April 25th, 2010 4-Night Wonder Cruise!

[KevieKev05]

Hello all! I am a LONG time lurker under a different username (I think I posted like 10 times with that name). So, I got a new username that better suited me and decided to share my experience of my recent cruise!

Cast of Characters:

Me (age 23) - Fourth Disney cruise
James (age 23) - Second Disney cruise
Mom (age 53) - First Disney cruise
Dad (age 53) - First Disney cruise

DAY 1 - April 25th, 2010 - Port Canaveral

We left for the terminal at 9:20 and arrived at about 10:30. After dropping off the luggage and parking in the parking lot just a short way down the road, we went through security and upstairs to check in. There was no line to check in and within 5 minutes, we had our KTTW cards, our identification photos taken, and our number 7 boarding pass. We found a seat near one of the TVs and looked through the Navigator to start planning out the day! James, Dad, and I then proceeded onto the balcony of the terminal to take a look at the glorious Wonder up close. We took a few pictures then went back inside to find that our (James and my) friends from work had arrived at the terminal. We had our reservations linked so that our families could sit together at dinner, and sure enough we were all at table 41 according to our KTTW cards. After mingling with them for about 15 minutes, they started calling for people to board the ship! At about 12:30, our number was called and we proceeded to the Mickey head!

We had our embarkation photo taken and then walked onto the ship! Oh how I had missed it! They directed us to the back of the ship for our embarkation lunch. Parrot Cay had filled up, so they sent us upstairs to the Beach Blanket Buffet. As we got off the elevator on deck 9, they had JUST opened up the left side of the buffet, so we were first in line for that side! We grabbed some food, found a table, and enjoyed our first meal aboard the Disney Wonder.

By 1:00 we had finished lunch and decided to walk around the top deck. From the top deck, we were able to see our car in the parking lot! After a few minutes, we decided to go back to decks 3 and 4 so James and I could show my parents around. After some more exploring, we noticed it was about 1:20, so we headed up to deck 6 to get into our room. At promptly 1:30, they let down the rope and so off we went! James and I had surprised my parents by upgrading them to a verandah room (we were previously given an outside stateroom on deck 2) so we watched as they walked into their room! They were so excited to have a verandah! James and I then went next door to our room and started to get settled. Our rooms were almost all the way aft and that is definitely my desired part of the ship to have a stateroom. The luggage arrived quite quickly, so we unpacked and then headed up to the top deck to get a Bahama Mama in the souvenir glass! YUM! We sipped on them for awhile then went back to our staterooms to be prepared for the lifeboat drill.

Our assembly station was located in Animator’s Palate. After we were all checked off, we went back to the room to drop off the life vests and then went back up to the top deck to get ready for the sail away party! Before we knew it, the ship was pulling out! We went over to the railing to watch allll the people watch US sail away! We watched us sail out all the way through the channel and then went back to our rooms to get ready for “The Golden Mickeys” and dinner. I was so excited as “The Golden Mickeys” is my favorite show. We had the second dinner seating and our rotation was Animator’s Palate, Parrot Cay, Parrot Cay, Triton’s. That was perfect because we had Palo booked for the second night and we could still enjoy all three of the rotation restaurants!

At 5:40 we made the journey to deck 4 forward to get in line for the show. I’m one of THOSE people who need to have a certain seat for the shows (Row H, center). The doors opened by 5:55 and we got our seats (Row H, center)! Rona did the red carpet arrivals and before we knew it, it was show time!

After the show, we went into the merchandise shops. I was given “orders” from friends and family so I started picking up the items for them. My sister wanted two of the new Castaway Club exclusive Vinylmations and my friend wanted three...yes THREE...Dooney & Bourke bags. After acquiring those items, James and I dropped them off in the room and headed back downstairs for dinner in Animator’s Palate!

We were introduced to our server (O’Neill from Jamaica) and assistant server (Violeta from Peru). I ordered the mushroom risotto, cheddar potato soup, turkey & prosciutto pasta, and the double fudge chocolate cake. All were very scrumptious, and this was probably my favorite meal of the three rotation restaurants. We were one of the last out of the restaurant (I guess that’s what we get being a table of 10) and were all exhausted, so off to bed we went to get ready for our day at Nassau!

 

[verygfy]

subscribing, can't wait to hear more about your trip!!

 

[catzle]

4 weeks to go so can't wait to hear more.

 

[2littlegirls]

I'm in

 

[mstree7832]

subscribing

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Fantastic so far!
Let's hear more!

 

[LauraKRN]

More More!!!

We still have 2 more weeks before it's our turn!

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 2 - April 26th, 2010 - Nassau, Bahamas

We woke in time to watch the Wonder dock at Nassau. At the docks we saw two ships with a space in between them...I wonder where we’ll dock! On our verandah, we noticed it was very humid and the sky was mostly cloudy. It was neat to watch the ship dock. On my three prior cruises, I had not once witnessed this. As we docked, we saw the officers on the bridge of the neighboring ship watch us dock...almost as if they were judging! Haha. It was just funny to see. We finally dock and start to get ready for the day!

It was always our intent to stay on the ship on this day. We had all done Nassau previously, and really just wanted to relax on the ship, walk around, take pictures, etc. Well, it’s a good thing we decided that. It sure did rain practically the WHOLE day. The storm followed us (Orlando got hit HARD Sunday night). So, we started the day off with breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet and then proceeded to walk around a little bit.

While on the top deck, we noticed that the lifeboats were being lowered and sailing around the water on the starboard side. It was neat watching them be lowered and then seeing them circle around the water. I’m not sure if it was time for them to be tested, or if they were training crew members; either way, it was cool to experience. Next, we went over the adult area of the top deck and went inside the “Outlook Cafe”...we LOVED it! It was very well done and very nicely designed. It’ll be great for those traveling on the Alaska voyages! After walking around in there, we went back down to the lobby area.

In passing the Promenade Lounge on deck 3, we noticed board games set out, so we grabbed “Sorry” and the four of us played quite a fun game! It was interesting being in the lounge since some excursions met here. At this point they were handing out ponchos to those going on excursions. They were clearly needed! We watched as people ran back to the ship amidst pouring rain, getting soaked to the bone. After our lengthy game of “Sorry”, we decided to go to lunch at Triton’s to order off a menu, as opposed to going to a place with a buffet. Being the adventurous person I am, I ordered a cheeseburger (ha!), but it was good nonetheless. I also ordered the Key Lime Pie and a fudgy puddingy brownie thing with vanilla sauce for dessert.

After lunch, we went upstairs and found ourselves next playing shuffleboard outside on deck 4. It was James and I against my parents, and we won! After that, we wanted to play another game of “Sorry”, so back down to the Promenade Lounge we went. Another family was playing it, so we opted for “Chutes & Ladders”! We were the first to play this game apparently and had to punch out the pieces and put the game together. Who knew this “children’s” game could be so fun for adults! I am happy to say that I won!

It was approaching the show time for “Alice in Wonderland” in 3-D, so James and I went to the Buena Vista Theatre on deck 5, while my parents went back to their room. James and I had been wanting to see this movie for awhile, so it was nice to be able to see it for “free” on the Wonder! I actually enjoyed it and found it to be different from what I was expecting. The theatre was PACKED with LOTS of young, young children. I’m not sure this was a movie for young children. And, most of them had a hard time sitting through it.

While James and I were at the movie, Mom went to the scrapbooking event and both Mom and Dad went to the DVC Member Celebration (as they are proud DVC members). At 6:30, they had their Palo reservation. I guess they got there just after 6:00 and were seated right away.

After the movie, James and I went back to our room to get ready for our evening. On our way to the theatre, we noticed Formal Donald and Formal Daisy taking pictures in the lobby. Outside the Walt Disney Theatre, Formal Goofy was taking pictures, and I just couldn’t pass up a picture with Goofy! So, we had our picture taken. We were in line outside the Walt Disney Theatre for “Toy Story the Musical” by 5:45 promptly to ensure we got the seats I wanted (and sure enough, we did!). The show was enjoyable, though I find I get bored about halfway through.

After the show, we shopped a little bit and as we were heading back to the room to drop stuff off, we passed my parents who informed us they were on their way to buy MORE DVC points! They’re crazy! They wanted to take advantage of the onboard incentives to buying more points. We journeyed with them down to deck 2 to the DVC conference room to go over some paperwork. We left them after about 15 minutes to head up to Deck 10 for our Palo reservations at 8:30.

We arrived early and were seated right away. Our server was Roy from India and he was exceptional! We ordered the calamari for an appetizer (and Roy also brought out some shrimp which was delicious!), the four cheese pizza for our next course (so very scrumptious), and we split the pasta with prime rib in it for our next course. Roy then brought out some raspberry sorbet for us to cleanse our palate. For our main entree, both James and I ordered the beef (which was SUPERB, as always). For dessert, we decided to split a chocolate souffle and the panna cotta. Well, Roy decided he’d bring us each a souffle! Needless to say, we were STUFFED by the end of this meal. After dessert he brought us the limoncello type drink to finish off the meal.

After dinner, we decided to call it a night. At this point it seemed to have JUST stopped raining. Eeeeks! Hopefully the weather gets better for Castaway Cay tomorrow!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that instead of leaving Nassau at 7:00pm like normal, today we weren’t leaving until 2:00am! Apparently they do this once a month, and this way the crew is able to get off the ship and enjoy some nightlife on the island. I sure wasn’t going to take advantage of this...we were TIRED! Haha.

 

[LauraKRN]

Sounds like you had a GREAT time! Thanks for the reviews.... keep em coming

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Yes! Keep posting!

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 3 - April 27th, 2010 - Castaway Cay

We woke to the alarm of the ship’s thrusters as the ship was backing into Castaway Cay. I got out of bed and went onto the verandah to see that the ship was having a hard time trying to dock due to the winds and the waves. On our last cruise, we ended up not docking and the captain switched our day at sea and Castaway Cay days as a result. I wondered if that was going to happen this time. It was interesting looking at the dock and seeing all the workers sitting around waiting to see if we were going to make it. After roughly 20 minutes, I noticed we were getting closer and closer to the dock so I was hopeful we were going to make it! Sure enough, we docked and we went back into our stateroom to get ready for the day.

For breakfast, we decided to go to Parrot Cay. After a delicious buffet breakfast, we headed down to the deck 1 aft gangway to get off the ship. By 9:15 we were on the island. Chip and Dale were doing a meet and greet outside the Post Office, so we waited in line for a picture. We then progressed a little further down to have our picture taken with the Wonder in the background. After that, we continued walking toward the beaches. We checked out the new Pelican Plunge which looked quite fun! Next, James and I went to the bike rental area to get our bikes to head to Serenity Bay, and we told my parents to take the tram and meet us there. After they arrived, we walked onto the beach at Serenity Bay. So tranquil and beautiful!

We found a group of empty chairs and set up camp. Little did we know that our friends had set up camp right next to where we did! How perfect! James and I then went to the bar to pick up some Konk Koolers...YUM! It was our first time trying these and it won’t be the last time we get them. After lying in the chairs sunbathing for awhile, James and I decided to go for a bike ride along the bike paths. Thirty minutes later we grabbed my parents and went to grab food. James and I were looking forward to some cookie dough soft serve, but quickly found out that they only serve that at the main eating location. Bummer! So, after we completed our meal, James and I rode our bike back to the family area, parked them, and had a cup (or two, or three) of yummy cookie dough soft serve. By this point, it was getting warmer out, so we decided to try and brave the Pelican Plunge slides. The water felt cold, but it actually wasn’t too bad. We swam to the location and went down each slide once. What a nice addition to Castaway Cay!

We then played some one-on-one beach volleyball before heading back to the Serenity Bay area to meet up with my parents again. At this point, we noticed our friends clumped around something at the end of the water. We went to see what they were looking at, and it was a sea slug. We soon found out they were EVERYWHERE around the edge of the water. After snapping a picture, we got in the water for a little bit, and then decided we wanted to head back to the Pelican Plunge area for the rest of our time on the island. My parents rode the tram back, and we biked back and returned the bikes. We found a spot near Pelican Plunge to set up camp again and then went to get some 2-for-1 drinks! We ended up getting Tropical Depressions which were good, but not as good as the Konk Koolers.

Upon finishing our drinks, James and I went back in the water for a little while longer before deciding to start the journey back to the ship. On our way back, we picked up some items at She Sells Seashells and Everything Else and then caught the tram the rest of the way back. Near the aft gangway, Donald was out, so we snapped a photo and got on the ship around 3:00.

James and I had been looking into getting on the maiden voyage of the Disney Dream, so we had been talking with the Future Cruise Sales Manager, Leslie, the day before. We found the maiden voyage to be too expensive for our tastes, but the second voyage ended up being half as expensive, so we opted for that option. The night before she held an inside stateroom on deck 2 for us, so today we decided to catch her right when she arrived at the desk to investigate more in depth and to put down a deposit perhaps. We decided to try for a room on a higher deck, and it appeared she had lots of options! She said “pick a room” and we did, and it was available! So, WE BOOKED IT! We booked by 8:30pm, which meant we were entered in the drawing for some more onboard credit for this cruise! Apparently we didn’t win, but that’s okay...we were going on the second voyage of the Disney Dream!

After getting that squared away, we went up to the top deck to grab some food and then watched the ship sail away from Castaway Cay. Once we got a little ways away from the island, we all went back to our rooms to get ready for Pirate Night!

We donned our pirate gear (aka the bandanas with Mickey ears and Goofy ears), and went to deck 3 for pictures. We also got a picture with Pirate Mickey! Tonight, there was no show, but instead the opportunity to see “Disney/Nature - Oceans” (which we passed on). Before we knew it, it was time for our dinner in Parrot Cay. I ordered the jerk chicken salad and the beef tenderloin for my main entree. For dessert the I ordered the chocolate cake. By the time we were through our meal, it was quickly approaching the time for the “Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party”, so up to deck 10 we went to grab some spots! I think it was about 10:00 when we got there, and it was already pretty packed.

We watched the show, waiting in anticipation for Mickey’s arrival and the fireworks. Once all that happened, we sprinted to the buffet, but ended up only taking pictures as we were stuffed from dinner. So, back to our room we went to call it a night! Tomorrow is our day at sea!

 

[Otimon]

Especially enjoying your trip report as we were on the same cruise.

Well done KevieKev!

Any photos to share?

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Yes, photos please!
And do you think you could post the latest CC map?

 

[KevieKev05]

Thanks for all the compliments!

I just posted scans of the Castaway Cay map on the main Cruise forum, so hopefully that'll help some people out!

Also, I've posted a couple pictures in the "Picture of the Day" thread. I'll see what I can do about posting some more pictures from this cruise!

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Don't forget, you still have one more day of posting here too!

 

[KevieKev05]

Don't forget, you still have one more day of posting here too!

Haha, don't worry! It'll be coming soon.

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 4 - April 28th, 2010 - Day at Sea

We slowly got out of bed and got ready in time to grab breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet before it closed. After breakfast, we decided to head back to the Promenade Lounge yet again for another game of “Sorry”. As we were playing, family trivia was going on. For the second round of trivia, we decided to join in, getting 24 of the 25 answers correct and winning 2 DCL keychain flashlights! Next, we made our way over to Diversions to find it empty. We saw “Scrabble” set out, so guess what we did! Dad won (only by a little margin) .

By this time we were ready for some lunch. After much contemplation, we chose Beach Blanket Buffet over Triton’s. So, back up to deck 9 we went. They were serving sushi, so James was a happy camper (he being the only one of us that eats it). We then walked around the top deck and found our friends lounging on deck 10 near the adult area. James and I decided to head back to our room to put on our swimming shorts and went back to join our friends on the top deck.

Our friend Becky was just mentioning how she was wanting them to start the adult games in the pool area, and no sooner than when we sat in our chairs, they started asking for participants. She went down to the pool and within 2 minutes she came yelling for us to come join as they needed guys. Against my better judgement, we both went down to join in the fun. It ended up being 5 girls against 5 guys. Our first game was the pass the object given down the line of participants using our necks and not our hands. The girls had a balloon. The guys, a ping pong ball. I bet you can guess who won that game! The next game was diving in the pool for silver coins they threw in. The team that gathered the most, won that game. The guys dominated that one! So, it was 1 to 1. One final game...a swimming relay! They made it interesting by having us put on a shirt, swim a lap, jump out, and take the shirt off and put it on the next person, who swam the lap, etc. The guys kept a lead practically the whole time, and it grew as the game progressed. James was the last guy to go and as he was approaching the “finish”, DJ Mowgli (who was helping host the game) decided to jump practically on James to prevent him from finishing! Nice try! James pushed him off and swam to the end to make the guys the winners! Both teams got a free alcoholic drink for participating, so it made it worthwhile

After all that excitement, we went back to our chairs, applied more suntan lotion and then went over the the ping pong tables to play some ping pong! After countless games of fun and insanity, we gathered our stuff and went back to our rooms.

Tonight was our final night, so James and I decided to wear button down shirts and ties for the occasion. We were also in Triton’s tonight, so our extra “dressiness” would fit in with the atmosphere. At promptly 5:45, we were outside the Walt Disney Theatre to secure our (well MY seat) for the final show, “Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic”.

The doors opened, and our seats were secured! The show was good, and I found that my parents preferred “The Golden Mickeys” over this one (like me!). (They had missed “Toy Story the Musical” due to their Palo reservation.)

After the show, we wandered around until it was time for dinner in Triton’s. Once the doors opened, we were directed to our table (which was right at the front of the restaurant which was nice). I found this meal to be my least favorite dinner on the cruise, mainly due to the fact that I’m not a fan of fancier food or seafood. I ordered escargot (which James ate for me, as the ship was really rocking and I don’t think I could stomach both the ship and snails at that moment), the french onion soup (really only ate the cheese on top), and the three cheese lobster macaroni. For dessert, I ordered the chocolate mousse which was good.

On previous cruises, dinners would take quite some time (especially because I’ve been seated at large tables every time), and every time I would JUST make the “Til We Meet Again” character farewell. For whatever reason, this dinner didn’t take long at all, even compared to our other dinners this cruise. So, I made it in PLENTY of time for the character farewell (also considering we were eating at the restaurant RIGHT there, haha).

The character farewell started, and looking back, I found this specific farewell to be incredibly lackluster and non-exciting. There weren’t THAT many characters to see, and the ones out didn’t draw much crowd (especially poor Princess Tiana who was trying her hardest to not just stand there). Even at the end when the characters were on the staircases, it just seemed to happen so quickly and then they were gone. In cruises past, they would have all the characters look left for pictures, and then all look right for pictures, and there was none of that this time. Oh well! I still got good pictures and enjoyed seeing the characters one last time.

After the farewell ended, we went to Shutters to look at the picture we had taken before dinner. We ended up loving it (which was a bummer since we had thought we bought all the pictures we wanted), so we bought it. But oh no! We didn’t have a frame at home for it! So where do we head? Back to Mickey Mates to get yet another frame, haha. But first, we went straight to our stateroom after purchasing the picture, to set out our luggage. Once we handled that, we then went to buy the frame.

We found ourselves still a little hungry, so we decided to try room service for the first time ever. We got the cheese plate, the fruit bowl, and two chocolate chip cookies. It took about 5-10 minutes to get through on the phone, and once we ordered they said it would take about 30 minutes. Wonderfully, it came within 15-20 minutes. Once we gobbled all that up, it was time for bed. I always hate the final night...I find myself thinking about all the wonderful time and memories from the cruise and don’t fall asleep too easily.

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

DAY 4 - April 28th, 2010 - Day at Sea
We found ourselves still a little hungry, so we decided to try room service for the first time ever. We got the cheese plate, the fruit bowl, and two chocolate chip cookies. It took about 5-10 minutes to get through on the phone, and once we ordered they said it would take about 30 minutes. Wonderfully, it came within 15-20 minutes. Once we gobbled all that up, it was time for bed. I always hate the final night...I find myself thinking about all the wonderful time and memories from the cruise and don’t fall asleep too easily.

So room service was available the last night? Do you remember what time you called to place your order?

 

[KevieKev05]

So room service was available the last night? Do you remember what time you called to place your order?

We placed our order around 11:00pm. According to the Navigator, room service closed at 1:30am that final night.

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

We placed our order around 11:00pm. According to the Navigator, room service closed at 1:30am that final night.

Good to know - thanks!