Any Tips to the 3 Night Wonder?

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Hello to All! We are going on our first Disney Cruise to the Bahamas on the Wonder. Does anyone have any helpful hints or tips that they would like to share? Thanks so much! P.S. We have DD14 and DS5

 

[repeatcruiser]

Don't try to do everything - you'll be exhausted! Pick out the things you want to do most, and enjoy. There is so much to see and do on the ship that 3 days is not enough - recognize this going in and go with the flow.

My personal recommendation is to not spend too much time in Nassau - make a quick tour and return to the ship - others may not agree, but we found relaxing on the ship more enjoyable than touring the town.

Also, disembark on Castaway Cay early to get a chair and umbrella near the water (if that interests you) - they fill up fast - there are plenty of chairs for everyone, but the ones in front fill up.

 

[AshAlytwins]

I agree with the Nassau suggestion.....we are not even getting off on our 4 day this year.....wish we would have skipped it last year!!!
It does fly by, so be sure to just stop and enjoy. We took leasurely walks around the ship which was soooooo enoyable!!!!
Savor the food too!!!!
Enjoy CC...it is beautiful!!!!

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Thank you guys so much! I really appriciate all the helpful hints.

Please keep them coming!

 

[lisa08]

I am going on my first DCL cruise also, two weeks from today.... March 30 its a 3 night so please keep the ideas coming on the 3 night wonder

 

[Jsme]

I do not care for Nassau. In September we did not even get off the ship. We had a great time onboard instead. We took the very boring bridge tour, did the wine tasting in Palo and had a very relaxing couples massage.

If you are into wine the wine tasting is fun. We met some great folks there and went on to do the beer tasting right after with them. I do not drink beer but DH enjoyed it. That was lots of fun even though I did not drink. They also have a Martini tasting. I did it twice. Just remember if you do this to make a plate of food and eat while you drink them. They are strong!

I really thought the bridge tour was boring as all get out but I am sure others enjoy it alot.

Make Palo reservations on-line but remember you can always go upon embarkment and change them if you do not get the time you want. They keep some reservations available for people who do not have access to the internet.

If you want to you can take a water taxi over to Paradise Island and visit the Atlantis on your own. This is much cheaper. My mom did this on her first cruise.

Do not try to do everything. Pick what you think are musts and do those. Remember you can always cruise again.

If you have not been on the Magic this is the time to book a 7 day cruise on her and get the discount and the onboard credit. Then when you come home shop some TA's and once you get the best take over price let them take over your reservation and you will save even more.

I really like the water package while at CC. Just wait to buy it when you need it other wise the ice will melt and the water may get hot before you use it. I know you can always go and get more ice but if you are in the water you might not think about it. I think this is one of the best deals you can buy on CC. Two summers ago I did not drink much water can became dehyrated and got very sick on the walk back to the ship.

 

[repeatcruiser]

I really thought the bridge tour was boring as all get out but I am sure others enjoy it alot.

This is obviously one of those "to each his own" things - we did the bridge tour in 2004 and all of us (4 and 7 yo too) thought it was great! Unfortunately, they no longer do the tour.

We did a galley tour on our 7 day - don't know if they do this on the Wonder, but it was quite interesting - this is adults only, however.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Thanks so much for all these tips!
These are all things to consider.
Please keep them coming!

 

[kevlois]

Something my DS and DD are still talking about is they ordered at dinner everthing for my DW and myself, anything they couldn't pronounce. After the first night, the waiters come to the kids and asked what will your parents be having? Remember if you don't like their selections you can send it back.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Thanks for that tip, kevlois! That is something to keep in mind!

 

[PerryGreen]

Mark me down as one more person who recommends spending more time onboard during the day in Nassau. It was interesting to see the markets, and a lot of people went to the Atlantis (to gamble I think). We walked around for about an hour, and then we were anxious to go back to the ship.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Thanks, PerryGreen! I think that will be our best bet.

Please continue these tips!

 

[BrianD]

This is obviously one of those "to each his own" things - we did the bridge tour in 2004 and all of us (4 and 7 yo too) thought it was great! Unfortunately, they no longer do the tour....

Are you sure about them no longer offering this? I could have sworn I saw it on our Navigator on our 3 night Wonder cruise two weeks ago. Also, I just looked up a Navigator from 1/12 and it showed the Bridge tour, so maybe they still have it?

If they do, I really want to do it on our next cruise, because I'm really into that stuff!

As for 3 day tips...

Because you are on a 3 night cruise, try to get to the Port by 10:30 - 11:00 so that you can get on the ship as early as possible, so that you can start your (way too short) vacation sooner! We arrived around 11:00 and were onboard by 11:45. Then, if the weather is good, go up to Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch (even if they try to direct you to Parrot Cay), where you can sit outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and you can see some of the NASA buildings off in the distance. (When we were there eating lunch, I was sitting there thinking how awesome it would be to be right there when they are doing a launch - that would be really cool!) After lunch, you can explore the ship (and make any dining changes, if needed). This is really cool because the ship is virtually empty for the first couple of hours, as everyone is either still boarding the ship or eating lunch. After you settle into your room (available at 1:30), then go up to one of the pools and catch some sun & swim before that deck gets crowded.

As far as tipping goes, on Castaway Cay morning, on your way to getting off the ship, go by the Guest Services desk and charge your servers tips to your onboard account. This makes it so easy. They will give you little cards with the tip amount on them, that you can put in the tip envelopes that they give you. Do this that morning though, because after get back on the ship after Castaway Cay, the lines at Guest Services will be pretty long for the rest of the evening.

If I think of any other tips (that haven't already been mentioned), I'll post them.

 

[repeatcruiser]

Are you sure about them no longer offering this? I could have sworn I saw it on our Navigator on our 3 night Wonder cruise two weeks ago. Also, I just looked up a Navigator from 1/12 and it showed the Bridge tour, so maybe they still have it?

If they do, I really want to do it on our next cruise, because I'm really into that stuff!

BrianD - this was based on our 7 day western on 2/25/06 - they told us they were no longer doing them (I guessed it was due to security concerns) - I just assumed that it applied to the Wonder as well - I guess we all know what happens when you assume...

We did the tour in 2004 on the Wonder - really neat - we videoed the whole thing - have heard some say that you can't video??

 

[WeluvDisney2]

I really like the water package while at CC. Just wait to buy it when you need it other wise the ice will melt and the water may get hot before you use it. I know you can always go and get more ice but if you are in the water you might not think about it. I think this is one of the best deals you can buy on CC. Two summers ago I did not drink much water can became dehyrated and got very sick on the walk back to the ship.

What is the water package?

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Pleas keep them coming!