Our trip started out rather early, 5:30 a.m. my sister-in-law's roommate thought it took three and half-hours to get to Port Canaveral from Bradenton. We were wrong by an hour. We even got lost. We did not turn and ran straight to the ocean. We simply turned left and went south. Even with getting lost we were at the port by 9:45 a.m.
At the port it was a little confusing because the guard told us to get in line to drop us off, even though we told him that not everyone was going. We had to turn around and park. Dropping off our luggage was perfect. I wish that checking your luggage into an airport was this easy.
We entered the terminal around 10:06. My son and I immediately went to the model of the ship. We were able to look at it and figure out where our room was and get a good idea the layout of the ship. The embarkation process was a breeze. We were in line for only a couple of minutes. It was funny a few people were running to the next booth that opened up or the next. I vowed that I was not going to look at this cruise as I do a trip to Disney World. I was going to take things as they come. I was not in a hurry to get anywhere. I had great faith in all the reports that I have read before and would follow their recommendations. I was definitely not let down. After we checked in we sat down and got something to drink. It was about 11:30 and I decided that I would get in line. I think that we about the 50th in line.
Getting on the ship was a breeze. My kids got a huge kick out of being announced as we boarded the ship. The hall was absolutely beautiful. I was truly inspired. That band definitely put an island tone to the entire trip. We decided to eat at Parrot Cay. The food was okay. I would consider it higher quality buffet food, but it was still buffet food. After sitting there for twenty minutes we couldn't stand it any longer. We had to explore the ship. We went to make reservations but found out that they weren't open yet So we explored the ship. Then, we decided to take everyone's advice my wife went to the spa and I went to Wavebands to get Palo reservations. We also brought the kids swim clothes in our carryon. They went swimming while we got reservations. I was able to get reservations for the last night of the cruise for Palo's and my wife was able to get our spa reservations. I also enrolled my kids in their respective clubs. We decided not book any excursions. I then went to our stateroom and put our luggage away. I met up with my wife and we explored the ship. I read that Disney was trying for a look of ocean liners of old and I thought they hit on the mark. The Wonder looked like an ocean liner and statelier against a backdrop of the other cruise ships. We met back up with our kids and changed for dinner. We then went up on deck and experienced the Bon Voyage. The ship's horns were amazing. We brought bubbles and found a neat trick. If you angle your bubble stick just right over the side of the ship it makes the bubbles for you and lots of them. We really enjoyed the send off. We had second seating for dinner so we then went to the show.
The shows were outstanding. Hercules was cute. I appreciated the adult humor. I know that my kids are starting to grow-up because my son asked me why something was funny. I told him and he got it and laughed too. I simply can't get over the talent that Disney is able to find to do their shows. During Hercules was our only experience with seasickness. During the show I noticed the ship rocking. I started to get a little woozy and later during dinner at Tritons. It dawned to my wife that we had not eaten in quite a few hours and being out on the deck in the hot sun we think contributed more than anything else. From that point on we enjoyed the rocking of the ship.
At the port it was a little confusing because the guard told us to get in line to drop us off, even though we told him that not everyone was going. We had to turn around and park. Dropping off our luggage was perfect. I wish that checking your luggage into an airport was this easy.
We entered the terminal around 10:06. My son and I immediately went to the model of the ship. We were able to look at it and figure out where our room was and get a good idea the layout of the ship. The embarkation process was a breeze. We were in line for only a couple of minutes. It was funny a few people were running to the next booth that opened up or the next. I vowed that I was not going to look at this cruise as I do a trip to Disney World. I was going to take things as they come. I was not in a hurry to get anywhere. I had great faith in all the reports that I have read before and would follow their recommendations. I was definitely not let down. After we checked in we sat down and got something to drink. It was about 11:30 and I decided that I would get in line. I think that we about the 50th in line.
Getting on the ship was a breeze. My kids got a huge kick out of being announced as we boarded the ship. The hall was absolutely beautiful. I was truly inspired. That band definitely put an island tone to the entire trip. We decided to eat at Parrot Cay. The food was okay. I would consider it higher quality buffet food, but it was still buffet food. After sitting there for twenty minutes we couldn't stand it any longer. We had to explore the ship. We went to make reservations but found out that they weren't open yet So we explored the ship. Then, we decided to take everyone's advice my wife went to the spa and I went to Wavebands to get Palo reservations. We also brought the kids swim clothes in our carryon. They went swimming while we got reservations. I was able to get reservations for the last night of the cruise for Palo's and my wife was able to get our spa reservations. I also enrolled my kids in their respective clubs. We decided not book any excursions. I then went to our stateroom and put our luggage away. I met up with my wife and we explored the ship. I read that Disney was trying for a look of ocean liners of old and I thought they hit on the mark. The Wonder looked like an ocean liner and statelier against a backdrop of the other cruise ships. We met back up with our kids and changed for dinner. We then went up on deck and experienced the Bon Voyage. The ship's horns were amazing. We brought bubbles and found a neat trick. If you angle your bubble stick just right over the side of the ship it makes the bubbles for you and lots of them. We really enjoyed the send off. We had second seating for dinner so we then went to the show.
The shows were outstanding. Hercules was cute. I appreciated the adult humor. I know that my kids are starting to grow-up because my son asked me why something was funny. I told him and he got it and laughed too. I simply can't get over the talent that Disney is able to find to do their shows. During Hercules was our only experience with seasickness. During the show I noticed the ship rocking. I started to get a little woozy and later during dinner at Tritons. It dawned to my wife that we had not eaten in quite a few hours and being out on the deck in the hot sun we think contributed more than anything else. From that point on we enjoyed the rocking of the ship.
