Royal Caribbean's new ship, Wonder of the Seas, part 1
Fortunately I have already spent a week on sister ship Symphony of the Seas back in 2018 – her first season in service – so I kind of knew what to expect when I met Wonder, given that they are the same class in Royal Caribbean’s fleet – Oasis class.
As you arrive in Barcelona, you can spot the cruise ships about 10 minutes before you arrive at the port! Wonder of the Seas dwarfed the Regent Seven Seas ship that was docked in front of her! The boarding process was simple, provided you had completed the online check in, in the Royal Caribbean app, prior to arriving at the port. Check in opens 45 days in advance, and you can enter all of your passport information in there. Then the day before, you must complete the health declaration. We did have to arrange a supervised lateral flow test the day before sailing, which meant that on arrival at the port, we queued for no more than 20 minutes – and the only reason it was this long was because there was a problem with my details – typical! But this was quickly resolved and then we were allowed to board.
Once on board – you enter on the Royal Promenade, a fantastic area filled with shops, bars, and eateries and is the main hub of the ship - We found our cabin easily enough via the deck plans located next to the lifts. They even tell you which is the fore and which is the aft of the ship.
Our cabin was the same grade as the previous cabin I had stayed on Symphony so I knew what to expect – luxury furnishings and tasteful décor, with THE most comfortable bed! And I wasn’t disappointed, in fact, the bathroom had a little update with a touch of colour. The tiles around the mirror were very tastefully decorated. In the shower you are provided with a shower gel / shampoo combo. And a bar of soap next to the sink. We had an oceanview balcony stateroom, and the bed can be separated into twins if required. A very comfortable sofa converts into a sofabed if you have a family with children. You have a large tv at the end of your bed on the wall, on which you can find information about what’s on board, where to eat, where to ship, where to be entertained, you can view your onboard account, and you can look at the map which details exactly where you are, the temperature and sea depth! Also in your room are wardrobes with plenty of hangars, a safe, fridge, hairdryer and plenty of USB sockets as well as regular (US) plug sockets. You also have bedside tables (admittedly these are very small, big enough to put a glass of water and your phone) with a couple of shelves underneath for maybe a book or something.
We were hungry so as it was after 2pm already we headed straight up to the Windjammer Marketplace. This is the buffet-style restaurant. Having experienced this on every Royal Caribbean ship I have been on, it is a firm favourite. On our first cruise in 2016 we noticed there was always a staff member directing you to wash your hands before entering, and there would be 4 or 5 sinks to wash your hands at. This is obviously a very important part of cruising now, even more so after Covid, and that is obvious on Wonder. As you enter the Windjammer, the whole of the entrance area is filled with about 20 hand washing stations. It was like walking through a very beautifully furnished bathroom. With no toilets, thankfully.
Once you enter, the Windjammer splits into 2 identical sides of the restaurant. Each side has the same amount of seating, and the same number of food serving stations. With a huge selection of food to choose from, and with a different theme at each meal. The usual staples are there at every meal for the fussy eaters – hot dogs, chips, burgers etc. But if you do like to eat a varied diet you will be impressed. Our first meal was all about seafood. I am not a seafood fan but I didn’t go hungry. On the next serving station was fillet steak, pork chops, vegetables, potatoes… there is always gluten free options, and now they have a whole section devoted to kids. This will have a mixture of healthy foods made to look fun, plus a load of treats as well. You can also make a salad up – just pick up a bowl of salad leaves and you can add whatever dressing and toppings you like. I do like to try a bit of everything so it’s nice just going up and helping yourself to small amounts of the things you want to try.
There is also a drinks section where you can help yourself to iced water, flavoured waters, tea, coffee etc.
Then for dessert there is always a hot options, such as bread and butter pudding with ice cream or custard, or there are a million different miniature dessert options, little cheesecakes, tarts, brownies etc. Delicious! I rolled out of there that day…
After lunch we explored the ship – on the pool deck there are 3 pools, many hot tubs (I lost count), a children’s play area, and 3 fun flumes. Pool towels are free and you can take as many as you like (within reason!). There is also an ice cream stall where a staff member will serve you an ice cream and you can choose from vanilla, chocolate, vanilla and chocolate, I’m trying to remember if there was strawberry, but I can’t!
Also at the top of the ship you have the Flow Rider where you can body board or surf (or rather attempt to!). Up here is where you access the Ultimate Abyss, where you slide (fully clothed, this is not a water slide) from the pool deck down to the Boardwalk several decks below. You can also go on the zip-wire from here across to the opposite side of the ship (over the Boardwalk many decks below!). It’s not very far but it definitely gets the adrenaline going! On Wonder there is a new ‘playscape’ for the children. It’s like a soft play area almost, but outside and has slides and climbing areas. Great for kids up to around age 10 I would say. Always a fun experience is being on the pool deck for the sail away party. They play fun, Caribbean style music and the crew dance while you drink cocktails and sail away into the sunset.
That first evening we watched the Ice Skating show in Studio B where around 13 professional ice skaters put on a spectacular performance in time to music. I would highly recommend. With 13 of them on the ice, and it's not a huge space, I did have a few moments where my heart jumped into my mouth!
Read more in part 2...