2/16/08-2/21/08 ~G&G Birthday Cruise!!!

[DisneyHobbit]

My First Disney Cruise!!

I have always been an avid Disney fanatic , so when it came time to take my sister on her 40th birthday trip it seemed perfect to take a cruise, and of course it would have to be Disney. My sister lives in TX and I live in SC, so a night before stay was a must. A year prior I booked everything, I opted for a 4-night cruise on the Wonder. We booked the night before at the Hyatt, that way when we flew in we wouldn’t have to go very far. Everything was booked through Disney, including airfare hotel and transportation to the port. Waiting for the time to come was at times unbearable , being an over planner I tried to know the ship deck by deck before we even arrived. I wanted everything perfect for my sister’s birthday; I mean this was the big 40!!! My poor co-workers put up with me counting down the days; luckily they know I am a Disney freak so this was no surprise to them. I was packed and ready to go a month prior, but nothing could get me ready enough for what was to come…..

 

[kalel29]

*Subscribing*

 

[DisneyHobbit]

Day 1

The morning finally arrived!! I got up about 6:00am to get ready; my flight didn’t leave until 9:45 so this gave me plenty of time to make sure everything was packed. At this point my sister was already on her flight to FL. I was so excited I was shaking all over; a year of planning had come down to this day!! I got my two suitcases in the car and headed to the airport. Even though it was a Sat, it wasn’t very crowded. The weather was beautiful. My flight only had one layover in GA, usually I have a straight shot there, but Disney had arranged it so my sisters’ flight and mine would arrive about the same time. I get to FL without any hiccups, I call my sister to find out where she is, it turns out since she flew AA she is on the other side of the airport. I get my luggage and tell her to meet me at the fountain in front of the Hyatt. Apparently, I was not clear enough, because she had no idea where I was talking about. I end up dragging my luggage across the airport to my sister, then all the way back to check in at the hotel. At this point I am sweating and exhausted from the day.

We go up to check in and the lady at the desk says that we have no reservation. Okay, panic mode!!! I get on the phone with DCL, the poor woman on the other line I think sensed my panic and told me not to worry, everything was going to be ok. After being on the phone a good 20 minutes, DCL spoke with the Hyatt and got it all taken care of. Our bags were taken and it was time to start our vacation. The room was beautiful, it was so nice not to have to stress about catching the ship in time, and it was great knowing we’d get a good night sleep. We had a wonderful Sushi dinner that night, and we were both so tired after exploring the airport a bit. As we went to bed, we talked about the exciting day to come. I couldn’t believe I’d be stepping foot onto the Disney Wonder the following day.

 

[2*geminis]

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[alwayslisad]

::gets popcorn and settles in for reading::

 

[MouseGrandma]

DH and I were on that cruise to celebrate our anniversary. Looking forward to reading your trip report. It was a great cruise, although we did get a little "weather" about 3pm on CC day. Rick the hypnotist in Wavebands and the Disney Theater was such fun. We even won "Match Your Mate" the first night!

 

[ElenitaB]

Hi! We were on your cruise as well! Looking forward to reliving it with you.

 

[DisneyHobbit]

Glad everyone is subscribing! Here's some more.....

Day 2 ~ Time to Board Ship

My sister and I woke up fairly early so we could get a good breakfast and be able to get our luggage out by 8:30. The minute I woke up my throat hurt and I was pretty stuffy. By the time we got our luggage out I was feeling a little better, and chalked it all to allergies. We had a wonderful breakfast and then headed to the lobby to get checked in with Disney. We were both so excited!! Finally our number was called and a group of us were escorted to the Disney buses, it was such a warm beautiful day I couldn’t believe it was all happening. After about a 45-minute bus ride we could see the Wonder, it was stunning. Pictures just don’t do it justice. After what seemed like an eternity a DCL rep came on the bus to tell us where we needed to go. We got through security and headed up the escalator and got checked in. We already had all our paperwork signed and ready to go, so this went very fast. We heard our boarding number and got onboard; it was such a thrilling experience to walk onto that ship. DCL crewmembers were all around greeting us and letting us know that Parrot Cay had a welcome aboard buffet. After a quick lunch we decided to go up to deck 9 and sit and watch the water. My knees were pretty wobbly, so it was nice to sit and rest. As we’re sitting enjoy the sun, Minnie Mouse walked up and said hello!! I was in total heaven!! Moments later as we’re sitting looking at the water, my sister spots dolphins in the harbor! It was all so magical. We went to check out our stateroom; at this point I was desperate to lye down. I took some Dramamine and took a nap.

When we woke I wasn’t really feeling any better, we had our safety drill and then headed up to deck 10 for the sail away party. Being outside made me feel great, which I was grateful for. We had the early dining, not being very hungry we headed to Animators. It really was wonderful; the food was delicious, even though I didn’t eat much. We met our servers Adwen and Sam, who were just the best. After dinner I just wanted to go back to the room and sleep. Luckily my sister was just as tired, but feeling allot better than I was. As we we’re heading back to our room the ship was really rocking, at this time we met our stateroom hostess Debbie. She told us not to worry, this is pretty choppy but we’d get use to it. I felt doubtful. I put my Pjs on and crashed into bed, dreaming pixie dust dreams, and of feeling better.

 

[kalel29]

Uuuuuggghhhh!!! That's one of my worst fears. Waking up the day of a planned vacation feeling sick, especially before a cruise. Hope you felt better. Can't wait to read more....

 

[DisneyHobbit]

Day 3 ~ Exploring Nassau

My sister was the first to wake up; she was out on the verandah waiting for Nassau to come into sight. I had the feeling she was a little excited. I was still feeling weak, but after a shower I was starting to feel better. We headed up to Beach Blanket to have a small breakfast before heading on our way to shore. The day prior we had attended a seminar in the theatre led by Pippa, the shopping expert for Nassau. She gave us great tips on where to go and where to buy. So we had a plan. It took awhile for us to get off the ship, since everyone was doing the same thing. As we were heading down to the gangway, we noticed two adult males in the hallway really going at it. It was going to be a smack down on the Wonder!! Luckily two crewmembers stepped in before anything got too serious.::cop:
The weather was so beautiful! It was warm and windy, perfect day for walking around and shopping. It was a little stressful walking to the shops, the traffic can be a little scary if your not used to it. I nearly had a heart attack because a scooter almost hit my sister. We hit all the shops on the map Pippa gave us, all of it was beautiful. We ended up at Diamonds International, there I bought a diamond pendent and left wishing I could have bought the store. We didn’t want to spend the day on shore so we headed back to the ship, buying a couple of straw purses along the way.
When we got back to the room, we put our bathing suits on and headed up to the pool. There weren’t that many people on the ship, so it was nice to be lazy and sit in the water. After having some lunch we headed back to our room to take a shower and go see Step Up 2. By the time the movie was over it was time to get ready for Palo!!
My sister and I looked stunning of course. LOL! Palo was so wonderful, the food, service, everything!! I didn’t want to leave. After Palo we headed down to the Promenade to enjoy some Latin dancing. The Entertainment director was dragging everyone on the floor, and of course my sister and I were included. It was so much fun, my feet were killing me. We got back to the room about 12; I was starting not to feel so good again. We got some hot tea and dessert from room service, but I couldn’t eat my dessert. I was in the bathroom all night throwing up. I couldn’t believe it! I had a fever that night and everything. All this planning and it all comes down to me getting sick. I finally went to sleep praying I would feel better for Castaway Cay the next day.

 

[frdeb1999]

Sorry you were'nt feeling well. Had same problems 1st day on our past August cruise. Was better on 2nd day though. Not fun at all. Waiting to hear next installment!

 

[RLccweems]

I'm so sorry to hear you weren't feeling well....I hope by the next morning you did. I hate to hear that you missed out on CC.

 

[DisneyHobbit]

I am soooooo sorry it's taken me awhile to post, but here's the new addition..........



Day 4 ~ Castaway Cay


I woke up to a pretty gloomy day, feeling so tired I couldn’t move. It was now official, I had the flu! My poor sister was so excited to get off the ship to go to Castaway Cay, but I couldn’t get out of bed. When I finally felt up to actually getting up, I looked at the clock and it was already noon!! After having a little to eat we put our bathing suits on and headed to the island, I felt so awful but I didn’t want to miss any of it. I was grateful for the overcast day; I don’t think my eyes could have taken so much sun. As we got off the ship the air felt wonderful, it gave me energy. We knew right where we wanted to go, Serenity Bay!! After taking a couple trams to the beach we were there, it was wonderful!! I didn’t know a place could be so peaceful and quite, no children running around, no screaming in the water just pure peace. We got some chairs and headed to the water, it was freezing!!! We waded in it a bit before heading to a couple of hammocks we were able to find. My sister wanted me to go with her back to the water, but I just couldn’t, while I relaxed in the hammock my sister walked so far out that she looked like a little dot. I couldn’t believe she did this; she’s scared to death of water!! I wanted to be with her so bad, but I didn’t think I’d make it back to shore. She came back about an hour later, during this time I slept, and told me of all the fish she had seen. We decided to head to the cook out and get something to eat, the food was soooo good. I had the chicken with a bunch of salads and of course a chocolate chip cookie. We had a plan to rent some bikes which my sister was dying to do, I didn’t think I could make it but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that. So, we headed towards the bike rentals, during this time it started to pour. I wouldn’t have thought I would have been so grateful for rain on a Bahamas island but I was. Figuring we didn’t want to ride bikes in the rain we headed back to the ship to take a nap. I totally crashed in bed while my sister went off to play bingo. When she came back I got up and we both started getting ready for Pirate Night!!! I was feeling a ton better, so we headed to Parrot Cay to have a wonderful meal.
My sister and I had on matching shirts I had made before the trip as well as our Pirate Mickey Ears, we looked hot of course! LOL!! The dinner was fantastic, we both asked Sam our server if we could get the kids drinks with Tinkerbelle on them we were happy campers!! After we ate we headed down to the atrium to get our pictures taken with Pirate Minnie and Mickey, we felt like celebrities. After doing some major shopping and dropping it all in the room, we headed to the Golden Mickey’s. It was great; I loved watching the people being interviewed on the big screen. The show was magnificent!! My favorite was scenes from Tarzan and Lion King, it almost made me cry.
It was time for the Pirate Party!!! We got a good spot on deck 10 and watched all the activities. The best, of course, was Mickey swinging from one smoke stack to the next and introducing the party in the sky, fireworks!!!! We didn’t feel like anything from the buffet, but we did go and get some coffee before heading to our room. It was such a good feeling to be feeling better and knowing we had a whole day and sea to come.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thank you for posting your trip report! We're heading out on the Wonder next week and are so excited. I'm sorry you were not feeling well... that can ruin a vacation in a hurry.

Tell me more about the kids Tinkerbelle drinks....

 

[DisneyHobbit]

Thank you for posting your trip report! We're heading out on the Wonder next week and are so excited. I'm sorry you were not feeling well... that can ruin a vacation in a hurry.

Tell me more about the kids Tinkerbelle drinks....

I've been so bad about not updating my report, I know you'll have a great time next week!!

The drinks are adorable!! You can choose whatever drink you would like, and for girls it's a little plastic tinkerbelle that lights up green and clips to your shirt or to anything you'd like. There's a red Capt Hook for boys.

 

[Malagueta]

Sorry you were sick during your vacation

This is the first post I read about the neat kids' cups. I'm adding that to my list.

Malagueta

 

[DisneyHobbit]

Day at Sea!

I woke up feeling a ton better!!! We had reservations for Palo for brunch and I was ready for it. We got dressed and head to Palo, it was a beautiful day so we waited outside on the deck until 10:00. We had the same waiter from our dinner, I can’t seem to remember his name but he was the best waiter I have ever experienced. Once he gave us a tour of the buffet we dug in, I didn’t know where to start. It was all so beautiful I was afraid to even touch it. Truly, there are no words to describe how beautiful and how delicious it was. After Palo we went to sit at Café Cove and watch the water, I was happy and sad at the same time because I knew it was the last day on the ship. We were both still a little sleepy so we went back to our room to take a nap, stopping to shop before we did. When we woke up, my sister felt awful! I had given her my flu, I felt so guilty. She still felt up to going to dinner, which was at Tritons that night. I got all my tip envelopes ready, which DCL leaves in your room, and headed to eat. Tritons was wonderful, I had scallops, which were a little rich but still delicious. Just before dessert the mini show started. The weight staff walks all around the restaurant with the flags of their countries to the music of It’s a Small World. Everyone really got into it. After dinner everyone headed off to the theatre to see the award winning stage show Dreams.
This show was beyond magical; pre-show Tink flies around and the theatre with pixie dust in tow. I can see why it is rated the favorite of all cruise ship shows; it was truly a memorable thing to see. After the show we headed back to the room, my sister was really sick at this point. She just wanted to take some medicine and go to sleep. While she got nestled in bed I head out to see the farewell on the main staircase. This is something you really can’t miss, I felt like a child watching all the Disney characters together all in one place. As I looked down on all of them it suddenly hit me that this was the end of the trip. I finally felt better and it was time to go. I headed back to the room to get our entire luggage ready to put outside the door so that they could be taken to the airline the next day. As I lay in bed, I tried to take in everything about it. The feel of the ship, the sound of the sea outside, I didn’t want to forget a thing.

Disembarkation

I woke up to the ship pulling into dock, it was a heartbreaking feeling. Since our flights left around noon we had to be off the ship by 7:30. Since we ate at Tritons the night before that was where we were to go for breakfast. We had some fruit and tea before heading off the ship. Our entire luggage had gone and we filled out the customs paperwork the night before so there wasn’t anything for us to do but say goodbye. We were already checked in the airline so we headed straight to the buses. When we got to the airport and sat to enjoy Starbucks coffee before we parted ways. My sister’s flight was on the other side of the airport, so we hugged and went back to realty.

On a follow up note……………

Even though I was sick I had the time of my life, I’ve booked my next trip for Aug!!!