You bet your aft we had a good time! A Wonder trip report Update 12/30 p.59-611

Sounds like you had a wonderful relaxed start for the cruise. I had another one of those moments were my heart started to beat quicker when I saw the Chihuly chandelier. For us embarkation lunch at Parrot Cay is a must do. Graham wants his peel and eat shrimp and I want my strawberry soup.

I felt much the same about the plans to re-imagine the Magic, but I was absolutely blown away by the changes they made when I actually got to see the ship. They will hold off re-imagining the Wonder until the Panama Canal extension is finished as the Wonder would no longer fit through the existing locks after her make over.

Corinna
 
Pam, Pam, Pam! You stalker of tweens, you. :lmao: :lmao:

Great update. You're such a bad mom, Jenny. Fancy NOT telling Joshua about Pam. :rotfl:
(And I hope Joshua did do some meet and greets!)
 
A very nice update during the cruise. The Navigator has a lot to talk about during the cruise and so much things to do.
 
Love Joshua and Pam's first meeting! :rotfl:

Ah, I love the first drink on board. Sounds like the cruise if off to a great start!

Jill in CO
 


After many times disinfecting our hands and a very smooth and totally blurred check in process, it was time to board the ship.

OK, so first of all I feel like I am doing reply for one of my own trip report. This is such a great update. So much to comment on.

:rotfl2: to the hand disinfection. Is this a sign of OCD? :rotfl2:

We opted for The Sheets family, praying that the sweet thick accented CM didn't make it sound like the Shiits family which often happens when non English as a first language folks pronounce our last name. :lmao: True story friends.

:lmao: Too funny!

I am fairly high energy by nature (read anxiety) and I knew I was nearing overload. A drink and a pool chair with a little sunshine were needed. :cloud9:

Perfect way to begin your cruise. Absolutely perfect!

Navigator inserts would would come to be our bible. We're Jews, we can make bible jokes. :p

OMG! This cracked me up, too! :rotfl:

I had a lofty goal of trying every Drink of the Day (DOTD). Today's drink was a Cool Breeze. The base was vodka and this girl wanted rum so I opted out of the DOTD and ordered a Rum Runner. Rum speaks to me on vacation.

I have to agree with you on the rum. I like vodka, but my rum has already been purchased for the girl's trip! Oh Yeah! :cool1:

I can't believe how many meets the ship has. What a super cool way to see the characters and avoid the long lines in the parks. Well played Disney cruise. Nice touch.

Do you think I will be able to convince Denny to pose with the characters in October. I am SO looking forward to this.

The views from my lounger:


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I am so sorry if I am posting the butt of someone reading here, that's not my intent but its a pool and people are in swimsuits. I am sure I am in random shots all over.

I didn't notice the butt, but I totaled noticed those six pack abds! :rotfl2:

and my new friend Pam walks up. She recognized me right away and we became instant friends. We had been chatting here for a good 6 months about this cruise. You know those people you meet that you feel like you've known forever? That's Pam. Joshua and I felt an instant connection with her that would grow throughout the trip.

Yayayayay! PAM! :cool1::banana::worship::woohoo::yay::dance3: I really can't wait to meet her, although briefly, in May!

Joshua wanted to check out the jacuzzi so I joined him. Pam snapped a few pics of us too. Thanks girl!


An empty jacuzzi. Believe it or not we'd see it empty again and Joshua would take full advantage of it.

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Pre bubbles:

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Ahhhh bubbles:

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Me and Joshua.

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Nice! Very nice indeed!

And the first of many selfies, me and Pam:

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So cute! I know Pam isn't doing a TR for the cruise so I am very happy she will be making many guest appearances during your TR! :thumbsup2
 
I'm laughing thinking about it, he is a hoot and a half! :rotfl:

I forgot to say, I have no idea of any plans to reimagine the Wonder but I'm often late with that kind of news. Will let you know if I hear anything.


Its so funny. He and I were laughing so hard today too. He looked through all of the pics on my phone and said he missed Pam-ella and wondered when we'd see you again.​


nice update! I'm usually starved by the time I get on the ship and want me some buffet food, mac n cheese, salad....

Too funny with Pam and Josh!

I didn't mind so much the picture of the person's butt, it was more the beer gut of th guy laying in the lounger that I could have done without! :rotfl2:

Nice on the empty Jacuzzi! I love the Jacuzzi!

Oh, and no Johnny Reb's has never been on DDD, it's just a DDD "style" place. I thought I said that in the thingy. It's the place that I found for my roadtrip that actually was on DDD.


It was hilarious with Pam and Joshua. When he came back Pam was siting there he he was like: it's her. :rotfl2:

I guess I didn't notice the gut as much as the butt being a woman and all. I'm far too concerned with my backside than some guys beer belly.

I wasn't hungry until I saw Joshua's pizza and than he grabbed me a slice. Pam had a slice too. I sure hope she chimes in with the details. :rolleyes1

Loving the start of your trip, and your priorities are spot on, pool chair, drink and sunshine. :thumbsup2 The meet up with Pam is cracking me up too.


It really was quite funny and so much more in person.

Pool, drink, sun, meet, it was perfect!​

Sounds like you had a wonderful relaxed start for the cruise. I had another one of those moments were my heart started to beat quicker when I saw the Chihuly chandelier. For us embarkation lunch at Parrot Cay is a must do. Graham wants his peel and eat shrimp and I want my strawberry soup.

I felt much the same about the plans to re-imagine the Magic, but I was absolutely blown away by the changes they made when I actually got to see the ship. They will hold off re-imagining the Wonder until the Panama Canal extension is finished as the Wonder would no longer fit through the existing locks after her make over.

Corinna


Thats the name of the chandelier? Is that the artist' name? It really is quote lovely. The pics I've seen are wonderful but its just amazing in person. Seeing it in real life made the cruise seem real.

Ok, great, thank you for the info on the Wonder.​

Pam, Pam, Pam! You stalker of tweens, you. :lmao:

Great update. You're such a bad mom, Jenny. Fancy NOT telling Joshua about Pam. :rotfl:
(And I hope Joshua did do some meet and greets!)

She's a total tween stalker. :rotfl2: Joshua knew we'd be meeting my friend Pam as we had requested the same table for dinner but I'm sure he hadn't given it a second thought. Have no fear, Joshua loved Pam. He was all over her by the end of that first afternoon; tapping her and wanting her with us. He says she's a quality gal.:rotfl:

A very nice update during the cruise. The Navigator has a lot to talk about during the cruise and so much things to do.


The Navigator is full of all of the ship's activities. We had ours with us religiously.​

Love Joshua and Pam's first meeting! :rotfl:

Ah, I love the first drink on board. Sounds like the cruise if off to a great start!

Jill in CO


We were off to a brilliant start. It was so much to take in, I was kind of in shock which I know sounds silly as its just a cruise but that's the best way to describe it. It was hard to believe we were finally on. I had been reading about them and asking questions for a good 2 years or so.​

Off to a good start! I'd like to be sitting poolside on the Wonder right about now. :cloud9:

Me too! I'd love to be watching the funnel vision.​

OK, so first of all I feel like I am doing reply for one of my own trip report. This is such a great update. So much to comment on.

:rotfl2: to the hand disinfection. Is this a sign of OCD? :rotfl2:

:lmao: Too funny!

Perfect way to begin your cruise. Absolutely perfect!

OMG! This cracked me up, too! :rotfl:

I have to agree with you on the rum. I like vodka, but my rum has already been purchased for the girl's trip! Oh Yeah! :cool1:

Do you think I will be able to convince Denny to pose with the characters in October. I am SO looking forward to this.

I didn't notice the butt, but I totaled noticed those six pack abds! :rotfl2:

Yayayayay! PAM! :cool1::banana::worship: I really can't wait to meet her, although briefly, in May!

Nice! Very nice indeed!

So cute! I know Pam isn't doing a TR for the cruise so I am very happy she will be making many guest appearances during your TR! :thumbsup2


Thanks MaryEllen. Your reports are so much fun.

Disney handed out sanitizer wipes at the entrance of every restaurant. They're very into infection control.

Maybe if we all pressure Pam enough she'll do one. :flower3: If not she knows I'd love for her to post her pics and chime in here. She took tons of food porn. We both did. Mine is all on my cell so the lighting isn't great. She wasn't lazy like me and used a nice camera. I was set on tuning out for the week and did just that. It was heavenly. I'd cruise again just for that. Having no cell or Internet for the week really allowed me to stay in the moment. I was tempted briefly, in Cozumel, to tap into the Starbucks wifi but didn't. It would have turned into emails and face timing and Facebook etc....Not that all that isn't grand.

That guy with the abs was so tan by the end of the cruise. I saw him baking out there everyday.

Denny might as he won't have a flock of tween girls to get to (foreshadowing) but Joshua was a popular fella come day 2.5. :lmao: If we ever take another Disney cruise, I will insist on more character and other photos. With just the two of us, his majority ruled. ;)

You'll love her. I'm so sad to be missing your girls' trip. Can't wait for the report. It very close. :hyper:

Pam and Joshua's meet was so funny even hearing it second hand from each of them.​
 


Yes, that was the Fantasy's adult pool. Might be prettier but much smaller, only the two smaller circle areas are deep, the biggest is only ankle deep. I do not like the set up at all. The Wonder's QC area is so much better.
I second this whole-heartedly. I liked the Wonder's adult pool much better than the one on the Dream.
 
What a great update! I LOVE the thought of skipping the buffet and heading to the pool immediately. I know I can get my girls to agree. I think sitting on the lounger with a drink is the perfect way to start off a cruise...or any day! :rotfl:

We are on the Wonder in October, deck six, maybe aft??? I can't remember what room we are in...it's somewhere in an email. I did check the cabin reviews prior to booking and it had a good review. I figure we're cruise newbies...how bad could it be? We don't know what we don't know at this point.

Thanks for posting pics of the full Navigator. I never realized that it had all that information in it, seems most only post the cover of the Navigator. Luckily, I think I can get my girls to pose with all the characters. At least for now, we are quickly approaching the tween "I'm too cool for school" period.

Christine
 
Pam, Pam, Pam! You stalker of tweens, you. :lmao: :lmao:

Great update. You're such a bad mom, Jenny. Fancy NOT telling Joshua about Pam. :rotfl:
(And I hope Joshua did do some meet and greets!)

I know :blush: I think I even said I didn't mean to be a stalker :rotfl: but he knew who I was when I said my name, Jenny had told him I was coming.
 
Luv your easy breezy writing style. Look forward to hearing more about your trip. The Wonder has been the only ship I have cruised on so far, and I love the familiar pictures.

Cheers!

Lisa
 
I second this whole-heartedly. I liked the Wonder's adult pool much better than the one on the Dream.



I hope to be able to compare one day. :goodvibes

What a great update! I LOVE the thought of skipping the buffet and heading to the pool immediately. I know I can get my girls to agree. I think sitting on the lounger with a drink is the perfect way to start off a cruise...or any day! :rotfl:

We are on the Wonder in October, deck six, maybe aft??? I can't remember what room we are in...it's somewhere in an email. I did check the cabin reviews prior to booking and it had a good review. I figure we're cruise newbies...how bad could it be? We don't know what we don't know at this point.

Thanks for posting pics of the full Navigator. I never realized that it had all that information in it, seems most only post the cover of the Navigator. Luckily, I think I can get my girls to pose with all the characters. At least for now, we are quickly approaching the tween "I'm too cool for school" period.

Christine

Thanks Christine, skipping the buffet seemed to be a recurrent theme throughout our trip.

We were 7 AFT and loved it. I'd sail AFT again in a heartbeat. :thumbsup2 Feeling the light waves and listening to the ocean at night was amazing. I am a poor sleeper and I slept like a baby. And I am totally with you, I didn't know until I knew but we loved AFT.

I think if Joshua's sisters were with him he would have done more character stuff but like me, he was also trying to get his bearings. He's very much like me and needed to zone out too. He didn't want to commit to too much. LOL!

The Wonder is beautiful. Ignore the posts stating otherwise. You'll never know that ship is over 15 years old. pixiedust:

I know :blush: I think I even said I didn't mean to be a stalker :rotfl: but he knew who I was when I said my name, Jenny had told him I was coming.

:rotfl2: Right he knew you'd be on the cruise, he just didn't know you'd be right there, right then. So funny!!! Still. :rotfl: He loved his stalker!​

Luv your easy breezy writing style. Look forward to hearing more about your trip. The Wonder has been the only ship I have cruised on so far, and I love the familiar pictures.

Cheers!

Lisa


:welcome: Lisa and thank you. I love the Wonder too. It's a gorgeous ship and I'd be fine never sailing another Disney ship. Of course I'd love to try them all but if it was the Wonder from here on out, I'd be totally content.​
 
I bet a Halloween cruise is a blast. Do they do pirate night still? Your Jamaica plans sound fun. How old are your kids? The falls would be neat to see even if you can't get right up next to them. Animals are always a hit too. Do you usually do excursions through Disney or private companies?

The Halloween cruise was awesome, particularly because there was an amazing Disgroup on that cruise and all sorts of goodies and extra activities were organized for just our group (personalized lanyards, trick or treating on the ship, beach scavenger hunt and a dig for buried treasure in Cozumel), not to mention the ridiculous loads of gifts we got in our FE. And yes, the did still do pirate night along with the DCL trick or treat which ended in a Halloween themed dance party.

My kids are 13 and 8. My daughter is super, ridiculously shy and very petite (the size of a 10 year old). My son is super, ridiculously outgoing and a tall skinny bean stalk (also the size of a 10 year old). Allison is a challenge on cruises sometimes because she is hesitant to participate in club activities. Michael is a challenge on cruises sometimes because all he ever wants to do is participate in club activities. I swear, this is something they have worked out amongst themselves in some sort of twisted plot to get Mommy to finally crack.

We usually do excursions through Disney because I am a total and complete worry wart, with constant fear that we won't make it back to the ship on time. On that 2010 cruise, I learned to be a bit braver and did a non-DCL excursion to Nachi Cocum since I wanted to be with the Disgroup that was going there. We are visiting Nachi again this visit and I may be brave on Grand Cayman too and do something on our own, we'll see.

That is a hoot about how your son met Pam! And I dream about lounging around with a DOTD. After we get home, I'm always somewhat shocked that someone isn't still offering them to me!
 
Ahh, the first day of the cruise, the best! :cool1: Sounds like you had a good plan for the day. :thumbsup2
 
Its so funny. He and I were laughing so hard today too. He looked through all of the pics on my phone and said he missed Pam-ella and wondered when we'd see you again.​

Ohhhhh!!!! :lovestruc whenever you guys want to plan something I'm there! It can be sooner, it can be later, whenever's good for you :) and I know your family time is important so of course I will not invite myself to your plans. (Just in case you were worried about that)

It was hilarious with Pam and Joshua. When he came back Pam was siting there he he was like: it's her. :rotfl2:


I thought I saw that look :lmao:


I wasn't hungry until I saw Joshua's pizza and than he grabbed me a slice. Pam had a slice too. I sure hope she chimes in with the details. :rolleyes1

That pizza was so scrumptious! popcorn::

I'm happy to chime in but let me know if it's too much, it is your TR after all :)


She's a total tween stalker. :rotfl2: Joshua knew we'd be meeting my friend Pam as we had requested the same table for dinner but I'm sure he hadn't given it a second thought. Have no fear, Joshua loved Pam. He was all over her by the end of that first afternoon; tapping her and wanting her with us. He says she's a quality gal.:rotfl:

I felt like a stalker! :rotfl:


Maybe if we all pressure Pam enough she'll do one. :flower3: If not she knows I'd love for her to post her pics and chime in here. She took tons of food porn. We both did. Mine is all on my cell so the lighting isn't great. She wasn't lazy like me and used a nice camera. I was set on tuning out for the week and did just that. It was heavenly. I'd cruise again just for that. Having no cell or Internet for the week really allowed me to stay in the moment. I was tempted briefly, in Cozumel, to tap into the Starbucks wifi but didn't. It would have turned into emails and face timing and Facebook etc....Not that all that isn't grand.

I'm definitely feeling the pressure ladies!
 
I second this whole-heartedly. I liked the Wonder's adult pool much better than the one on the Dream.

::yes:: The QC pool on the Dream was always so packed. And I loved how deep the Wonder's pool was, I couldn't even touch the bottom.
 
We were directed to the Beach Blanket Buffet (BBB) however we did not want to start this cruise out in the buffet but rather out by the pool. I wanted to sit, grab a cocktail, and get my head on straight. I had been texting with Pam and chatting on and off with Michael and the girls and needed to just chill. I am fairly high energy by nature (read anxiety) and I knew I was nearing overload. A drink and a pool chair with a little sunshine were needed. :cloud9:

If you've got the time, why get rushed to a buffet when the pool, sun and cocktails are calling!

The pool was fairly empty due to everyone still boarding and being at the buffet. We grabbed some towels and found chairs. I knew Pam was boarding soon so I saved her a chair. I know, I know, party foul number 1. ;) The pool was not crowded and I had no intention of moving for a good hour or so. I believe it was just after noon at this point. When checking in, the CM told us our cabin would be ready about 1:30. Joshua was crazy eager to check it out.

I do NOT think saving a chair for a friend is a party foul at all. The party foul is saving chairs for yourself...heading of to BBB and then coming back after you eat. What you did doesn't count at all.

I couldn't have been sat more than a minute when Krish, a CM from India, approached and offered me a drink. Well thank you sir, I think I will! If you recall from my pre-trip report, I had a lofty goal of trying every Drink of the Day (DOTD). Today's drink was a Cool Breeze. The base was vodka and this girl wanted rum so I opted out of the DOTD and ordered a Rum Runner. Rum speaks to me on vacation. It doesn't make me sick like other alcohols and no heart burn. Oh the pains of aging.

I found I didn't love many of the DOTD offerings as well and...we also did find them to be a bit, um, more watered down than the non DOTD. :rotfl:

We also wanted to tour the Edge, the tween club for Joshua, tour the spa as I had a pre-purchased one day Rainforest Pass, and get a general feeling for the ship and the lay of it. Dinner was at 8:15 pm and Joshua's icebreaker of his club started at 9:30 pm. Both of those were musts. The show for the evening was All Aboard slated for 6:15 pm. From the beginning stages of planning I was iffy on how many shows we'd attend. My instincts were correct, more about that later. Don't want to put a spolier in my own report.

Joshua declared immediate hunger and went to find pizza. We had discussed the multitude of food options and Joshua is a huge pizza fan. I knew he'd overdose on pizza this trip. We both would. :blush:

Nothing wrong with that, it's vacation!

At this point, I am starting to relax, sitting in my loung chair by the pool, had chatted with a very sweet lifeguard named Kelly from the US, enjoying my Rum Runner from Krish, and my new friend Pam walks up. She recognized me right away and we became instant friends. We had been chatting here for a good 6 months about this cruise. You know those people you meet that you feel like you've known forever? That's Pam. Joshua and I felt an instant connection with her that would grow throughout the trip.

Joshua's first meeting with Pam differed from mine. I was expecting her as we'd been texting and chatting for months, Joshua was not. :lmao:

Per Joshua's words: so I'm going to grab some pizza and a soda and some random girl walks up to me and goes: Joshua! And I was like: what? I said (hesitantly) yeaaahhh? Pam asked, where's your mom? I pointed to the pool and I was kinda scared. Then I realized it was a DISer but still I was a little scared. :rotfl:

Joshua returned with his pizza and drink and then told us how he met Pam. We all got a good chuckle. Joshua swam a little but it was fairly windy and the pool was not warm.

Me and Joshua.

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And the first of many selfies, me and Pam:

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What a great meet story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it!

Super cute pics too.
 
Thats the name of the chandelier? Is that the artist' name? It really is quote lovely. The pics I've seen are wonderful but its just amazing in person. Seeing it in real life made the cruise seem real.

Ok, great, thank you for the info on the Wonder.​

The name of the chandelier is Festa Venezia II. Festa Venezia I used to be on the Magic until was removed in the recent dry dock. The artist is called Dale Chihuly and he is from Tacoma in Washington State. I am a huge Chihuly fan and I was in my element in Seattle last year.

Corinna
 
Ok, I'm clearly a horrible human being because I looked at your pool picture and immediately thought "Nice butts!" Too funny that you explained that... :lmao:

Our cruise: Copenhagen, Oslo, 2 other Norwegian ports, 2 ports in Iceland, Faroe Islands, Dover (England). We spend the night in the capital of Iceland (I won't bother trying to spell it because I'll fail miserably and be embarrassed). I think there's a sea day or 2 in there but I can't remember.

Amanda
 
I too want to try all of the Drinks of the Day. Another Rum lover here! I associate Rum drinks with tropical, fun, little umbrella drinks. So what was your favorite?

Great start! Looking forward to seeing your cabin pictures.
 

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