Review of our 5/11 Wonder cruise --
Stateroom 6503- I was very pleasantly surprised with the room. Much nicer than my balcony room on Princess in Dec., even being an inside room. Our room had a mini-fridge due to the coldbox not working right. Nice surprise! This tiny corridor was far forward but very quiet. We're boat people so not prone to motion sickness but the last night did get a bit rough and sleeping wasn't the best that night. Our stateroom host was Francis and he was right on top of things throughout. We had everything we wanted. The towel animals were so cute.
Food- Some of it was excellent (fish and steaks, mostly), some pretty mediocre (junk food, mostly). None of us liked the pizza at Pinocchio's. The buffets were pretty good. Princess and Carnival food was better but DCL did okay. I wasn't impressed with Palo, but DH's filet sure was great. My extremely picky 7-year-old didn't eat much on the ship.
Ship- Gorgious, tasteful decor. Sparkling clean. Very well-maintained.
Service- Excellent. Head and shoulders and torso and hips above Princess. This made the price differential worth it. My only tiny gripe is I wish we had the waiters next to us, who seemed to spend a ton of time showing the kids at the next table really cool, entertaining tricks with the tableware.
Kids' club- Excellent. The Lab was fun for my DD and she liked going. She said all the counselors were nice. They were to us adults.
Disembarkation- Better than Princess (sit in a theatre and wait 45 minutes for your color to be called), but still we stood around for a while after breakfast while the area was backed up.
Crowd control- Excellent. I never felt like we were aboard with 2000 others and I'm sensitive to crowds. The buffet room filled up quickly if it was windy or rainy out. They rely on the deck seating a bit more than ideal.
Deck parties- I was actually disappointed in the pirate party. The fireworks went off at an odd, unannounced point toward the beginning when we were still looking for a vantage point. The rest was like the sail-away party-- everyone stood around watching the cruise staff dance on a stage. We just ate dinner so the buffet wasn't a draw. I don't think there was anything else, maybe some characters danced? It was kind of a head scratcher for me. Maybe it was a dull crowd or we were in the wrong place or something.
Castaway Cay- Loved it. Snorkeling was my favorite. The scavenger hunt was another fun time. DD was captivated by Felix's fruit carving. The mahi was terrific. On day 2, the chicken 'sold' out before I could try it. The adult beach was nearly deserted. I'm amazed at the set-up of CC. Disney scores with this one.
Shows- Disney Dreams was totally captivating. Amazing. Toy Story Mania was a little disappointing for me, but I'm a huge fan of the movie. The sets and characters were pretty cool. I loved Sid's toys. I don't remember much about The Golden Mickeys. I think we enjoyed it, but I guess it was forgettable. Mark Eddy the comedian was enjoyable to us. The entertainment was MUCH better than my Princess cruise. I'd recommend getting to the theatres 20 mins. in advance. The closer seats were much nicer for me. They ask you not to save seats.
Activities- With no sea days, we didn't do much beyond the deck parties. I did the martini tasting, which was okay, but 2-3 of the 5 'martinis' were more what I'd call shots (not vodka or gin-based, fruity concoctions). All the specialty drinks I tried were way too sweet and weak for me, though-- konk kooler, a couple others. The only one I liked was something called a paintbrush-something in the Animator's Palate. The golf game by the adult pool was fun to watch but I was a little surprised that was the only component of 'pool games'. Family karaoke was cute but a little painful. The Castaway Cay activities we saw were fun-- crab races, whale dig. The cruise staff did a good job.
Misc.- I thought the Animator's Palate 'show' was a bit of a letdown, but I have to commend them for dimming the lights and starting a short movie-type display during the adults' main course. We ate uninterrupted. Nice.
Second dinner seating worked fine for us but we're west coast and night owls with just the 7y/o.
I appreciated the little adult coffee shop having magazines and novels set out for our use. A nice touch.
My DH (stupidly) bought cigarettes on board. $11/pack. WOW.
I overpacked dresses for me and DD. We brought 4 each; one would've been plenty.
While this was miles better than my recent Princess cruise and 100% worth it, I think we'll try RCCL next. We prefer to drive to CA than to fly to FL, and we could do two RCCL cruises for the price of one DCL. We had a great time though and loved two days at CC.
Stateroom 6503- I was very pleasantly surprised with the room. Much nicer than my balcony room on Princess in Dec., even being an inside room. Our room had a mini-fridge due to the coldbox not working right. Nice surprise! This tiny corridor was far forward but very quiet. We're boat people so not prone to motion sickness but the last night did get a bit rough and sleeping wasn't the best that night. Our stateroom host was Francis and he was right on top of things throughout. We had everything we wanted. The towel animals were so cute.
Food- Some of it was excellent (fish and steaks, mostly), some pretty mediocre (junk food, mostly). None of us liked the pizza at Pinocchio's. The buffets were pretty good. Princess and Carnival food was better but DCL did okay. I wasn't impressed with Palo, but DH's filet sure was great. My extremely picky 7-year-old didn't eat much on the ship.
Ship- Gorgious, tasteful decor. Sparkling clean. Very well-maintained.
Service- Excellent. Head and shoulders and torso and hips above Princess. This made the price differential worth it. My only tiny gripe is I wish we had the waiters next to us, who seemed to spend a ton of time showing the kids at the next table really cool, entertaining tricks with the tableware.
Kids' club- Excellent. The Lab was fun for my DD and she liked going. She said all the counselors were nice. They were to us adults.
Disembarkation- Better than Princess (sit in a theatre and wait 45 minutes for your color to be called), but still we stood around for a while after breakfast while the area was backed up.
Crowd control- Excellent. I never felt like we were aboard with 2000 others and I'm sensitive to crowds. The buffet room filled up quickly if it was windy or rainy out. They rely on the deck seating a bit more than ideal.
Deck parties- I was actually disappointed in the pirate party. The fireworks went off at an odd, unannounced point toward the beginning when we were still looking for a vantage point. The rest was like the sail-away party-- everyone stood around watching the cruise staff dance on a stage. We just ate dinner so the buffet wasn't a draw. I don't think there was anything else, maybe some characters danced? It was kind of a head scratcher for me. Maybe it was a dull crowd or we were in the wrong place or something.
Castaway Cay- Loved it. Snorkeling was my favorite. The scavenger hunt was another fun time. DD was captivated by Felix's fruit carving. The mahi was terrific. On day 2, the chicken 'sold' out before I could try it. The adult beach was nearly deserted. I'm amazed at the set-up of CC. Disney scores with this one.
Shows- Disney Dreams was totally captivating. Amazing. Toy Story Mania was a little disappointing for me, but I'm a huge fan of the movie. The sets and characters were pretty cool. I loved Sid's toys. I don't remember much about The Golden Mickeys. I think we enjoyed it, but I guess it was forgettable. Mark Eddy the comedian was enjoyable to us. The entertainment was MUCH better than my Princess cruise. I'd recommend getting to the theatres 20 mins. in advance. The closer seats were much nicer for me. They ask you not to save seats.
Activities- With no sea days, we didn't do much beyond the deck parties. I did the martini tasting, which was okay, but 2-3 of the 5 'martinis' were more what I'd call shots (not vodka or gin-based, fruity concoctions). All the specialty drinks I tried were way too sweet and weak for me, though-- konk kooler, a couple others. The only one I liked was something called a paintbrush-something in the Animator's Palate. The golf game by the adult pool was fun to watch but I was a little surprised that was the only component of 'pool games'. Family karaoke was cute but a little painful. The Castaway Cay activities we saw were fun-- crab races, whale dig. The cruise staff did a good job.
Misc.- I thought the Animator's Palate 'show' was a bit of a letdown, but I have to commend them for dimming the lights and starting a short movie-type display during the adults' main course. We ate uninterrupted. Nice.
Second dinner seating worked fine for us but we're west coast and night owls with just the 7y/o.
I appreciated the little adult coffee shop having magazines and novels set out for our use. A nice touch.
My DH (stupidly) bought cigarettes on board. $11/pack. WOW.
I overpacked dresses for me and DD. We brought 4 each; one would've been plenty.
While this was miles better than my recent Princess cruise and 100% worth it, I think we'll try RCCL next. We prefer to drive to CA than to fly to FL, and we could do two RCCL cruises for the price of one DCL. We had a great time though and loved two days at CC.
