
We were well looked after and the staff are some of the best trained you will encounter on a cruise ship. The Royal Caribbean training program is one of the best.
Time for dinner
Royal Caribbean have a good dining arrangement. We had Anytime Dining and this effectively meant a table was waiting for us whenever we needed it from about 5:30pm on. If we had a show to attend, we could dine early with no problems. The food on nights 1 and 2 was really good. The waiting staff were very attentive. There was no problem if you wanted seconds or even thirds! But, being a cruise ship, you are never going to be hungry.
The formality of the dining is minimal. You can mostly dress as you please, but there could be occasions when a lounge suit or a dinner jacket were more appropriate.
Some desserts worthy of a photo …
I must admit, after three days of formal dining we noticed a dip in the food quality (uncooked vegetables, overcooked steaks etc). So we ran for it and ate at the Windjammer and the Sports Bar. The Sports Bar serves immense quantities of food … the amount that puts you off before you’ve even take a bite! You really need the services of a competitive eating champion to help with the quantity of food you are served (there were a lot of nachos and immense burgers)!
The Shows
Royal Caribbean has some well-produced shows with very talented professionals in them.
The ice skating was incredible – we all really enjoyed that.
The water/diving show was very impressive, though lacked a story.
The magic/comedy show however, we found difficult to enjoy as the personality was trying to conduct the show in two languages, English and Spanish. We left the show after 10 minutes and went for a drink instead. It was not for us. There are a lot of very fine shows onboard especially in the smaller venues, both music and comedy.
Quiet places
There comes a time when you need a little seclusion, especially when the ship can carry over 6,000 passengers. But where do you go to have a little time to yourself or a quiet coffee and cake? Well on Wonder of the Seas you have Central Park, and this can be surprisingly quiet in the middle of the day with some nice breezes to keep you cool. Check it out for secluded nooks and crannies with comfortable seating. We frequently grabbed a coffee from Park Café and found a quiet table to play backgammon for a couple of hours; we hardly saw another soul.
The Card Room can also be good for playing games or for some quiet reading.
A tip for breakfast is to avoid the Windjammer and go to the Park Café where you can get a decent selection of pastries for breakfast and some good coffee. The Park Café is also a good lunch spot, where you can get the famous beef sandwich with jus. Very nice. Tracey preferred the Café Promenade, which is a little busier but can be nice to sit and watch the world go by (she loves people watching). But you can find your own favourites!
For the more active
Oh where do you start? There’s something for every adrenaline junkie on board Wonder of the Seas. Ziplines, climbing walls, surfing, golf, a court for basketball/football, water slides, helter skelters that drop many decks from top to bottom. Here’s a gallery of a few of these activities.
There’s also a very well-equipped gym that Toby used daily.
Teen Zone
We have no photos of these areas, as they were always busy. But there are two areas for older teenagers. One of them is an outdoors ‘Big Brother’-like area, with hot tub, DJ decks and lots of casual seating. Strictly no adults. There is also a gaming room. However, neither room (when Millie and Toby visited) was supervised … and because of this there were no activities to get the kids interacting with each other.
You tended to stick with people you already knew, which is a shame as a cruise is a perfect opportunity to meet people from different countries. Even though these ‘children’ are 14 years old upwards, a structured programme of activities and events would have been good to help break the ice and get them talking to each other!
Excursions
A cruise is a floating hotel that takes you to exciting places. You wake up each day in a new place ready to explore. We chose not to get off Wonder of the Seas at every port we stopped at.
Pisa
However we did take an excursion to Pisa to see the leaning tower and wander around the town. It was well organised, until the end, when the tour guide failed to show at the collection point and we had a frantic few minutes finding our way back to the coach! It was also incredibly hot.
In Southern Europe make sure you have sunscreen, a hat and water. The market in Pisa was very good for souvenirs and the vendors were not pushy or aggressive.
Rome
On the next excursion we went to Rome on a private tour. This was also well organised and the tour guide we had was fantastic. On a Rome tour get a dedicated tour guide as otherwise you will miss so much. A side note about beggars/vendors in Rome. They can be very demanding. I fell foul of a scam where they put a bracelet in my hand and say it is free. You try to give it back, but they won’t accept it – and when you walk off they demand money for it. The tour guide was with us and got flustered by the stance of this beggar. Eventually we got away but it could have easily been a Carabinieri matter.
Rome is fabulous. The statues, the fountains, the churches and the Vatican and you must see it all. There are some fantastic sandwich shops and the gelato is absolutely delicious. Definitely visit Rome. Have a toilet break before you go but also take the advice of your guide as he/she will know where the best places are for everything!
Naples
At Naples, the city is a bit frantic. Go on a ship organised tour to see Pompei is our advice. Taxi drivers, of which there are thousands at the port, will try to fleece you. So here, stick to the ship organised tour! Naples used to be the perfect port for just walking off the ship and exploring – but it has changed so much. It’s so busy now. If you manage to get beyond the taxi drivers, be careful you don’t get run over by the endless traffic. It was way too chaotic for us, so we quickly returned to the ship.
Final thoughts
The Wonder of the Seas is the complete package. The cruise experience is quite full on, but if you take time to relax too you are certain to have a nice time. Wonder of the Seas isn’t a floating hotel. It’s a floating resort. It caters for everyone. You will easily walk your 10,000 steps each day without needing to use a treadmill! And do you know what, you would never have guessed the ship was running at full capacity – we found quiet places where at times we felt we were the only passengers on board.
Don’t be put off by the record-breaking statistics of this ship – go and explore it yourself, wherever it may be sailing in the world.
