Second time on Wonder. 2023 vs 2022

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 158

Review summary

so many I haven't been on, but my wife wanted to take my whole adult family and enjoyed the ship in April of 2022, so we repeated the ship. Itinerary was different, as 2022 was San Juan vs St. Maarten. Both hit Coco and St Thomas. In 2022 the ship was 80% occupied, vs close to a sellout this year. Honestly I couldn't tell any difference. WOS does a good job of spreading folks out, especially on sea days with so many at the main pools (they WERE jammed). But we spent most of our time at the Solarium vs outside. And with the huge amount of kids on this cruise (odd for so late in the spring), the adults only part appealed to us. Not that we don't enjoy children, there just seemed to be a huge amount of babies and toddlers. We made sure to go to multiple activities daily and even enjoyed our first massages (and wife pedicures). Trivia, dance lessons, Abyss, tried them all, even the worst golf course at sea (don't get me started..unplayable). Got the drink card for the first time in years and enjoyed the freedom of trying drinks I might not like. And after hearing those complain about short pours, I never saw it. If anything, several were on the STRONG side. Bar service was very good. As for food, last year we were sadly disappointed in the MDR and only ate at it the first two nights it was so bad. This year we were determined to give it a second chance. While it was ever so slightly better, the choices were fewer. And for the first time, Chops was a disappointment. My ribeye was tender but tasteless. My wife's filet was tough with a vein of gristle. Never had a tough filet onboard. Then had the filet at Giovanni's and it was worse. Tasted like cheap meat. My other family members did enjoy their dinner there and my wife said the lasagna was one of the best she's eaten. Windjammer and Solarium buffets had lesser options than in the past. Few if any carving stations. Lots of burgers. And after being on RCL for years, I even tired of the Sorrento's pizza after the second day. One really bright spot was the Dog House on the Boardwalk. Best bratwursts at sea. Delicious. And the BBQ sliders at Playmakers were excellent. Breakfast at the MDR on 3 was good, even with the morning servers hit or miss on getting your order correct. Far better than the mob at the Windjammer. While the food disappointed for a second year, the entertainment was top notch once again. The aqua show was new from 2022 and was just as good if not better. Tap Factory fun, Effectors good, Ice show always good (if not shorter this year for some reason). Love and Marriage always a hoot. Did NOT enjoy the adult comedians. Both overly dirty and foul with the first guy using the F word more than not. Second guy, while hitting some funny stuff, was very sexual and crass. While many loved it, my whole family left shaking our heads. To each his own I guess. For excursions, my son did Maho Beach and got some fabulous pics with planes literally feet away. The rest of us did the Regatta sailing race. It sounded like something I wouldn't be able to do elsewhere. Great choice. Had a wonderful time, and won the race. Very highly recommended for those who don't mind a bit of exercise while on excursions. After finishing, we walked down the beach to the shops, restaurants and bars of St Maarten. Weren't impressed. Sorta seedy. St Thomas, which we did take an excursion last year to the botanical gardens (nice), we just caught a taxi bus downtown to see what the carnival was like and shop. The carnival was NOTHING like Mardi Gras. It was more like GanjaFest. Lots of stoned and smashed locals weaving up and down the streets and sidewalks. Felt a bit unsafe. Did some shopping and came back early. CocoCay was fun as always. Hit Chill Beach and waded for an hour watching a decent amount of water creatures swimming at our feet. Then went to the pool. Got to pool at 1120 and saw that every, I mean every chair and lounger taken for pretty much the rest of the day. We decided to just sit our stuff by the little alcove with the covered bar top and spent a couple hours there in the pool and shade. Had a great time. Hint, get out of pool and walk back to rear side of pool bar. You'll get served within 2 minutes vs 15 in the water. Getting on and off a breeze. Used GoPort for our hotel and shuttle again. Easy and highly recommended. Orlando airport a cluster on the way back. Tons of flights delayed with little explanation. Ours delayed by 6 hours, missing our connections in Atlanta, costing me $200 for a room overnight. DID stay at the Renaissance Concourse, a cool hotel with balconies literally overlooking the runways. A bit noisy, but fascinating place. Breakfast there was likely my best meal of the week. The Wonder is a "wonderful" ship, but you have to go on it with the expectations of marginal food and tremendous and varied entertainment. I will try a Edge series Celebrity cruise next to see how it compares, especially food. But we still had a wonderful family vacation.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Disembarkation

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