Cruise Days 1 & 2

Last year, we were scheduled to go on a cruise over Spring Break. It was going to be our first time on one of Royal Caribbean’s mega, Oasis class ships. We had booked the cruise in October of 2019 for March 2021. Then, Covid hit and the cruise was cancelled. When cruising resumed, we rescheduled for March 2022 on Allure of the Seas. Then, a few months later, we saw that the newest ship, Wonder of the Seas would have its second sailing that week and the price was very reasonable, so we switched over. I had my doubts the trip would take place, but I am writing this from the balcony of the ship!

Day one was Friday, March 11, which was the first day of Spring Break. We left the house at 7 for the drive to Fort Lauderdale and arrived in plenty of time for our 11am check-in. Everything went smoothly and we were onboard by 1145. We had lunch and then Kara did the zipline and Kara, Thomas, Luke and Jack did the Ultimate Abyss (a slide that takes you from Deck 16 to Deck 6). Anna and I held belongings and waited to hear the reviews (people liked it, but it was a little uncomfortable for the taller Wilsons). Then, Luke, Thomas and I tried out the water slides. With my rashguard top, I went really slow. In fact, I got stuck in one of the slides and had to push myself out. It was very claustrophobic feeling. There was one slide that we all agreed was super fun and I hope to try again (it is called the tornado and you go into a funnel type contraption). Meanwhile, Jack, Anna and Kara hung out on deck and ate ice cream. After the water slides, we had a snack at the Mexican restaurant and shared some nachos and burritos, which were really good.

The Tilleys are also onboard (Frank, Marta, Matt, Cristin and George) and we met up for our 5:30 dinner, which was delicious with amazing service. We relaxed in our rooms after dinner and called it an early night-- it had been a long day.

 Day 2 was a Sea Day. Thomas and I started the day with a visit to the gym followed by banana smoothies. Luke went to the kid’s club in the morning. The rest of us did some puzzle game. We solved several clues, but they gave us an incorrect portion of the puzzle, so obviously we didn’t get to the final answer. The girls and I also did another game. We had 20 word questions, like ATfrankfrankRA=Frank Sinatra or ECNALG=backwards glance, and got 10 of them right. Some of them were super difficult and some were clearly from a different culture (one answer was “It fell off the back of a lorry”). But, we had fun trying to figure it out. We also listened to some jewelry spiel and got free stuff. They did a raffle and Marta won! She got a really pretty diamond pendant. We explored the ship more, Luke did the rock climbing wall and Anna and I tried the Abyss. Some of us played miniature golf, rode the carousel, had milkshakes at Johnny Rockets, etc. Some of us sat on the balcony and read, or took naps, or explored with a partner at various times. 

Miniature golf with a view

The rockwall is huge! We weren't sure if Luke would make it to the top. You can also see some of the Abyss in the background (the purple slide).

But, he did!

It was a formal night and the girls were excited to dress up, Anna even did Kara's hair. They looked so grown-up!

After dinner, we went to our first show—Voices. The level of talent was amazing. It was the first cruise ship show I’ve been to where the audience gave the cast a standing ovation. I loved it. Luke and Jack opted out and I was disappointed for them. After the show, we walked through the Central Park area and listened to a live band for a few minutes. Then, I decided to go back to the room. My room key is not for the room I sleep in (we have one adult in each room, but we have Luke with us and the older kids directly across the hall). But, sometimes, I can use the app to open “my” door. I went to check on Luke and Jack and realized that I had someone else’s room key (I had gotten a drink at the show and hadn’t realized they gave me back a different card). Then, Luke and Jack came into the hall with me and I tried to use the app to open the other door. And, it wouldn’t work. We were all stuck in the hallway with no key to either room! I called Thomas, who quickly came and let the boys in while I went to Guest Services for a new card. 

I fell asleep a little bit earlier, but woke up a million times. Both Thomas and I were up for good at 4:30. I am already tired, but I know I won’t be able to fall back asleep. Hopefully, the day will be so fun that I don’t notice I am exhausted!