By JoDell Haverfield, Have Travel Memories
I am writing this month’s editorial while sailing on the biggest ship in the world. The Wonder of the Seas is the newest member of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines “Oasis Class” fleet of the largest ships at sea. The Wonder began her reign as the largest ship on March 4, 2022, as she sailed her maiden voyage from Port Everglades. The first ship of this fleet was the Oasis of the Seas, with never-before-seen innovations and one of the best cruise ships for couples yet still perfect for families with more adventures and activities for all ages.
Now the Wonder has taken all these innovations and added more. She is even more impressive with her Boardwalk and Central Park neighborhoods, along with her even wider array of adventures and entertainment, while still being multigen perfect. One passenger celebrated her 90th birthday this week. The Wonder is well designed for scooters and more to assist the needs of everyone from wide elevators to hallways and staterooms.
Upon embarking on the Wonder, we could see her interior was obviously elegant and expansive, however we didn’t fully appreciate her sheer mass until the first port day, as we disembarked and walked down the pier between the Wonder on one side and another ship on the other. We were in awe; we could see how massive she really is. Just to give some perspective I have a few stats to help you compare. The Oasis is 1,181 feet long and 154 feet wide, the Wonder is 1,188 feet long and 200 feet wide. The average cruise ship today is 1,000 feet long and 120 feet wide. The Titanic, at the time she first sailed in 1912 was the largest ship afloat and measured a mere 882 feet long and 92 feet wide.
Growing up, I spent a fair amount of time with my mother and sister as guests along with other Navy families on ships and submarines for dinners, tours, holidays and events. Perhaps this is why I love cruise ships! For me, cruising is the best way to see the world. Having been travel agents for the last 30 years, we have had the opportunity to see a good part of the world, mostly from cruise ships, because we like the convenience, as well as generally being more cost-effective. We have stayed in economy interior cabins to luxury suites on a variety of cruise lines. We have sailed with our children, grandchildren and aging parents. We have even enjoyed the privilege of sharing our cabin with teenage granddaughters and every bit of it was amazing. We still talk about and cherish those memories.
My husband and I agree we have been spoiled by our spacious balcony cabin on the Wonder as it is superb with a comfortable bed and several modern and convenient touches that make me think this time a woman designed it. I wish I could write all about our experience, but limited time won’t allow it. I will go into more detail on our recent cruises including The Wonder of the Seas in my podcast and social media after I return home next week. Our staff is planning to share their perspectives as well as our teenagers who came along.
As magnificent as she is, the Wonder won’t hold her title for long. Soon there will be a new queen. The Icon of the Seas will debut later this year measuring 1,196 feet long and 216 feet wide.
A Little History
A year ago, I wrote about one of my favorite cruise ships, the SS Norway, built in France in 1962 and originally named the “SS France.” I discovered several years after I first sailed on her in 1999, that the Norway blazed the trail for the cruise experience as we know it today. She was a luxury ocean liner known for her exquisite contemporary French art and décor. She was also known at the time for being the longest ocean liner ever built at 1,035 feet and her width was 110 feet wide. As the SS France, she did 377 crossings before transatlantic cruise travel gave way to the more efficient crossing of the Atlantic by air. By this time, it had become too costly to continue to offer her services, which were advertised at a mere 6 cents a mile.
The SS France was then purchased by Knut Kloster, founder of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) for $18 million and renamed the SS Norway. Knut’s vision was to make the Norway into a luxury yet affordable recreational cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean. He was ridiculed for his decision to buy the France because cruise ships were smaller vessels for the wealthier clientele, however Knut believed he could use the extra space to add entertainment such as Broadway Shows. After spending another $65 million, his vision was validated, as today the industry is dominated by cruise ships much larger than the Norway.
He was so successful that in 1990 he added atop the Norway superstructure two more decks, creating 135 more cabins increasing total decks from 13 to 15 and creating 600 first-class luxury suites. Her total passenger capacity went from 2,040 to 2,181 with a crew of 800.
Nine years later in 1999 we hosted a group of more than 30 on the Norway, which was then the largest cruise ship, where we saw the Broadway Musical “Grease.” Now, 24 years later, we are exploring again the currently largest cruise ship. The Wonder offers a number of dining options, many of which are complimentary, as well as a rock-climbing wall and several multilevel water slides, all of which twist and turn over Central Parks 10 decks below. The entertainment doesn’t disappoint either, with skydiving, ice skating, live bands and my favorite, Voices, a performance on a grand scale of world class singers and dancers who take the stage for a powerful new production.
Look for our social media posts, podcasts and more as we share our experience on this amazing ship and more. We will give an honest review.
Thanks for Travelin with JoDell!
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