Royal Caribbean International has announced that its new Oasis-class ship Wonder of the Seas will homeport in Port Canaveral from November, 2022.

Wonder of the Seas will sail 7-night roundtrip Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral during the North American winter and spring.

Wonder of the Seas at sea

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The new 236,860-gross ton cruise ship, the largest in the world at the time of writing, will cruise Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries visiting Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as other destinations.

Each cruise will also visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line’s recently revamped private island in the Bahamas.

“We’re very proud to have Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas homeport here, and we look forward to welcoming her next fall,” said Captain John Murray, CEO, Port Canaveral.

“This is terrific news for our entire Port community and another endorsement of our commitment to excellence in providing a world-class experience for our cruise guests,” he added.

The announcement of Wonder of the Seas’ Port Canaveral season comes after Royal Caribbean revealed that the new ship will spend her inaugral cruise season sailing roundtrip out of Ford Lauderdale from February, 2022 until May, when she will reposition to the Mediterranean.

Between May and October next year, Wonder of the Seas will homeport in Barcelona and Civitavecchia (Rome), sailing 7-night Western Mediterranean itineraries, visiting Naples, Italy; Palma De Mallorca, Spain; Marseille, France; and La Spezia, Italy.

Wonder of the Seas features a number of new Oasis-class attractions

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The decision to change her inaugural season was made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wonder of the Seas was initially meant to reposition directly to China after her delivery, cruising via Dubai as other brand new China-bound Royal Caribbean cruise ships have done before her.

However, due to ongoing uncertainty regarding travel restrictions due to the dynamic nature of the pandemic throughout 2021, the cruise line decided to keep the ship closer to home.

Wonder of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s fifth Oasis-class cruise ship, and its largest to date, capable of carrying more than 5,700 passengers and featuring eight distinct ‘neighbourhoods’ (one more than her sister ships) thanks to the introduction of the Suite Neighbourhood.

The Suite Neighbourhood

The Suite Neighbourhood is Royal Caribbean’s first ship-within-a-ship concept for luxury guests, similar to MSC Cruises’ Yacht Club and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Haven. It will be an entire section of the vessel reserved only for suite guests, featuring exclusive dining, recreation, and relaxation spaces.

For the rest of her passengers, however, there will be nine complimentary and 12 speciality dining venues, as well as 12 bars, including The Vue, a new cantilevered pool bar. She will also feature other Oasis-class favourites, such as the Ultimate Abyss stern slide, The Lime & Coconut pool deck experience, and a Flowrider surf simulator.

Wonder Playscape

New aboard Wonder of the Seas will be the Wonder Playscape, an interactive, open-air kids’ play area that has slides, climbing walls, games, puzzles, and an interactive mural activated by touch.

There will also, of course, be the famous Aquatheater at the stern in the Boardwalk neighbourhood, where a new show called “InTENse” will be performed with an all-female cast. The ice show on Wonder of the Seas will be called “365: The Seasons on Ice”, and will celebrate the seasons of planet Earth.