1/21/07 Wonder

[mickey minder]

You didn't really get up that early did you? I am going over to the site now. Actually, I was busy packing for the two weeks and got very sidetracked. I am a compulsive planner and this short notice is very difficult for me. We will be going to St. Maarten and St. Thomas, both of which we have been to before and just loved. This trip will certainly cut into our budget for the October trip. The galley tour is free, but you have to sign up at the service desk. Let me know if you have a problem. We want to to do that also, but just request the tickets from the concierge when we board. If you don't get them, maybe we can get some extra ones. On Friday, I got my statement from Mickey indicating that we are now paid in full. The day after we got confirmed on the other trip. I think I might lose my mind with all the packing and planning (did I mention I'm a clinical psychologist?) Well, off to the website I go.

 

[mickey minder]

OK, that didn't take very long. I reserved the fishing excursion on CC. My DD enjoys fishing, but she has never caught anything like that. I got Palo for night 2 (Nassau) for 9:00. We want to have dinner with our daughter and then basically just go for coffee and lots of chocolate souffle. We are on our way now. oh no, the banana guy is back!!

I can't believe we are this close and no one else has joined us.

 

[GrandFloridian4]

I set my alarm for 2:45 a.m., but got up before it , & logged on & booked our excursions & Palo. I couldn't do our kids' though, because only our res. has the REAS (of course ) & their's can't be done until 90 days. I hope we'll be able to get my DS at our brunch time, but if not, I'll deal with it when we get on board. We may have to have help - maybe a crane? - to remove us from the ship. We have the brunch & dinner booked for the same day, plus, we're going to join the kids at the regular rotation dinner, but probably will only "pick". Also, because it's our anniversary, I was thinking of doing the breakfast in bed portion of the REAS that day, but may rethink that part . Maybe I should "spread out" our anniversary celebration.

I'm glad it was worked out so that you can do the other cruise, too. After such a hard year (that you indicated you've been going through), you deserve - & need - to have two relaxing vacations. I know what you mean about being a compulsive planner -- me, too! I've already got an excel spread sheet with items to be packed & other important info. for our Jan. cruise.

I can't believe that we're the only ones here, either. Maybe as we get closer someone will sign on.

I think we are going to sign up for the Galley Tour. We read all about it yesterday & it sounds really interesting. Not a big lover of cooking, but our DS-20 is & we will probably ask him if he would like to join us. Thanks for the offer to help. I'll let you know if we can't get the tickets, but I plan to ask as soon as we can, so hopefully there'll be no problem.

 

[mickey minder]

We are almost packed now, so getting ready in January will be easy. The other line called and asked how they could help us plan our trip and promised us a great time. DH told them that they had a lot to live up because we were used to sailing DCL. It will be interesting to compare. We would like to do an Alaskan cruise sometime and since DCL doesn't go there yet, we might get some ideas. I think it would be wonderful for Mickey to go North for one season at least. We leave next Saturday. There is so much to do in the meantime and I can't seem to focus on getting my work done, so easily distracted. Have a wonderful weekend .

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Howdy everyone,
I am not on this cruise, wish I was, I am going on the Wonder in April.
Please excuse me for crashing your thread, but I am trying to share some information which will affect anyone crusing on the Wonder from tomarrow on.

There is a thread on the main forum called BAD CHANGES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT ON THE WONDER,

Please check it out.

This post has 2 letters from DCL confirming that as of tomarrow there will be NO live band on the Wonder.
That means NO live music at the sail away party
NO live music at Wave bands club in the evening. Instead there will be a DJ with recorded music.
A lot of us feel this is unfair, we have always enjoyed the live band and we want DCL to bring the live music back.
If you agree, please take 5 minutes to write dcl and tell them you want the live band back!!! DCL does listen to its guests, but you have to tell them what you want.

here is the address: dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com
If you have No opinion on it then that's fine too. But I did want to let you know what DCL is doing.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to read my letter

and I do wish all of you a MAGICAL cruise,

mom x4,grandma x4

 

[GrandFloridian4]

mickey minder, are you all set to go this weekend? BTW, which ship is it that you are sailing on? I hope you & your family have a terrific time. That was nice of them to call you & offer to help. Yes, we also have been dying to do an Alaskan cruise & had hoped that DCL would build a ship to go there. Some of the Holland America cruises to Alaska look great, but every time we've planned something over the past 4 years, something has come up to cx our plans. So, we wait.................

My mom keeps offering to take us on a Carnival cruise, but I've declined repeatedly, because I am just not interested in sailing Carnival & would like to wait until we have the $$ to pay the difference to do DCL or RCCL. I'll be very interested to hear what you thought after your cruise, since you've sailed DCL a few times. Maybe it's not as I have believed. I have a cousin that lives in south FL & has a good friend that is in the upper echelon of the Carnival/Holland Am. Cruiselines & gets to go on many free/significantly reduced Carnival cruises all of the time, but his interests are very different than ours (we don't drink, we don't care for the "club" atmosphere or Vegas-type entertainment) & I'm not sure if we'd like it like he does. I haven't wanted to ask him about the specific differences, because I know he'll ask me why I don't sail Carnival & I don't want him to feel I am "putting down" his cruises. So, maybe you can give me the unbiased opinion I'm looking for & I'll be able to make a more educated decision. Food I'm not worried about. I'm sure all lines have good food. If I'm not cooking it, it's good to me!! I'm more interested in the entertainment, atmosphere, dress, etc. & what your daughter thought about the difference in the kids behavior/clubs.
I book my sons excursions this weekend. Then, it's just sitting back & waiting the three months until we sail! Every day my DH comes home & sings, "Disney! Disney! Disney!" & then says how many days it is until we go! Between his excitement & these boards, I can't wait to sail!!!

Have a safe, relaxing & wonderful trip!

 

[mickey minder]

Just got back and will give a more complete report later. Let's just say that our cruise was not a Mickey Mouse operation, and I mean that with the greatest respect for the way Disney is the master of customer service. We had a good time of course, hey, it's a cruise, but it was not what we are used to and have become spoiled by. The good news is that we caught up on our sleep, because there was nothing else to do. We had three days at sea and literally spent most of it in our cabin sleeping. Carnival, IMO, is what it is, a fun ship if you like to drink and gamble. That's just not us, we're low key, into excellent service, and activities for the family that are safe and appropriate. We are so looking forward to January. CCL has nothing that DCL should copy, but I find it hard to believe that CCL has not taken a look at all the things that DCL has done so well, of course I realize it is a budget line. Anyway, now I am tired from traveling and walking through airports. Have a wonderful week.

 

[GrandFloridian4]

Glad you are all back safely. Well, at least you got some rest.

Re: That's just not us, we're low key, into excellent service, and activities for the family that are safe and appropriate.

You just described us & I think you've help cement our position, but I do look forward to whatever else you have to report. No rush, I know what it's like when you first return.

Tonight we're meeting some people for dinner in DTD that we met on our last Disney cruise. We get together with them whenever they're in town. We sure meet some great people on DCL. Got a busy day. ttyl ~~~

 

[missmdr]

Hi there,
I see that there are now 3 families on this cruise - I'm shocked....where is everyone?
My name is melanie and I am traveling w/my DH, DD2 and DS11 on the 1/21/07 Wonder - We had originally booked a 7 night Eastern Cruise the same week, but decided to shorten the cruise, and enjoy Disney before or after instead. Plus the cost of the 7 night was going to be a lot of $$....
Just wanted to introduce myself....
Next I"m going to update my signature ticker!

xx

 

[GrandFloridian4]

Glad to have you aboard!

For us, it is me, my DH, & two DS's (16 & 21 at sailing). It is our 5th DCL & we're really looking forward to it. We've sailed the Magic twice & the Wonder twice, but we've never done a 7-nt yet. We, also, cancelled a 7-nt (Western) that we were supposed to do two weeks ago & replaced it with this wedding anniversary cruise & included the kids. When we first started cruising DCL (when the Magic did 4-nts. only) we agreed to do an 'alone' cruise every other one, but it hasn't been working out that way!

Have you cruised before & if so, DCL at all?

BTW, I have a lot of family in NH (Portsmouth area) & my sister lived in Dover for years & her in-laws are from there.

 

[mickey minder]

Melanie, so glad to have you join us. We were starting to think that we were all alone. Glad to see that there are some other kids around the same age. We still have not made any specific plans for the trip, when to come, what to do, how long and where to stay. We just blew some of our cruise budget on the trip last week. I am sure as we get closer there will be others joining us. There are a few others on the "other board" for this sailing, but not very many compared to the other sailings around that time. I wonder why this seems to be a lean week. Oh, well, more for us. This is going to be great!!!

 

[sjcubedofct]

Well, we just returned from a 7 night Eastern and have decided to sneak in a 4 night Bahama on the Wonder Jan 21. So we'll be joining y'all! Myself, DH and DS11 will be there.

You asked about thoughts regarding other cruise lines...we took an RCI cruise last Feb when our Florida accommodations fell through, it was cheaper to cruise than to book a hotel. We knew it wouldn't be Disney, but thought that since we aren't in love with Mickey, it would be okay. Well, all three of us agreed that Disney is the ONLY way to cruise. It's like comparing the Hilton with Motel 6. Our experiences show that the Disney Magic is cleaner, better maintained, the staff friendlier, more attentive and better trained, and the passengers are more conscientious about their drinking, smoking and language. We rarely have had concerns about our son out on his own on the Magic, but on the RCI cruise, we limited his ability to roam due to the number of folks over imbibing, if you know what I mean. We appreciate how well appointed the Disney ships are and how hard Disney works to maintain/protect its image. It works for us.

We've decided it's Disney or nothing for us. So we're booked on the Transatlantic in August and waiting patiently for the announcement of summer 2008- can you say Alaska? To tide us over, we thought we'd give the Wonder a whirl, see what it feels like compared to the Magic.

Looking forward to getting to know you!

God bless you,

Sherry

 

[GrandFloridian4]

Well, we just returned from a 7 night Eastern and have decided to sneak in a 4 night Bahama on the Wonder Jan 21. So we'll be joining y'all! Myself, DH and DS11 will be there..........Looking forward to getting to know you! God bless you, Sherry

Well, welcome to you, also!! So good to have others joining us as we get closer.

Thanks for the remarks about RCCL. Very helpful. We are (well, I am ) considering sailing them - just for a change - but I am also seriously considering everyone's comments before making a final decision. I would really only want to sail one of the newest ships - Freedom, most likely. What ship were you on? A lot of what you mentioned are major deal breakers for me. The safety, cleanliness - in many ways - & "magic" feeling are the reason that we sail DCL to begin with. I've sailed two other (now non-existent) lines & they were "fun", but definitely not "magic" - & one was the Disney-affiliated Premiere line. My DH & I are very interested in cruising to Alaska & have been watching for DCL to announce plans, also. I'm wondering if they will have to building the BIGGEST ship ever to sail with the amount of people that are interested in doing the same?!

I see both you & missmdr have DS11's. My DS's always make friends on each cruise that they continue to communicate with.

GOD bless you, also.

 

[sjcubedofct]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

We were on the Enchantment of the Seas. It had been recently refurbished and lengthened, but still...Disney has done so much to recreate the romance of the early cruise ships and RCI fell short in our opinion. I was a facilities manager for 15 years so I'm too aware often of maintenance issues and attention to those sorts of details. On the RCI cruise there was a ladder at an open ceiling tile for a good part of the cruise. Never saw a person on it. Also, one of the areas near the buffet restaurant continually smelled of vomit. These are the sorts of things that stay with you. I will tell you that RCI's midnight dessert buffet puts DCL to shame, but that's a minor detail for us. We shouldn't be eating chocolate at midnight any day of the year- vacation or not!

Yes, I was pleased to see another 11 year old. On our cruise last week, our son emailed with several other DISboard 11 year olds for a month before the cruise, so he had made friends before stepping on board the boat.

About Alaska, after further discussion with the hubby last night, we're guessing that Alaska will be the special summer destination of 2009. West coast was 2005, the Med in 2007...Alaska in 2009 just falls into place. We'll see, since we're waiting for that, too!

Gotta run, need to find airfare!

Have a blessed day,

Sherry

 

[GrandFloridian4]

We had booked a cruise on the Enchantment last Dec. & then shortly before cruising we had to cancel because of a family emergency. We never re-booked on RCCL. We had purchased trip ins. & were able to recoup everything but the usual $ (I think it's $50. per res????) & I was very pleased at how smoothly it went. Anyway, after getting a chance to really research & compare DCL & RCCL, I was kind of happy that we didn't sail the Enchantment. Even when we give our kids a choice of which line to cruise, still, at 15 & 20 y.o., they picked DCL.

I agree about the midnight buffet. When we cruised DCL for the first time, I had been telling my DH about the wonderful buffets that I had experienced on other lines & then there was nothing. In retrospect, we probably would only nibble, just to try it, & it would be a waste. I assume that's what DCL figures, also.

Gotta run. My DH is calling me. We're heading down to WDW to catch a concert at EPCOT. Again, glad to have you aboard.

Where's everyone else lately??????

 

[missmdr]

Well, I had an unexpected family crisis to contend w/in Colorado, so I've been gone out of town for some time. Believe it or not, I did sneak on the DIS boards twice while I was away, though

I'm thrilled there is a new guest w/a DS11 - welcome!!! If you are interested in having our boys email one another, let me know and I will coordinate something w/you!

We have sailed DCL once before about 3 years ago - we seem to do a yr of DisneyWorld, DCL, then we took a year off for my DD2 birth, then back to Disney for a week last year, and now back to the DCL. I had originally booked a 7 nighter, but exchanged the reservation. I'm thrilled that I was able to somehow get a SPH - I'm thinking someone must have cancelled at the 90 day mark, and I was in the right place at the right time!!!

xx
melanie

 

[mickey minder]

Now we are getting somewhere. This is so exciting. I thought we were going to be alone. Welcome to Sherry and crew. Glad to have you sailing with us. I am hoping for Alaska too, but another thread seems to be leading in another direction, but we can still hope.

Welcome everyone.

 

[GrandFloridian4]

I had an unexpected family crisis to contend w/in Colorado, so I've been gone out of town for some time.

I really hope all is better for you & your family.

We had an SPH room once & really liked it. You certainly were fortunate to get one. They go quickly.

 

[mickey minder]

The group so far:

Mickeyminder - Mareda, DH, and DD14
GrandFloridian4 - DH, DS21, and DS-16
sjcubedofct - Sherry, DH, and DS11
missmdr - Melanie, DH, DD2 and DS11

Did I miss anyone?

 

[GrandFloridian4]

The group so far:

Mickeyminder - Mareda, DH, and DD14
GrandFloridian4 - DH
sjcubedofct - Sherry, DH, and DS11
missmdr - Melanie, DH, DD2 and DS11

Did I miss anyone?

Yes, my kids - DS-21 & DS-16