It's a big ship and there are a LOT of people. They say bigger is better, but I think there is a sweet spot for cruises. We really enjoyed ourselves, but realize that we prefer less people, even if that means sacrificing some amenities. If you have been on ships with less capacity in the past, this will be a big difference for you so have that expectation going in.
The service is second to none on Royal/Celebrity. I've yet to have one bad experience with ANY worker on either line. They are all extremely helpful and they seem willing to go out of their way to ensure you enjoy your time.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embarkation was easy and fast when arriving at noon. During our app check-in the day prior, we were selected for Express Boarding but got through the lines in the same amount of time as our friends who utilized the "regular" boarding.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room staff was amazing - maître d', waiter and assistant waitress.
The food was good, but a touch shy of great compared to Celebrity dining.
The kids enjoyed Sprinkles ice cream by the pool, the hot dogs at Dog House, and Sorrento's.
El Loco Fresh was good for an afternoon bite as long as you expect more TexMex than authentic mexican.
The Windjammer was great for a large selection at breakfast and surprisingly good, juicy burgers at lunch.
The Park Cafe was a nice spot for a quick sandwich or salad to avoid the buffet as well. The roast beef was good and my 11 y.o. son loved when they had the panini grilled cheese available.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
All of the amenities were great, but a little crowded most of the time. The pools were always crowded around the walls with adults chatting and drinking, while the middle of the pool had kids trying to swim. There just isn't enough pool available for the amount of people in my opinion.
My boys enjoyed the Abyss slide, but only once was enough they said.
The rock wall, zipline, basketball courts and ping pong were fine, but expect to wait especially in the morning, evening and on sea days.
We could typically get a putter and ball fairly easily for the 9 hole mini golf course.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I thought the entertainment was fantastic. I unfortunately missed Ronn Lucas, the ventriloquist due to my youngest son not feeling great, but the rest of our party (adults, teens and pre-teens) all LOVED him.
The adult comedy show was above average and enjoyable and the Attic was a fun space on the ship.
The Effectors II: Crash and Burn was cheesy and fun.
365: The Seasons on Ice was fun. I'm not an ice capade or musical guy really, but it was still fun.
I will say that inTENse in the Aqua theater was really cool. The diving, the splashing, the dancing, the acrobatics - it was well done. Beware however that they can and will cancel/postpone the show if the conditions aren't great - high wind, rough sea, etc. We had reserved spots for this show on night 3 of our 7 night cruise. It was rescheduled from night 3 to night 5 due to wind, then again on night 5 it was rescheduled for the final night. Our initial reservations were automatically changed and honored for the rescheduled shows.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
My 14 year old enjoyed the teen center for a quiet place to hang with a buddy. They didn't utilize it a lot, but seemed to enjoy it fine. If you're hoping to sneak in a younger sibling as we were hoping to do, scratch that. Sea Passes are scanned
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is where most cruises I've been on truly shine, and Wonder was no different.
I called Royal Caribbean a few days before our sailing to ensure dinner reservations for our family of 4 and our friends (also family of 4) were together. They assured me they were. When we went to MDR on the first night (My Time with 7:15 reservations) it wasn't clear where to go. Groups 7 or more go up towards the front - there is a queue. When we talked to the maître d', he told us that we were 2 separate reservations. I wasn't mad as he wasn't the one that ensured me we were good, so I asked what could be done to accommodate. No issues whatsoever... Oreste was fantastic. Set us up at an 8 top at the same dinner time for the remainder of the cruise. Could not have been easier or more helpful.
Same for our wait staff. They were both great, learning the kids names over the course of the cruise, learning our drink preferences, chatting with us when they saw us at Windjammer or Sorrento's. They were great.
Customer Service was also helpful in changing our disembarking plans with ZERO issue.
Also, we unfortunately learned that the medical facility was good due to a minor medical issue. Antibiotics issued, $250. Overall not bad considering the circumstances
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Always someone cleaning or straightening up. While typically I don't think this is necessary, I do think it is on a ship of this size with this many people. I never looked around thinking anything was broken, dirty or out of place.
The layout is fine. It's really hard to enjoy the layout too much when there are always a decent amount of people, but the layout is fine.
The only issue I had with the layout is that the casino is right outside the level 4 MDR with no way around other than to go up or down a floor. Makes it interesting with kids and honestly, a couple of times we just all walked through. We did find a workaround going from our cabin on aft level 9 to the MDR on stern level 4 without walking through the casino or cabin corridors... go from 9 down to 8, walk through Central Park, then down to 4.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We have always done balconies, but this was the first time with our boys (14 and 11) and wanted adjoining rooms so we opted for inside cabins. I was surprised honestly that they were not as small as I had worried.
Our room steward was fantastic and kept the room clean and tidy.
We had a small issue with the seal on the bottom of the shower which was fixed IMMEDIATELY.
The room is very dark, which I enjoyed quite a bit, but you obviously get a little more noise as there are people on all sides of your room, as opposed to the balcony where one side is the ocean.
I did enjoy that that I didn't need a separate night light for the bathroom as the light automatically has a night light built in. I did take a small, BATTERY POWERED tea light and put it under the bed. This allowed a very small amount of light on the floor that didn't really brighten the room at all.
Ship tip
Have realistic expectations with this many people - expect a line. You will wait, at least a little bit, for most things. The water slides, rock wall, sports courts and MDR (my time dining) will have a little bit of a wait. Sometimes the wait will be short, sometimes it could take a while. As long as you go in realizing the ship holds 7,000 people, you will have a good time. Due to personal preference, I will go back to the 3,000-ish capacity ships in the future whether it's for a family or couples trip. However, we did enjoy Wonder of the Seas and the staff is great.
We had a later flight out of Orlando, so we opted for a 9:00 disembarkation. We waiting in the MDR as instructed on the app. The line was pretty long, so we kept waiting to be some of the last people off as our transportation wasn't set to arrive until 10:30. Workers came around asking if we were waiting for the line to die down or if we were back-to-backers, but they didn't necessarily rush us off the ship. Being that we weren't in a rush, everything went smoothly and our bags were waiting in the terminal after we got off the ship.
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