Welcome guest writer Sarah Cinq-Mars! Sarah's a 5th-grade teacher based in North Carolina. When she isn't teaching or being taught the latest slang by her students, she's catching up on true crime podcasts, playing with her 12-year-old dog, or checking out the area's hottest restaurants.
When I started cruising, I never knew there were ships as big as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class.
I began cruising on smaller vessels such as Freedom of the Seas, Carnival Elation, and Disney Magic. Though I enjoyed every cruise, the smaller ships did not have as much entertainment, and I would sometimes get bored or tired of relaxing by the pool deck.
Before Wonder of the Seas, the largest ship I sailed on was Sun Princess. The 177,882 gross registered ton (GRT) vessel is famed as Princess’s first true mega-ship, and I quickly noticed many differences compared to the smaller ships I had previously cruised on.
For example, larger ships are more organized when it comes to embarkation, reservations, and the overall coordination of events. That said, the crowds, particularly on Wonder of the Seas, made it sometimes hard to fully enjoy everything the ship had to offer.
However, I am excited to sail on the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, soon and am hoping it has similar positive attributes to Wonder of the Seas, starting with the embarkation process.
Read more: I tried Wonder of the Seas. Is a mega-ship the best way to cruise?
Embarkation was easy
I was worried about how long it would take to get on a cruise ship with over 5,000 people boarding! Fortunately, this was one of the easiest embarkation processes I have ever been through.
Because there isn't an airport extremely close to Port Canaveral, we used a company called GoPort to get us to and from MCO in Orlando. The ride was smooth, simple, and convenient. It was also cost-efficient!
We paid $59.95 per person for a round-trip ticket including transportation to the cruise port and back. Upon arriving at the airport, I checked how much an Uber or Lyft would cost, and one to the cruise port would have been around $90 before a tip. Keep in mind, this is subject to change depending on the time and day.
Once we got to the cruise port, we were greeted by a porter and immediately dropped off our luggage. Since we scanned our passports and snapped our selfies beforehand through the Royal Caribbean app, our embarkation process was even quicker than expected.
Security was easy, and in no time, we were showing our Set Sail passes to get on the ship. During this whole process, we did not stand in a single line. Before I knew it, we were on Wonder of the Seas and ready to begin exploring one of the world's largest vessels!
The activities were a huge selling point
During our 7-night cruise to the Western Caribbean, we fit in most free activities on Wonder of the Seas, minus surfing on the FlowRider and ice skating! We took advantage of the mini-golf course, zip line, the Ultimate Abyss dry slide, and the 3 water slides.
My favorite activity was the zip line because it was so unique. The crew was amazing and made us feel very safe and secure.
My partner and I geared up in our harnesses and stepped up to the platform to begin the experience. We laid back as we got a little push and began to fly over the Boardwalk while other cruisers looked up at us!
The Ultimate Abyss dry slide and Perfect Storm water slides were fun as well! We rode all of the slides multiple times. My favorite was the champagne-bowl one!
However, mini-golf was slightly subpar in my opinion. We tried to play multiple times but couldn't because the golf ball container was empty.
To play, we had to find a random ball on the course. It seems as though some of the obstacles "ate" the golf balls, as on our first try, our ball disappeared into the giant starfish.
Wonder of the Seas had some of the most unique entertainment I’ve ever seen on a cruise on or off land!
Between the aqua shows, ice skating performances, and the main theater, Wonder of the Seas offers unique and jaw-dropping entertainment, and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety.
Since this was my first cruise aboard an Oasis Class ship, it was my first time watching the aqua show. Before I began cruising, I didn't know these types of shows existed, especially on a floating ship at sea.
During our sailing, we watched inTENse and Aqua Nation. I seriously couldn't believe how talented the performers were and the energy they brought to each performance.
The ice skating show we saw was called 365: The Seasons On Ice. The ice skaters were mesmerizing, and they knew how to capture a crowd. The chemistry they had with each other kept the show interesting.
Additionally, we caught a comedy show in the Attic, which is unfortunately being removed from Wonder to make way for a non-smoking casino. Comedy shows will still be offered, just in the main theater. I think this is a bummer because they will lose the intimate feeling that the Attic had. Regardless, the show was funny, and I laughed the entire time!
Along with all of these performances, we went to different game shows. The entertainment staff were incredibly upbeat, and they were able to draw the crowds into the games! My favorite was the Perfect Couple, where we got to see how well couples knew each other and worked together to complete different tasks.
Despite the great entertainment and activities, the crowds really bothered me
While I don't regret cruising on Wonder of the Seas, the crowds and lines for activities were not ideal. I was prepared for it to be crowded, but not as crowded as it was. I feel as though they could have better systems for lines and capacity regulations.
One tip I learned is that it's important to make reservations for performances and activities as soon as they're listed on the app. This made scheduling our evenings easier since we had a guaranteed spot for activities.
There will be two lines once you show up to an event such as a comedy show, ice skating show, or aqua show. One line is for guests who have a reservation. These reservations do not cost money; they simply reserve your spot for the event.
The other line is for guests without reservations. Once the line for guests with reservations has entered the event, the other line will be able to gain access and hope to find a seat! Getting there early, even with reservations, is a must if you want to have first dibs on a good seat!
Even with a reservation, the lines were incredibly long, and by the time the show was over, the crowds getting out were overwhelming.
People were pushing and shoving to get out of the area, which made things worse. I would love it if these bigger ships came up with a process on how to exit the event area, so this will not happen.
Read more: 8 ways to beat the chair hogs on your cruise so you're not fighting for a lounger
I was also disappointed with Wonder of the Seas’ Solarium
Being a teacher on vacation, I appreciate an area where I can be around adults, so I was excited for Wonder of the Seas’ Solarium. Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed.
I was expecting it to be similar to the Solariums on Celebrity Ascent or Freedom of the Seas. Ultimately, I hoped for a decent-sized pool and enough hot tubs to accommodate the number of people on board. The pool was about the size of an oversized hot tub, and it was continuously crowded. The actual hot tubs were even more crowded.
However, I did enjoy the silent disco that was hosted in this area, and it was convenient to have the bar in the area.
Read more: I’m a teacher who just started cruising. Here’s why it’s my new favorite way to travel
The food quality surprised me
Because we booked an Unlimited Dining Package on our upcoming Icon of the Seas cruise, we limited our specialty dining on Wonder, opting for just two specialty restaurants. Being from the South, my partner was excited to try The Mason Jar, a Southern-inspired restaurant found on just three ships in the fleet: Wonder, Utopia, and Allure of the Seas.
We started with the cornbread, which was a favorite. Then, we split the cinnamon roll, red velvet pancakes, and the chicken and waffles. While each dish was good, my favorite was the pancakes. The chicken and waffles didn't impress me too much — I found that the chicken wasn't crispy enough, and the waffles were what you could get in the Windjammer.
We also went to Playmakers, which is one of my favorite spots on a Royal Caribbean ship. We skipped the Main Dining Room on embarkation day in favor of a more laid-back meal on the Boardwalk, making sailing on a massive Oasis Class ship feel that much more real.
The fried chicken sandwich was tasty, and the Campfire Cookie dessert was warm, gooey, and packed with chocolatey goodness.
Aside from specialty dining, I was pleasantly surprised by the buffet options. Since we were always moving and had a tight schedule with reservations, we ate in the buffet more than we usually do on a cruise. The food quality was some of the best I've experienced in a buffet, second to Celebrity Ascent.
The Main Dining Room was also on our radar. We ate in the dining room on Italian night and the second formal night. I thought both meals were good, but I was especially impressed by the lobster — I didn't expect the portion to be as large as it was!
Read more: I took a 7-day, $4,200 cruise to the Caribbean. This is exactly where I splurged and saved
I wouldn’t book a guarantee cabin on a large ship again
To save money, we booked a guarantee interior cabin on this ship, so Royal Caribbean assigned our specific stateroom. I would not do this again because we ended up at the very front of the ship.
Since I'm prone to motion sickness, I would have much rather spent the extra money to be mid-ship. This was also annoying because, since the ship is so big, we were far from all of the elevators and stairs to navigate through different decks.
Even though we saved money on our cabin, I would have rather spent more for a stateroom where I wasn’t afraid of being seasick continuously.
While I thought The Key would be worth it on a larger ship, I was disappointed and wouldn’t pay for it again
The Key is an optional purchase that includes certain benefits like internet access, reserved seating in the theaters, an exclusive welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room, priority ship-to-shore departure at tender ports of call, and more.
Though I was looking forward to it, I was disappointed that we paid extra for this VIP experience. I did not think it was worth $517.86.
That said, the two perks I enjoyed were the reserved seating for the shows and dropping our carry-on bags off on embarkation day. We checked our suitcases with a porter when we arrived at the cruise terminal. However, we still had backpacks that we brought with us.
As two chronic overpackers, these backpacks were heavy. It was nice to have our backpacks stored for us as we walked around to explore the ship.
The aqua shows and other big entertainment spaces had reserved seating for Key cruisers, which made grabbing a good spot effortless.
Bottom line
While there were parts of my cruise on Wonder of the Seas that I didn't enjoy, I'm excited to sail aboard Icon of the Seas soon! Now that I know what to expect from mega-ships, I can better prepare for crowds and lines.
There are definitely cons to sailing on larger cruise ships, but the entertainment and amenities are unparalleled and make for an unforgettable journey.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on nearly 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
