Construction and career
On 25 May 2016, the Royal Caribbean Group signed a memorandum of understanding with STX France (now Chantiers de l'Atlantique) for a fifth Oasis-class ship for delivery in the spring of 2021.[13] and two more ships of the Edge-class cruise ship.[1] The first steel for the new ship was cut at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard in April 2019,[14] and the vessel's keel was laid on 9 May 2019.[3] Construction cost £1 billion.[15]
In August 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Royal Caribbean announced that delivery of the ship would be delayed until 2022.[16]
In April 2021, Royal Caribbean opened bookings aboard Wonder of the Seas for an inaugural 2022 season sailing in Asia from ports in Shanghai and Hong Kong.[17][18] However, in September of that year, Royal Caribbean announced that the ship would instead debut at Port Everglades, sailing Caribbean cruises, before moving to the Mediterranean in the summer, sailing out of Barcelona and Rome.[19] In November 2021, the ship's livery was modified to resemble that of Odyssey of the Seas, with her name moved rearward and repainted in larger print.[20] The following month, Royal Caribbean announced that the ship would homeport at Port Canaveral, Florida starting in November 2022.[21]
On 29 October 2021, Royal Caribbean accepted the ship for "technical delivery", and the following week she sailed under her own power from Saint-Nazaire to a Chantier Naval de Marseille drydock in Marseille-Fos Port for finishing work.[4][22] On 27 January 2022, the ship was handed over to Royal Caribbean.[23][24] Wonder of the Seas commenced her maiden voyage on 4 March 2022 out of Port Everglades, Florida.[25] On 9 December 2022, she was christened by Marie McCrea, the ship's godmother, who bestowed her blessing amongst the vessel.[26]
After being home-ported in Port Canaveral since November 2022, Royal Caribbean announced that Wonder of the Seas would be repositioned to PortMiami starting 25 August 2025. The vessel would begin offering 3 and 4 night cruises to Nassau and CocoCay.[27][28]
