staceymerrill
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2004
- Messages
- 886
Cast - me(alexandrew), DS-9, friends Mark and Steph, little Mark-2
**Drove to port with DS, Mark, little Mark, and Steph...got to port at 1030 am and were delighted that we were among the first to arrive,contrary to our recent 5/7 7-day, when we got to port at same time and there were hundreds in line already...Could be that many on this cruise booked land/sea packages and relied on DCL transfers, which often arrive a bit later....
**upon embarkation, CMs attempted to direct us up the aft elevator to BBB for buffet...I politely declined, and opted for PC.....I really prefer PC for its comfort and spaciousness vs BBB, which is sometimes hot, crowded and noisy....I noticed many cruise newbies subsequently being diverted to BBB, thinking they did not have a choice....
**took DS to Mickey pool for some "slidin" but the weather turned bad and the skies opened up....throughout the entire cruise, the weather was very hot, humid, rainy....I expected this anyway, since I live in S FL, and the weather in Bahamas is similar
**Since this cruise was my bday weekend getaway, and DW is too far along in her pregnancy to travel, I opted for a cat 11 inside stateroom... perfect for just DS and I , and a great value, even w/o the FL res discount that I usually expect, but was not offered for this cruise....we had 6637, aft, my logic being that this location was a quick flight up to the deck 7 overlook to check weather...
**Didnt get off ship at Nassau...dropped off DS at Lab and went to spa for vigorous treadmill workout, followed by Rainforest Room....I brought along a great book, "Freakonomics", which was a fun and interesting read...picked up DS at 230, saw 3pm showing of Sky High (great and surprisingly funny-welcome back to Disney Kurt Russell), after, we met with Marty to book our 9/06 family 7 day cruise....
ENTERTAINMENT -
Top notch as always....Herc was great, with fresh, topical jokes, but would love to see Twice Charmed on the Wonder....Although it was nice to see Herc, since it was not shown on our 5/7 western, as they were gearing up for the repo cruise....Dreams and Golden Mickeys was outstanding....there was a conspicuous absence of any comedians onboard...I dont recall if this has always been the case with the 3-day...I dont recall...thus, there seemed to be a void for entertainment from the 730-830 hour.....except for bingo, which we went to last night for the jackpot...I find it annoying though with the audience catcalls, particularly women and children shouting "yeah baby" after every number called ,ad nauseum...Pirate Night was fun, and fireworks were great......
SERVICE-
Efficient and overall excellent....had Miro and Murray as waiter and asst respectively, and Oana (outstanding) as our ever smiling stateroom hostess...noticed service was a bit slow and unhurried, which was just fine with me, except for Murray being a little too slow with the beverage refills(just a small annoyance, something i would never dare mention on a comment card)....we would typically finish up with dinner at about 945-10....as the evening meals are a highlight for me, I just hate being rushed....I recall a waiter on a 3 day that we had, Ansell, who I would swear was trying to break a speed record...in at 830, dessert on the table by 930....we had Arnold as our head waiter....not as visible as my favorite, Mclean, but he was great with little Mark.....taking him by the hand from his frazzled mother (oh the joys of Flounders Reef....)....Also, for the first time in all my DCL cruises, we had assigned tablemates other than friends who were traveling with us....a really nice couple and their 8 yr old daughter who were from Canada (the cold part, Ottawa)....it was neat to give them little tips, since they were first timers (they appreciated the tip I gave them not to attend the debarkation talk...rather, it is shown on a continuous loop on stateroom TV)...
...I have also since stopped trying to pack dress shirts expecting them to be neat and wrinkle free.....since we had Tritons on our 3rd night (APT), upon boarding I gave my and DSs dress shirts to Oana for pressing- $3.00!!!!! sure beats ironing myself....
FOOD AND RESTAURANTS-
Really, really liked the staggered dining times...we had 815 seating, which was great...CM explained to me that having the staggered times helps with the flow of traffic throughought the ship...no huge crowds at venues like Shutters and gift shops....I really hope they adopt this on the Magic...again, we had APT rotation, which for us was perfect...this rotation allowed plenty of time to have my shirts pressed (Tritons 3rd night)...also, APT puts you in PC for Pirate Night, the most appropriate restaurant for the festivities....However, I was profoundly disappointed that the Wonder did not adopt the menu changes like what we had on our 5/7 Western....If I had known, I would have booked Palo 1st night in lieu of AP, which I detest the regular menu....the menu was essentially same old same old....However, PC and Tritons food was still great, but to have 1/3 of your evening meals lackluster is just not to my satisfaction
IN CONCLUSION-
Since having taken the 7-day and 3-day so close together, some things have become very apparent to me.....DCL pulls out all the stops for the 7 day cruises vs the 3 day....Comparatively, the 7 day has better food (new menus), better entertainment (Twice Charmed, better 700-830 shows, character breakfast)...also, it seems to me that DCL wants it's Florida passengers to take 7 day cruises vs 3 and 4 day....I noticed a precipitous drop in FL res discounts offered for the 3 and 4 day cruises vs 7 day cruises....All in all though, we had a great time....there is no nicer ship or cruise for a 3 day itinerary in the cruise industry than the Wonder.....However, I think in the forseeable future we will stick to 7 day itineraries, as they represent the absolute best value DCL has to offer....
**Drove to port with DS, Mark, little Mark, and Steph...got to port at 1030 am and were delighted that we were among the first to arrive,contrary to our recent 5/7 7-day, when we got to port at same time and there were hundreds in line already...Could be that many on this cruise booked land/sea packages and relied on DCL transfers, which often arrive a bit later....
**upon embarkation, CMs attempted to direct us up the aft elevator to BBB for buffet...I politely declined, and opted for PC.....I really prefer PC for its comfort and spaciousness vs BBB, which is sometimes hot, crowded and noisy....I noticed many cruise newbies subsequently being diverted to BBB, thinking they did not have a choice....
**took DS to Mickey pool for some "slidin" but the weather turned bad and the skies opened up....throughout the entire cruise, the weather was very hot, humid, rainy....I expected this anyway, since I live in S FL, and the weather in Bahamas is similar
**Since this cruise was my bday weekend getaway, and DW is too far along in her pregnancy to travel, I opted for a cat 11 inside stateroom... perfect for just DS and I , and a great value, even w/o the FL res discount that I usually expect, but was not offered for this cruise....we had 6637, aft, my logic being that this location was a quick flight up to the deck 7 overlook to check weather...
**Didnt get off ship at Nassau...dropped off DS at Lab and went to spa for vigorous treadmill workout, followed by Rainforest Room....I brought along a great book, "Freakonomics", which was a fun and interesting read...picked up DS at 230, saw 3pm showing of Sky High (great and surprisingly funny-welcome back to Disney Kurt Russell), after, we met with Marty to book our 9/06 family 7 day cruise....
ENTERTAINMENT -
Top notch as always....Herc was great, with fresh, topical jokes, but would love to see Twice Charmed on the Wonder....Although it was nice to see Herc, since it was not shown on our 5/7 western, as they were gearing up for the repo cruise....Dreams and Golden Mickeys was outstanding....there was a conspicuous absence of any comedians onboard...I dont recall if this has always been the case with the 3-day...I dont recall...thus, there seemed to be a void for entertainment from the 730-830 hour.....except for bingo, which we went to last night for the jackpot...I find it annoying though with the audience catcalls, particularly women and children shouting "yeah baby" after every number called ,ad nauseum...Pirate Night was fun, and fireworks were great......
SERVICE-
Efficient and overall excellent....had Miro and Murray as waiter and asst respectively, and Oana (outstanding) as our ever smiling stateroom hostess...noticed service was a bit slow and unhurried, which was just fine with me, except for Murray being a little too slow with the beverage refills(just a small annoyance, something i would never dare mention on a comment card)....we would typically finish up with dinner at about 945-10....as the evening meals are a highlight for me, I just hate being rushed....I recall a waiter on a 3 day that we had, Ansell, who I would swear was trying to break a speed record...in at 830, dessert on the table by 930....we had Arnold as our head waiter....not as visible as my favorite, Mclean, but he was great with little Mark.....taking him by the hand from his frazzled mother (oh the joys of Flounders Reef....)....Also, for the first time in all my DCL cruises, we had assigned tablemates other than friends who were traveling with us....a really nice couple and their 8 yr old daughter who were from Canada (the cold part, Ottawa)....it was neat to give them little tips, since they were first timers (they appreciated the tip I gave them not to attend the debarkation talk...rather, it is shown on a continuous loop on stateroom TV)...
...I have also since stopped trying to pack dress shirts expecting them to be neat and wrinkle free.....since we had Tritons on our 3rd night (APT), upon boarding I gave my and DSs dress shirts to Oana for pressing- $3.00!!!!! sure beats ironing myself....
FOOD AND RESTAURANTS-
Really, really liked the staggered dining times...we had 815 seating, which was great...CM explained to me that having the staggered times helps with the flow of traffic throughought the ship...no huge crowds at venues like Shutters and gift shops....I really hope they adopt this on the Magic...again, we had APT rotation, which for us was perfect...this rotation allowed plenty of time to have my shirts pressed (Tritons 3rd night)...also, APT puts you in PC for Pirate Night, the most appropriate restaurant for the festivities....However, I was profoundly disappointed that the Wonder did not adopt the menu changes like what we had on our 5/7 Western....If I had known, I would have booked Palo 1st night in lieu of AP, which I detest the regular menu....the menu was essentially same old same old....However, PC and Tritons food was still great, but to have 1/3 of your evening meals lackluster is just not to my satisfaction
IN CONCLUSION-
Since having taken the 7-day and 3-day so close together, some things have become very apparent to me.....DCL pulls out all the stops for the 7 day cruises vs the 3 day....Comparatively, the 7 day has better food (new menus), better entertainment (Twice Charmed, better 700-830 shows, character breakfast)...also, it seems to me that DCL wants it's Florida passengers to take 7 day cruises vs 3 and 4 day....I noticed a precipitous drop in FL res discounts offered for the 3 and 4 day cruises vs 7 day cruises....All in all though, we had a great time....there is no nicer ship or cruise for a 3 day itinerary in the cruise industry than the Wonder.....However, I think in the forseeable future we will stick to 7 day itineraries, as they represent the absolute best value DCL has to offer....
Thank you... Our next trip is actually for a family of 5... Baby is due next month..... 
