Biggest cruiser causes Wonder

Cayman Islanders who love cruise vacations now have an option to enjoy a trip on the world’s biggest cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas was christened on Friday in a gala celebration led by a ‘wonder mom’ godmother chosen through a TikTok contest.

Marie McCrea, a Pennsylvania mother and cancer survivor, was nominated by her daughter, Allie, in the ‘wonder mom’ contest. She oversaw the breaking of a bottle of champagne against the vessel — the biggest cruise ship ever built — before it sailed on a celebratory, two-night voyage from Florida’s Port Canaveral.

McCrea was picked by a Royal Caribbean panel out of 16,000 videos that considered the top submissions. Her nomination noted how she overcame adversity with strength. McCrea and a list of other finalists in the TikTok contest all sailed on the ship for free.

The 18-deck-high vessel, with Royal Caribbean executives, travel agents and other special guests on board, marked the official start of the ship’s first year-round schedule of sailings to the Caribbean. The ship made a single stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas.

Wonder of the Seas initially debuted in March with a handful of Caribbean sailings out of Florida’s Port Everglades before repositioning to the Mediterranean for the summer. It is now settling into its first long-term home, Port Canaveral for the winter season. It began sailing out of the Florida cruise hub on a year-round basis in mid-November.

Built at the giant Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire, France, Wonder of the Seas weighs 236,857 tons which makes it about 4 percent bigger than the previous biggest cruiser, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas.

Like Symphony, Wonder is part of Royal Caribbean’s ground breaking, five-vessel Oasis class of ships, which began rolling out in 2009 and dominate the list of the world’s largest.

Wonder’s extra design includes a dedicated suite area with a private lounge, restaurant and sun deck. Like the four earlier Oasis-class ships, it is nearly 1,200 feet long — the equivalent of more than three football fields.

Wonder has room for up to 6,988 passengers with every berth filled — more than any other passenger ship in history. It sails with 2,300 crew members, also a record for a passenger ship. As a result, the total number of people on Wonder could be over 9,200 at times.

Like the earlier Oasis-class ships, Wonder offers multiple main pool areas, a kiddie splash zone, surfing simulators, a miniature golf course, a basketball court and even a zip line. And that’s just on its top deck. Inside the vessel, there are more lounges, bars, restaurants and shops, plus a huge casino, spas and theatres. There’s even has an indoor ice skating rink.