JUNE CRUISE 2022 REVIEW (with 2 kids)
Cruise: 7 Nights Western Mediterranean Cruise
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Date: 12-19 June 2022
Ship: Wonder of The Seas
Embarkation Port: Barcelona, Spain
Disembarkation Port: Barcelona, Spain
Ports of Call: Barcelona, Palma De Mallorca, Provence (Marseille), La Spezia, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples
Here’s a short review on our second Royal Caribbean cruise with our 8 month old and 3 year old. Those who are adamant about bringing the kids, it’s absolutely doable and there are so many things for kids to do on board the ship. We were on Odessey of The Seas before and for this we were on the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet – WONDER OF THE SEAS!
Food: We did a 3 Nights Specialty Dining package that we pay on top of our cruise cost. But included in the price of the cruise, there are breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets around the ship. The main buffets are in Windjammer. I would say they have some pretty good Indian food. The specialty restaurants I think are worth it. The food and service is amazing. I celebrated my 30th on the ship at Chops Grille and loved it! We did Izumi Sushi, Hooked Seafood, Mason Jar (did not use the package for this restaurant), and Chops Grille. Some restaurants do not have a kids menu but I absolutely love their kids menu. It’s not just chicken nuggets and mac and cheese but proper dishes. They had coconut shrimp on the Kids Menu in Hooked Seafood and not for the adults menu. If you ask, they can bring some out for you 😉 .
Drinks: There is a also drink packages that you can buy for each person that includes a coca cola cup that you can refill endlessly at stations around your ship with soda, and also alcohol beverages. They have a few different drink packages that to me was NOT worth it unless you want to get drunk everyday on the ship. If you don’t take any packages, they will be accumulated on your rooom charges individually. We did not do the drink package. There are many decent bars on the ship and apparently they had Screwball at Mason Jar bar ONLY (IYKYK) .
For Kids: They have a small Arcade, a Caroussel, a climbing feature, family parade, playground, mini golf, water slides and playground . Most importantly, they also have Adventure Ocean for Babies (called AO Babies for 6-36 months), Juniors (called AO Juniors for 3-5 years old), and also a Play Place for little ones and families. This is where you can drop your kids off at certain times during the day and evening while you attend a show or just go around the ship bar hopping (which is what we did!). They require reservations for the babies drop off and their hourly rate is $6/hour (WAAAAAY CHEAPER THAN IN GERMANY 
). We dropped our little 8 month old with diapers, wipes and milk, and they have everything else there, even a small room with cribs, a play area, changing station, nursing chairs. Our 3 year old loves it at AO Juniors, since they do activities, painting, drawing, singing songs, story time, play dress up as well. On Port Days, you can leave them there from 9AM to 7PM, they will provide lunch and dinner at WindJammer. Yes you can go off the ship when you leave them at Adventure Ocean. On cruising days, they go by 3 hour slots, 9AM-12PM, 2PM-5PM, and 7PM-10PM.
Entertainment: They have shows, theater performances, a movie theater, casino, an outdoor water ampitheater for night shows. Sometimes stand up comedies are in line too. It depends on what is available, you can see all the activities through the Royal app. You can also do the Flowrider, the Abyss slide (our favourite), the water slides were cool!, rock-climbing, arcade, play pool at PlayMakers. They also have laser tag as well, watch the time because this one is first come first serve. They have other activities/competitions too like Finish the Lyrics, Trivia Time, Bingo, Karaoke and a lot of other fun activities for adults.
PORT DAYS: Port Days were much better on the 9 Night Greek Isle itinerary. This itinerary is a little tough especially with younger kids. It’s not impossible but if you want to leave them at Adventure Ocean, they’d probably have a better time there. In Palma, there is a coach by Royal Caribbean. This is the same in Marseille, France. In La Spezia, the destinations you want to go to are quite a distance away, so this is a lot of traveling from the ship’s port. Rome is the same way as La Spezia. With Naples, you can walk to the city center easy or train to Pompeii. I will do a transportation guide on another post in the blog following this one.
Let me know if you guys have any questions in the comments.
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