OOPS! I put this on the wrong board I think. I've also added it to the cruise report forum. Sorry!
I admitt.....I "lurked" some before my trip trying to get tips. Thought I would payback with my trip report
.
I'm not going to write every detail. Just thought I would share the good and the bad. Here goes......
We chose the 3nights at WDW 4nights on the Wonder. I was trying to be budget conscious when I booked (not a word usually in my vocabulary!) and booked a moderate resort and moderate stateroom (outside deluxe on the 2nd floor). Shortly after arriving at the CBR I was starting to rethink my strategy. The room had only two full size beds. Me and my 6' 1" husband were very "cozy" in our bed....a queen (or king) would have been much, much better. The room was kinda small, the closet was just a pole in the vanity area with a curtain...so if you weren't carefull you could be spraying your clothes with deoderant or hair spray. The TV was small. Not major things...just the things that make you feel comfy. Not to mention that the food at the CBR was less than savory. The "big" pool was so crowded that there were no available lounge chairs or chairs.
Disney was WONDERFUL at making the transfer from the airport to the resort to the ship smooth!!!!! I can't say enough about how well organized everthing was run. Perfect. They also had our CBR room available at 1pm when we arrived which was nice because we had taken the red-eye from San Jose, ca and none of us got much sleep on the plane (DH, 6y/o DD & 9 y/o DS). Not to mention the plane change we had to make after we were headed to the runway in Atlanta due to smoke in the cabin (no kidding). Glad they found THAT problem before we took off. We were walking zombies by the time we arrived.
The ship is beautiful!!! The room was very nice and large for a stateroom. My DH and I have been on 1 other cruise several years ago (Norweigian Cruise Line) and the Wonder's stateroom was much bigger and nicer.
The kids programs on board are OUTSTANDING!!!! My kids loved it and usually didn't want to see us when we came to pick them up. They were well run and organized with lots of fun activities around the ship to keep the kids interested. It sure was nice to relax a little without them.
The food was a big dissappointment. Yes, Palo's is wonderful.....that is the kind of food we were served throughout our other cruise. Other than Palo's and a few items at the various meals for dinner the food was average at best. The childrens menu was very repetitous. I know, I know...most kids are happy eating hot dogs, burgers, pizza and mac & cheese lunch and dinner. My kids were looking forward to some shrimp, lobster, chicken.....some stuff that wasn't fried. And don't even get me started on the breakfast. The breakfast buffet had bologne...no kidding. The bacon was limp, the eggs were watery...blah. You aren't going to go hungry but I was expecting better I guess.
For us the soda cup thing was not worth it. For most it wouldn't be unless you drink gallons of it. If you're like me and love tropical drinks by the pool those mugs aren't going to help. Waste of $20.
The one show we made it to was outstanding. It was a comedian who juggled. He was talented and hilarious.
My tip.....take the late seating. We had early and we felt rushed most nights to make it on time. Not to mention that on your last morning the early sitting guests need to be at breakfast at 6:45am and then disembark immediately after. Late seatings didn't have to be to breakfast until 8:00am. That extra hour of sleep would have been nice
.
The room steward was wonderful. No complaints.
The dinner server's had too many tables. We felt that we had to wait too long for service. On NCL our server seemed to bring us stuff before we could even realize we needed it. Guess I got spoiled on that cruise.
The kids pool was PACKED! No chairs and the water started to look a little iffy. Wished they would have made a larger small kid pool. The adults only pool was wonderful.
I would highly recomend going over to Paradise Island at Nassau. The Atlantis hotel/casino is beautiful!!!! I would love to stay there for a week! Not to be missed.
Castaway Cay was nice. Crowded but nice....they must airbrush 2/3 rd's of the people out for the brochure. Nice sand, good drinks..the 4 of us had a lot of fun there.
Overall I enjoyed the trip. The wondeful kids program makes up for the food. It really was wonderful to enjoy some time without them and know that they were having fun too.
I'm sure I'm leaving something out.....I'll add anything I think of later.
One final piece of advice. Don't stress over ANYTHING! Just relax and have fun...you can't go wrong. Anything you forget can be bought.
Cheers
!
I admitt.....I "lurked" some before my trip trying to get tips. Thought I would payback with my trip report
.I'm not going to write every detail. Just thought I would share the good and the bad. Here goes......
We chose the 3nights at WDW 4nights on the Wonder. I was trying to be budget conscious when I booked (not a word usually in my vocabulary!) and booked a moderate resort and moderate stateroom (outside deluxe on the 2nd floor). Shortly after arriving at the CBR I was starting to rethink my strategy. The room had only two full size beds. Me and my 6' 1" husband were very "cozy" in our bed....a queen (or king) would have been much, much better. The room was kinda small, the closet was just a pole in the vanity area with a curtain...so if you weren't carefull you could be spraying your clothes with deoderant or hair spray. The TV was small. Not major things...just the things that make you feel comfy. Not to mention that the food at the CBR was less than savory. The "big" pool was so crowded that there were no available lounge chairs or chairs.
Disney was WONDERFUL at making the transfer from the airport to the resort to the ship smooth!!!!! I can't say enough about how well organized everthing was run. Perfect. They also had our CBR room available at 1pm when we arrived which was nice because we had taken the red-eye from San Jose, ca and none of us got much sleep on the plane (DH, 6y/o DD & 9 y/o DS). Not to mention the plane change we had to make after we were headed to the runway in Atlanta due to smoke in the cabin (no kidding). Glad they found THAT problem before we took off. We were walking zombies by the time we arrived.
The ship is beautiful!!! The room was very nice and large for a stateroom. My DH and I have been on 1 other cruise several years ago (Norweigian Cruise Line) and the Wonder's stateroom was much bigger and nicer.
The kids programs on board are OUTSTANDING!!!! My kids loved it and usually didn't want to see us when we came to pick them up. They were well run and organized with lots of fun activities around the ship to keep the kids interested. It sure was nice to relax a little without them.
The food was a big dissappointment. Yes, Palo's is wonderful.....that is the kind of food we were served throughout our other cruise. Other than Palo's and a few items at the various meals for dinner the food was average at best. The childrens menu was very repetitous. I know, I know...most kids are happy eating hot dogs, burgers, pizza and mac & cheese lunch and dinner. My kids were looking forward to some shrimp, lobster, chicken.....some stuff that wasn't fried. And don't even get me started on the breakfast. The breakfast buffet had bologne...no kidding. The bacon was limp, the eggs were watery...blah. You aren't going to go hungry but I was expecting better I guess.
For us the soda cup thing was not worth it. For most it wouldn't be unless you drink gallons of it. If you're like me and love tropical drinks by the pool those mugs aren't going to help. Waste of $20.
The one show we made it to was outstanding. It was a comedian who juggled. He was talented and hilarious.
My tip.....take the late seating. We had early and we felt rushed most nights to make it on time. Not to mention that on your last morning the early sitting guests need to be at breakfast at 6:45am and then disembark immediately after. Late seatings didn't have to be to breakfast until 8:00am. That extra hour of sleep would have been nice
.The room steward was wonderful. No complaints.
The dinner server's had too many tables. We felt that we had to wait too long for service. On NCL our server seemed to bring us stuff before we could even realize we needed it. Guess I got spoiled on that cruise.
The kids pool was PACKED! No chairs and the water started to look a little iffy. Wished they would have made a larger small kid pool. The adults only pool was wonderful.
I would highly recomend going over to Paradise Island at Nassau. The Atlantis hotel/casino is beautiful!!!! I would love to stay there for a week! Not to be missed.
Castaway Cay was nice. Crowded but nice....they must airbrush 2/3 rd's of the people out for the brochure. Nice sand, good drinks..the 4 of us had a lot of fun there.
Overall I enjoyed the trip. The wondeful kids program makes up for the food. It really was wonderful to enjoy some time without them and know that they were having fun too.
I'm sure I'm leaving something out.....I'll add anything I think of later.
One final piece of advice. Don't stress over ANYTHING! Just relax and have fun...you can't go wrong. Anything you forget can be bought.
Cheers
!
