Travel author Jo Kessel filmed onboard Royal Caribbean’s recent ship Wonder of the Seas, a liner so big it has greater than 15 pools, a Boardwalk with a carousel and a Promenade called Central Park that is home to twenty,000 live plants. Plus, she gives the within scoop on where to eat and drink, including Southern cocktails served with a rasher of candied bacon.
Wonder of the Seas is the twenty sixth ship to hitch Royal Caribbean’s fleet. At 237,000 gross tonnes, this recent £1billion ($1.35billion) liner is the most important on this planet and has more to see and do than some other large cruise ship ever built.
Greater than will be squeezed right into a fortnight, let alone per week. It might accommodate 7,000 guests and its 18 decks have a plethora of thrills, from a zip-line to a surf simulator to the Ultimate Abyss – the tallest slide at sea. Be warned, this is frightening!
Kessel on a really big vessel: Travel author Jo (above) movies onboard Royal Caribbean’s recent ship Wonder of the Seas
At 237,000 gross tonnes, this recent £1billion ($1.35billion) liner is the most important on this planet
My goal was to experience and film as much of Wonder as possible during my four-night voyage from Barcelona.
But while I enjoyed every show and high-octane ride (apologies for the squealing) it was inconceivable to dine in any respect 30 or so restaurants and bars. Next time!
The video starts on the elongated, tropical pool deck. There are three principal swimming pools in addition to umpteen smaller ones for chilling in (indoors and out) and a splash park for youths.
The video starts on the elongated, tropical pool deck, showing one in every of the three principal pools (pictured)
I’m a specific fan of the glass float pools where hours will be spent ogling the ship or sea.
Aerial footage is featured next, which provides a way of the sheer scale of Wonder and offers a bird’s eye view of the ship’s family-friendly amenities.
All the things’s vivid and vibrant – a reminder that this ship is about having fun, whether you’re young or young at heart.
‘I’m a specific fan of the glass float pools where hours will be spent ogling the ship or sea,’ says Jo
Jo’s footage shows the FlowRider surf simulator on board. ‘The video captures all of the fun that will be had,’ she says
Jo braves the zipline. ‘Its 18 decks have a plethora of thrills,’ she says of the ship
The footage shows Jo trying out the ‘Wonder Dunes’ mini-golf course
Indeed, the video captures all of the fun that will be had, from browsing to zip-lining to mini-golf.
When you’re very brave you’ll be able to ride what’s the tallest slide at sea: The Ultimate Abyss. This slide plunges ten decks and should be ridden in a sack.
A confession: wriggling into the hessian bag gave me second doubts and clammy hands. The POV footage shot on the descent (complete with petrified screaming) shows quite how hair-raising this slide is. Do it again? Never! Should you are attempting it once? Absolutely!
Jo stands outside the Ultimate Abyss slide, which plunges ten decks and should be ridden in a sack
‘Wriggling into the hessian bag gave me second doubts and clammy hands,’ Jo says of her ride on the Ultimate Abyss
While Jo says she would never again ride the ‘hair-raising’ Ultimate Abyss, she recommends giving it a try
Jo says that a ride on the old-fashioned carousel on Deck 6’s Boardwalk is ‘perfect for calming nerves after the Ultimate Abyss’
The slide finishes on Deck 6’s Boardwalk, a tastefully-designed al fresco esplanade that resembles a seaside pier. That is home to an old-fashioned carousel (think Mary Poppins-style horses) which is ideal for calming nerves after the Ultimate Abyss.
Up next is our favourite spot on the ship – a Promenade on Deck 8 called Central Park.
The film shows the way it’s hewn from the ship’s interior, open to the weather and landscaped with 20,000 real plants. It’s a stunning space to flee the crowds and its Park Cafe was our go-to venue for breakfast or a quiet drink.
Pictured is the Promenade on Deck 8, called Central Park, which is Jo’s favourite spot on the ship
Jo describes the ship’s Park Cafe as her ‘go-to venue’ for breakfast or a quiet drink
The video then moves on to the cabins. All the things’s spanking recent and well-sized, including my balcony cabin, which I used to be extremely completely happy with… until catching a glimpse of what top dollar should buy.
Meet the £16,000-($20,000) a-week-per-person two-floor Royal Loft Suite.
Not only does it have wicker swing chairs and a hot tub on its balcony, but its lounge has a grand piano whose ivories play like a dream.
Pictured is Jo’s cabin, where ‘all the pieces’s spanking recent and well-sized’
The video goes on a tour around the £16,000- ($20,000) a-week-per-person two-floor Royal Loft Suite
Jo admits she was ‘extremely completely happy’ along with her cabin until she laid eyes on the Royal Loft Suite (pictured)
The Royal Loft Suite has wicker swing chairs and a hot tub on its balcony
Jo says the Royal Loft Suite’s lounge has a grand piano whose ivories ‘play like a dream’
Wonder is colossal and getting around does ‘wonders’ for one’s every day step count, which suggests there’s no guilt about refuelling. Food is great and our top picks for complimentary dining are the Solarium Bistro (we love the small plates) and Park Café. But for Recent England-style seafood speciality restaurant ‘Hooked’ can’t be beaten. Order crab cakes and whole Maine lobster.
Happily, there are umpteen ways to burn off those calories, from lapping the Promenade Deck (these laps feel longer than on other cruise ships) to clambering up a climbing wall to riding the high-speed water slides – a trio of slides called ‘The Perfect Storm’.
Despite this name (which must have rung alarm bells) the swerves and velocity of the orange one got here as a shock, as each the POV footage and audio reveal. Did I dare do it again? Bizarrely, yes. And that’s the fantastic thing about Wonder. You may push yourself to your limit or simply say no.
‘Food is great,’ Jo says of the culinary offerings on Wonder of the Seas
In line with Jo, there are umpteen ways to burn calories on the ship, including clambering up a climbing wall (pictured)
Jo prepares to ride the ship’s high-speed water slides – a trio of slides called ‘The Perfect Storm’
Jo rides the orange ‘Perfect Storm’ waterslide and finds that the ‘swerves and velocity’ of the ride come as a ‘shock’
That said, a stiff drink was so as afterwards. Wonder has progressive watering holes, from the Rising Tide Bar (a bar which moves up and down three decks) to the Bionic Bar with robot bartenders.
My favourite, nonetheless, is the ship’s recent Southern restaurant and bar, The Mason Jar. Their ‘Removed from Manhattan’ cocktail is laced with bourbon and served with a slice of candied bacon – an unusual, moreish combination.
Royal Caribbean is happy with its trailblazing entertainment and Wonder takes this to the subsequent level.
The footage homes in on the Rising Tide Bar, which moves up and down three decks
Jo tries The Mason Jar’s ‘Removed from Manhattan’ cocktail, which is laced with bourbon and served with a slice of candied bacon. ‘An unusual, moreish combination,’ she says
‘Royal Caribbean is happy with its trailblazing entertainment and Wonder takes this to the subsequent level,’ says Jo. Above is the ‘ice-dancing extravaganza’ on Wonder’s skating rink
TRAVEL FACTS
Wonder of the Seas will probably be sailing Western Mediterranean voyages until the tip of October 2022, when it can relocate to Florida for winter. For more information visit www.royalcaribbean.com.
The film’s finale features the ship’s recent beatboxing show (where the one musical instrument used is the human voice) in addition to an ice-dancing extravaganza on Wonder’s skating rink.
Piece de resistance, nonetheless, is ‘Intense’, a spectacle which takes place within the ship’s Aqua Theatre, whose stage is a pool.
Its all-female forged includes five Olympians whose high dives, somersaults and watery acrobatics leave the audience gasping.
After which there’s the jaw-dropping acrobatic display by the World Champion slackliner performed on a tight-rope strung over the water.
You could have to see it to consider it. And that just about sums up Wonder of the Seas.
For more videos from Jo, visit her YouTube channel – Go With Jo.
Summing up Wonder of the Seas, Jo says: ‘You could have to see it to consider it’
Pictured is the ship’s Splashaway Bay water park. Jo says that the liner ‘has more to see and do than some other large cruise ship ever built’
Wonder of the Seas measures 64m (210ft) wide and 362m (1,188ft) long. Above is the ship’s Solarium
WONDER OF THE SEAS
- Wonder of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s twenty sixth ship.
- It measures 64m (210ft) wide and 362m (1,188ft) long – and weighs 236,857 gross tonnes.
- It has 18 decks and might accommodate 6,988 guests (at full capability) in its 2,867 cabins.
- There are 2,300 international crew members on board.
- Wonder of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s fifth Oasis-class ship. A sixth one, called Utopia, is planned for 2024.
