March 2nd, 2013 - Wonder 5-night from Miami

[kuteje]

So excited that my entire family is going - husband, daughter (age 3), my mom, dad, two bothers and a sister-in-law. This is our first Disney Cruise - and for many of the sailors - their first ever cruise. Any advice? Also, I was reading about the fish extenders. Anyone interested in doing that?

 

[DulcetDiscord]

These are the tips I can think of off the top of my head.

If there is even the slightest chance one of you might get seasick I recommend ginger pills, they counteract the nausea and don't make you groggy at all, unlike Dramamine.

On our first cruise, we brought an entire 24 pack of water with us in a suitcase. By the end of the trip the water was gone and we had an extra suitcase to put our souvenirs and clothes in.

Guest services will also take 2 souvenirs per room to be signed by all the characters available for meet-n-greet onboard. Make sure you bring markers or something. We did a mat for a picture frame and a large white Vinylmation Mickey.

And remember that you can totally ask for seconds or thirds or even an additional appetizer/entree/dessert at dinner. Animator's Palette on the Dream had an amazing pasta appetizer, but it was really small, so we asked for two more to be sent to our table. Oh, and if none of the desserts particularly appeal to you or your kids but you still want something sweet, you can also get plain ol' vanilla ice cream. The servers do their absolute best to make sure you have anything and everything you want!

 

[Mom2Kaylee]

Can't believe how quiet this group is! We are about 50 days away from our trip, and with the great Florida resident rate I figured this group would be poppin by now! I'll start a FB page as well and will post the link on here when I get it

Lets start a sign up for the Fish Extender game!! Leave the names of those participating, kids ages, and stateroom number.

Also would you guys be up for a quick meet and greet at some point?

 

[Mom2Kaylee]

Ok here it is! Come join if your on Facebook!!


https://www.facebook.com/groups/411590465593772/

 

[kuteje]

For the souvenirs signed by the characters - do you take that with you when you go to the meet and greet or leave it with guest services?

 

[Mom2Kaylee]

For the souvenirs signed by the characters - do you take that with you when you go to the meet and greet or leave it with guest services?

We leave with guest services by the end of the first day. They will return it to you by the last night.

 

[kuteje]

We leave with guest services by the end of the first day. They will return it to you by the last night.

Thanks!

 

[TinLizzy90]

I too am surprised this thread isn't more active. We just booked our pre-cruise hotel - used points at the Residence Inn Miami Airport - they have great suites, and a free shuttle from the airport.

 

[tazgirl1981]

Well Count me in for joining this cruise! It will be myself (31) and my two kids. Christopher (7) and Mackenzie (1) This will be My son and my 10th Cruise (yes Platinum status after this cruise!!!) and my Daughters second cruise (we cruised with her when she was only 4 months old). I would like to join in on the FE exchange if it is still open for joining I look forward to cruising with you all

 

[tazgirl1981]

Our little one will be 4 months old on March 1st.
We didn't want to let having a baby stop us from vacationing, so we chose Disney! It will be our first family-friendly vacation!
I have been searching for a group on FB and other places regarding this sailing!

Excited to be here!

I'll take any tips you have re: traveling with babies!

Wahoooo!

I might be of a little bit of help since my daughter was exactly 4 months old when I cruised with her aboard Disney Like another poster has mentioned, expect to take it slower than you would think.
-I remember spending many nights walking the ship when she would be fussy (the ship is amazing at night when everyone else is asleep and it makes getting up in the middle of the night the most amazing thing ever (as that is when I would put her in the carrier and walk the ship to get her back to sleep).
-Don't feel that just because you have a baby that you CANT do some of the other things on the ship, Our little girl got pictures with the Characters and everything.
-She was scared of the clapping in the Walt Disney Theater for the shows each night (something I didn't even think about at all till she started screaming before the show would even start) so we would just return to our room and watch the show on the TV in the stateroom (yes it is showed each night in the room) not the same exact one (I believe its pre-recorded from other cruises) but you still wont miss out on the shows and your baby wont get scared of the loud noises that way
-Even in the shade at Castaway Cay my baby got too much sun. She never fussed or cried but I felt horrible about it. I tried to keep her covered up (I should have just used sunscreen but i was afraid of an allergic reaction being so young, but it would have been better than getting too much sun) So be very careful out in the sun...and yes my little girl was wearing a hat and was covered with a towel as much as possible...
-My husband and myself had to switch off during dinner each night with our little girl because she would get fussy (as to be expected, it was late dinner and the dinner does take quite some time for children) so what we would do is either I would eat and he would take the baby to walk around with her and then we would switch and he would eat while I walked with her (mention to your servers if you are going to go this route and they will wait to bring out your meal so that it is warm for you or they will cover it for you so that it doesnt get as cold) also many nights she got too fussy and I just wouldnt be able to stay at the dinner and the wonderful servers would ask what I wanted and just send it to the room for me and it would be waiting there for when I arrived with the baby or arrive shortly after

Enjoy your trip, Everyone will most likely dote over your little one I would suggest if you have one, a carrier over a stroller (strollers are much harder to navigate on the ship and elevators and even to place in the room) or at least a smaller stroller.

If you have any certain questions feel free to ask, Im not sure if I have all the answers but If I know them I will be sure to answer

 

[tazgirl1981]

Well, I'm sadly mistaken, Hubby told me that he got our cruise for this cruise (March 2nd) but between the time he told me about it and was talking with our travel agent about the type of rooms we wanted and what not, This cruise got sold out So It looks like I will be on the March 11th cruise instead I wish you all the best

 

[runcrazy]

We are a family of 3 from NB Canada. This is our first cruise and looking for suggestions on port excusions in Cozumel. We are on the Disney Wonder out of Miami March 2/13

 

[fredgirls]

We are a family of 3 from NB Canada. This is our first cruise and looking for suggestions on port excusions in Cozumel. We are on the Disney Wonder out of Miami March 2/13

Hi there from NB!

We've looked at a lot of excursions but have decided to do our own thing. We think we might get a taxi to Chankanaab National Park and then wander around downtown afterwards. The girls have a thing about buying sombreros!
There's a non-disney excursion called the Cozumel Amazing Race which looked lots of fun!

 

[runcrazy]

We have an 11 year old daughter (an only child). Will she have more fun in the Edge or OC?

 

[fredgirls]

We have an 11 year old daughter (an only child). Will she have more fun in the Edge or OC?

Last year our daughter was just 12 and she had a blast in the Edge! That was on the dream though.
What I would suggest is going to the open houses on the afternoon of embarkation, and see what your daughter thinks of both spaces.
Our daughter is really looking forward to the Edge again. Even though the space doesn't look as inspiring, there was a lot of fun activities. We've taken a look at the 'navigators' from a recent Wonder 5-night. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3046410&referrerid=77573 It's fun to see what's going on.

 

[runcrazy]

Hi there!
So glad we won't be alone!
We've actually booked the flights now so we're definitely going!
We're from the UK originally but w've been in NB for 10 years now. Lovely place to raise the family. Quiet though! Need to travel!
Glad to have you join us.

We've also been in NB for 6 years and this is our first family cruise. Do you have any suggestions for port adventures in Cozumel?

 

[fredgirls]

We've also been in NB for 6 years and this is our first family cruise. Do you have any suggestions for port adventures in Cozumel?

Hi.
I made a couple of suggestions above, but i've not been to Cozumel before, so i'm probably not the best one to ask! Are you wanting to do an excursion with Disney or go out on your own?
There's a few threads on the main board about cozumel excursions at the moment. A search might produce better info than I have

Where did you move from 6 years ago? Do you like it here? Pretty hard to enjoy it at the moment when it's -30'c!

 

[Mom2Kaylee]

If you want to sign up for the FE group leave your info here on or the Facebook page. Names of everyone participating (as well as childs age & Dis name), favorite character for each, stateroom number, any additional info, ie. allergies, dining rotation, # of previous disney cruises.

 

[fredgirls]

If you want to sign up for the FE group leave your info here on or the Facebook page. Names of everyone participating (as well as childs age & Dis name), favorite character for each, stateroom number, any additional info, ie. allergies, dining rotation, # of previous disney cruises.

for setting this up!

We're not going to participate this time. We organized it last year and it took up lots of time. The girls have asked if we can not do any FE's or meets this time. It's nice they want to spend more time with us!

Hope you all have fun with it!

 

[minnieminnie4]

Hi girls!! I just joined the FB page and am interested in participating in the FE game.... But....how does it go again?