I sailed on the largest cruise ship in the world that feels like a small town. Tour its 8 'neighborhoods' and all 18 stories.

I recently set sail on my first cruise on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas — the largest cruise ship in the world — and I felt like I was in a small town in the middle of the ocean.

Source: Royal Caribbean

Sailing since March 2022, Royal Caribbean reports that Wonder of the Seas is nearly 2,000 feet long and 210 feet wide with 18 decks. It can hold about 7,000 guests.

Source: Royal Caribbean

For $2,000, I spent seven nights in an ocean-view stateroom on deck eight. The cruise was on sale, as it was originally priced for $3,000.

Insider paid for the room, per our reporting standards. 

During my voyage, the ship sailed to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Playa in Mexico; as well as Royal Caribbean's own private island in the Bahamas.

But a lot of the fun took place on the enormous boat with eight communal areas that Royal Caribbean calls "neighborhoods." Each neighborhood had its own activities.

Source: Royal Caribbean

To get up and down the ship's many decks, there are 24 elevators taking guests to 16 of the 18 levels. (The top two decks are only accessible for suite guests.)

In my experience, the elevators were packed during busy parts of the day, so I found it faster to take the stairs on either side of the elevators.

Decks seven, 10, and 11 only hold staterooms, but most decks have a combination of staterooms, restaurants, venues, and activities.

Decks two and three have boarding areas to enter and exit the ship. Deck three is the lowest deck with staterooms on it.

The main dining room spans levels three, four, and five.

Deck four is home to Entertainment Place, a "neighborhood" with fun venues surrounded by framed artworks on display.

One of the venues, Studio B, is used for shows and activities that take up a large space, like ice skating and laser tag.

Down the hall from Studio B is the casino, where guests can gamble on a floor full of game tables and slot machines.

Entertainment Place also has a sushi restaurant, Izumi. At this point, you may be wondering if food and entertainment were included — while most of the shows were free, many of the restaurants like Izumi cost extra.

Source: Royal Caribbean

The Attic is another venue on deck four that has a bar and hosts comedy shows.

Royal Theater hosts shows on decks four and five.

On deck five, there's another "neighborhood" called Royal Promenade with restaurants, bars, and stores.

One of the bars is Bionic Bar, where robots make drinks.

There are two more bars in Royal Promenade, Cask and Clipper and Boleros, as well as a karaoke venue.

The neighborhood has two coffee shops — Starbucks and Cafe Promenade.

Guests can grab a pizza from Sorrento's in Royal Promenade for free.

Upstairs on deck six is Schooner Bar and a studio for getting pictures taken.

Next to Schooner Bar, there's an entrance to the Boardwalk, an outdoor neighborhood on deck six.

This deck caters to kids with a carousel.

There's also a candy store.

And don't forget the two rock-climbing walls.

There are two restaurants on the Boardwalk: a hot dog stand, which is free for guests, and a Johnny Rocket's, which has burgers and shakes.

Across from the restaurants is Playmakers, a sports bar.

The Boardwalk ends with the Aquatheater, where Royal Caribbean puts on outdoor movies and a water show featuring dancers, divers, and acrobats.

Like all of the outdoor decks, the Boardwalk is illuminated at night.

A waterslide from deck 16 ends right in front of the Aquatheater on deck six.

On the other side of deck 6 is the spa and fitness center neighborhood, Vitality at Sea.

Just past the entrance is a cafe before the spa area and gym.

The gym felt huge. It was full of the cardio and strength machines I've seen in most fitness centers.

From the fitness center, there's access to an indoor track.

Up on deck eight, there's another outdoor "neighborhood," Central Park.

This deck is home to 20,000 plants, according to Royal Caribbean, and I thought it was the most relaxing area on board.

Source: Royal Caribbean 

There are many spaces to chill in this neighborhood, from benches to outdoor couches.

At night, the cozy area serves as a music venue.

Central Park is home to three upscale restaurants — Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, and Giovanni's Italian. There's also Park Cafe, a casual eatery that happens to be free for guests.

The deck has two bars — Trelli's and Rising Tide, a moving bar that goes up and down floors five through eight.

On the other end of deck eight, there's the Music Hall, a venue that spans up to deck nine.

Deck 12 has a restaurant called Wonderland that's inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

Deck 14 is home to the Youth Zone neighborhood, a kids' area with an escape room.

Decks 15 and 16 are known as the Pool and Sports Zone neighborhood. These decks are mostly outdoor.

Deck 15 is the pool deck. The three large pools made me feel like I was at the beach with water coming up and around the lounging chairs.

The deck also has a handful of whirlpools and small plunge pools for relaxing.

Deck 15 also has a water playground called Splashaway Bay.

Surrounding each pool are rows of lounge chairs, both in and out of the shade.

In the middle of the pool deck, Sprinkles has all-you-can-eat soft-serve ice cream with vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and mixed flavors. It's free for guests.

Deck 15 is also home to the Solarium, an adults-only indoor lounge with pools, a bar, a complimentary bistro, and stunning views.

Outside of the Solarium, there's a bar called Vue with more ocean views.

Windjammer, a complimentary buffet that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is on deck 15, too.

Upstairs, deck 16 has a seafood restaurant called Hooked and another free buffet called El Loco Fresh.

The Lime & the Coconut is a bar that spans over decks 15 and 16.

Up here, there are more lounging areas and a big screen for outdoor movies.

There are also covered casitas guests can reserve.

Deck 16 is where guests play games. The arcade and sporting areas are on this deck.

There are places to play table tennis on this level, too.

There's even a basketball court.

Plus, a whole mini-golf setup.

There's also a surfing simulator where guests can practice riding waves.

At the back of deck 16, there's Wipeout Bar, stunning ocean views, and the entrance to the Ultimate Abyss, the "largest waterslide at sea," according to Royal Caribbean. It slides down ten stories.

As previously mentioned, decks 17 and 18 are only accessible for guests with suites. This is where the eighth neighborhood, Suite Class Neighborhood, is. Fancy.

The largest cruise ship in the world felt way bigger than I even imagined, especially since I'd never been on a cruise before this one. As we left the port to start our journey, I marveled at how the ships passing by looked like toy boats in comparison.