On the Wonder(4/9-4/12)We went back,more fun this time!Lots of pics..(new 5/11 #73)

[vatchr]

April 9-12 3-night Wonder

Here we go again…I had so much fun writing a trip report for our July 08 cruise that I decided to do it again.:goodvibes First let me reintroduce the cast of characters for this cruise:

Me – :teacher:mom, wife, Disney addict and planner – when I’m not thinking about Disney, I’m an elementary school teacher. I’ve planned 3 trips to Disney World and now 2 Wonder cruises

DH – pirate:my wonderful husband who puts up with my Disney addiction and also an elementary school teacher – with both of us being teachers, taking summer vacations to Disney has always been the only time to go.

DD1 – princess:my 9 year old princess – Stitch is her favorite character and she loves Hannah Montana

DD2 –princess: my 6 ½ year old princess – Chip n Dale are her favorites and she is a High School Musical fan (along with Hannah)

Here's our family picture from this Christmas:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/family.jpg

So here’s the quick backstory for our cruise. We sailed last July on a 4-night Wonder and had a blast with grandma, grandpa, other grandma and Aunt. Enjoyed it, but didn’t know when it would happen again due to the cost. This December rolled around and Disney announced Kids sail free…well that announcement sent me to the website to check out prices. After about an hour of deliberation, my DH agreed (actually it was me who deliberated…) and we were booked for our Spring Break 3-night Wonder. The Kids Sail Free promo is the ONLY reason that we went – we saved almost $1500.00 off the base price.

We started our countdown chain, couldn’t wait for spring break and then it was here!

Last year we did a land/sea and then met everyone at the MCO Hyatt the night before the cruise. That worked beautifully, so we did it again (minus the land part).
We left Wednesday afternoon from northern Virginia (it has snowed here on Tuesday), and arrived at the Orlando airport a few hours later.

The girls on the bus to the airport:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam003.jpg

The Hyatt was great!

The view from our Hyatt balcony:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/lauradisney08185.jpg


It was interesting though, how they did the cruise check in for our Thursday cruise. It had changed quite a bit from last July.

We were told at check in to go to the Magical Express desk in the airport between 6:30 a.m.- 8:30 a.m. and they would check us in completely – room key cards, Castaway club lanyards, everything. We would not have to do anything at the port except for kids clubs registrations if we wanted. That sounded great, but then they told us that the first bus will leave at 11:00 a.m.

I knew that was wrong, so I walked down to Magical Express that evening and talked with them. They confirmed that the first buses for DCL leave at about 9:30 a.m. So we were set.

We had a nice dinner with some friends at the Hyatt restaurant, did some shopping in the airport mall and went to bed - eager for our next cruise to begin.

The wake –up call came at 6:00 a.m. and the day we had been waiting for was about to begin…..



Up next…our embarkation process – did it go smoothly?

[LMO429]

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip! :goodvibes

[mousetravel]

So cute! Can't wait to see more pics!

[MissMousey]

Wow, a trip report already? I'm impressed! Sounds like you all really enjoyed your cruise. Can't wait to read all about it!

[Kurby]

that's so cool that you'r room over looked the airport terminal - or is that something else?

can't wait to hear more. sooo excited - we're doing our first cruise in may but we're leaving in 2 weeks to start off at wdw.

[vatchr]

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip! :goodvibes

Thanks! More to come tonight.

So cute! Can't wait to see more pics!

We had a blast. Next update will be tonight.

Wow, a trip report already? I'm impressed! Sounds like you all really enjoyed your cruise. Can't wait to read all about it!

If I didn't start it now, it wouldn't get done till summer :).

that's so cool that you'r room over looked the airport terminal - or is that something else?

The Hyatt has two views for rooms - inside or outside. Outside looks out at the runway, and inside looks out to the airport terminal.

[frdeb1999]

Looking forward to your TR! Hope you had a wonderful time! :)

[amy2girls]

Love you past report and pictures- can't wait to read more!!!:thumbsup2

[wilma-bride]

I loved your trip report last time - hope you had as great a trip this time and can't wait for more :)

[vatchr]

On our way to the Port!

My DD1 and I headed to Magical Express at 6:30 a.m. and got us all checked in with passports, tickets and all. We received our Castaway club lanyards for being repeat cruisers and our Key to the World cards. We also received boarding pass #3. We were done! All checked in, boarding pass, keys…now we just had to wait until 9:15 a.m. to head back to magical express to line up for the first DCL bus to the port.

We stopped on the way back and got breakfast for everyone, got to the room showered, packed up and headed down to the ME counter. We put our luggage tags on, left the luggage in the room as we were instructed and were on our way.

We were about tenth in line and waited about 15 minutes, boarded the bus and we were on our way. The FIRST bus out of MCO on our way to the Wonder!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam007.jpg

It’s about a 45 minute ride to the port and they show a fun video about the cruise ship with all of the characters in it.
It wasn’t long before we saw this in the distance:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam013.jpg

And then we got closer…

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The bus parked and we got off, went through security for the port and we were there. It was about 10:40 a.m. and last year they started boarding around 11:45 a.m., so we didn’t have long to wait.

We walked around the port and saw this guy:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam017.jpg

We also went outside on the balcony and took some pics of the ship before boarding:

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The girls were hungry, but we convinced them to wait for the “free food.” Right on time they started the boarding process. Group 1 is the family of the day, and then Group 2 was called, and then it was our turn.

We walked through the big Mickey ears to begin our trip.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam018.jpg

Across the gangway into the beautiful Atrium – I had been envisioning this scene ever since we booked the cruise in December. It had helped me get through those cold, Virginia days all winter.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam006.jpg

Then they called our name…we were on the Wonder!


Up next….where to eat lunch and what to do until 12:01 a.m. that evening?

[wilma-bride]

Fantastic :thumbsup2 I love your girls' Minnie shirts - so cute :love:

Can't wait for more.

[cakesnjammom]

YAY waiting for more:thumbsup2

[OurOhana]

Nice trip report. We're doing our first Wonder cruises in September. Can't wait to hear more aobut your cruise.

[bpate]

I saw that both of your dds are Hannah fans as is my dd (5). We leave for the 4 night Wonder cruise on the 19th and she has her fingers crossed that they will be showing the new Hannah Montana movie. What movies were playing when your family was cruising?

Brandy

Anxiously awaiting Thursday (4/16) - Land and Sea:cheer2:

[kimkreis]

We were on the same cruise with you. Looking forward to hearing how it all went for you!

[3Bells]

We will be cruising for the first time June 4th on the Wonder. We'll be staying at the Hyatt the night before too. You mentioned that you left your luggage in the Hyatt room as instructed. The thought of doing that makes me very nervous. :scared: Please assure me that everything turned out okay. Do you have the option of bringing the luggage with you on the bus?

[vatchr]

Fantastic :thumbsup2 I love your girls' Minnie shirts - so cute :love:

Can't wait for more.

Thanks! The shirts were part of the Christmas surprise for the girls. :)

YAY waiting for more:thumbsup2

Hopefully I'll update tonight!

Nice trip report. We're doing our first Wonder cruises in September. Can't wait to hear more aobut your cruise.

It was so much fun! You'll have a blast!

I saw that both of your dds are Hannah fans as is my dd (5). We leave for the 4 night Wonder cruise on the 19th and she has her fingers crossed that they will be showing the new Hannah Montana movie. What movies were playing when your family was cruising?

Brandy

Anxiously awaiting Thursday (4/16) - Land and Sea:cheer2:

The Hannah Montana movie will definitely be playing. That's the only one that we saw, but Jonas Brothers, Bolt, Witch Mountain, Shopaholic were some of the others that were playing.

We were on the same cruise with you. Looking forward to hearing how it all went for you!

Wasn't it great!!! So much fun.

[vatchr]

We will be cruising for the first time June 4th on the Wonder. We'll be staying at the Hyatt the night before too. You mentioned that you left your luggage in the Hyatt room as instructed. The thought of doing that makes me very nervous. :scared: Please assure me that everything turned out okay. Do you have the option of bringing the luggage with you on the bus?

I was VERY nervous about the luggage. I must have asked at least 5 times to different people that morning about the luggage being picked up. We had no problems. It actually arrived at our stateroom earlier than it did last summer. We had all of our luggage by about 3:00 p.m. outside our stateroom. I think you do have the option of bringing it with you, but it would be a big hassle. My husband told me to trust them ;), and it worked out fine.

[anetnmike]

Can't wait to hear more!popcorn::

[hannah_montana]

Reading all this is getting me very excited for my 3-day Wonder cruise in 14 days! :banana:

[vatchr]

We headed straight up to deck 9 to Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch. I love the Disney service. DD2 was first through the buffet line, so a cast member got her tray and carried it for her to the table of her choosing. The 3 of us joined her and had our first lunch onboard. You can see the cast member taking our picture in the window. :)

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam016.jpg

DD2 also discovered shrimp this cruise, and had a great time sharing with daddy!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam023.jpg

After lunch, the girls were dying to get into the pools. We had told them that this would probably be the only opportunity – as our 3 days were pretty full of activities.

So we headed to the Mickey pool for some fun before our room was ready. The girls had their suits on under their clothes.

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It was now close to 1:30, so they changed and we headed down to deck 6 – to our stateroom. Last summer we were on deck 7, so we knew it would be a similar room. The ropes were down and we headed in.
Waiting on the bed was the Castaway Club gift – Yay! We enjoyed opening the bag and exploring all of the goodies inside.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam033.jpg

I had already picked up a navigator from Guest Services, and wanted to make sure that our 12:01 a.m. adventure was definitely happening, and sure enough there it was…

“Disney Premear at Sea” – The Hannah Montana Movie will premiere at 12:01 a.m. in the Walt Disney Theater. The girls were determined to make it to that movie – so…..

We decided a nap time wouldn’t be a bad idea – they actually did fall asleep for about an hour.

The girls and I wandered up to the Walt Disney Theater to see if they had anything up for the Hannah Montana “premear;” we didn’t find anything, but we did find Minnie all by herself.

She spent some time with the girls and posed for a picture before moving on. What a special Disney moment, just us and Minnie – not another person was around!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam034.jpg



I also was amazed at all the movement at the port with the luggage. I guess I had never thought about how they get ALL that luggage onto the ship and to the rooms. I had to snap this picture:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam039.jpg

When we returned to the stateroom, it was time to get ready for the Mandatory Lifeboat drill.

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Then off to the sailaway party –

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We had second dinner seating, so we were able to stay at the sail away party for the whole thing. Last year with first dinner, we had to leave early to get ready for dinner.

At the end of the party, they invite all the “junior cruisers” up on the stage to learn some of the dances.
The girls loved that:

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The horn sounded

And then we were on our way to the Bahamas…..


Up next…our first dinner, meeting our servers, and what to do till 12:01 a.m?

[frdeb1999]

Loving your TR!! Great pics!! :)

[kfamilylovesdisney]

I'm hooked! Can't wait until there's more!:surfweb:

[anetnmike]

Hannah Premear! How exciting for your girls! DS16 has had a crush on Miley for a few years now (of course he would NEVER admit it now!!!):rotfl:
I just love following along on TRs! It's like going on cruise after cruise. Thanks for sharing yours! It looks like you are off to a wonderful start!:cool1:

[wilma-bride]

What a fantastic start to your journey. The girls look like they're having an absolute blast! And how great to get to see the 'premear' of Hannah Montana - my DD would have loved that.

[disneychic]

Great TR! Hope your family enjoyed themselves as much on this cruise as mine did. We couldn't have asked for a better time!

[vatchr]

Loving your TR!! Great pics!! :)

Thanks - more tonight or tomorrow morning!

I'm hooked! Can't wait until there's more!:surfweb:

Thanks so much!! I'm hoping to update by tomorrow morning!

Hannah Premear! How exciting for your girls! DS16 has had a crush on Miley for a few years now (of course he would NEVER admit it now!!!):rotfl:
I just love following along on TRs! It's like going on cruise after cruise. Thanks for sharing yours! It looks like you are off to a wonderful start!:cool1:

Thanks! It is so much fun writing it, it's like I'm back there reliving it all again.

What a fantastic start to your journey. The girls look like they're having an absolute blast! And how great to get to see the 'premear' of Hannah Montana - my DD would have loved that.

It was a fun time. It's amazing how much we packed into 3 days!

Great TR! Hope your family enjoyed themselves as much on this cruise as mine did. We couldn't have asked for a better time!

We had such a fun time. It was a great break from reality - don't you agree!!!!

[vatchr]

We still had 3 hours until dinner. We had second seating which meant we didn’t eat until 8:15 p.m. I was worried about that, but in hindsight, I was worried for nothing.

After the sailaway party, we headed back to the room and ordered room service. We then unpacked some more and planned our evening.
The navigators are great and give you so much information to use as you wish. We decided to wander around for a while and then change for dinner and head to Studio Sea to watch “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer” – the Disney version of Millionaire. We got there after it started and watched for a little while.

Before going, we stopped to get some pictures done in the Atrium.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/doncam020.jpg

I loved the lifestyle portraits from last summer, so we did some of those again.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/doncam068.jpg

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We also headed outside to watch the sunset and get some pictures.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/doncam054.jpg

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We spent a lot of time in Studio Sea during this trip. It is one of the “clubs” on the ship that is geared to families. They do have a bar and waitress service, but all of the events are family friendly.

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After Mouseketeer we headed to dinner. We were anxious to meet our servers, as last summer, we were blown away by Nyoman and Oliver.
Our first meal was at Animators Pallete.

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The restaurant is beautiful and so much fun. I was also worried about the new menus, but it all turned out fine.

We had a great first dinner, and secretly DH and I had decided to celebrate DD1’s ninth birthday on this trip. We had given her the Nassau Dolphin Encounter as a present in March. I prearranged for the servers to bring her a birthday cake and sing to her.

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She was so cute and so excited. The cake was gorgeous! (and free!!)

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam062.jpg

Dinner ended about 10:00 and we still had two hours until Hannah Montana. What to do? We knew if we went back to the stateroom, that we’d all fall asleep, so off to Studio Sea again…..

They were having Family Disney Karaoke!

The girls didn’t hesitate to put their name on the list to sing.

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The first song that they sung was “Bop to the Top” from HSM.
The hosts allowed the kids to do a second song, so they quickly signed up again with “Supercalifragilis…..” from Mary Poppins.

It was a great time, and not crowded at all. There were maybe 10 families in the Studio Sea during Karaoke. It was so nice, and the cast members were fantastic.

Well, Karaoke was over at 11:30 p.m., so we were getting closer and DD2 was getting tired. She openly admitted that daddy would probably be carrying her back to the room after the movie, but she didn’t want to miss it.

We headed over to the Walt Disney Theater and there was already a line of girls and families waiting to get in. They opened the doors at about 11:45 and we were in.

I love that Theater – we saw the big shows there last summer. I ordered a drink and the girls had sprite and some cookies to eat during the movie.

The theater filled up and Ray the cruise director came on stage to pick the “biggest Hannah Montana fan in the world” to start the movie.
Then he counted down and the show began.

The cruise director counting down to the movie:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam063.jpg

It was a very cute movie, and worth the “event” of staying up and being the first people in the world to see it (except for those on the Magic- as Ray stated). The theater was maybe half full.
1:45 a.m. and the movie was over. DD2 lasted until about 1:00, but DD1 made it all the way through. We walked back to the stateroom and I don’t even remember falling asleep.

What a GREAT first day on the ship – and two more left…..

Up next….will we sleep in, and what to do until Dolphins at 12:45 p.m.?

[Eeyore18]

Can't wait to read more! A second grade teacher here! We're going on our first 7 day in July. Your TR is helping the time go by faster! :cool1:

[NurseHope]

I love reading these trip reports, thanks for sharing with us!:) Can't wait to post my own, only 2 weeks to go till our wonder cruise!:cool1: Your girls are darling :cutie: and it looks like you all had an awesome time, can't wait to read more!:goodvibes

[LC30]

I can't wait to get the next installment of your trip! This is getting me even more excited for our trip in May. Your girls are adorable. What a wonderful way for your DD to celebrate her birthday.

[anetnmike]

What a cool way for your daughter to celebrate her birthday! You are going to have a tough time topping that next year!:rotfl: Your girls look like they are having a great time! You are reminding me of things I want to do on our upcoming trip! Thanx!

[kdiszy]

Love your TR! I think Im addicted to these things. We will be on the Wonder the 23rd with our girls for our first cruise so I am taking notes! BTW, love the pic of your girls looking out at the water. They are too cute!

Do you pay a sitting fee for the lifestyle portraits or do you just decide later if you want them?

[wilma-bride]

What a great first day on the ship - thos portraits are amazing, I just love the one of the girls with Tink :thumbsup2

Presumably, having sailed before, you weren't too bothered about seeing the shows? We have seen them (except Toy Story) before but our friends, who we are travelling with in October, haven't so we will probably go again - we do love them anyway.

I am pleased to hear that late dining suited you as we also have late dining in October and was worried how my 6 yo would cope.

[vatchr]

I can't wait to get the next installment of your trip! This is getting me even more excited for our trip in May. Your girls are adorable. What a wonderful way for your DD to celebrate her birthday.

It was a fun time! Unfortunately, we didn't even touch the birthday cake. We took it back to the room and never ate it. :)


What a cool way for your daughter to celebrate her birthday! You are going to have a tough time topping that next year!:rotfl: Your girls look like they are having a great time! You are reminding me of things I want to do on our upcoming trip! Thanx!

It was such a fun filled trip! My DD1 very rarely gets her birthday celebrated in a unique way because it is in March, so this was a treat for her!


Love your TR! I think Im addicted to these things. We will be on the Wonder the 23rd with our girls for our first cruise so I am taking notes! BTW, love the pic of your girls looking out at the water. They are too cute!

Do you pay a sitting fee for the lifestyle portraits or do you just decide later if you want them?

You don't pay a sitting fee at all - that is what is so great! You just go during the hours every evening, and then the next night look for your pics and pick the ones that you want.

What a great first day on the ship - thos portraits are amazing, I just love the one of the girls with Tink :thumbsup2

Presumably, having sailed before, you weren't too bothered about seeing the shows? We have seen them (except Toy Story) before but our friends, who we are travelling with in October, haven't so we will probably go again - we do love them anyway.

I am pleased to hear that late dining suited you as we also have late dining in October and was worried how my 6 yo would cope.

We made the choice to not see any shows this trip, and to try different things. We had so much fun in Studio Sea every night, and wouldn't have been able to do that if we went to the shows.

I was very worried about the late dining also. We eat at 5:30 every night at home, but it worked great. We ordered room service at 5:00 every night and had a big snack - then played until 8:00 - then off to dinner.

[Momof4girls]

So great to see, since this is our first and somehow the images all make it more manageable for me!

Now, pray tell, what did you eat!?? :) I'd love to have some menu recommendations. I'm a little skittish, seeing the new menus.

[vatchr]

The rocking of the ship certainly helped us all sleep. I’m an early riser, so the sun woke me up at about 7:00 a.m. and I quietly went out onto the verandah. I could see Nassau in the distance. We were getting close.

We purposely planned our Nassau day to be uneventful until 12:45 when we would have to meet for our Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. DD2 is a sleeper, so I wanted to make sure after Hannah Montana, that she would be able to wake up on her own. After about 30 minutes of wondering what to do, I decided to order room service and get some coffee and pastries. At about that time DD1 woke up and joined me for some juice, donuts, croissants and coffee on the verandah.

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We watched the ship pull into Nassau and leisurely let everyone wake up. It was wonderful!!!

In looking at the navigator – there were characters starting at 8:45 in the Atrium. I didn’t think we would make those, but Chip n Dale and Stitch were there at 9:45 – so that was our goal!

I showered, the girls and DH got dressed in shorts and t-shirts and we headed out.

We found all of the favorite “friends” of the girls, plus some:

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Then we headed to Parrot Cay for breakfast. It was great – they serve breakfast there until 11:00 a.m., so there was no rush.

We had a great breakfast and DH got his salmon and capers that he had been looking forward to:

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After our late breakfast, it was already 11:00, so we headed up to deck 9 to “play” for a little while.

The girls knew that they would be swimming during the Dolphin adventure, so they were fine with no pool.

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We also found Daisy hanging out on Deck 9.

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It was now about 11:45, so we headed back to the room – changed into our bathing suits, packed the bag and went to get another quick “lunch” before meeting for our excursion.

Lunch was on deck 9 at Goofy’s Galley – hot dogs for the girls and then across the way at Pinocchio’s Pizzeria – pizza for DH and I.

It was now time for the “big event” of our trip – playing with Dolphins. This excursion was actually DD1’s birthday present. She was so excited!!

Up next…our time with the dolphins and another late night!

[JavaJackie]

We leave in 12 days for the Wonder!! I am soo excited and your TR is making it even more real. We went on a cruise 4 years ago and my two youngest don't remember it very well. I showed them all your pictures this morning and now they are jumping up and down soooooo excited!:yay:

Cant wait to see more!!!

[wilma-bride]

What alovely, relaxing morning - it was good that you were able to sleep in some after your late night. Great planning :thumbsup2

It was now time for the “big event” of our trip – playing with Dolphins. This excursion was actually DD1’s birthday present. She was so excited!!

Looking forward to reading all about this as I am thinking about it for my DDs on our next trip :)

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

We just did a 4-day this past February and we're doing our 3-day Bounce Back this November, so I'm really feeling your vibe on this trip report!

Keep it comin' - I :love: it!

[123Disney]

Wonderful Trip Report!!! We are going in June. I just booked our Dolphin Excursion. Can't wait to hear about that. :banana:

[vatchr]

We leave in 12 days for the Wonder!! I am soo excited and your TR is making it even more real. We went on a cruise 4 years ago and my two youngest don't remember it very well. I showed them all your pictures this morning and now they are jumping up and down soooooo excited!:yay:

Cant wait to see more!!!

Thanks! It was so much fun - glad that I can help with the excitement in your house! ;)

What alovely, relaxing morning - it was good that you were able to sleep in some after your late night. Great planning :thumbsup2



Looking forward to reading all about this as I am thinking about it for my DDs on our next trip :)

I hope to post tomorrow morning! It was a great time.

We just did a 4-day this past February and we're doing our 3-day Bounce Back this November, so I'm really feeling your vibe on this trip report!

Keep it comin' - I :love: it!

Thanks! Hopefully tomorrow morning!

Wonderful Trip Report!!! We are going in June. I just booked our Dolphin Excursion. Can't wait to hear about that. :banana:

The Dolphins were so much fun! The girls loved it!

[Erikas4228]

Thanks for sharing your trip report. I'm looking forward to reading the rest. I can't wait for our cruise. Taking lots of notes.

[vatchr]

I'll be posting the next update tomorrow evening. The weekend got away from me!!

[iloverags2]

Enjoy your report! You all seemed to be having such a wonderful cruise! And the pictures are most excellent!

[mmackeymouse]

Whoa, Peter Pan is a bit of a hottie.......

I cannot wait to see him on our cruise.

[daisylove]

We were on that cruise too :woohoo:
Looking forward to reading your view of it.

[vatchr]

We were to meet at the Promenade Lounge at 12:45 for our excursion. It was a very smooth check in process and we were on our way.

We were escorted off the boat by Disney people and then handed over to people from Dolphin Encounters. They took us to a ferry at the port in Nassau. It was about a 10 minute walk from the ship.

We then took a 40 minute boat ride to the island. While on the ferry, we snapped these pics of the Wonder in port at Nassau.

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The girls were able to have a quick power nap on the boat also. Then we arrived.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam097.jpg

We had a great time. We were all broken up into groups and we headed down to the water.

We had a group of about 30 people in our Encounter. They took smaller groups of 10 at a time to “play” with the dolphins.

We were the second group and it was our turn to kiss them, hug them, feed them, dance with them and “talk” to them. When it was DD1’s turn, the dolphin sang happy birthday to her and gave her an extra splash.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/shutters024-1.jpg

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It was a great time. We were through and had some time to walk around the island for about 45 minutes. We went and saw the sea lions and also purchased our pictures and we got the DVD because of DD1’s bday present.

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Then we were back on the boat, and back to the Wonder.

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We got back on the ship at about 5:00 pm and I remembered from the Navigator that there were some characters at around 5:00, so we headed up to the atrium before going back to the room.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/shutters005.jpg

Then we went back and planned our activities for the evening.
We all showered, changed, napped a bit and then headed up to meet Captain Jack at 7:00 pm

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After a few more Pirate themed characters, we headed to Studio Sea for “It’s A Pirates Life for Me” – a game show for pirate night!
It was a really fun time. The cast members do a great job of playing to the kids and the adults. The girls thoroughly enjoyed it.

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It was then time for dinner at Parrot Cay. We didn’t have the pirate menu, but did have Pirate pics taken at dinner.

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After dinner, it was close to the Pirate Party on Deck 9. I was exhausted, as was DD1 – we had been to the pirate party last summer, so we decided to go back to the room and get ready for bed.

DH took DD2 up to deck 9 for some of the party. She was happy because she got to dance with Chip n Dale and Pirate Minnie for a while and then they came back to the room.

Another FILLED day with Disney!!

Up next….back to Castaway Cay, and PERFECT weather!!

[iloverags2]

Love the pics of the girls with the dolphin! What a packed/fun-filled day you had! Looking forward to hearing about the perfect weather at Castaway Cay.

[Kurby]

i can't wait to hear more - we are leaving saturday for our wdw then dcl trip and you're pics are helping pump up the excitement (like we need it LOL)

dd has already gone to bed but i'll have to show her the pics our your girls and the dolphins. she'll love them

[wilma-bride]

The dolphin encounter sounds great - I'm sure my DD would love it although I'm not sure it will be an option on our next cruise as I imagine it's pretty costly for four of us.

Love the girls' piate t-shirts. You are lucky they will wear them, my girls wouldn't wear anything remotely similar to each other if you paid them :rotfl2:

Parrot Cay is a great place to have dinner on pirate night, we found. The quiz sounds like fun, I am still unsure whether to miss the shows next time in favour of some of the other activities :confused3

[cakesnjammom]

thanks so much for your great TR I have really enjoyed reading it and LOVE the pics! Your have a great looking family!

[kfamilylovesdisney]

I love this trip report! We are planning on doing a similar itinerary this May by going on the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon. Thank you for sharing your pictures. :)

[austin77]

Wonderful report!

[DWGal210]

Great report so far! I read your report from your last report and am living vicariously through you :rotfl: I even had a dream last night that we were on a cruise again but alas, just a dream :goodvibes

We also had Nyoman and Oliver on our cruise - they were great, we had a fun time with them.

Looking forward to more!

[vatchr]

I will be posting our update with our Castaway Cay day this weekend. Sorry it has taken so long!! This working right after vacation thing has gotten in the way of working on my trip report! :)

Thanks and stay posted - update coming this weekend!!

[frdeb1999]

Great pics with the dolphins!! :)

[vatchr]

Love the pics of the girls with the dolphin! What a packed/fun-filled day you had! Looking forward to hearing about the perfect weather at Castaway Cay.

Thanks - packed and fun filled describes the whole cruise!!

i can't wait to hear more - we are leaving saturday for our wdw then dcl trip and you're pics are helping pump up the excitement (like we need it LOL)

dd has already gone to bed but i'll have to show her the pics our your girls and the dolphins. she'll love them

Hope you had a great trip!

The dolphin encounter sounds great - I'm sure my DD would love it although I'm not sure it will be an option on our next cruise as I imagine it's pretty costly for four of us.

Love the girls' piate t-shirts. You are lucky they will wear them, my girls wouldn't wear anything remotely similar to each other if you paid them :rotfl2:

Parrot Cay is a great place to have dinner on pirate night, we found. The quiz sounds like fun, I am still unsure whether to miss the shows next time in favour of some of the other activities :confused3

Our choice to miss the shows this cruise really made it all the more fun and eventful this time! I don't know if I could have done it, had I not seen them all about 9 months ago!

thanks so much for your great TR I have really enjoyed reading it and LOVE the pics! Your have a great looking family!

Thanks for the kind words!!

I love this trip report! We are planning on doing a similar itinerary this May by going on the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon. Thank you for sharing your pictures. :)

It was a great excursion!!

Wonderful report!

Thanks!!

Great report so far! I read your report from your last report and am living vicariously through you :rotfl: I even had a dream last night that we were on a cruise again but alas, just a dream :goodvibes

We also had Nyoman and Oliver on our cruise - they were great, we had a fun time with them.

Looking forward to more!

Nyoman and Oliver were great! THey weren't on the ship this time. We had actually requested them, but they were on vacation!

Great pics with the dolphins!! :)

[vatchr]

We woke up early to get ready for Castaway Cay. The weather was perfect and I had ordered coffee and donuts from room service while I watched us pull in. Our view this year as the ship pulled in was on the debarking side, but it was neat to watch the behind the scenes of getting the island ready for all of us.

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At about 8:15, we went to Parrot Cay for breakfast. It was delicious and we were hurrying the girls because onshore was at about 8:30 and we were all excited to get onto the beach.

We headed back to the room and applied sunscreen, grabbed the bag and off the ship we went.

As we got off the ship, again Disney magic was on our side – the girls were walking and out came Chip n Dale, walking right past them. Chip grabbed DD2’s hand and Dale got DD1’s hand and they all skipped/walked over the the post office and were first in line for pictures.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam129.jpg

We debated about taking the tram down to the beach, but the weather was great and not too hot, so we decided to walk.

We snapped some pics along the way:

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We also found this guy again just hanging out. There was no line and the girls got some great quality time just chatting.

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Further down the beach, we also found Stitch again! Both girls were in heaven, they had each seen their favorites on the beach!!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/doncam180.jpg

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We stopped and got our snorkels and floats, then headed past the “playground” to find a quiet spot. I had read that tip last summer about heading to the end of the family beach, and it proved true again this year. Our area of the beach was never “wall to wall” people. It did get crowded finally at around noon, but for a while the girls were the only ones in the water in our area.

They played and I got the “frozen drink, sitting on the beach” that I had been wanting since February!! So relaxing! I took full advantage of the wandering "drink people." After all, I was on vacation and for one day wanted to be catered to. :)

The water was cold, but it didn’t stop them from getting in:

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DH joined them and they had a blast with the floats:

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We headed to lunch around noon, and no lines!

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Up next: Lots more fun on Castaway Cay after lunch!!

[wilma-bride]

Castaway Cay really is a little piece of heaven on Earth, I so love that place. Great pics again - and nice to see one of you and DH for a change :thumbsup2

[Im_A_Princess]

This is so great!!!! :woohoo:
Thanks for posting your report!!! :flower3:

[Erikas4228]

Thanks for posting your report. It's been great getting ready for our cruise in 3 weeks. I have not sailed on the wonder since they first did the training cruises your photo's have brought it all back to me. I can't wait:banana:

Thanks
Erika

[3Bells]

Can't wait to read more about your trip! popcorn::

[ruadisneyfan2]

We will be cruising for the first time June 4th on the Wonder. We'll be staying at the Hyatt the night before too. You mentioned that you left your luggage in the Hyatt room as instructed. The thought of doing that makes me very nervous. :scared: Please assure me that everything turned out okay. Do you have the option of bringing the luggage with you on the bus?

I was VERY nervous about the luggage. I must have asked at least 5 times to different people that morning about the luggage being picked up. We had no problems. It actually arrived at our stateroom earlier than it did last summer. We had all of our luggage by about 3:00 p.m. outside our stateroom. I think you do have the option of bringing it with you, but it would be a big hassle. My husband told me to trust them ;), and it worked out fine.

I'm loving your TR and looking at your pictures. Makes me want to be on the ship now! Your little girls are just adorable too!

I have a quick question about the luggage at the Hyatt. When we sailed over Thanksgiving 08, we put our bags outside our door. Do you now leave them inside the room? I wonder why they started doing that? I hope no one's bag was stolen. :sad2:
We were told by the Hyatt to leave our bags even though we were taking Happy Limo to the port. We thought it was only for those using DCL buses. Dh and my dad asked 3 different people and were told it was fine. They even looked at us like we were nuts.
We're hoping to do a limo again next time but don't care to deal with the luggage. Now I'm not sure what to do.

[disnic75]

Love your report! I can't wait for my first Disney Cruise only a few weeks away!

[SassyCat]

Love your trip report! Dh and I are going on our first cruise May 2010. We are going to be on the 5 night wonder cruise. I love reading about your family's experience, it is helping the time pass quicker and getting me pumped up! :banana: Your daughters are adorable!!

[vatchr]

After lunch we were heading back, when yet again….The girls saw the characters coming out and Pluto grabbed their hands and took them to the Gazebo by Cookies for a dance party. It was very short (about 10 minutes), but a lot of fun. They loved it!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/dcl2009/lauracam153.jpg

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DH went snorkeling after lunch and snapped some great pics from the snorkel lagoon.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/watercam022.jpg

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While DH was snorkeling, we went and got the girls hair braided! We did it last year, and they loved it.

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After DH returned from snorkeling, we took a walk over to the Heads Up bar. The view from that point was great and there were some empty hammocks, so we played for a while and snapped some pics.

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DH also loves to photograph flora and fauna while on vacation or out. Here are a few pics he snapped during this walk.

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It was a great day and after lots of playing in the water and lots of good food and characters. We decided to head back to the ship – after all it was about 3:30 pm, and we had been on the beach since 9:00 am! 

As we approached the ship, this guy was there for pics.

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It was a great day and we were not looking forward to dinner, packing and leaving tomorrow!

Up next: our last dinner, Till We Meet Again and debarkation!

[anetnmike]

Beautiful pictures! Your DH has a gift!
This is my most favorite day of the whole cruise! I just hate to leave!
You guys look like you had a great day just hanging out and having fun.

[wcw57]

WOW! GREAT shots. Kids are very cute.

THIS is a great post for me since I am learning about the cruise from all you guys.

Many thanks for all the time spent putting the log together.

[5littleindians]

Really great. We are also staying at the Hyatt and I am very happy to hear how smoothly that went for you. We leave tomorrow night!!! So very excited.:dance3:

[vatchr]

Beautiful pictures! Your DH has a gift!
This is my most favorite day of the whole cruise! I just hate to leave!
You guys look like you had a great day just hanging out and having fun.

We LOVE Castaway Cay! My DH love to take pictures, thanks for the kind words. It was fun! No stress!!


WOW! GREAT shots. Kids are very cute.

THIS is a great post for me since I am learning about the cruise from all you guys.

Many thanks for all the time spent putting the log together.

Thanks and you'll have a great time!

Really great. We are also staying at the Hyatt and I am very happy to hear how smoothly that went for you. We leave tomorrow night!!! So very excited.:dance3:

I hope you had a great cruise!!

[vatchr]

I'll be trying to have my final post about the trip up this weekend! I can't believe it was almost a month ago.

I've also got some videos that I am going to try to post.

[vatchr]

Our final night.....

We headed back to the ship after a great day at Castaway Cay and got ready for the evening. Dinner wasn't until 8:15, so we were trying to figure out how to spend our last evening.

The captain had told us about a great viewing point for the sunset (he expected it to be spectacular) on Deck 10 Forward at 7:20ish.

We decided to head to that, but first we found some characters in their formal wear:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/doncam112.jpg

and then we headed to the last event at Studio Sea - High School Musical Dance Party - the girls were very excited. We found our Cast Member friend working again that night -Melanie. The girls really enjoyed her, and she had been at every Studio Sea party that we went to.

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The girls had fun at the dance party.

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and then we headed up to the sunset....it was WINDY!!!

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After we walked around the boat for a while, it was time for dinner at Triton's. It was a great dinner. We finished our dinner just in time for 'Til We Meet Again. It is in the Atrium Lobby and was a lot of fun last year, so we got there early again this year and waited for the fun.

The girls enjoyed talking to one of the cast members while we were waiting:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/doncam466.jpg

Then the show started and out came the characters:

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We got several shots taken with characters that we had missed during the three days, as well as some of our favorites - couldn't miss Chip n Dale and Stitch for the last time.

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Then back to the room to finish packing, hurry to get our suitcases out and off to sleep.

We needed to be off the ship by 7:30 a.m. for the first bus to the airport. We had an 11:30 a.m. departure from MCO.

That morning, we rose at 6:00 a.m. - were first in line at Beach Blanket Buffet for our last quick breakfast and then first off the ship at 7:30 a.m. and on the DCL bus, pulling away by 8:30. It couldn't have gone smoother.

Here are the girls waiting for the rope to drop, so that we could exit the ship:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/vatchr/lauracam171.jpg

We arrived at the airport and were through security and at our gate before 10:00 a.m.!

It was a fast three days, but SO worth it...to escape from the real world for a quick vacation!

Up next....some video clips of the private interactions the girls had with the characters!!!

[anetnmike]

This is the sad part!:sad1:
Thanks for sharing your pictures and your trip! I have never been to the 'Til We Meet Again Party- it is on my list of things to do in Nov. Thanks for those pix because now I know what to look forward to!:) You guys have inspired me to really pack in alot of fun in a few days. I was afraid it would be over before it began but you've showed me that it can be savored. Thanks again for shariing!

[DisneyParkFan]

What a great trip report! I have enjoyed reading it and looking at your photos. You have some great tips and advice. I am taking my first DCL this June. I am so looking forward to it!

[Narnia_girl]

What an awesome report. Thanks for posting it. It helps a newbie like me figure out stuff.

Your pictures are beautiful! May I ask the type of camera you use? I really could use a new one before we sail in July.

Also, when you ate at Parrot Cay, do you cancel dinner reservations at your scheduled dining restaurant that night or just not show up? Or do you eat at both? LOL

thanks!

[NCjenn]

I loved reading your TR and the pictures are awesome! Can't wait to show my DH tonight. We're trying to plan our first cruise and it is so exciting to see the beautiful pictures and get all this great info!

Thanks for taking the time to post!

Jennifer

[Wonder2008]

Thank you for that picture of your daughters with Melanie. She was my "tour guide" during the Art of the Theme Show ship tour, and we waved at each other every time we passed from that point on.

Robert

[Ware Bears]

I really enjoyed reading about your cruise. Thank you for sharing your holiday and photos of your lovely family. :)