12/24/08 Christmas Cruise on the Wonder

[DisneyMama27]

Here's my Trippie! It's a work in progress, but I am learning how to add pictures!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2043854

I rebooked as well. Reserved a Cat. 4 for $600 less than the Cat. 6 that I had booked for the European Capitals 6/24/10 cruise. I was able to transfer the deposit that I paid in October so no additional money out of pocket.

What about you guys? Did you splurge for balconies next time? We really missed not being able to escape to one after the kiddos were down.

That's great, Adrianna! We may change our dates later on, but we definitely wanted to get booked. Which 7 day itinerary did you do before?

We did 2 cat 6 verandah rooms this time and are doing the same next time - it was about $200 more to get 2 cat 6 rooms vs. 1 cat 4, and nearly twice the space. It was great to have a grown-up room and a kids' room - and once I saw the verandah, I was no longer worried about anyone taking a dive overboard! Our porter kindly brought door stoppers to keep the doors open in between.

My kids love AFV (America's Funniest Videos) and were watching it tonight on the Family Channel - and they were filming from Castaway and the Wonder! We were all drooling, wanting to be back on that beach/ship. Definitely not ready for this trip to be over!! I'm sorry some of you have had to go back to work already. I just got depressed realizing that today is THURSDAY! (Or WAS - guess it is Friday now!! ) Three more days and back to school.

DO you all realize that the Wonder came back to PC and left again today?

Happy New Year Friends!

 

[TXdeVille]

Here's most of our photos. I havent finished editing or checking for spelling but whatever. I'll do a TR soon but you get first dibs at looking at the pics.

Andy those are some great pics! I love Bryson's pirate bucket hat. Too cute! I'm glad you got a sunrise picture. I would have loved to try to get one. Sunrise didn't even cross my mind. I tried sunset...once on our day at sea but it was cloudy, and then I didn't get topside in time to get it on our castaway cay day. Oh well. There will be more. We also didn't see any characters on the island. DS and I were too busy snorkeling. He wasn't too interested in having pics done with the characters anyways. Just Chip n Dale. We had a Captain Jack here this past year at a festival that was a LOT more realistic than the one Disney had. I'll have to find the pic and post it later.

 

[TXdeVille]

Shari and Courtney-

I rebooked as well. Reserved a Cat. 4 for $600 less than the Cat. 6 that I had booked for the European Capitals 6/24/10 cruise. I was able to transfer the deposit that I paid in October so no additional money out of pocket.

What about you guys? Did you splurge for balconies next time? We really missed not being able to escape to one after the kiddos were down.

Shari, my ears are still rocking, too.

It was 23 degrees in Kansas today.

Adrianna

Adrianna, WOW what a deal! How did you manage that? We reserved two rooms for now, which of course might change since we booked a dummy date. We aren't going until June 2011. Could be one of the new ships!! Pixie dust please.....We reserved a cat 6 and a cat 11. The girls will get the 6 as Victoria wanted a balcony. DH could care less but I did tell the boys they could come visit. Who knows....the adults may get that room.

Sorry if it sounds so negative. I would compare it more to lets say.....space mountain....non-stop with a few hee haw laffs thrown in.

Oh I haven't even read it yet. I figured I would do it tonight while I was doing a late shift. I see you are returning to WDW next March. DVC or non-DVC?

Shari, I see you are returning and staying at AKV. You are a DVC owner, right? Where do you own? We can't wait to return. I might even let my dad tag along and he can cook all the meals. He did say he wasn't interested in the parks but I told him he could stay and cook and watch the animals but he can't bring his gun. He thought I was joking that there were live animals. I still need to download my pics, post them here, and send him copies.

BTW, is a TR necessary?

 

[adrianna_sarah]

That's great, Adrianna! We may change our dates later on, but we definitely wanted to get booked. Which 7 day itinerary did you do before?

We did 2 cat 6 verandah rooms this time and are doing the same next time - it was about $200 more to get 2 cat 6 rooms vs. 1 cat 4, and nearly twice the space.

We did the 7 Day Western before in a Cat. 5. Not much difference from a Cat. 6, just a deck higher. At the time the difference was only $100 and it is a slightly quieter deck with less rooms. The Western has 4 stops with 2 days at sea, the Eastern has 3 stops with 3 days at sea (both not including the first night). Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and of course CC were all great stops on the Western. No regrets.

We will never again cruise without a balcony! Not that a porthole window is bad, it's just a bummer to have to dim the lights for everyone at 8:00 and then be alert enought to get up again once we hear their little snores. Can't wait until the kids are big enough for ther own room!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[adrianna_sarah]

Just in case anyone checks in, I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Hi Brenda! It was great to finally meet you in the flesh. Courtney said that you were in Palo when we were there, but I didn't see you. Did you see me?

All, especially Texans-

We have received our follow on assignment and will be assigned to Fort Hood, TX at the end of June. Woo hoo, Texas here we come!

Adrianna

 

[drag n' fly]

Oh I haven't even read it yet. I figured I would do it tonight while I was doing a late shift. I see you are returning to WDW next March. DVC or non-DVC?

Non Dvc. We have booked a condo at Windor Hills. Sent you a pm.

 

[DisneyMama27]

Welcome to Texas, Adrianna! I have to admit, I don't know where Ft. Hood is, but I have heard of it a lot! You, me and Courtney should arrange a "play" date!

Our TA actually got us an upgrade to cat 5 for the Wonder, so we'll see. We requested rooms on the starboard side mid-ship for the next one, but I wouldn't mind being a deck higher. I liked Deck 7! DH preferred the Eastern ports, so that's why we went that way - didn't matter much to me. We have been to Cozumel and Key West and liked them both. I think we would even transfer to the DVC Member cruise if the dates and ports were good for us!

Courtney, we own at AKV and SSR. This will be our first stay at AKV - DH has been holding out for Kidani Village to open up. We've stayed at SSR many times, and we really like it - looking forward to those Treehouses opening up!

We did not visit a single park this trip - just too darn tired! We'll make up for it this summer, I'm sure!

 

[brendalee59]

Hi Brenda! It was great to finally meet you in the flesh. Courtney said that you were in Palo when we were there, but I didn't see you. Did you see me?

All, especially Texans-

We have received our follow on assignment and will be assigned to Fort Hood, TX at the end of June. Woo hoo, Texas here we come!

Adrianna

Hi Adrianna!

We canceled our Palo brunch. We decided we would rather be lazy, so ordered room service and had breakfast in the room. I tell ya, we made sure we got our moneys worth out of that suite.

I'm going to pm you my email addy. When you get to Ft Hood, I have info on a fabulous church for you guys to check out. Our former music minister is there, and he and his wife are wonderful people. The paster is an amazing man as well.

It may be next week before I get the chance to write my TR, and to read ya'lls. Dale goes back on the road Monday, the kids back to school, and I get back to working out at the YMCA. Got to get this bod in shape for my 50th birthday/inagural cruise on Oasis next Dec

Just got all the Christmas decorations packed up today. Waiting on Dale to put them, along with the luggage back in the attic. He also needs to take the tree to the pasture for the birds and rabbits to nest in.

Time to run to town, The conceirage at the Poly informed me my drivers license was about to expire the end of Dec, and I completely forgot, so am now driving on an expired license. Need to go get that taken care of ASAP.

Catch ya'll around the boards

 

[adrianna_sarah]

Guys and gals-

I've been thinking about something and wanted to get your opinions. How was the food this cruise? The reason I ask, is that I remember the food on the Magic as being stellar... something to write home about. I had really mixed feelings about the cuisine on the Wonder. The only really bad dish I had was the fish in Parrot Cay, which was way fishy and overcooked, but I blamed that it was Christmas and they may not have been able to purchase the freshest fish.

After reading Annette's trip report, I have to agree that I never received a hot dinner. I am wondering if it was a bad idea to ditch the whole 5:30, 5:45, 6:00 routine for everyone eating at 5:45. I am not a complainer, but I really felt that the food was not up to standard this time. Nothing that will keep me from rebooking in the future, of course. After all, it's the Magic that they are taking to Europe.

I am thinking that I need to write a letter, but wanted to see if any of you felt the same.

Thoughts?

Adrianna

 

[DisneyMama27]

Adrianna, we felt exactly the same. Tom is way pickier than me, and with higher standards. I never went hungry, and there were some selections I really liked, but overall it did not seem to be the same quality that we get in the nicer restaurants at WDW. I don't remember food being hot or cold, so can't judge that. Tom's steaks, etc. were ALWAYS overdone - he even would order medium rare, hoping for medium and still get med. well. That is something he is very picky about. BTW, Adrianna, Tom had the fish on Christmas too (we were in AP, but I bet it was the same thing) and did not like it at all.

I have thought about writing a letter too - not to "complain," just to give honest feedback, and praise the crew members who I thought did a fantastic job. Our room steward, certain Club/Lab workers. Our Asst. Server was terrific - she cut my girls' fruit up every night, among other things!

It was not a deal-breaker for us either, but we were expecting FABULOUS. Everything else was, though!

 

[brendalee59]

Courtney and I disscussed this in an email just yesterday. I don't recall any cold meals myself, but the quality was not as good as our last DCL cruise. We had PTTA at the 5:45 seating. We actually like Parrot Cay best. The food was hot, and well prepared. Tritons, was ok the first night. Lindsey and I got the ham, and it was a little dry. Michael and Dale got the prime rib, which they said was very good. Pirate night menu wasn't as good. But as I told Courtney, we don't really care for french food. AP was really dissapointing to us. I don't know, maybe we were just tired from our day at CC,or maybe just tired of eating all week. I don't think any of us finished our entree. Even dessert wasn't very good. Cookie's BBQ also was just so so. They had run out of ribs, which was the only thing Dale wanted to eat.He asked the guy working the line if they had more, and was told no. Our server from dinner was working and had come over to talk to us. He asked us if we had tried the ribs, and Dale told him they were out when we went through the line. Roland told us not to go anywhere, and rushed off. He returned in a few minutes with an overflowing plate of ribs. Lindsey and I tried to eat a burger at Cookies, but they were just too dry. Then there was the breakfast buffet. The bacon was tasteless. The eggs undercooked, and the hash browns were the precooked squares you find in the supermarket. The sausage,biscuits and gravy were ok, but I mostly stuck to the fruit. That said, the panini at goofys was YUMMY!
It all boils down to the economy. All the cruise lines are trying to cut costs, and the quality of the food is the easiest to cut. As Sheri said, we didn't go hungry. And I didn't gain any weight on this cruise. It isn't all about the food. It is about Disney and the Magic Disney brings to the board. I think it's safe to say the food was less than magical, but the rest of it was true Disney at their finest.

 

[DisneyMama27]

Our lunch at Cookies was actually very good - my kids ate next to nothing, but I enjoyed my burger and Tom loved the chicken! We were getting in a long line for lunch when a CM directed us around to the side where there was no line - I wonder if the food was less picked over too.

I agree about breakfast - the fruit was great! After the first morning, we went to Parrot Cay and stuck with that. It's a buffet still, but it was quieter and less picked over. The fruit was really good and there were occasionally some little treats (I had some bacon cheese pastry thing that was great), but the eggs and bacon were the same. I keep trying to eat bacon at Disney, but it is all the same tasteless waste of calories. Probably doing me a favor! Tom liked the Captain's Omelet on the last day - his favorite breakfast of the cruise.

It isn't all about the food. It is about Disney and the Magic Disney brings to the board. I think it's safe to say the food was less than magical, but the rest of it was true Disney at their finest.

I agree with you 100%, Brenda! I am still going through withdrawal! Lurking around on the boards instead of going to bed is not helping, I'm sure. I am in denial that I will have to start getting up at 5 am in a few days. And as un-fabulous as the food may have been, it was still better than cooking myself!

 

[JoDale]

Jo.....If it is the same list my daugher has, she created it. That is where her organization ends. Most of her friends are in Canada or UK/Europe. I told her no phone calls to there but to check and see if they have Skype.

TXdeVille, I told my DD yesterday that I was communicating with the mom of one of her cruise friends. You should have seen her face light up Then the inquisition began:

DD: ARE THEY COMING HERE???
ME: No.
DD: ARE WE GOING THERE ???
ME: No.
DD: Why not ???

I mumble something about the distance between Texas and NC and wonder when did they stop teaching geography in school. At this point my DS wonders in the room to find out what the commotion is all about. DD excited tells him that I've been talking to the mom of one of her friends.

DS: ARE YOU DATING HER ???
ME:

I try to explain that you are just some stranger that I met online, that you really meant nothing to me...

...yeah it didn't sound any better then than it did just now

Happy 2009 one and all, from my family to yours

 

[adrianna_sarah]

JoDale-

Does that mean that we'll be seeing you again on the DCL?

Kids say the darndest things. I remember a period of our lives when hubby was deployed and my son was two or three. We would be at the PX and he would call any guy in BDUs "daddy". The more mature guys thought it was sweet, but the younger ones... No better way to freak out a 19 year old PFC than with your kid calling him "daddy".

I think that he was using "daddy" as a word for "man in uniform".

Adrianna

 

[brendalee59]

TXdeVille, I told my DD yesterday that I was communicating with the mom of one of her cruise friends. You should have seen her face light up Then the inquisition began:

DD: ARE THEY COMING HERE???
ME: No.
DD: ARE WE GOING THERE ???
ME: No.
DD: Why not ???

I mumble something about the distance between Texas and NC and wonder when did they stop teaching geography in school. At this point my DS wonders in the room to find out what the commotion is all about. DD excited tells him that I've been talking to the mom of one of her friends.

DS: ARE YOU DATING HER ???
ME:

I try to explain that you are just some stranger that I met online, that you really meant nothing to me...

...yeah it didn't sound any better then than it did just now

Happy 2009 one and all, from my family to yours

Hey JoDale! I just realized seeing your picture, That I took a picture of you and the kids on CC! I was at Marge's Barges, waiting for Dale and Michael to get back from their fishing excursion, when you took the kids picture, then asked if I would mind taking on of all of you!

 

[brendalee59]

Our lunch at Cookies was actually very good - my kids ate next to nothing, but I enjoyed my burger and Tom loved the chicken! We were getting in a long line for lunch when a CM directed us around to the side where there was no line - I wonder if the food was less picked over too.

I agree about breakfast - the fruit was great! After the first morning, we went to Parrot Cay and stuck with that. It's a buffet still, but it was quieter and less picked over. The fruit was really good and there were occasionally some little treats (I had some bacon cheese pastry thing that was great), but the eggs and bacon were the same. I keep trying to eat bacon at Disney, but it is all the same tasteless waste of calories. Probably doing me a favor! Tom liked the Captain's Omelet on the last day - his favorite breakfast of the cruise.



I agree with you 100%, Brenda! I am still going through withdrawal! Lurking around on the boards instead of going to bed is not helping, I'm sure. I am in denial that I will have to start getting up at 5 am in a few days. And as un-fabulous as the food may have been, it was still better than cooking myself!

Amen to that! I'm still dragging my feet when it comes to cooking.Just ask my family

 

[brendalee59]

JoDale-

Does that mean that we'll be seeing you again on the DCL?

Kids say the darndest things. I remember a period of our lives when hubby was deployed and my son was two or three. We would be at the PX and he would call any guy in BDUs "daddy". The more mature guys thought it was sweet, but the younger ones... No better way to freak out a 19 year old PFC than with your kid calling him "daddy".

I think that he was using "daddy" as a word for "man in uniform".

Adrianna

That was too cute Adrianna! I wish I had gotten a chance to meet the little ones.

 

[JoDale]

Hey JoDale! I just realized seeing your picture, That I took a picture of you and the kids on CC! I was at Marge's Barges, waiting for Dale and Michael to get back from their fishing excursion, when you took the kids picture, then asked if I would mind taking on of all of you!

Brendalee, Wow, big ship, small world!
Thanks again. That picture too came out perfect inspite of me being in it. Actually I was worried because after you snapped the shot I turned around and noticed that there was a dock worker working right behind us tying off the boat which had just arrived. However, he's invisible in the photo. You did good.

I would agree with the discussion that the food was just ok. It didn't blow me away. My kids hardly ate it. Our server kept asking why they wouldn't eat. I assured him that it was them not him. We never got to Cookies. We had a Paddle Trike incident and ended up spending most of the CC day on board the ship. By the time Brendalee took our picture, my kids were fit to be tied. The extra ship time turned out to be a lot funner for us. It wasn't crowded, duh, and everybody could do what they wanted to.

 

[brendalee59]

Brendalee, Wow, big ship, small world!
Thanks again. That picture too came out perfect inspite of me being in it. Actually I was worried because after you snapped the shot I turned around and noticed that there was a dock worker working right behind us tying off the boat which had just arrived. However, he's invisible in the photo. You did good.

I would agree with the discussion that the food was just ok. It didn't blow me away. My kids hardly ate it. Our server kept asking why they wouldn't eat. I assured him that it was them not him. We never got to Cookies. We had a Paddle Trike incident and ended up spending most of the CC day on board the ship. By the time Brendalee took our picture, my kids were fit to be tied. The extra ship time turned out to be a lot funner for us. It wasn't crowded, duh, and everybody could do what they wanted to.

I did notice the kids didn't seem to be very happy. I thought those poor kids look beat,and Dad making them take a happy picture. Glad to know what ever went wrong didn't ruin the day for your family. We were back onboard by 2:00 ourselves. My family took a nap, while I sat on our balcony and read. Then we packed so we wouldn't have to worry about that after dinner. It worked well for us. We had a very relaxing crusie. No sore feet,and aching legs this time around.

 

[TXdeVille]

I try to explain that you are just some stranger that I met online, that you really meant nothing to me...

...yeah it didn't sound any better then than it did just now

Happy 2009 one and all, from my family to yours

I MEAN NOTHING TO YOU!!!!!??????!!!!!!

Seriously. I know what you mean. That is too funny though! I showed Victoria the picture of you guys and I asked her if she knew her? She said "Sure, that's Grace. Why?" I then let her read the post. At first she didn't get it (DD, DS, etc) so I had to translate. Then she smiled and said Cool. Followed by "We're still too far away!!" Hey, at least it's still in the continental US. Besides, we are DVC members, we could get as close as SC and my sister lives in Georgia!! I don't know if your DS was happy or terrified about the prospect of dating me but it was freaking hilarious!!!

Courtney

Kids say the darndest things. I remember a period of our lives when hubby was deployed and my son was two or three. We would be at the PX and he would call any guy in BDUs "daddy". The more mature guys thought it was sweet, but the younger ones... No better way to freak out a 19 year old PFC than with your kid calling him "daddy".

I think that he was using "daddy" as a word for "man in uniform".

Adrianna

Victoria did the same thing for a while. At the same age. She called my dad, "Dad". I guess she was trying to figure it all out. When I started dating Mike, our second date included her. We went to a festival and when we were leaving we were all hand in hand and swinging her back and forth between the two of us. She called Mike "Daddy". I immediately apologized but he beamed and said "That's alright." What was really funny is when, about a year later, she called his younger sister "Uncle Kay-Kay" which is absolutely hysterical when you factor in the fact that she is a butch lesbian.



You know, we first went to Cookies when they first opened. Perhaps later on the food was a bit fresher and more enjoyable. The ribs were alright but the burger was dry. The Mahi-Mahi sandwich was good too and Carter and I liked the cole slaw. We went there skeptical about Disney selling barbecue to Texans so we didn't expect anything grand.

Guess we will do Parrot Cay next time for breakfast. I had read to do the restaurants for breakfast and lunch since there is a better selection and not as crowded but NO, I didn't listen!! Actually I did, I just forgot. There is so much to offer. And on our sea day, we had Palo brunch. I barely ate any breakfast and then of course we didn't have any lunch. Got a little snack before dinner though.

Unfortunately, I gained a little weight. 8 pounds but most of it is gone since I'm not shoving everything into my face anymore. I've always known I'm lucky since my kids will eat anything....brussel sprouts, raw oysters, sushi, eel, escargot....so I was really not surprised that they enjoyed the food onboard. Heck, they ordered something I wouldn't have. The tilapia with the scallop mousse. You lost me at mousse. I like my scallops whole TYVM. Of course, there was room for improvement in the food arena but as a whole, I think we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.