disneydivaM
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 6
My DH and I just returned from our third wonderful cruise on the Wonder and found there has been a number of changes since our last trip in Nov 04. We are DVC members and used our points to schedule this cruise and then stayed on at VWL for three days to get our midwinter Disney fix. We dont have kids, but our favorite cruise line has always been Disney with a great combination of fun and quality service. On to the observations:
Travel to the Port: We came into MCO the night before and stayed at the Hyatt and for the first time scheduled Disney Transportation in the morning to the Port. After breakfast we went to check in at around 1015am and were loaded and on our way in no more than 20 minutes. We found out that they start to load buses at 930am in case you want to get to the port even earlier. As it was, we were at PC and checked in by 1130am.
Boarding: I had read that we would receive our boarding group number after going through security and must say that the system for boarding works great. We were in boarding group #6 and could sit and relax until our group was called. There are clear announcements of what group is boarding and we didnt see many people clustered around the line waiting to board. In no time we were in the boarding line and onto the ship. If you are not interested in having your picture taken, you just need to tell the staff at the beginning of the picture lines and they will move a sign and let you walk past the picture area and right onto the ship.
Cabin Upgrade: We had received a great upgrade before we left and were in 7120, one of the obstructed verandah rooms. We had originally booked a Cat 11 and were very happy to get such a great upgrade to a balcony. It shows you can get an upgrade if you book on DVC points. The room ended up being in a great location and we were able to drop our bags shortly after 130pm.
Cove Café: The addition of the Cove Café to the adult pool area was another great surprise. It is a wonderful space with really comfortable chairs and a secluded space right outside the doors to sit and have coffee in the morning. We always enjoy going to the adult pool area after lunch and spending some time relaxing before the safety drill, so I added at iced latte to make the time in the hot tub perfect.
Spa: Here was our biggest disappointment. In our opinion the Spa has really gone downhill since we were on our last cruise. We had scheduled a number of treatments before leaving and made one of our first stops after lunch the spa to sign up to use the Rainforest room. The quality of the treatments, the maintenance on the facilities were really below expectation. For example, none of the showers worked properly in the Rainforest room, the robes were torn, baskets for your cloths were broken and some of the staff were clearly not happy to be there. One young woman went so far to say the worst decision of her life was to sign her contract to work on the boat. The one highlight was my DH tried the Aromastone Therapy and loved it!
Palo: Before we left we had scheduled our visit to Palos on the last night of our cruise and decided to place our names on the wait list to see if we could get another visit. Luckily we were able to eat there all three nights and had a fantastic server in Julie from South Africa. She made each night a special event and I would recommend requesting her as your server if you can.
Castaway Cay: The island looked great. We speed over to Serenity Bay and were happy we did. There is now only one hammock on the whole of the adult beach! The weather was beautiful and I tried the Cabana Massage for the first time. While nice, the cabanas are right next to the bike path and you hear every conversation happening outside your door. My massage was after lunch and there was quite a bit of traffic on the path. I would recommend that you schedule an earlier time in the day when it is quieter at Serenity Bay to truly enjoy the massage. The other great server of the trip was Gilbert who handled the drinks on the beach. It was truly an amazing skill to watch him carry a tray full of drinks on his head down the beach.
Disembarking: Disney is still the best in the business. After breakfast we were off the ship, found our luggage and were through customs in 10 minutes. We had rented a car from Budget and quickly found the area to wait for the shuttle which was there in a less than 5 minutes. The staff was very professional and we were on our way to WDW very quickly. I would recommend them without reservation.
Let me know if I can answer any questions
Travel to the Port: We came into MCO the night before and stayed at the Hyatt and for the first time scheduled Disney Transportation in the morning to the Port. After breakfast we went to check in at around 1015am and were loaded and on our way in no more than 20 minutes. We found out that they start to load buses at 930am in case you want to get to the port even earlier. As it was, we were at PC and checked in by 1130am.
Boarding: I had read that we would receive our boarding group number after going through security and must say that the system for boarding works great. We were in boarding group #6 and could sit and relax until our group was called. There are clear announcements of what group is boarding and we didnt see many people clustered around the line waiting to board. In no time we were in the boarding line and onto the ship. If you are not interested in having your picture taken, you just need to tell the staff at the beginning of the picture lines and they will move a sign and let you walk past the picture area and right onto the ship.
Cabin Upgrade: We had received a great upgrade before we left and were in 7120, one of the obstructed verandah rooms. We had originally booked a Cat 11 and were very happy to get such a great upgrade to a balcony. It shows you can get an upgrade if you book on DVC points. The room ended up being in a great location and we were able to drop our bags shortly after 130pm.
Cove Café: The addition of the Cove Café to the adult pool area was another great surprise. It is a wonderful space with really comfortable chairs and a secluded space right outside the doors to sit and have coffee in the morning. We always enjoy going to the adult pool area after lunch and spending some time relaxing before the safety drill, so I added at iced latte to make the time in the hot tub perfect.
Spa: Here was our biggest disappointment. In our opinion the Spa has really gone downhill since we were on our last cruise. We had scheduled a number of treatments before leaving and made one of our first stops after lunch the spa to sign up to use the Rainforest room. The quality of the treatments, the maintenance on the facilities were really below expectation. For example, none of the showers worked properly in the Rainforest room, the robes were torn, baskets for your cloths were broken and some of the staff were clearly not happy to be there. One young woman went so far to say the worst decision of her life was to sign her contract to work on the boat. The one highlight was my DH tried the Aromastone Therapy and loved it!
Palo: Before we left we had scheduled our visit to Palos on the last night of our cruise and decided to place our names on the wait list to see if we could get another visit. Luckily we were able to eat there all three nights and had a fantastic server in Julie from South Africa. She made each night a special event and I would recommend requesting her as your server if you can.
Castaway Cay: The island looked great. We speed over to Serenity Bay and were happy we did. There is now only one hammock on the whole of the adult beach! The weather was beautiful and I tried the Cabana Massage for the first time. While nice, the cabanas are right next to the bike path and you hear every conversation happening outside your door. My massage was after lunch and there was quite a bit of traffic on the path. I would recommend that you schedule an earlier time in the day when it is quieter at Serenity Bay to truly enjoy the massage. The other great server of the trip was Gilbert who handled the drinks on the beach. It was truly an amazing skill to watch him carry a tray full of drinks on his head down the beach.
Disembarking: Disney is still the best in the business. After breakfast we were off the ship, found our luggage and were through customs in 10 minutes. We had rented a car from Budget and quickly found the area to wait for the shuttle which was there in a less than 5 minutes. The staff was very professional and we were on our way to WDW very quickly. I would recommend them without reservation.
Let me know if I can answer any questions
