Over Spring Break we took the kids on their first Royal Caribbean cruise! This was their second cruise after doing a quick 4 night cruise with Disney in the Fall. The trip was extra special as we were cruising with our neighbors who have a boy my daughter’s age. Our kids have grown up together and survived the pandemic together, so they often portray more sibling behavior. 

We flew in Friday evening and spent two nights at the Hyatt Grand Cypress before our ship departed on Sunday. I highly recommend flying in at least the night before a cruise, but we love flying in two nights before so we can have a relaxing day to settle into vacation and let the kids do whatever they want. 

I wanted to give an overview of our experience with Royal Caribbean as well as share some tips incase you are interested in a cruise. We went on the 7 night easter Caribbean cruise on the Wonder of the Seas. This ship is part of their Oasis class ships and was considered the largest ship until their new Icon ship just launched. 

Overall, we really enjoyed the cruise! Our kids absolutely loved the variety of activities and food available throughout the boat and we found that the staff and service were really authentic and kind. I do tend to think it lacks the all-inclusive feel given there are a lot of upgrade options for extra cost and it does requires more planning than other cruises. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a Royal Caribbean cruise, especially for multi-generation groups or families with tweens/teens. 

Embarking Process

We used Away We Go for transportation and they picked us up at the hotel to make the one hour trip to Port Canaveral. This company provides car seats or boosters, which is hard to find when you travel!  Once we got to the port, there were workers right where we were dropped off who grabbed our suitcases to transport onto the ship. The process to get on the ship was really easy and they were moving people through quickly. The morning of this day I was able to go into the app and watch a quick safety video, but once you get on the ship you have to find your muster station and check-in. This was really simple, there was a person at our location and he verified that our whole party was there, explained what to do incase of an emergency, and then scanned our app. I love this new option compared to how most cruise lines require a long muster drill. 

Kids Club

On the first day, we checked out the kids club and registered Stella & Michael. There are multiple groups within kids club depending on age, and we realized that Michael and Stella would be in a different group. Since Stella’s group started at 6yrs, we asked if Michael could join her since his birthday was in two months. They checked and confirmed it would be ok for him to do a trial and if he did well, he could stay. At first, I was not very impressed with the kids club space. It was pretty much an open room, with a couple TVs and game systems. We learned from our kids that they do a lot of leader-led games and activities within the space rather than having activities for kids to do on their own. The kids did end up enjoying it and wanting to go a couple nights. One night they made slime, which was a huge hit. We also learned that there is a schedule to kids club, so it wasn’t open all day long. The biggest closing time was 5-7pm, so it wasn’t an option to leave your kids there and get dinner by yourself unless you planned a late dinner. Additionally, if you want your child to stay after 10pm, you have to pay $10 per kid per hour. 

Activities

The Oasis ships really excel in having the largest variety of activities for all ages. It is going to be impossible to outline all the options available, but I will list the activities our family enjoyed. Note that when you are on the ship, make sure you look at the details of the event as it will list height/age limits or other requirements like closed toe shoes. We found that the staff is very strict about instructions. 

• Flow Rider: this is a “surf simulator” where they offer different types of experiences like surfing and boogie boarding. You do not need to book ahead, but the type of wave changes throughout the day so if you want to go boogie boarding, you need to line up during a time when they have that experience. Each person has ample time to try it (I think 10-15min). They do have a person coaching and helping your child. Stella tried boogie boarding and while I think she enjoyed it, she did fall off and it did scare her. There is a pretty high height limit which I think aligns with it being an “extreme” experience.
• Ice Skating: On a couple days there is open skate option, but you do have to register in advance. Check your app on the first day to see what openings there are, but we did notice that they added days/times throughout the cruise. They provide skates and helmets, and there were a couple trainers (looks like a walker) available for those just learning to skate. If you don’t get a registration, there is limited walk-in availability.
• Laser Tag: This was an absolute blast for the whole family. On select days there is a blow-up laser tag arena on top of the ice skating rank. Similar to ice skating, new days were added throughout the cruise, but this was a really popular event so you want to check often. It was not called laser tag, but rather has a name focused around “Battle”, “Clash”, etc so look for that type of language. You do not get to pick your teams, it is random, but the space is small enough and secure that you can trust littles. You must wear closed toe shoes.  If you don’t get a registration, there is limited walk-in availability.
• Wonder Scape: There is a playground on the top deck which our kids absolutely loved. They wanted to go here every night and just run around. One downside if you have littles that are at risk for wondering off is that it spans two decks and has multiple entrances/exits, and a lot of the areas you can’t see from sitting areas so you will likely have to be with them.  
• Karaoke: There are three sessions most nights: kids, teens and 18+. Our kids loved doing karaoke, the crowd was so encouraging and it was a blast. It was very popular so if you want to sing you need to get there 10-15min early to get on the list. 
• Other Activities: Zip Line, Rock Climbing, Casino, Sports Center, arcade room, carousel, game shows, music entertainment, mini-golf

Pool

The pool area of the ship was very large with a lot of different options. There were three large pools, three main hot tubs, a kids’ splash area, a toddler splash area, and three water slides. In addition, there is an adults only section called the Solarium which has plenty of lounge chairs, small pools and hot tubs. 

• Main pools: One huge plus was that the large pools were heated at the perfect temperature, so you weren’t dealing with freezing water. Our kids loved the pools, and there was a shallow section around the pools that have in-water loungers, as well as regular loungers on the outside. Since Royal Caribbean really caters to a wide range of groups, the regular pools did tend to have a significant amount of adults with beverages. That sometimes made me a little more self-conscious to make sure my kids were being respectful, not swimming through groups or splashing. Additionally, along one of the main pools was a large smoking area that spanned the entire walking path and behind the loungers. For our family that meant we really didn’t want a lounger by that pool and we always tried to walk along the opposite side of the deck. 
• Kids’ Splash Area: Our kids had a lot of fun in the kids splash area, which is perfect for that 4-9 age group. It was a really large space with multiple slides and water activities. 
• Water Slides: When my kids saw the water slides, they were really excited, but it ended up being a let down. The height limit was 48” so my 6yr old son was not able to go down and he was devastated, so something to prep your kids for ahead of time if they don’t meet the height. The older kids tried all the slides and consensus was that they were slow and not as fun as they looked. In fact the common complaint we heard from people coming down the slide was that everyone was getting stuck and having to push themselves down. I don’t know if this was just a fluke on our ship, or a common scenario. 

Shows

Unlike many cruises, the Wonder of the Seas does not have a broadway production. Instead, they have four very different shows. One unique requirement is that you have to pre-book these shows before you get on the ship. Here is an overview of the productions in the order that we like them:

• InTENse Water Show: This show is focused on water acrobatics, diving and arial stunts and it is a must see. Ryan and I considered this to be one of the best performance we have ever seen and it is the most popular on the ship. Unfortunately because it is a very risky performance and occurs outside, it has a high chance of being cancelled due to weather or waves. I recommend scheduling early in your trip so you can be rescheduled if that happens, making multiple night reservations so you have a backup, or scheduling the night of a late port so you have less chances of large waves. There are a couple benches right up front that are considered the “wet zone” which is where we sat for one of the performances. They provide towels and you will likely need to take your shoes off, but it was a blast to sit there. You can see all the performs close up and it really made the performance even more special.
• The Effectors II: Crash & Burn: This is a musical performance for the kids that highlights a team of superhero’s battling a villain. Our kids loved this show for its theme and music. Their favorite part was that at the end, the superhero’s sat on stage and took pictures with kids. I was so surprised how enthralled my kids were and they wanted pictures with all the actors. While it is geared towards elementary kids, there was some amazing effects like a drone show during one of the performances. 
• 365 Ice Show: Amazingly, there is an ice rink on the ship! This was an ice skating production set to a wide range of music. Overall the performance was entertaining, there were some great stunts and most of the music was recognizable (ie. Top hit songs). It is a small theater so I recommend getting there at least 30min early for good seats. 
• Voices: This was a musical performance that mixed acapella voices and technology, meaning they use pre-recorded voices for background sounds. The cast performed music from a wide variety of genres. While the singers were good, this was overall our least favorite show. Stella attended but did not know many of the songs, and we did not bring Michael which was a good decision as it wouldn’t have held his attention. 

Coco Cay

We chose to hang out on the beach at Coco Cay. We found a spot on Chill Island, which had a great beach and a cove that is perfect for kids looking to swim. Farther into the water there is some good snorkeling, including a shipwreck and old canon underwater. Ryan explored this area and while they do have a small platform by the area to rest on, it is a long swim to get there so he highly recommended a lifejacket. Coco Cay is a huge island with options for every age, however it is still pretty busy as usually there are two ships on the island. For this reason I think it would be hard to find seats if you wanted to hop around to different areas. There are multiple pool options, splash pads for younger kids, an adult only space and a large waterpark. Note that some options require that you pay extra, for example the adults only space and access to the waterpark. 

Food

This ship has a large variety of food options for all flavors and styles. 

• Buffet: The main buffet option is available for a majority of the day and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. We felt there was a large selection and while it did get busy some days, it was never hard to find an open table. There is also a second option, Solarium Bistro, near the adults area (but kids can eat) that offers more healthy menu options and is only open for lunch.
• Main Dining Hall: You are able to select between a certain time for dinner every night, or “My Time” which allows you to eat when you want each night. We chose not to eat in main dining. I have heard that the service can take longer, and since this cruise we were really letting the kids decide what we’d do, we chose to not attend main dining. A friend of mine has said that if you mention to your servers that you are looking for quick service with your kids, they are good at accommodating
• Quick Serve: There are three different fast options available throughout the day: hot dogs, pizza and Mexican buffet. These were great to grab for a quick snack, or pizza for a late night meal. The one downside is that the three options are spread throughout the ship rather than in a central location. The Mexican buffet was the only quick serve option outside of the buffet near the pool.
• Café: There are two cafes on the ship that offer small bite sandwiches, breakfast, coffee and desserts. This is where we often filled up our water bottles with water.  
• Specialty Dining: There are 10 specialty restaurants on Wonder of the Seas that offer more premium dining experiences. Each of these have themes, for example seafood, hibachi, Italian, and a traditional steakhouse. The difference with these is that they cost additional money. During our cruise, which was during Spring Break, we found that the cost was the same as a nice restaurant at home, so it did not seem discounted given you have already paid for a cruise where many food options are available. We did not try any of these options, but many people do say the food is great if you are willing to pay.