We just returned from our 3 night (Wonder, 8/4-7). It was our first and we loved it! Needless to say we booked our next cruise (7 day) on board (saving 10% and $200 credit).
We booked everything directly through Disney which was a plus because the arrival from airport, to terminal, to ship and back were timed down to the minute!
WHAT WE LOVED!
-As we were celebrating a birthday I ordered the Birthday Celebration for our Stateroom. It was just the thing we need when we boarded. The cake was pretty good and my DD (13) loved the decorations. I had packed some food storage bags and plastic tableware so we took the extra cake, wrapped it up and placed it in our refrig for later. It made a great late night snack!
-Bingo! We didn't win any cash but the caller had noted my DD's Birthday pin (purchased the first night in the on board shops) and gave her several gifts ("Event Winner" mug, cruise logo pin).
-Swimming in an empty Goofy pool (10AM when docked at Nassau)! We had heard mixed reviews of Nassau so we stayed on board and had a blast.
-Kite making. While docked at Nassau they held plenty of on board activities. We really enjoyed this one and brought our kite home for the coming fall months!
-Smoothies (non-alcoholic) on the beach at Castaway Cay. Crew members roam the beach in search of thirsty passengers. There is nothing better than lying on the beach (under your umbrella) sipping away at your smoothie!
- We found a schedule of special nightly sales events at the on board shops. On the last night it was gem stones. We found some beautiful blue topaz stones.
- Pirate party! My tween enjoyed the deck 9 pirate party. She danced away the night. The fireworks lasted longer than I had expected (as the crew had previously referred to the fireworks as a "little" show). By the way we could see them from our navigators verandah (deck 7).
- Eating habits. We tend to eat our larger meals earlier in the day. However, I had planned to change this on the cruise as our major meals sounded like they would be in the evening. However, It turned out that we were able to stick to our normal schedule. We were able to find a larger breakfast and lunch without trouble. As the dinner menu didn't appeal to my DD she simply ate her lighter meal (as is her normal schedule) at dinner.
- 24/7 TV. We found we were turning on the TV whenever we were in the room just to watch the informational ship channels. Don't miss the one on "customs" played the last evening of the cruise!
- Saying "Hello". We found we couldn't go anywhere on board without running into a crew member and receiving a friendly greeting. They simply don't pass you without acknowledging you. In the elevators, in the halls, on deck, on the stairs. It was a very friendly place!
However, in looking back over the trip there are a couple of things we would change!
- We would not fly in (to MCO) the day of departure. Our flight got us on the ground just after 1PM. We were on stepping on to the ship just after 3:30 (thanks to the organizational magic of Disney) but were fresh from MCO. As this was our first cruise we were rushing about attempting to get adjusted to our new surroundings. We looked around at the other passengers (already enjoying the activities) and wished we had been on board much earlier!
- We would check back in our room early the last evening to check on our scheduled breakfast. We arrived back in our room very late the last night (we packed much earlier in the day) to find our morning breakfast was at 8:00AM and they recommended that (due to our flight at 11AM) we leave the ship by 8:30 AM. We knew that our table tended to be served very slowly (for some reason we were the first to arrive each night but the last to leave). We figured that we would probably not make that 8:30 departure. So we skipped the breakfast and headed to the airport. We left the ship at 8AM and (with traffic and airport security) we were there with enough extra time to grab a bite before boarding our flight. If we had checked our room earlier in the evening we would have been able to grab some food for the next morning.
- We would take advantage of the on board portrait offerings. We were so busy we didn't make many portrait sessions but we loved (and purchased) most of the pictures we had taken. The photographers did an excellent job!
- We would not use Water-Trike's at Castaway Cay. We found our water trike a little hard to operate. As avid bike riders our legs lasted a long time but we spent most of our time going around in circles. Next time we will spend our on-shore activities budget elsewhere.
- We would skip or try to speed up Dinner. We found our table was often the first to be seated and the last to leave. While we enjoyed each others company, we often (as a group) commented on how long things took. One family at our table had a 7 year old who ordered from the children's menu. When our appetizers arrived so did his meal. He finished eating and then sat there while we waited for our meals and then dessert. That was a long wait for even a well behaved 7 year old. We never finished our evening meal in under 2.5 hours. As we had the late seating we rarely left the table before 10:45 PM while all the tables around us were empty by 10:15-10:30. We would have flagged down our servers but they were never in sight. To incorporate more activities into our schedule we simply skipped our dinner one evening and had room service (which arrived in under 15 minutes).
- We would take a longer cruise! There were so many things to do on board that we couldn't do everything we wanted.
We booked everything directly through Disney which was a plus because the arrival from airport, to terminal, to ship and back were timed down to the minute!
WHAT WE LOVED!
-As we were celebrating a birthday I ordered the Birthday Celebration for our Stateroom. It was just the thing we need when we boarded. The cake was pretty good and my DD (13) loved the decorations. I had packed some food storage bags and plastic tableware so we took the extra cake, wrapped it up and placed it in our refrig for later. It made a great late night snack!
-Bingo! We didn't win any cash but the caller had noted my DD's Birthday pin (purchased the first night in the on board shops) and gave her several gifts ("Event Winner" mug, cruise logo pin).
-Swimming in an empty Goofy pool (10AM when docked at Nassau)! We had heard mixed reviews of Nassau so we stayed on board and had a blast.
-Kite making. While docked at Nassau they held plenty of on board activities. We really enjoyed this one and brought our kite home for the coming fall months!
-Smoothies (non-alcoholic) on the beach at Castaway Cay. Crew members roam the beach in search of thirsty passengers. There is nothing better than lying on the beach (under your umbrella) sipping away at your smoothie!
- We found a schedule of special nightly sales events at the on board shops. On the last night it was gem stones. We found some beautiful blue topaz stones.
- Pirate party! My tween enjoyed the deck 9 pirate party. She danced away the night. The fireworks lasted longer than I had expected (as the crew had previously referred to the fireworks as a "little" show). By the way we could see them from our navigators verandah (deck 7).
- Eating habits. We tend to eat our larger meals earlier in the day. However, I had planned to change this on the cruise as our major meals sounded like they would be in the evening. However, It turned out that we were able to stick to our normal schedule. We were able to find a larger breakfast and lunch without trouble. As the dinner menu didn't appeal to my DD she simply ate her lighter meal (as is her normal schedule) at dinner.
- 24/7 TV. We found we were turning on the TV whenever we were in the room just to watch the informational ship channels. Don't miss the one on "customs" played the last evening of the cruise!
- Saying "Hello". We found we couldn't go anywhere on board without running into a crew member and receiving a friendly greeting. They simply don't pass you without acknowledging you. In the elevators, in the halls, on deck, on the stairs. It was a very friendly place!
However, in looking back over the trip there are a couple of things we would change!
- We would not fly in (to MCO) the day of departure. Our flight got us on the ground just after 1PM. We were on stepping on to the ship just after 3:30 (thanks to the organizational magic of Disney) but were fresh from MCO. As this was our first cruise we were rushing about attempting to get adjusted to our new surroundings. We looked around at the other passengers (already enjoying the activities) and wished we had been on board much earlier!
- We would check back in our room early the last evening to check on our scheduled breakfast. We arrived back in our room very late the last night (we packed much earlier in the day) to find our morning breakfast was at 8:00AM and they recommended that (due to our flight at 11AM) we leave the ship by 8:30 AM. We knew that our table tended to be served very slowly (for some reason we were the first to arrive each night but the last to leave). We figured that we would probably not make that 8:30 departure. So we skipped the breakfast and headed to the airport. We left the ship at 8AM and (with traffic and airport security) we were there with enough extra time to grab a bite before boarding our flight. If we had checked our room earlier in the evening we would have been able to grab some food for the next morning.
- We would take advantage of the on board portrait offerings. We were so busy we didn't make many portrait sessions but we loved (and purchased) most of the pictures we had taken. The photographers did an excellent job!
- We would not use Water-Trike's at Castaway Cay. We found our water trike a little hard to operate. As avid bike riders our legs lasted a long time but we spent most of our time going around in circles. Next time we will spend our on-shore activities budget elsewhere.
- We would skip or try to speed up Dinner. We found our table was often the first to be seated and the last to leave. While we enjoyed each others company, we often (as a group) commented on how long things took. One family at our table had a 7 year old who ordered from the children's menu. When our appetizers arrived so did his meal. He finished eating and then sat there while we waited for our meals and then dessert. That was a long wait for even a well behaved 7 year old. We never finished our evening meal in under 2.5 hours. As we had the late seating we rarely left the table before 10:45 PM while all the tables around us were empty by 10:15-10:30. We would have flagged down our servers but they were never in sight. To incorporate more activities into our schedule we simply skipped our dinner one evening and had room service (which arrived in under 15 minutes).
- We would take a longer cruise! There were so many things to do on board that we couldn't do everything we wanted.
have your 7 year old head back to the kids' club while you enjoy a leisurely dinner. I understand many do this with children, especially the younger ones. We have an Xmas cruise, and I am pretty sure the 5 year old will have it no other way! He has to go, go, go! I will leave the option open to the 7 & 10 year olds. I'm sure what their cousins are doing will set the tone.
I don't always read carefully...I thought YOUR 7 year old was bored...
I'll be going on my first cruise with my kids, on a 3 day.
