Mo Goes | The Blog

I cruised on Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas this past Spring for the first time and it wasn’t the cruise experience I expected.

This was also my first time on a “mega cruise ship” and I was super excited. Wonder of the Seas is huge. It has 18 decks, it can hold just under 7,000 passengers and 2,300 crew. I had my typical cruise game plan ready: off shore excursions, try as many food options as possible, enjoy my balcony, explore the ship and get as much video and photo content as possible. I was disappointed that things didn’t work out the way I planned.

I overlooked one missing detail that should have stuck out like a sore thumb: my 4-day cruise itinerary had no scheduled sea day.

Many factors play into a cruise ship’s appeal but one of the most important ones should be whether the ship’s intnerary incorporates a sea day. I don’t think many people even think about sea days when they book a cruise which explains why it’s so often overlooked. Sadly I didn’t think about it at all either.

I’ve heard other cruisers agree that their time on Wonder of the Seas specifically felt extremely short. Just one sea day would have made a difference in logistics for me and that’s why I felt short changed on this cruise.

Wonder of the Seas is stacked with things to keep you busy including activities, food and entertainment but it’s hard to enjoy it all on top of the off shore excursions you may have booked. For me it was impossible without a sea day on a short cruise like this.

As a travel content creator sea days are crucial to my cruise experience but honestly I’d feel the same way even if I weren’t a creator. Anyone should want to maximize their time and get the most value out of a cruise by doing all the things both on and off the ship. Sea days make it possible.

For me they allow the time needed to explore the ship at my own pace and capture content. I like to start early because it’s easier to capture content with fewer people around. Most cruisers don’t care about content and either sleep in or pool rot on sea days.

Some cruisers enjoy high energy off shore excursions like snorkeling, jet skiing, off roading and walking tours. After a full day of non-stop action a sea day offers much needed time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. I would feel rushed and drained doing all the cruise things without a sea day to help break things up.

There’s a reason cruise lines create itineraries minus sea days. From a business perspective it’s a very smart move. The goal is simple, make more money, spend less money while doing the least amount of work in the shortest amount of time possible. The less time spent at sea means the faster they can get back to home port to do it all again for the next six thousand people.

When you think about it, sea days are actually an expense for the cruise line because more money is being spent just to operate the ship. This is evident on a short cruise with a nearby home port like Wonder of the Seas.

Remember the term I introduced in a previous post: business optimization. The cruise line’s number one goal is to make money, not to provide you with the ultimate cruise experience. Your awesome cruise experience is the secondary effect of their goal.

If you missed that previous post that goes into detail about business optimization you can read it here.

Now that I’ve experienced a short cruise without a sea day I know how to modify my priorities accordingly because I do plan to cruise on the Wonder again someday. It’s a beautiful ship with so much to do and I want another chance to experience the things I didn’t do the first time.

My advice to those who book short cruises with no sea day is to devise a game plan on everything you want to do on and off the ship. Prioritize what’s most important based on time constraints. I have yet to put this plan into action but have no doubt it will make for a better experience the next time I cruise on Wonder of the Seas.