1/12 Wonder cruise report

[jaysmom4285]

DH (50) and myself (49) were on the 1/9 Wonder following three nights at WDW as part of our land/sea vacation.

We arrived 1/12 by DCL bus from WDW around 1:45 PM. We immediately did Palo's reservations (no problem getting the night and time we wanted) and signed up for a Nassau excursion. By the time we got that done, the Parrot Cay buffet was closed, so we ate at Beach Blanket Buffet. CM's were serving everything, including drinks, but it was still quite efficient. We unpacked (cabin 6638 with Navigator's Verandah) and walked around for the rest of the afternoon. Saw the early Hercules show - had seen it last year on the cruise but it's still great. Then dinner at Palo's at 8:30. Server was Sami from France - he was just wonderful and made the meal so special. If we didn't order what he recommended, he brought it anyway along with what we ordered. So much food! We had filet mignon for the main course, and the most wonderful chocolate souffle I ever ate for dessert. I thought they were going to have to roll us out, we were so stuffed. The sailway party on deck was fun, as usual. We checked out 70's disco night at Wavebands - the John Travolta and Gloria Gaynor contests were a blast to watch.

Day two (1/13) - Breakfast at Beach Blanket, then into Nassau for the Atlantis tour. We had done this tour previously, so we didn't stay around Atlantis all that long. Stopped at the Straw Market on the way back to the ship. I hadn't been there before. It was too crowded and busy for DH, so he went to the ship while I shopped. The vendors are very pleasant and friendly but very aggressive - as soon as you stop to just look at something, they ask you how many you want and what else they can show you. If you go there, practice saying "no thanks" and "I'm just looking right now." There are some lovely things there, though,and don't be afraid to bargain. We spent the afternoon by the pool, since it was such a warm, sunny day. Went to late seating dinner. Servers were Zdravko from Croatia and Trevis from the Bahamas, both were wonderful. Second seating was far from full - probably less than 2/3. DH and I were by ourselves at a table for four, so no dinner companions. We noticed that several couples and families seemed to be seated alone. DH thought that maybe it was to spread the guests out so that all the servers had an equal number. Checked out the tropical deck party after that. We could only admire the dessert buffet because we were so full from dinner.

day three (1/14) - Freeport was overcast, and it had been raining. We hadn't planned any excursions, so we took in a late morning movie, then had lunch. There really isn't anything you can walk to in Freeport, just a very small straw market. We did check that out for a little while. The weather improved and the sun made an appearance, so we spent some more time by the adult pool in the afternoon. We skipped the comedy show to see Lilo and Stitch in the movie theater, then to late seating dinner. Checked out 80's dance party in wavebands.

Day four (1/15) - Castaway Cay day. It was quite cloudy and breezy when we docked, but the sun came out in full force later in the morning, and it turned out to be a very warm and sunny, although somewhat windy, day. We went snorkeling and did a short stint in a paddleboat. Went back to the ship midafternoon to enjoy the sun around the pool. Went to Disney Dreams early show, then late seating dinner in Triton’s. This was the “best of” menu night, and the chocolate decadence dessert is to die for. Went to 50’s and 60’s party in Wavebands for a while. Somewhere in there we managed to pack and get our bags outside the stateroom by 11.

Disembarkation day – We were scheduled for late seating breakfast at 8, but if your flight is prior to 12:30 (ours was noon), you’re told you have to be off the boat by 8. DH really wanted a “real” breakfast, not continental from the buffet. We were told we had to check with our head server, who was Ali, to see if he could accommodate us at the earlier breakfast seating in Triton’s. We just showed up there at 6:45, told Ali our dilemma, and were promptly seated and served without question. Then off the boat, sadly, picked up luggage and had it checked at the US Air counter at the port, then to our flight back to very cold Maine.

A couple of points that have asked about on these boards –

Buffets were served by CM’s at all meals we attended. At first they stood on the guest side of the line, which made it a little congested, then they moved to the inside of the buffet, which worked a little better. Drinks were prepoured into glasses. They definitely did not want guests touching much of anything. Refillable mugs were filled by CM’s pouring the soda and ice into a plastic cup and then pouring that into your mug.

The refreshment center on deck 9 was open and staffed, not self service, anytime that I saw it. I can’t say whether that was true 24/7, but it was for my normal waking hours.

At Cookie’s barbecue on Castaway Cay, guests could serve themselves, but CM’s were passing out hand wipes and asking everyone to wipe their hands before they touched the serving tongs.

I heard anecdotal accounts from several people I chatted with about their family members being ill with what sounded like a Norwalk-type virus. They were quarantined in their rooms for at least some period, and apparently charging privileges are suspended for anyone who is quarantined. A woman in the gift shop learned that her charging privileges had been suspended by mistake when she tried to buy something – apparently another member of her party was the one who was ill. That’s the first I had heard of charging privileges being suspended.

If I think of anything else, I’ll add it. I’d be happy to answer any questions that I can.

 

[mickeymom629]

I enjoyed reading your report, as we are leaving in a few days for ours! That's strange about the charging privileges being suspended; like a punishment to make sure you don't do anything!?

We have late seating too. Did that work well for you? This is our first cruise, so we have no idea what to expect. It sounds like you were pretty relaxed about what you did each day. We don't have any excursions planned, but hoping that we are able to do the banana boat ride on CC.

If you are at Palo's, does that mean your regular servers have nothing to do? Or do they have more than one table?

 

[ike]

Did you bring any liquor or drinks on board with you. I'm wondering how strict they are being?

 

[jaysmom4285]

mickeysmom -

That was the first we had heard about charging privileges being suspended. I guess it's extra incentive to be sure you stay quarantined.

Re: late seating dinner - we had done early seating on our previous cruise and decided to try late seating for this one. It does give you more of the day to do things, since you don't have to rush to get ready for dinner at 6. I think it tends to be a quieter seating, mostly adults and older kids, as families with young children prefer early seating. And our late seating was probably less than 2/3 full. A possible drawback is that, if you eat like we did, you finish around 9:30 or 9:45, and you're very full! If you don't tend to stay up late, it means going to bed on a fairly full stomach. We couldn't fully enjoy the late night dessert buffet the second night because we were so stuffed. My husband would prefer to go back to early seating because he just doesn't like to eat that late, but it doesn't matter that much to me. It's mostly personal preference.

If you're at Palo's (or elsewhere), it just means that your servers don't have you to serve. They have several tables assigned to them, and they serve whoever shows up, so they always have something to do.

The banana boats at Castaway Cay looked a little rugged for us, but maybe that's just because we aren't as young as we used to be! I don't know if you've seen them, but they aren't boats at all, just a long inflated tube that looks, not surprisingly, like a big banana. You just straddle it and hang on for dear life while the boat zooms you around. The paddleboats were more our speed. You'll probably get a chance to watch someone riding them while you're at Castaway Cay and you can decide if you want to try it. Snorkeling there is fun (although I thought $25 each for snorkeling equipment was a little high). You can keep the equipment all day and go on and out of the water as much as you want, and there are some really neat fish to see - we even saw a sting ray.

We found that you need to make an effort not to overschedule your time, or it stops feeling like a vacation. You can't possibly do everything you'd like to do - just pick a few highlights and try to hit those, but allow for down time. We're from Maine, so we enjoyed just spending time relaxing in the warm sun in a lounge chair by the adult pool.

Have a great time!

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the great report.

 

[mickeymom629]

The banana boat ride is just going to be for my DH and 3 adventurous boys. My DD and I are passing. But I did reserve two times; 10:30 and 3:05 in case they love it.

I will be interested to see how we do with late seating. I just thought I'd like to see the shows first and relax at dinner later, but you are right about feeling full when you go to sleep. But if you ate earlier and had the dessert buffet, you'd be eating again and that sounds like a lot of food too!

I hope we can relax in the sun; it sounds like we're going to have some pretty cool weather

My family is looking forward to relaxing and not having this like a WDW vacation when I make them go, go go. I have a hard time just sitting still, so I hope we can all enjoy doing our own thing.

 

[jaysmom4285]

for ike:

We didn't bring any liquor on board, so I can't address that. I do know that someone, in a recent trip report, talked about how suprised he was by how simple it was to bring liquor on board. I can't find that trip report for the life of me, but if you post the question on the regular cruise discussion forum, I'm sure someone can answer it.

 

[mickeymom629]

I don't know what you mean by "liquor", but DH and I have our wine and beer in our collapsable cooler ready to drive into port Sunday and, after my trip, I can tell you how it went!

We are so packed and ready for anything, it's almost embarrassing!