And just like that, our Caribbean cruise with my family is over. Insert all of the emotions here. It was a wonderful trip on the Wonder of the Seas, and I would absolutely recommend this ship, our itinerary, and gathering your entire family for a week and sailing away for an adventure of a lifetime! We weren’t sure how it would go with an almost one and a half year old, but I do know that we walked away feeling like it exceeded all expectations [a little more on how to cruise with a toddler below!]
If you’d like to see video of our time on the ship, be sure to checkout the Cruise Highlight on my Instagram account here! This was our third cruise that Shawn and I have traveled on together and we’d absolutely do it again — note: I do prefer to space out cruising every few years. We love them, but it’s a way of traveling I don’t need to do every year. We’ve found spacing them out every few years makes them more enjoyable!
Before diving in, I should note that nothing about this trip was sponsored but simply personal pleasure! I booked / planned / and experienced it all 😉
Cruise Line & Ship We Sailed On
Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas! We have traveled on Royal Caribbean twice before and absolutely loved it so we decided to go this route again! We love Royal Caribbean as the ships are incredibly clean, the staff is very friendly, the food is delicious and the entertainment is first class. The ship was incredible and didn’t disappoint. The Wonder of the Seas is part of the Oasis Class [there are 6 ships in this class] and they are all very similar. The set-up of this class of Royal Caribbean ships is by neighborhood – you have the Royal Promenade, Central Park [my FAVORITE area on the boat!], Boardwalk, Pool & Sports Zone, Entertainment Place, Vitality Spa, Adults Only Solarium and Kids Zone. While the ship is gigantic and there are a LOT of people on the ship [with crew I believe it’s around 8,000], due to all of the different areas and neighborhoods, it thankfully doesn’t feel too crowded or packed. My parents typically travel on smaller cruise ships and they were concerned they weren’t going to like the big ship, however, they did say that with how spread out everything is, they actually really enjoyed the large ship and would do it again!
Itinerary
7 nights, Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We sailed from Port Canaveral, FL to CocoCay, Bahamas [Royal Caribbean’s Private Island], San Juan, Puerto Rico and St Marteen! More to come on what we did at each stop below! Note: The Wonder of the Seas is moving its port to Miami for future bookings!
Shore Excursions: This was our first time on a ship where we didn’t book any shore excursions. With having Crew, we didn’t want to commit to any schedule off the boat and there weren’t a ton of options that we thought he could easily enjoy! However, we did get off the boat at two of the three stops which I’ll share in more detail below! Note: If you are booking excursions, you can do so all easily through the Royal Caribbean app! This is also where you can book dining, drink packages, show reservations, purchase WiFi, etc!
- CocoCay, Bahamas – This is Royal Caribbean’s island in the Bahamas and it was so much fun! We simply got off the ship and went to the giant Oasis Lagoon pool to float around with Crew! There was a pool bar we could order drinks from and all of the food at the restaurants are included in your ship’s cost so you don’t have to pay! You can pay for excursions here [there is a waterpark you can do, my parents did a kayak tour, etc] or you can just lounge on the beach or pool for free! It made for a relaxing and fun stop!
- San Juan, Puerto Rico – This was our first time to Puerto Rico so we definitely wanted to get off the ship to walk around and experience the city so that’s exactly what we did! We strolled the old streets [literally, Crew in his stroller] and just took in the architecture, shops, etc! All for free, no cost to get off and do this!
- St Marteen – We have actually been to St Marteen a few times, so we opted to stay on the ship this day and enjoy the empty boat while most poeple were out and about! My sister’s family did do a catamaran trip that took them snorkeling and it was their favorite part of the trip!
How We Booked: We did use a friend who is a travel agent as we were booking the cruise for 3 families [us, my parents and my sister’s family]. This just helped make things more seamless, however, in the past when booking for just ourselves, we’ve always booked directly through RoyalCaribbean.com as I found that the pricing was similar [if not the same] through different online travel agencies!
Boarding The Ship: Prior to departure, you are able to checkin online via the Royal Caribbean app. At that time you input your passport information and take a selfie of yourself. At the port where you board, everything is done by facial recognition and it literally took about two minutes for us to get on the ship. The same was true for departing at the end of the trip!
Room Type and Details
We splurged and opted to stay in the Owner’s Suite [room 1832 to be exact] and it was incredible. This room type is included in their Sky Suite Class which offers a LOT of amazing amenities which I’ll get into! Because we had Crew with us, it was important for us to have a room that would allow us to experience the comforts of home, so that we could keep him on his normal sleep schedule [and allow us the ability to enjoy the room while he slept]! This room type has a nice size mini room [think of it as a nice closet] that fit a pack n play perfectly. We were able to have him in there during naps and bedtime and be able to function about our room [the living room and our bedroom] just fine! Another bonus: it has a bathtub in the bathroom which meant easy bathing for him! Additionally, the balcony is HUGE and we love enjoying our time outside! One more huge bonus: the amount of storage space in this room was insane. We couldn’t nearly use it all. Typically on a cruise ship there’s a lot left to be desired for storage space and wow, this had cabinets and closet everywhere you’d turn around!
A lot of people have asked about the cost of booking this room and while the cost is always going to vary depending on your exact travel dates and itinerary, it looks like on average it is about 5x the cost of your basic interior stateroom. I’ll explain what else you get with this suite in a second [aside from the incredible room itself]!
Suite Amenities
When you book certain suite levels [Star or Sky] you’ll have access to Coastal Kitchen [a suite guest only dining room] for breakfast, lunch or dinner which serves excellent food, all for free. Additionally, you’ll have access to the Suite Lounge for complimentary cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres every evening from 4-8 [fun fact: you can enjoy free beer and wine at any time in the lounge!] My favorite amenity was having access to the Suite Sun Deck which was a LARGE private area for suite guests only to lay out. The area also had it’s own bar, bathrooms, hot tub, soaking pool, and tons of lounge chairs and couches. This was a lifesaver as we never had to worry about saving chairs or not having a spot to lay for the day. Additional suite amenities include having your own concierge who are there for anything that you may need, free unlimited high speed internet, priority boarding and departure [this was insane – it took approximately two minutes to get on and off the ship, including at shore stops!] and a few other fun extras like Malin + Goetz toiletries, luxury pillow top mattress, and more! Because of all of this, it made the trip SO stress-free and allowed us to enjoy every second without ever feeling like we were crowded among thousands of people. Worth every dollar in our opinion!
suite sun deck
suite lounge pool
suite dining room and lounge
On-Ship Dining Details
Room service with a view
On the Wonder of the Seas there are 7 complimentary dining options and 12 specialty restaurants [this means that they have a cost to eat there – each restaurant has its own flat fee, ie: $25 per person and it ranges on the specific restaurant for the cost. Once you pay the flat fee, you can order anything / everything off the menu]! For breakfast we either always ate in the Coastal Kitchen [suite guests only] or had room service delivered right to our balcony! For lunch, we visited the Windjammer Cafe, El Loco Fresh, Johnny Rockets, or Central Park Cafe! For dinner, we typically ate as a family in the main dining room [we did the reserved seating for 5:00 pm], but you can also opt for later, or do my-time dining, which means you can go anytime between 6 and 9:30 pm!] We did eat at one specialty restaurant on the ship, The Mason Jar, which was good and is really fun with live country music! Here are the specialty restaurants we ate at in the past on other ships and my thoughts:
- Giovanni’s Italian – YUM. This was one of my [actually, it was] my favorite meal of the entire trip. Shawn ordered the truffle pasta and I ordered the lasagna. Both were delicious but that truffle pasta, MY MOUTH IS WATERING THINKING ABOUT IT. So good. The garlic bread for an appetizer was also delicious. And dessert, absolutely order the brownie. You’re welcome.
- Chops Grille – This is the steakhouse on the ship and honestly, it’s good, but I don’t know if either of us LOVED it. If you want a steak while on the ship, I’d recommend going to Hooked and getting it there [Shawn got surf & turf at Hooked and said the steak there tasted better than the one at Chops!]
- 150 Central Park – If nothing else, go here for a Tableside Central Park Martini, oh my, yes. Shawn and I both really liked our meal here and would eat there again! We ordered two desserts [oops, we accidentally did this every night] and they were so good.
- Wonderland – Talk about an experience. If you’re looking for a dining experience unlike anything you’ve ever encountered, this is definitely something to try. It’s based out of Alice in Wonderland [complete with the Mad Hatter who comes around and talks to you] with food prepared in a way you’ve most likely never had. I will say, it’s odd eating things that you aren’t totally sure what it is, however, everything tasted good! I don’t think we would pay to eat here again just because we’ve experienced it once, but would recommend if you want something totally unique!
- Hooked – This was Shawn’s favorite meal of the trip and my second favorite [aka, we loved it]. The nautical vibe of the restaurant was right down my alley and while it’s a seafood restaurant, the chicken I ordered was superb [don’t worry – Shawn had seafood and loved it]! The macaroni and cheese was so good and the Boston Creme Pie was delicious for dessert!
- Izumi – This is the hibachi / sushi restaurant! The best part of the meal was our chef at the hibachi table who made it so entertaining and fun! The food was good, however, the price per person to eat here is quite high I felt like. I don’t believe we would choose to eat again at Izumi unless we just did the sushi, as we have local hibachi places we like just as much!
- Bottomless Galley Brunch – We also opted to book this brunch one morning as this is a way to go into the Galley and see behind the scenes in the kitchen area and learn more about how they serve food to thousands of people every week. It ends with a brunch and bottomless mimosas. A fun way to see parts of the ship not everybody else does! ps. Pack closed toe shoes for this!
Formal Nights Note: There were two formal nights on our 7-night cruise. I feel like it’s really up to you how fancy [or not] you want to get. All of us girls in our family wore a dress and the guys wore a button up shirt and either pants or shorts! You can see more on outfits here!
Drink Packages
When cruising, alcohol, pop and bottled water typically isn’t included in your cost. They do offer drink packages that you can purchase at a discount either in advance or on the first day of the cruise. We opted to simply do the Refreshment Package [and only I did this] to be able to get pop, bottled water, smoothies, coffee drinks from Starbucks, etc! I honestly don’t know if we were money ahead or not to buy the package – we just didn’t consume a ton of anything beverage wise it seemed [outside of bottled water], so it really just depends on whether or not you think you’ll be drinking and how much on if it’s worth it or not! Fun fact: You are allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine on the ship [I believe this is per person]! Bring your own wine opener to avoid an uncorking fee!
On-Ship Entertainment:
All of the shows are free, which is really nice — I will say, the Wonder of the Seas entertainment was not as good as some of the other Royal Caribbean ships we’ve been on! We did book everything in advance for the entire group, but also learned once on the ship that if you are a suite guest, you don’t have to reserve and you simply show up 20 minutes prior to show time, and they have a reserved section for suite guests only!
- InTense – This is the Aquatheater show and the best show of the cruise! Absolutely see this!
- 365 Seasons – Ice Skating Show, we all enjoyed this!
- Voices – We had to leave because of Crew’s bedtime, however, my family really enjoyed this!
- The Effectors II: Crash ‘n’ Burn – None of us really got into this one!
- Comedy Show, book in advance
- Love & Marriage Game Show [this is so funny]
- Quest Game Show [adult only scavenger hunt, also hilarious]
- Battle of the Sexes Game Show
- Live music at the Pub
- Silent Dance Party [my sister’s family attended and had so much fun!]
- Movie Nights [a couple of the nights they will play movies either outside at the Aqua Theater or inside the Royal theater – while we didn’t go, it’s a relaxing evening activity you can partake in!]
Things To Do on Ship
Central Park was our favorite “neighborhood” on the ship – it’s so peaceful and relaxing and a great place to listen to live music before or after dinner!
The Royal Promenade – lots of bars, restaurants and shops here!
Adults Only Solarium
one of my multiple pool areas
Aside from all of the shows, bars / lounges, restaurants, there are a ton of other things you can do to stay entertained while on board. Here are some of those things….
- Pools & Hot Tubs – There are several smaller pools and a ton of hot tubs on the ship! I’ve had several people ask about if you have to mark your spot on a chair early in order to get one and I would say as long as you were out by 9-10 am you should be okay! By the afternoon, it was packed. On the suite deck, you could go up anytime and easily find a spot! The Adults Only Solarium is a fun spot with a small pool, hot tubs and bar that also has a ton of chairs to lay out on!
- Splash Pads For Younger Kids – Any child that is still in diapers and not potty trained is not allowed in the pools, however, the splash pad was a great spot to cool off and hang with Crew! He loved it!
- Casino
- Shopping
- BINGO
- Spa
- Fitness Center
- Waterslides
- Zip Line
- Flowrider Surfing
- Mini Golf / Basketball / Pickleball / Ping Pong
- Arcade
- Carousel
Packing List [What to Wear]
I could go on for this, so instead of including ALL of that right here – I’ll simply let you click here to see ALL of the outfits that I packed and what I would recommend for taking with you!
Traveling with Kids
I’ve received a lot of questions on whether kids are allowed on this ship and/or in the suite areas. The answer to both of those is yes! Royal Caribbean has a childcare program, Adventure Ocean, from 6:30 am – 10 pm that only charges $6 per hour per child for childcare. They do activities with the kids all day and keep them entertained. We did register Crew, however, we never ended up taking him [perks of traveling with family ;)]! We did learn that in the 6-36 month old class they limit the # of children to 6 and there are 2 caretakers at all times! The older kids seemed to love it from what I could see! There are also just so many things for kids to do on the boat, that they shouldn’t have a problem being entertained!
Childcare Room for 6-36 months
A few additional tips for traveling with children:
- Children who aren’t potty trained are not allowed in the main pools, however, they do have age-appropriate splash pads for the kiddos to play and get wet in, which was perfect for us to stay cool!
- We did pack a lightweight stroller to tote him around the ship, along with a stroller fan because it was hot!
- We had room service deliver whole milk to our room every evening, that way we were always stocked!
- Note on the fridge in your room: We had read that they didn’t stay very cold, so we did request a small medical cooler to put our milk in to ensure it stayed cool enough!
- There is a free carousel on the Boardwalk — Crew loved going on this!
Things for Older Kids:
There are so many things for kids of all ages to do — they do offer childcare [at the same $6/hr rate] up to age 17 with different activities and fun spaces, age-appropriate! Outside of that, here are a few other things [there were many more!] that kept my nieces and nephew entertained [ranging from ages 9-17!]:
the arcade — you do pay to play!
water slides + regular slides – so fun!
Zip Lining
Surfing
WiFi: Yes, you can have wifi on the ship! This came for free with our room, however, if you have a room that doesn’t offer this for free, you can purchase it per day or for the week! The wifi worked great on my phone but was a little slower on my laptop. We did always turn our phones onto airplane mode when at sea to avoid roaming charges [you can still text via iMessage with airplane mode on and can also use WiFi].
Motion Sickness: Our seas were very calm during our sailing, however, I could minimally feel the ship moving one evening. We did take non-drowsy Dramamine with us and took it the first day as a preventative to avoid anything, but neither of us ever felt sick from the motion. Keep in mind that these ships are very large so you don’t notice the movement all too much.
Avoiding Germs: There are hand sanitizing stations EVERYWHERE. Also, when eating in the main dining rooms or any buffet style restaurant, it is required to wash your hands first [they have hand washing stations as you walk into the restaurants]. I also packed sanitizing hand wipes to use occasionally and to wipe off our phones. The ship was immaculate and I was never worried about picking up a sickness from anybody!
Gratuities: Gratuities are charged to you daily [$14.50 – $17.50 per person per day depending on your room type] which you can either pre-pay before your cruise or at the end when they add it to your folio. Tipping beyond this is optional. We did find ourselves tipping our bartender that we ordered from every day and then wait staff in the evening if we thought they did a great job. We also left an extra tip for our housekeeper [they clean your room twice a day] but again, this is totally optional and up to you!
Overall Cost: While I don’t think it’s beneficial to give you an exact cost of our trip as it’s going to be different for everybody [sailing dates, cruising itinerary, room type, shore excursions, dining and beverage packages, etc will all vary] this was one of our more expensive vacations [by the time it was all said and done with flights, hotel the night before, suite room, dining and drinks, gratuities, etc]. You can absolutely make cruising as affordable or as pricey as you want, it’s entirely up to you!
If there are questions that I didn’t answer, ask away and I am happy to help! Overall, we loved every second and are so thankful for our time away together! Who’s ready to set sail now? Ready, set, GO!
