A Brutally Honest Wonder of the Seas Review 2023

A comprehensive review of Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas in 2023. Room 11196. Gluten free and Lactose free food options onboard the ship. A review of the Unlimited Dining Package, as well as the Royal Caribbean drink package. A tour of itinerary ports, Nassau Bahamas, CocoCay, Falmouth Jamaica, and Labadee, Haiti.

[@ashleylynnbickert5994]

I really enjoyed the honesty and I enjoyed the sarcasm as I cackled at a few things. I really felt like this was me narrating this!

[@aannggiieeee]

This was so good! I love your honest and laid back style of review. Can’t wait to hear all about Icon!!

[@lyndon8353]

I’ve been on Wonder but still enjoyed watching this. Very thorough. Thank you

[@SandcastleGirl]

Love your review! Your table rant was funny AF!😂😂😂

[@sol_tropical]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JaniceCrowell]

I like this video. Subscribed. Thank you for speaking so clearly!

[@bellabusa8169]

Great review, professional and one of the most concise and perfectly filmed reviews.

[@kakk00]

I’m so glad you gave both the pros and cons of boarding early. I personally don’t like to board until after 1pm at the earliest, but I know I’m in the minority. It makes for a more relaxing and restful morning and you can often go straight to your cabin. And I’m not a fan of being tired on the first day of a cruise so it works for me. But I fully understand why others might want to board the ship as early as possible.

[@sol_tropical]

I agree. Our first cruise we didn't get on until about 2 pm because of COVID testing and while that stunk it was great to go straight to our room and the elevator rush had come and gone so there was no waiting for an elevator.

[@sdpeterex]

@@sol_tropical Our embarkation on Harmony of the Seas in Miami was miserable. I likened it to a human cattle call. It may have contributed to our Covid infection. Problem is that we cannot get early boarding time and I don't want to pay for "The Key".

[@sol_tropical]

@@sdpeterex thanks for watching and the comment. Pro-tip add a calendar reminder to check-in at midnight or the crack of dawn on the first day you can check in. You will probably end up with a 10:30am boarding time which is the same as The Key (which is a rip off)

[@xocaitlinnpattz]

Loved this! I’m so used to cheesy and positive cruise reviews that is so sugar coated!

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for your kind words. No sugar coating here.

[@dpat9906]

Great job! One of the best cruise videos I've seen yet.

[@sol_tropical]

I appreciate that.

[@jackiebailes5987]

I greatly enjoyed this honest review! Well done! Would love to see a Oasis vs Wonder comparison video soon. Subscribed and waiting

[@user-vl2dk2el7h]

Excellent review! Well done! Enjoyed it. Honest, interesting and well put together. Keep up the great work.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching.

[@onederfull3436]

I REALLY ENJOY WATCHING THE VIDEO, AND THE NARRATION OF THE VID WAS GREAT, THANKS !!!

[@jessigirlrae1688]

We did an excursion on Falmouth and it was the BEST. I recommend doing the waterfall climb. We got to see much of the countryside and even some shopping.

[@rooroo43]

Thank you for your review. This is the review i was looking for. I felt like other youtubers worked for Royal Carribean and was scared to be honest.

[@Gal-wm9jw]

The teeny tiny tables!! 🤣 Note to self to bring my pop-up camping table with me on Wonder.

[@jenniferconnolly7860]

Great review! I appreciate your honest pros and cons.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching!

[@Bamaoutdoors]

Great review and thanks for the info! We have been on freedom and Independence of the sea and now we're looking for something deferent. It is more expensive on the 7 day cruise but we will have to just do it.

[@Stars786fly]

Thanks for the great Review.

[@markhovis4]

Presented like an episode of Dragnet. (most of y'all don't know what that is). Very impressive review. Just the facts ma'am, just the facts.

[@sol_tropical]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Garrison2592]

Great Video!

[@dustindavidson849]

‘Now that you have your drink package, it’s time to PARTY!….with your kids…’ 😂 Great review sir.

[@papierdolls]

Loved your video! Great sense of humor! I watched it twice! 😅I hope you do more! I'm going on Wonder of the Seas in a few months - awesome review!

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for the kind words. There is also an Oasis video on my channel and a brand new LEGOLAND video out today!

[@victorlazo238]

Awesome review man!!

[@jeriqosantos]

this is the honest review i needed to keep my expectations low! no bullshit, its a reasonable mans point of view

[@Steel0730]

Would love to see a direct comparison of Oasis vs Wonder! Great idea! Subscribed! Great video! Appreciate the little tips like enjoy Coco Cay before 2.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for the sub!

[@travelcampexplore166]

Haven’t been on Wonder but I have been on Harmony twice. We have a video posted on our channel. I love Oasis class ships. So much to do you can not get bored. Good service in my experience too.

[@zachaustin6229]

I thought I saw myself when you entered the ship lol! I was on this sailing and definitely agree with most of your points. I am starting to plan another cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed Labadee and the other ports. We did an excursion in Jamacia and loved it so for anybody sailing there, book an excursion. Black Friday deals are awesome!

[@sol_tropical]

Too funny.

[@chadwhite2277]

What a great vlog

[@lemechachamblin840]

I am looking at booking my first Royal cruise. Not new to cruising by no means just new to Royal. Thank you for this. I did subscribe. Thanks for the drink package tip for my kid. I was looking at going when he turns 6. 5 may be better :)

[@sol_tropical]

He will love it at 5, 6, or 7, at least ours did. At 5 he wasn't a big fan of the kids club but at 6 he was!

[@andystanchfield752]

Going next week!!

[@miketaylor5393]

Good review. I like seeing reviews from people that don't also own a travel agency. Those reviews are "Everything is great and wonderful" no matter what ship it is or what difficulties they run into. They only want to point out the positives to help them sell more cruises. I liked that you saw some flaws and pointed them out but you still reported that you had a wonderful cruise and promptly booked Icon. That's reality. No cruise is perfect and there is always room for improvement but that doesn't mean you don't have a great time. Oh, and ignore those that are complaining about your voice/monotone. Your narration reminds me of Jim Zim's cruise reviews. Jim has a very similar style and monotone. When Jim was doing cruise reviews he was one of the top on KZbin.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for the thoughtful notes. Jim Zim! I forgot about him but that's high praise.

[@vladboiarskyi3198]

Well said and explained, went there 6 month ago

[@sol_tropical]

glad to see you made it back on land.

[@MD1223334444]

Hey great video. Keep it up.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks I hope too.

[@bgregg55]

Same experience in Falmouth, Jamaica. We thought we could just do a walking tour on our own but it was a bit too intimidating so we ended up at the Margaritaville pool all day.

[@sol_tropical]

Ha!

[@anthonyashley8565]

Like the way you did th8s review

[@evaa-w5399]

One of the skaters has a vlog, and I love following the daily life of the crew.

[@travisalmouth2745]

Thanks for the review! I never heard of Freeport, Jamaica? I have been to Freeport in the Bahamas.

[@sol_tropical]

Yeah its Falmouth Jamaica. I put up the correct text on the screen when I made that mistake. Thanks for watching.

[@JamesTHENEXTSTEP]

I’m going on the cruise today and I can see the ship from my hotel!!!

[@sol_tropical]

Stop watching the review and get out there and enjoy the ship! then go back to watching the review.

[@Billymarkhampton]

Well done!

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching.

[@user-kk5dl1lf7p]

You have very charming voice, great review!

[@williamsaunders670]

You can still get a physical cruise compass at guest services btw sir .

[@TheCorismatic]

Thank you very much for your honest yet humorous review! 😂 I love this ship. ❤ I want to book a family cruise next year. Possibly 13 of us.( includes 4 children). Would you consider this cruise line to be reasonably priced for family cruise and best options for entertaining children, or should I continue to shop around a little?

[@sol_tropical]

I have only cruised on Royal but I have done a ton of research and watched a ton of different videos from other cruise lines. I think most people agree that Royal is the best family friendly cruise line with the exception of Disney but they are way overpriced. If the 4 kids are secondary and cost is most important you can probably save money on Carnival or MSC, but I wouldn't do that.

[@AronRoss72]

Very well put together video! When was this sailing? Was that your final price you paid for the drinks package and the unlimited beverage package? I personally don't see myself sailing on Wonder for a long time. After 4 Royal cruises in a row from May 2022 to May 2023, I feel like this cruise line has too many cons for me to stay loyal. I would sail them again in the future, but there are too many others out there on my list to try. Their food has been mostly disappointing with the exception of Giovanni's Kitchen. I find their pricing on some of their extras to be a bit outrageous. I chose to sail on Carnival Celebration next Nov 2024 instead of Wonder. A balcony on Celebration was about $700 each, while Wonder was $1000 each for an interior. I'm just not blown away enough by Royal to pay that much for an interior. Anyway, thanks for posting and added a "like" for you.

[@sol_tropical]

The cruise on Wonder for an ocean view was $3600 something no gratuities. The drink package for 2 adults was around $1200. The unlimited dining package was a steal because our 5 year old was free and I caught a good sale. With gratuities it was still under $500.

[@NikaKarol-ds1vm]

Whew none of these are brutal, going in November and this video made me even more excited!

[@TSKseattle]

Well I don't have kids, and I don't drink, so I skipped the middle, but I really appreciated the restaurant reviews (I'm going to add the Chops+! package) and the realistic port stops. Good info

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching!

[@chiltonj]

This felt like Eeyore did a review that ended with...and we enjoyed it so much that we booked another cruise. LOL. Labadoozies, gross? They are awesome!

[@Mocski00]

Amazing review, with both pros and cons. I am looking forward to your Icon of the seas tour. I am still debating if a Cruise is for me and partner, we watched this together and it seems too busy and not very organized. The part where you highlight those early morning risers to claim a deck chair made me cringe, felt like a cheap holiday!

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching! There are chair hogs at expensive holidays too.

[@justeenroe2580]

I was on oasis of the seas at Orlando on the 18th of june

[@sol_tropical]

My first cruise love.

[@JustSomeLousyTeen]

Ok, so, imagine this. The ship is going on a transatlantic, and winds are picking up. Winds hit the table, and the medium-sized table, being not quite strong, will fly off of the balcony into the window or outside of the balcony into another window. Now, the smaller table, it’s aerodynamic, resistant, it won’t fly off of the balcony like the medium sized table. That’s why.

[@sol_tropical]

Aerodynamic resistant? It's a circle table just like the larger circle table except it weighs must less and is easier to lift. I guess maybe like the size of a kite or parachute the smaller space means less air drag, but if that was the case I think they would have pulled the larger tables from other Oasis ships. I appreciate your view and thoughtful comment. Of the hundreds of comments this is one of two that might make sense.

[@sarahmurphy6733]

They sure have taken aesthetics to a whole new level, those tables are placed that way because you can see the interior balconies while walking around the ship and taken away from from those with ocean views.

[@sol_tropical]

The larger tables on Oasis ocean view balconies didn't obstruct my view at all. It's really a shame that there is basically no tables on Wonder of the seas ocean balconies.

[@spassimirvassilev5172]

👍👍👍

[@RBUDD16]

You also can use the vanity table. It pulls out and can go out to the deck.

[@sol_tropical]

There was definitely not a vanity table that could be moved in this room.

[@shirgall]

We sailed on Nov 5. You get printed cruise compasses if you stay in Sky Class suites.

[@sol_tropical]

That is good to know. Now we have a reason to stay in Sky class suites.

[@2008july4]

Thanks for video. Is buffet including or we have to charge?

[@sol_tropical]

The buffet, Sorentos pizza, and Park Cafe are always free.

[@michaelpenn8176]

Excellent review! I'm booked in March 2024 and I can't wait. What is the name of the shuttle service you used? I was debating on a shuttle that you can designate what time you want to leave or just getting and Uber.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks. You will have a blast. Excellent cruise ship. We decided NOT to use a cruise port shuttle because we wanted to arrive at the port no later than 10am (since we had 10:30a arrival time). With the shuttle's you don't have much of a say when you leave or how many airports it stops at. I highly recommend Uber instead. Costs about the same when you count both Uber rides there and back.

[@michaelpenn8176]

@@sol_tropical Thank you. Uber it is then..lol. We also want to arrive earlier than later to the port.

[@b0ater2]

What sailing? We are on the March 17th sailing

[@michaelpenn8176]

@@b0ater2 We are on the March 3rd sailing

[@michaelpenn8176]

@@b0ater2 We are on the March 3rd sailing.

[@altonbay629]

Pretty fair review overall. BTW, if you request a paper cruise compass from your steward, they will provide you one, each night, for the next day ☕📰. We've been cruising for 20+ years. Whatever things you thought were a tad annoying on RCC....well, let me suggest you cruise several other cruise lines; then, then do a comparison review. ❤

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks for watching. Next cruise I will definitely be asking for the paper cruise compass. Good tip.

[@clydebutler2582]

I was on that cruise with you

[@sol_tropical]

It was a great cruise!

[@sonicimperium]

That whole thing looks like a floating hell on earth.

[@jimfurphy9271]

Would you please tell me why kind of drone or what you use when I see the remote in your hand.

[@sol_tropical]

what kind of drone. I didn't use a drone for any shots in this wonder of the seas review. Just a gopro and my phone. thanks for watching.

[@melvinjacobs2328]

We we3re on the Wondwr also. I'm Diamond, and never saw worse theater shows on any Royal ship. Usually they're great, but this ship they were awful, in my opinion.

[@mikezupancic2182]

The food and beverage packages are so frustrating as they do not explain any of this or tell you what the cost is while going through the booking process. I tried finding all this info out but gave up when I got to the payment screen before being able to view packages. The only option given was the prepaid gratuity. Trying to decide if it's Disney or Royal Caribbean for a family of 4 with a current 9 year old girl and a current 16 year old girl.

[@zachaustin6229]

Not sure if you have looked into it or not, but I would highly reccomend a travel agent. They are free to use and can easily answer those questions for you.

[@soremekun]

Small tables for ocean view balconies probably so the ocean view is less obstructed.

[@sol_tropical]

At first I thought this was a joke but you might be onto something.

[@amandapanda4036]

Can u get a print out of the cruise compass from customer service? That’s just crazy you can only get to it online. We like to highlight it and take it with us.

[@sol_tropical]

I know for certain that you can get one from guest services. I did this but that is like going to the DMV each day to get your newspaper. Some people have suggested that you can request to have the paper version delivered to your room each day if you request it. I am not sure that is the case.

[@amandapanda4036]

@@sol_tropical ha true the lines are always long. Thank u for replying!

[@mr.p9496]

Hi, do you think that the 12 deck is quiet enough for sleeping in the Wonder? Thanks

[@sol_tropical]

Yes, absolutely. We stayed on the 12 deck on Oasis and loved it.

[@mr.p9496]

@@sol_tropical thanks, mine is on this October 🙏

[@larrypinter3321]

Thanks for the review. I am surprised Haiti is a port of call despite the violent gangs and do not travel notices.

[@sol_tropical]

It is very isolated and completely closed off from society. Distant part of the country no where near the capitol and turmoil. Plus I sure Royal Caribbean has a small army protecting it. I hope to go back.

[@madonnachien4575]

Will you do a brutally honest review of icon of the seas?

[@sol_tropical]

It is in the works! Probably a couple weeks away. I might not call it "brutally honest" review however... We will see. Thanks for watching.

[@bostonbobby12]

Solid and direct review. The tiny balcony table makes no sense.

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks, and agreed.

[@michaelpenn8176]

@@sol_tropical Hypothetically what is a good tip to give your room steward for things like that? I heard you can tip them and get pool loungers and larger tables on your balcony. Just want to make sure I tip in the ballpark and not over tip. I was kinda thinking $20 for every perk item I request.

[@sol_tropical]

I have never heard of getting pool loungers for your room attendant. Interesting idea. Tiping is different choice for each person. Personally I feel many people don't tip and many people over tip. Our plan with our room was to not tip until the end and leave something like $20-50+ bucks depending on how he did. Obviously we paid gratuities as well. After we asked for a real table and didn't get it for a couple days I starting tipping $5 a day and the table suddenly showed up.

[@michaelpenn8176]

@@sol_tropical I also heard you are supposed to leave a minimum of $20 per person in the cabin per day. So $140 each. at the end of the cruise. I was planning at least that much and various extra tips throughout the cruise.

[@harryalexander391]

What drink was that at 6:00?

[@sol_tropical]

Probably could have been the Coco Loco island drink RC offers. If that was the case, like the Laba-Doosey it too was awful. Way too sweet.

[@ianmichael3912]

I think cruises had issues with ppl throwing tables overboard, wonder if that is the reason

[@sol_tropical]

Maybe, but it seems like a smaller table would be easier to throw.

[@kerrichen928]

I wanna ask if you bring the champagne on your own?

[@sol_tropical]

Yes. room service is basically free. like an $8 delivery charge for everything you want to order. So if you bring your own sparking wine (you can bring on two bottles per state room) you can have a great breakfast on the ocean with mimosas for around 8 bucks. great deal.

[@uncannyramsay8727]

I got Chops Grille for lunch for $80 for three adults at Anthem, holy shit. Maybe it's because I booked it months before or that it's a different ship idk

[@sol_tropical]

That's a decent deal. Depending on the ship and sailing chops dinner can be around $50 to $69 bucks and lunch is usually a little more than half the price. So 80 bucks for 3 with gratuities is a good deal.

[@evelynmckenzie5269]

Correction, Freeport is Bahamas. Falmouth is in Jamaica.

[@sol_tropical]

Ha. I made the same mistake in my review.

[@cheonglee300]

subbed just bc the gag me with a spoon comment....poor zoomers and their corny social tok content haha

[@sol_tropical]

Thanks Gabe. At least one person got it.

[@bblackmann]

What's up with that "table"?

[@pilgrum23]

We on bord wonder of the seas last night we went to main dining room to see if it lived up to what claimed sad to say no the food is no wow factor service nothing to stay properly be only time we go

[@sol_tropical]

The only time you go to the main dining room?

[@tfung8]

Honest Review of Wonder of the Sea The ship is huge…. Just added more cabins, more overprice Dining options, less venues for activities. Compare to other Oasis class, this has worst layout and less activities resulted boring cruise experience. Super difficult to find a seat at all venue. Music Hall and Bolero is smaller, while Karaoke and photo shop are super large. Service was excellent throughout the ship, including Dining Room and Windjammer. Excellent services provided by Erwin Nelson - Pool bartender, Noor of Windjammer, Fernando of Windjammer greeter, Ping at the Diamond Lounge, Juluis of Chef in kitchen and Anderson Perego of the pool towel station. The Captain is very friendly. The Beverage and Hotel Director Erfin is too pride to talk/listen and be friend with passengers. Dining Room for lunch and Dinner: Due to cost cutting, poor food quality. Very limited selection, limited to 3 appetizers and 3 main dishes. Menu is 12 years old and boring. Do not expect to have lobster until the 13th days. Pork Chops are always over cooked and very tough. However, service is wonderful, but need minor adjustment as to coordination and cooperation. Diamond Lounge: Usually there is a line for coffee. The 2 coffee machines break down daily and often. One machine has been leaking for 8 days. Also, we need more than 2 coffee machines for so many members. Mr. Ping of Beverage Dept. in Diamond Lounge is very good in cleaning and reset the coffee machines constantly. Music: Third class. Bands at the Top Stage of Royal Promenade is a total waste. People just walk by and treat them as random noise that no one enjoy. Only 1 out of 50 people takes time to look up at the top stage noise makers. Boleros: Only place to dance on the ship. The LATIN band only plays the Mexican Pechanga and nothing else. At our request, they start playing Latin songs Cha Cha, Rumba, etc. at the end of the cruise. Not a true Latin band. The dance floor only fits 10 couples dancing for 7000 passengers. Sorrento: Separation of pizza from the drink and snack counter created confusion, and people flow problem. Sport Activities: Great. Zip line is super short. Production show: Wonderful and enjoyable. Enforcers 2 is fantastic. No more Broadway shows. Overall: Boring cruise unless you are super active in sport.

[@sol_tropical]

That's a lot to take in. I agree about sorentos. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@amiepirkle6303]

We love Labadee more than CocoCay.

[@sol_tropical]

I agree! however they didn't have craken rum ;-)

[@chrispalma5190]

I think this dude works for Carnival or something 😂 have had completely opposite experiences on RC

[@JaJa-qt5sf]

Cruise lines do nit have enough crew. They do not pay the crew enough. It will be circus in the future if companies do not change approach to the crew.

[@sol_tropical]

Wonder seemed fully staffed to me in March 2023. I only noticed two places of staff lacking the room attendants who cleaned less but that was a Royal policy shift and the over worked wait staff in one restaurant.

[@MrRonfelder]

it's an island not a peninsula.

[@bean12281]

Thought his commentary was a little to negative. Would like to see more pros and cons not everyone shares the same views.

[@markmatthews6440]

should have left your wife at home lol

[@kevintemerowski5271]

To give a brutally honest review of this review vid....I was completely bored and found myself uninterested in the monotone voice over. I also found myself completely uninterested about the whole gluten free portion. I just lost interest in the review, not the ship. Hearing reviewers complain about the smallest things is also a turn off. Thanks.

[@01eclipseGT]

if you were gluten free, you would feel a whole lot different about that portion of the video

[@ramseyAway]

“If you were gluten free you would feel a lot more differently about that portion of the video” 🤓🤓🤓

[@happycola2689]

Monotone voice? I call a great base voice. I like this Sol Tropical review.

[@RoyalCaribbeanCruiseChronicles]

He lost me at “brutally honest review”. I only clicked here to comment on that title lol.

[@onelove6177]

I loved his review! I actually found humor in his commentary and monotone voice- almost felt like a Dick Tracy narrated story but review style. 😂maybe you don’t find entertainment/humor in certain styles but some of us do. It is also called a “brutally honest review” so the complaint of the smallest things are kind of expected. Idk people require too much of people these days. Maybe if he tap danced and sang to us that would be appropriate? Geesh…

[@roybje]

Eating out with you guys sounds miserable! If your at a buffet food allergies are your responsibility.

[@RoyalCaribbeanCruiseChronicles]

I dislike the term “honest review” or even “brutally honest review”. Is this opposed to a dishonest review?😂

[@sol_tropical]

I prefer the term click-bait title.

[@RoyalCaribbeanCruiseChronicles]

@@sol_tropical I “honestly” don’t watch or read any reviews having the word “honest” in it 😂😂😂😂

[@trotcar57]

This was the worst cruise I ever did. Way too many people. Bigger is NOT better.

[@sol_tropical]

Really? Wow. It didn't feel crowded to us but we never tried to sit by a pool.

[@uniZrocks]

Worlds whiniest review