We sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas (the biggest cruise ship in the world) starting on April 8, 2022 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for 7 nights to various destinations in the Western Caribbean. We had a 2-bedroom aqua theater suite, and as a result we got to enjoy the Star Class benefits with our own Royal Genie! Yes, our Genie really did make our wishes come true!
Day 1–Embarkation & Sailing Away
Since we had the Star Class, we had priority boarding—meaning we were able to board the ship as early as possible starting at 11am. Our Genie, Hannah, was in contact with us for a month before embarkation and she was able to answer any questions we had about boarding. She also provided specific Star Class information, such as a special entrance so we did not have to stand in the regular lines.
After checking in, Hannah greeted us at the boarding gangway before we boarded the ship and she escorted us directly to our room. It was super nice because the Wonder of the Seas is so large you could easily get lost. She even had a special card for the elevator to make it go directly to our floor without stopping. When we arrived at our room, she sat down with us and went over our itinerary. She even helped all of us get set up with the internet service (Voom). Since my husband unfortunately wasn’t able to come on this trip due to work schedule conflicts, we were able to kept him posted on our daily adventures with FaceTime using the ship Wi-Fi.
Our 2-bedroom aqua theater suite had one room with a king bed, another room with 2 twins (either pushed together or apart) and 2 pull-down beds, and a living room with a pull-out sofa bed. The suite also had two bathrooms. Altogether we fit 8 people and we didn’t feel crowded. The balcony was huge as well—there was a big table with chairs and two different sides that wrapped around the room. But in addition to all of that, the room’s main feature was that it overlooked the aqua theater show! (more on that later)
We had lunch at the Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade. All of the specialty restaurants are included with the Star Class (usually there is a cost to dine at these restaurants). Plus, the drink package is included in the Star Class as well, so we did not have to pay for any drinks on the cruise. It’s important to keep all this in mind when comparing costs associated with Star Class sailings.
After lunch, we toured the ship. This ship has so many cool features: a carousel, body slides, water slides, rock climbing walls, a kids climbing wall, a Flowrider (surfing), mini golf, a zip line, Central Park, an ice skating rink and more!
The ship even has an Adventure Ocean kids club where you can drop off your kids to have their own fun while you enjoy some adult activities. It is free except for the little kids room (0-36 months) which costs $6 per hour during normal business hours and more for off-times. It is first come first serve, so keep that in mind.
After touring the ship, it was time to sail away! We decided to enjoy saying goodbye to Ft. Lauderdale from our balcony, and our Genie was able to provide beverages for our own private sail away party. It was fun waiving to all the people along the coastline, although it can get pretty loud with all of the boats, cars, and trucks honking their horns.
For dinner, we ate at the Coastal Kitchen, which is an exclusive dining restaurant and suite lounge for select suite guests. The staff was beyond amazing—they entertained and played with with our kids while they served our meal. The food was amazing too! We ended up having several breakfasts and dinners here throughout our trip.
Another Star Class perk—our Genie was able to make all of our dinner reservations and change them, if needed. Additionally, our Genie visited us at dinner to make sure everything was going well and to provide us with a quick breakdown of the next day’s itinerary. She really made sure our vacation was stress-free!
After dinner we watched the aqua theater show from our balcony. The show is called Intense and it is a water show where the performers do amazing acrobatic tricks—such as diving from a 60’ platform into a 14-foot deep pool. Since this ship was so new, the whole show was not even in full production yet and was pieced together with a couple of other entertaining acts. Throughout our cruise, we were able to watch them practice several new parts, and the final show, when it’s completely put together, is going to be INTENSE!
Day 2–Day at Sea
We love spending a full day at sea because there is so much to do on board. We spent most of the day at the pools! This ship has one of the biggest kids splash pads at sea. It even has several slides that the young ones can play on. This is a major perk sailing on a bigger ship! Other ships do not allow kids to go into any of the pools if they are not 100% potty trained.
For dinner we ate at Chops Grille, which is a specialty steakhouse with delicious steaks and seafood. Again, it was included as part of our Star Class benefits where this restaurant is typically an additional $50-$80 charge per person. Most Royal Caribbean ships have a Chops a grille and it’s definitely a nice place to dine.
Day 3–Roatan, Honduras 🇭🇳
Roatan is an island off the northern coast of Honduras known for having the second largest coral reef in the world. Our Genie was able to escort us off the ship, which was nice because it can be quite busy trying to get off the ship at the start of the day. Our excursion, which we booked through Royal Caribbean, was a semi-sub glass bottom boat tour. I would highly recommend this excursion if you have small children who can’t go snorkeling yet. It’s the prettiest coral I’ve ever seen before (and this compares to Cozumel and Hawaii)—it’s quite a sight to see! After the boat tour, we went on a city bus tour around half of the island where we stopped at a chocolate factory and a small marketplace. It was really fun seeing and getting a taste of the culture of the island.
After an action-packed day one of my boys was extra tired, so he and I ended up eating back in our room. Another Star class perk—we had dinner from Giovanni’s Italian restaurant brought to our room! The tiramisu was my favorite dessert on the ship 😁.
Day 4–Cozumel, Mexico 🇲🇽
In Cozumel, we booked a Grand Deluxe Beach Break excursion through Royal Caribbean where we went to Playa Mia. Drinks, food, water activities, and more were all included with the excursion. We had the best time here and there really was a little bit of something for everyone of all ages!
For kids, there is a fun splash area with small water slides. For taller kids and adults, there were bigger slides. My older son was tall enough to ride on these slides and he loved them! For advanced swimmers, there was a fun floating ocean park as well. Available for all ages, there were two big pools, the beach, and of course the ocean. Overall, we had so much fun here and we would definitely recommend it and will try to visit Playa Mia at Cozumel again!
Back on the ship, we had dinner at Izumi—a Hibachi restaurant. Our chef was great because he made kid-friendly jokes and included them in the fun. At one point we were all singing Baby Shark, haha. Plus, he made a Mickey shaped out of fried rice. Super fun!
Day 5–Costa Maya, Mexico 🇲🇽
We booked another excursion through Royal Caribbean and it was the Costa Maya town highlights and beach break. Honestly, it wasn’t our favorite excursion. The town is quite small and there was not a whole lot to see, but it was still interesting to visit a new place.
As part of the excursion we visited the village of Mahahual, which had a light house and sign to take a picture in front of (that’s about it). After that, we traveled to the Blue Kay beach. This was a small beach and there was quite a bit of seaweed washed up on the shore. There were sand bags at the edge of the water on a section of the beach as well, which kind of spoiled the appeal. Part of my family tried to snorkel, but it wasn’t the greatest and they only saw a couple fish. One cool thing about the area though was that it had ocean hammocks—unfortunately a little hard to do with small kids. Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this excursion, but hey, not every experience is going to be winner all the time.
Back at port, there was a dolphin discovery, an aviary, a pool, and a shopping center. The individual attractions each have an additional charge, but you can walk by them without buying a ticket to get in. It was fun seeing the dolphins and the birds!
Day 6–Day at Sea
I started my day off with a hot stone massage at the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center. Cruise massages are the best because you can feel the rocking of the boat while getting an amazing and relaxing massage. The spa facility is huge—there are two floors and it offers services ranging from massages to salon services. It’s definitely worth pampering yourself at this amazing spa! I didn’t get around to checking out the fitness center, but I heard it’s amazing too. There are even group classes available and Peloton bikes to ride (next time, right?).
Next, was pool time with the family. We spent most of our day here enjoying the nice Caribbean weather and the fresh sea breeze. One fun on-ship activity for my sons was to go on a scavenger hunt to find three astronauts on the ship and to take pictures with them. Super simple, but lots of fun.
For lunch, we ate at El Loco Fresh—a Mexican food buffet-style restaurant. It’s a great quick option when you’re on the go and it’s included at no additional charge for all passengers. After lunch, my older son was able to play a round of miniature golf. There are so many activities to enjoy on board the ship that a day at sea is anything but boring! Another Star Class perk—wristbands are available to skip lines at attractions (except during select hours days at sea 1:00pm-4:00pm). We got these wristbands but didn’t actually end up using them.
Day 7–Coco Cay, Bahamas 🇧🇸
Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay, is one of our favorite cruise destinations. There are so many activities to do whether you’re on the Chill side or the Thrill side. We rented a cabana at the Oasis lagoon pool (located on the Chill side) and we had full food and beverage service available. It was great because sand toys were also available for my sons to play with.
The Thrill side includes the tallest water slide in North America, Daredevil’s Peak. I’ve done this slide two times on previous trips and it is quite the thrill! Unfortunately I didn’t get to do it on this trip. There are several fun splash pads and smaller slides for kids though and we had a lot of fun. There is truly something for everyone at this island! Our one complaint was that it seemed really crowded with both an Oasis class and a Freedom class ship visiting the island at the same time. Hopefully they don’t continue to pack the island like that because long lines and crowded pools make it a lot less fun.
We finished our cruise with an amazing ice show called Ice Show 365. It was a really fun family friendly show. My kids loved it and they wished they could have seen it again if the cruise was longer. The final Star Class perk—our Genie was able to reserve front row seating for us.
Overall, we had an amazing cruise sailing in the Western Caribbean on the world’s biggest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas! It was amazing having a Genie with the Star Class benefits and it was definitely a very unique and fun experience. Regardless of whether or not you book a Star Class suite with a wish-granting Genie, we highly recommend going on this ship, and the itinerary was perfect for a family of all ages as well. What a Wonder-ful adventure!
Phelps Travel 