Returning to Royal: Review of Wonder of the Seas

When the pandemic ended, we chose to regain our Royal Caribbean sea legs with Wonder of the Seas. We’d been on other Oasis-class ships, so we had basis for comparison. 

Below are the highlights: 

The shows were energetic. With booming music and singing, fast-paced dancing and extensive use of the huge digital screens, the shows were an adrenaline rush, but may not appeal to an older crowd. “The Effectors II: Cash & Burn” brought to mind a comic book. “Taps Factory” featured tap dancing to a range of contemporary music, relying heavily on drums. 

“Voices” was closer to a traditional production show, with singers and dancers performing familiar songs spanning decades and background vocals displayed on the digital screens. The aqua show, with its unusual all-female cast, included aerial acrobatics, diving, music, lights and splashing water. The ice show was reliably wonderful, showcasing awesome twirls, dips and lifts, with colorful sets and costumes. 

Rehearsal for the aqua show

There were crowds, but empty places too. With 6,000+ vacationers on board, you expect crowds on Oasis ships. Embarkation, debarkation, the buffet and pools on a sea day are when you feel it the most. In the past, we’ve found refuge from the buffet by breakfasting in the usually tranquil Solarium Bistro. Clearly, word has gotten out on this alternative (and free) spot. This trip, food lines were long, the waiters could barely restock fast enough and all seats were taken. 

Central Park was often empty during the day.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of places to find respite from the crowds. Most of the day (not lunchtime), Central Park is an oasis and we enjoyed many a drink at the Trellis Bar without competition. The Diamond Lounge (for loyalty club Diamond and above) during the day was peaceful. And nothing can compare to the serenity of your balcony! 

Breads and such in the Windjammer

The food was a mixed bag. It’s hard to say if this was due to Royal Caribbean’s pandemic-produced debt, or just a Wonder of the Seas thing, but the Windjammer buffet selection was more limited than we’ve experienced on other ships. If your taste bends toward the basic, such as hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, chicken parmesan and carved meats, you’ll be fine. But if you prefer more varied choices, you may be disappointed. Particularly noticeable was the minimal international food options, usually a buffet standout. 

However, the main dining room was a very pleasant surprise. All three dinners we had there lasted 90 minutes or less, a far cry from the two hours or more we were used to on other Royal Caribbean ships. And each meal was decent, particularly the last night of the trip. 

Wonder of the Seas main dining room

Service was consistently terrific. Our room steward was not only efficient and responsive, but friendly, always stopping to chat or smile when he saw us coming. We found the overall service—from the waiters to the bartenders—to be helpful and pleasant.

The loyalty club is better than ever. Not only does Royal Caribbean have the best loyalty club at sea, but the cruise line recently made it even better. Its daily drink vouchers (Diamond and above), now good all day and almost anywhere on the ship, enabled us to sample a greater variety of beverages and check out many more of the bars, which was a trip highlight. 

Tidbits 

Briefly, a few other notable changes: cabin service is down to once a day (you choose morning or evening)…cabin showers have dispensers with a combo body soap/shampoo…the tutti salad bar in the MDR on sea days is no more…printed newsletters are not provided, but your room steward will deliver one each day if 

you ask…for a nifty one-of-a-kind souvenir, consider the Starbucks Wonder of the Seas mug, for sale on the Promenade at, of course, the Starbucks concession. 

Already booked? 

If you’re already booked on Wonder of the Seas, check out “Be in the Know Before You Go” on what you can expect and what you need to do as your trip nears.

Modern Music: A Review of Harmony of the Seas

This is a ship that’s uber up to date—from the tablets stem to stern to the robotic bartenders who shook and served to the WOWbands that ordered drinks to the sea cards that turned on lights. I expected Scotty to beam me from one deck to another.

The robots taking a rest in between drinks

Yet many of the familiar Oasis class ship features are reassuringly still there—the quaint Boardwalk carousel, the serenity of Central Park at night, the “sidewalk café” on the Promenade.

Here, in brief, is my take on what Harmony brought us that’s new, and what it’s kept to ensure it pleases us all:

Better balcony with a “but”

The layout of our balcony stateroom facing the ocean was much improved over its sister ships. The his-and-her closets, set far apart from each other, were a great innovation—no more bobbing and weaving around each other to get dressed.

There’s also much more storage space, with several deep drawers under one closet, and ample shelf space in the other.

The porch furniture was also way better—reclining chairs! Hassocks! At last, naps outside! Thank you, Royal Caribbean!

Reclining chairs and footstools on the balcony--who could ask for anything more?

Here comes the “but”: if you use a night table, forget about it. Harmony has the smallest I’ve ever seen. Anywhere. It’s about a foot wide. And mine was totally consumed by the cabin phone until I shoved it under the bed.

MDR efficiency plus

We had the best My Time Dining experience on any of our 20+ cruises. We ate dinner in the main dining room only on the two formal nights—without reservations—and breezed right in, to a table for two, per our request. On every other ship, these nights meant a 15-20 minute wait for seats—at the least.

The pacing of dinner was the same pleasant surprise—we were out of there in under an hour and a half. It wasn’t only efficient, but our wait staff were friendly and eager to please. On the second formal night, our waitress was distressed when she proactively brought a second helping of lobster tail and I turned it down. Meanwhile, her assistant waiter kept entertaining us with magic tricks.

Whatever the Harmony is doing at dinner, it’s working. The dining experience was memorable (even if the food, alas, was not).

We also did the sea day lunch in the main dining room, where we were excited to see a dessert bar, complete with chocolate fountain. Oh yes, there was the large “Tutti” salad bar, large hot food buffet and superb selection of rolls.

Do a lunch in the MDR on a sea day for a sea of surprises.

The hip ship appeals to all   

It pains me to say this, but for us, the featured aqua show, “The Fine Line,” was a disappointment—a lot of pounding music, flashing lights and water spray— theatrics with just a sprinkling of what we like best—diving, water ballet and acrobatics.

 

Be prepared for loud music, lights and spray--oh, and some diving and acrobatics at the featured show

In fact, we much preferred the add-on afternoon show, “Hideaway Heist” on Day 7, which was much more upbeat and playful, chockful of those aqua events we came for.

 

Good clean fun in the afternoon show--with plenty of diving, water ballet and more

While hip seemed the primary order of the day, there was still plenty to appeal to everyone. “Grease” was high-spirited fun (note: there are some minor plot differences from the movie) and the ice show was as good as any other Oasis ship, with the usual crowd-pleasing lifts, spins and swirls, and colorful, constantly changing costumes.

Love on ice at the "1887: A Journey in Time"

Night music was all over the map—from the cool jazz in Jazz on 4 to classical guitar under the Central Park lights to the ’90s dance party in the Promenade to the older oldies in Dazzles. And Boleros still served up the salsa.

 

The December "supermoon" over the lights of Central Park

Tech touches everything

The techie touches were everywhere. Tablets all over the ship offered the chance to check what’s on your calendar or account status, or find out what’s going on at any given moment (no wi-fi cost). You can access it all through your smartphone, too, by downloading the Royal IQ app from Google Play or Apple App Store.

 

Keep tabs on your tab or plan your day with tablets all over the ship

Sea cards turned on the cabin lights, those who paid a bit extra for a WOWband could use their wrist to pay for drinks or gifts, and some elevator lobbies had experimental screens displaying floor name options instead of up and down buttons. Even Guest Relations was unrecognizable—gone was the opaque barrier between guest and rep. In its place were monitors on a table, so you could watch your rep rebalance from one tired leg to another.

Tap, chill, shake and pour

But the biggest whiz-bang by far were the two robotic bartenders. Clearly recognizing the draw, cushy seats were stationed in front of the gleaming stars in a prominent position on the Promenade. Guests ordered drinks from a tablet, which displayed a menu, complete with drink ingredients, cost (sample price: $14.95) and guest ratings. The orders went into a queue and then the real fun began.

The robotic arm loaded a cup with ice, sucked alcohol from bottles hanging from the ceiling, shook and poured, with each step displayed on a big screen for all to see.

Royal Caribbean does it again

With or without the-future-is-here doodads, the Harmony delivers what RCI is so very good at—a great vacation for everyone. Whether your fancy is climbing the walls, gliding across the ice, hitting the (mini) links, perusing the shops, downing a pint at the pub, surfing the faux waves or staring at the real ones, you’ll find it all and more on this grand new ship.

Musing’s Top Tip: If you have a drink package that covers cocktails, it will also cover the concoctions created by the robotic “bionic” bar. See this link for more info.

Making the Most of Your First Cruise

If you’ve booked your first cruise, you’re probably not quite sure what to expect. But you’ve got a lot invested in this trip and expect a great time. Here are a handful of tips to help ensure you make the most of it:
 
Read, read and read some more. About everything—the ship, the cruising experience, the ports. The more you know, the more you’ll get out of the trip. Be sure to read the forums in cruisecritic.com and other sites (see the posting “Cruising the Web”).
 
Inside or out. Consider an inside or outside room your first trip. Avoiding a balcony room your first cruise is the best way to ensure you get the whole ship experience. We love having a balcony, but it’s so tempting to stay on it at sail-away, on a sunny sea day, coming into port—nearly all the time! Our first trip, we had an outside room and never regretted it. Check out “The Cure for Deck Plan Distress” to help you navigate deck plans and find the right room for your needs.
 
Plan, but don’t plan. You may want to do some planning; for example, if you’re taking the Oasis or Allure of the Seas, you’ll need to schedule your shows before your trip. But you don’t want to plan every minute of your cruise; you may miss out on great spur-of-the-moment experiences.
 

Ice show on the Oasis: worth making plans for

Don’t feel compelled to excursion. For our first visit to San Juan, we booked an excursion. Mistake! The bus trip and Bacardi tour took forever and by the time we got back to town, everything was closing. When the ship sailed away, we knew we were in San Juan, but hadn’t a clue what it looked like.
 
Open for fun. If you got pushed into going, go with an open mind. One of the great things about cruising is that you can have any type of trip you want. Relax or be active. Be social or recluse. Eat to your heart’s content or sweat it out at the gym and spa.
 
Oh-oh. If something goes wrong, know it can happen on any vacation. Try not to judge the whole experience by your one trip.
 
Join in the fun. Some of it may feel silly and may not be to your taste. But getting into the games,

Joining in on the fun at Mardi Gras, Caribbean Princess-style

dancing the disco, singing the karaoke and showing up at the shows will guarantee you a good time. And no worries—you’ll never see your fellow passengers again!
 
Tap the wealth of info around you. Share a table. Seize the moment in a bar. Go to a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle. You can learn a lot by talking to others on the ship, who may be experienced cruisers.  They can tell you where to go in port, what not to miss and what on the ship is worth seeing or doing.
 
Digital pictures are free. Whether your memory-capturing tool of choice is a smart phone or camera, don’t be stingy with taking photos. You’ll really appreciate it when you get home. I filled a digital frame with tropical pictures and it does wonders on those days of stress and strain.
 
Don’t leave the ship without it. Book your next cruise while you’re still onboard. You may get some great deals, like a super low deposit and shipboard credit. It’s a no-lose because you can get a refund at any time. I share this because I know once you get a taste of cruising, you’ll be lusting after more!

Photos by RJ Greenburg

What Terrifies the Cruise Director and Scares the Pants Off the Rest of Us

I think most of us would agree that people-watching is a pleasure of the highest order on a cruise. It provides endless amusement and fodder for conversation. The antics of The Quest, the shockers of Love and Marriage, the laughs of the Sexiest Man, and on and on.

But sometimes, watching what people do is positively bewildering. Please, please, please, don’t do this on a cruise:

Ask if you can do a backflip on the ice with the ice show’s star skater for the camera. Unless you want to see the cruise director grow pale with visions of lawsuits dancing in his head.

Pick up a wild iguana at the Crown Bay pier in Charlotte Amalie to show off for your friends.

Cute and cuddly?

Unless you want your fellow cruisers to spend the rest of their trip fighting off salmonella.

Be so “photoblivious” that you step in the middle of the street to take a photo and ignore the cars trying to pass around you. Unless you want to try out the Caribbean medical system.

Play dodge-the-hand sanitizer man. Unless you want to spend two days of your cruise throwing up and quarantined.

As the comedians say, “You can’t make this stuff up.” It all happened on my Allure of the Seas cruise just a few weeks ago.