6/11/09 3 Night Wonder Trip Report-with 500+ Photos!!!

[Tri-circle-D]

Could you give us the dimensions of your cooler...packed, the way it is here, fitting through the scanner?

The dimension DCL gives are only 22x14x9. No way have I seen a rolling cooler that has one of the dimensions at 9 inces. My brother has decided to carry on some adult beverages and I want to give the the maximum option!

.

Lucky for you, I have not yet packed my cooler away. So, the measurements are: 15" (across the front) x 12" (front to back) x 18" (floor to top of cooler). When I put it through the scanner, I had to lay it on its back, so it would have been sticking up about 12". It went through the scanner with plenty of room to spare.

I absolutely suggest bringing a soft-sided cooler. It will save you a ton of money on drinks on board. As I mentioned, I had 18 bottles of beer, and about six frozen water bottles in mine. So, a case of beer in cans would have easily fit. And, I have seen bigger soft sided coolers that apparently would also be OK to bring. The big no-no is that they don't want you to have ice in the cooler. I really think the only reason for this is that they don't want water spilling on their security equipment (totally understandable). So, that is why I used the frozen water bottle technique. Once you get the cooler to your room, your cabin steward will keep it full of ice (if you ask nicely, and a little tip prepayment doesn't hurt, either). Be sure to line your cooler with a trash bag (I actually use two), because they are not water-tight. We also use the cooler on Castaway Cay, and then use the empty cooler on the way home to pack wet stuff like bathing suits and cover ups.

Tri-circle-D I have to echo the other post you are truly a wonderful Dad and Hubby. Happy Father's Day to you today.

We will be going on our first cruise in Oct. I sure hope my DH have as much fun as you do.

I hope that you have as much fun as we did too!

great report, loving the pictures. Got a few pictures of good old Pikey I see, hoping he is on the Wonder still when I go in August.

Good news for you: (1). Pikey's assistant on this cruise, DJ Frankie, told me that he and Pikey would be on the Wonder through this September; (2) I have more than a few pictures of good old Pikey. In fact, as I look through the photos I have yet to post, I have a lot of photos of good old Pikey. So be sure to check back.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Some of you might be asking yourselves: "Who is this Pikey, and why is he being mentioned so much in this trip report?"

Pikey is a long-time DCL castmember. He has been mentioned several times here on the Disboards. He is an energetic and funny guy.

As I mentioned, the TCD gang has a history with Pikey.

Here are some photos from the TCD archives from our Thanksgiving, 2005 cruise.

This first photo is historic. This is the first time that I met Pikey. It was on the first sea day of our Thanksgiving Magic cruise. This was the "Disney Legs" contest at the adult pool. There were a bunch of Disboarders on that cruise, and I think most of the contestants in this contest were Disboard members. As I remember it, we strutted around the pool. I did cartwheels, and climbed up on the hot tub wall, and leaped from there to the pool (barely making it, I might add) (yes, there was alcohol involved). And, my performance was the tamest! Let's just say there was some gyrating and other things that are better left unmentioned. As I recall, good old Pikey was left speechless, and I also think he was afraid that things had gotten out of hand. Once he got composed, I recall him saying something to the effect that he thought we were on the wrong ship (suggesting that we perhaps should be sailing on a Carnival ), along with some other great comments. I remember him likening my performance to that of an Oompah-Loompah.

This photo was taken on Castaway Cay. I was posing for a photo with Pikey and my DD, when Pikey jumped into my arms:

This is the same DD that you saw dancing with Pikey in the photos earlier in this report.

When we met Pikey on this cruise, I don't think he recognized or remembered us. At first. As we spoke, I reminded him of the Disney legs contest on the Thanksgiving Magic cruise in 2005. And, then he remembered! He said, "Oh, no . . .the Turkey Day Gang!." He remembered! How could he forget?

If you would like to read more about the 2005 Thanksgiving Magic cruise, and Pikey, check out this link: Live from the 11/19 Turkey Day Magic . . . I think that thread has the distinction of being the longest running "live from" thread, and also the only one that had to be locked so it would finally die.

And, now, back to our trip report. . .


TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Before continuing on with the trip report, there is one more thing that I need to discuss.

Money.

I wish more people would discuss prices here on the Disboards, as it might help others know what things really cost, and whether they are getting a good deal or not.

If you get offended by discussions about money, skip this post. The fun photos will resume shortly.

As I mentioned, we sailed on the Wonder in June 2008. That trip was kind of a last minute trip that we planned based on Florida resident rates on DCL. The five of us cruised in two Category 10 (inside) staterooms for about $2500. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

So, when the planning for this cruise began, I was hoping for Florida resident rates again. But, we booked a lot earlier than last year (it was February), and the Florida resident rates for the summer months had not yet been announced. We originally booked two connecting category 10 rooms. There were 6 of us on this trip, and the price was $4438.88 (that is just for the rooms, no insurance, no transfers). In case you're counting, that is almost twice as much as last year's cruise cost us.

As the 90 day mark (when final payment is due) approached, I was checking the DCL website weekly, hoping that Florida resident rates would be announced, but no such luck. So, our payment came due at the full rate. At the time, we debated cancelling the cruise. Once you make your full payment, you are stuck. The cancellation penalty is hefty.

But, I knew something that I learned here on the Disboards. If Florida resident rates are announced before you sail, you can ask for the rate, even though you are paid in full, and DCL will give it to you. They don't publicize this little fact, and I never would have known about it without the Disboards, but it is true. In fact, when I called to make my final payment, I verified with the DCL agent that if Florida resident rates were subsequently announced for my cruise, I would be entitled to a refund.

So we booked.

And the days went by.

And the weeks went by.

I checked the DCL website weekly. When Florida resident rates get offered on a cruise, the new eligible cruises are posted each Monday.

Our cruise never got posted.

When we were about 30 days out, I called DCL to ask if they could tell me if Florida resident rates would be offered on our cruise. I already knew what the answer was. They said they couldn't tell. But, I did find out something useful. When I asked if there was any way to tell other than checking the website, the castmember told me that they could tell me over the phone if I called and asked, and, here is the important part: the rates are sometimes offered before they are posted on the website. I asked if it was OK for me to call every few days. The castmember said it was OK to call daily.

So I did.

And, I got nothing.

Until May 18th.

As in 24 days before we sailed!

We had already received our cruise documents. And, it looked like we were going to be paying a lot of money to sail in Category 10 cabins.

But, when I called on May 18th, the castmember reported that Florida resident rates had been announced for the June 11th sailing!

I asked if I could get the Florida resident rate for my Category 10 cabins. Yes, I could, the castmember replied. What would the new rate be, I asked? Are you sitting down? The new rate was $2239.88! That is $2198.92 less that what I had already paid! And, it was cheaper than what I paid for 5 of us to cruise last year! Wow!

But there was a catch. To get this rate, we would have to give up our assigned cabins, and go with GTY cabins. GTY is an abbreviation for guaranty. What it means is that we were guaranteed to be in at least category 10 cabins, but DCL would ultimately select our cabin numbers. This meant that the cabins would not necessarily be connecting, or even adjoining, or even on the same deck. That was a problem. We were sailing with four teenage girls, one of whom was not our daughter. We wanted to keep an eye on things. That is why we booked connecting cabins in the first place.

So, I asked if I could get the Florida resident rate on a higher category, and actually reserve connecting cabins. Yes, I was told. But, I would have to move up from category 10's to category 5's. That sounded expensive. How much, I asked? The castmember came back with the price: $3318.88. That is still $1120 less than what I had already paid. And, we would have connecting cabins with veranda's on deck 7. I took that deal in a heartbeat. I gave myself my own upgrade, and got $1120 credited back on my credit card!

And, the Florida resident's rate on this cruise was never announced on the DCL website. I never would have gotten it had I not called.

So, that's how cheapskate TCD ended up with connecting veranda cabins on this cruise.

And, I owe it all to the Disboards! I saved over a thousand dollars, and could have saved over two!

That's it. No more money talk. But, I thought someone might like to know.

TCD

 

[Skyw]

I did the same thing when we went 2 years ago. I booked an Oceanview 1.5 years in advance. Then we waited and waited. And I called and called. Then 10 days before the cruise they offered a Military discount. It was not published. I found out because of the Dis boards. I called my TA (USAA travel) and they said they couldn't give me the discount because the cruise was days away. I called Disney. They called the TA for me and helped me with my TA!!! I got a balcony for $400 less then my OV. WOW.

Waiting less then patiently for the rest of your TR

 

[zmom]

First, I am a long time lurker on your many trip reports, the Fort and here, and love them all. Second, thanks for the info on FL resident rates. I am sailing my first cruise ever on July 12 (I think I could have gotten FL resident rates, but booked with military rates since I'm taking my folks along) and had been considering rebooking onboard for another 3 or 4 day. I didn't think I could do that and take advantage of last minute FL resident rates too, but maybe I can! I always thought you had to cancel and rebook to get rates after final payment date.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

By popular demand, let’s return to posting photos and the running TCD commentary.

I forgot to point out something when I posted this photo, above:

Do you see the guy in the green shirt there in the background?

What the heck is he doing?

I didn’t notice him until I looked at these photos.

Looks like an annoying little brother situation, right?

But check my man out in these photos:

I hate to point out the obvious, as those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, but little brother has a bit of a hair issue there, doesn’t he? I think this is Dad, not brother. And my girls think I’m embarrassing?

Moving right along, the Sail Away party began to hit its peak. I knew that somewhere out there castmembers were carefully observing, looking for four able gentlemen to join the festivities on stage.

In case you didn’t notice, the main host of the sail away party was none other than my good buddy Pikey. Here he is leading the crowd in a dance to the famous classic “Wipe Out” song:

We continued our dancing:

And then, I got the tap on my shoulder. It was a castmember. In a yellow shirt. Pardon me, sir, he said, but would you come with me for a moment. I knew what this was about. He led me over to an area near the stage. He said Pikey had asked him to get me, and that I should wait there for further instructions. So, I waited.

But, then I saw another castmember in a yellow shirt walk up to the stage with four gentlemen in tow. I saw them go up and begin their preparations to go on stage. What was going on here?

I left the area where I was told to wait, and rejoined my party on the dance floor.

Be careful if you hang out in this area, as you may find you mug projected on the big screen, whether you want to or not. Like this lady:

Now, when was the last time you saw a sweet Afro like that?

Anyway, as I am on the dance floor, Pikey called this guy up from the audience to join him on stage:

He was asked to join the performers in a dance number honoring the Boy Bands of days gone by. This guy did a great job. Somehow, I think that Pikey may have had his eye on me for this role, which is why I was supposed to be waiting in the area I was brought to near the stage. Oh well, my bad.

After the Boy Band tribute, Pikey introduced our Cruise Director, Christian. Christian entered with a nice handspring. I was impressed. Here, Christian greets us:

I have never been on a cruise where Christian was the Cruise Director. I liked him. He also informed us that we would not be sailing at 5, because a group of about 40 cruisers had been delayed in arriving because of storms in Texas earlier in the day. He said we should sail by about 5:45.
So, the party continued . . .

These four guys came out:

Do you see something wrong with that picture?

That’s right!

No TCD!

But, it was all good. These guys did a great job. The construction worker, in particular, was very unhappy to be there. Good times! These guys received their moment of cruise immortality by getting their performance flashed on the big screen:

And, you know if you picked for this honor, you get a free drink! So, I missed out on the glory and a drink.

My DD snapped this photo to show how devastated I was by this omission. But, as you can see, it was all good:

I had already had my turn as a Village Person on our last cruise, so this time, four other guys got to have some fun.

I have been trying to post photos in order, but forgot about these three that were taken on some of the girls’ cameras. While roaming the ship that afternoon, the girls ran into Chip and Dale twice:

Here are the TCD twins at the front of the ship on Deck 10:

I think we are now at over a hundred photos on this trip report.

And, the boat still has not moved!

We are still docked at the port.

Will the 40 folks delayed by the storm make it to the ship?

Will we see Pikey again?

Are we having fun yet?

Check back to find out.

TCD

 

[Kika]

I am loving your trip report!

Also, thanks for posting your experience with the FL resident discount, etc. This info is very helpful to me.

 

[IrenicMom]

I've read your June 2008 3 day report and now this one - great info!

 

[dollysmom]

When we were looking into booking our first disney cruise last July, I read your trip report. I have only ever that one report. I have tried to read more, but none of them are as entertaining or as informative. I was so excited to see that you had returned to DCL for another adventure. Keep the story coming and love all of the pics. Please keep getting those great florida rates and keep cruising. I think we may have to move to Florida just to get those great prices!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I am loving your trip report!

Also, thanks for posting your experience with the FL resident discount, etc. This info is very helpful to me.

Glad to be of help. If you have any questions, be sure to ask.

I've read your June 2008 3 day report and now this one - great info!

Keep on reading! I am trying to include different photos and report on different activities so this report will be different from last year's.

When we were looking into booking our first disney cruise last July, I read your trip report. I have only ever that one report. I have tried to read more, but none of them are as entertaining or as informative. I was so excited to see that you had returned to DCL for another adventure. Keep the story coming and love all of the pics. Please keep getting those great florida rates and keep cruising. I think we may have to move to Florida just to get those great prices!!

Wow! All the way from Nova Scotia. Isn't the internet great? Thanks for the compliment, I will try to make this report entertaining and informative too.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Time for another post.

Maybe we will finally get to the part where the ship begins to move.

Then, again, maybe we won't.

I hope that you are getting my first point.

Which is, the day you board is the first day of your cruise. Do not squander it! Like me, you need to start your party when you get to the terminal!

Now, where were we?

Oh yes, still at the sail away party.

It was very nice of DCL to postpone the sailing so the delayed passengers could join us.

But, it was a bit of a disappointment that the Sail Away party did not conclude with the sounding of the ship's horn, and feeling the ship shudder into motion.

The party continued just a bit past five.

Did you notice how crowded it was up on deck? At first, it seemed like the ship was full. But, as the cruise progressed, I don't think it was. It was kind of weird. This seemed like the busiest sail away that we experienced, but then once the cruise began, it was very uncrowded. Strange.

But, we will get to that in due time.

First, let's finish up with the Sail Away pics.

After the YMCA performance, Pikey invited all kids up on stage to dance:

Check out my man is the skipper hat:

If I could have found this poor boy's mom, I would have given her a serious talking too. I mean, come on.

More partying!:

Did I mention that it was a very hot afternoon?

Well, it was.

So, as the party wound down, Pikey asked everyone to leave the dance floor so they could open up the pool. This still fascinates me. So, here are some photos of this process:

So, here I am documenting this process for you folks on the Disboards, when I happened to glance over to where Mrs. TCD had been hanging out. And, look what I saw:

Yes, that is Pikey hitting on my wife! The nerve of this guy! Actually, this proves that he remembered the Turkey Day Gang, as he approached my Wife and said that he remembered her from the Thanksgiving Magic cruise. Good pick up line!

We brought my oldest DD's BFF over to meet Pikey. It was an instant crush:

Her mother is mad at me now. Her daughter has talked non-stop about Pikey since she got home! And, I promised that I would watch her like a hawk.

Here is Pikey with the TCD girls:

I mentioned how crowded it seemed, right?

As we headed over to the drink station, I snapped these photos of the Mickey pool:

Sorry, but that is 20 pics. So time to finish this post.

I promise you that you will see pics of the ship moving in my next post!

TCD

 

[ilovecraigandcooper]

MORE, MORE, MORE, (please) IM HOOKED!

 

[lisa702]

Waiting for more!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

You want more?

Here comes some more . . .

The Sail Away party wrapped up, but we did not sail. We were waiting for the poor folks who had been delayed because of the storms in Texas. Some of the girls had decided that they wanted to go watch the Hannah Montana movie, but Mrs. TCD and I, along with one DD hung out on deck.

At about 5:45, I looked out over the water, and it looked like we were moving!

Strangely, there was no announcement, no sounding of the horn, and we didn't even feel the ship begin to move, but we were moving. We hurried up to Deck 10 so we could get a good look at things. The terminal was already fading in the distance:

Then, when we were already moving, and had traveled a bit of distance, the captain came over the loudspeaker and announced that the horn would be sounding from the forward funnel, in case anyone wanted to cover his ears. That's where we were! If you look in this photo, you can see the little white horns nestled in the funnel:

I don't remember the captain announcing when the horn would sound before. But, he did it every time the horn was sounded. And, that was only about three times on the entire cruise. I think the horn used to be sounded more than that on our previous DCL cruises.

We continued to move down the channel:

Here are Mrs. TCD and DD:

Here are me and Mrs. TCD:

I love to watch the banks of the channel as we travel out to sea:

Lots of folks seem to like this, too:

This was neat. These people apparently knew someone on the ship, as some of the folks in the group that I just posted a photo of, were yelling and waving to them. If you ever want to wave to people on this ships, this would be a good place to do so:

The last thing that we came to as we left the channel is Jetty Park. Here we are approaching it:

Here are some shots of the park itself. There are campsites there, and you can camp. It might be fun, but I don't think I would like the lack of shade:

That boat that you saw in the photo above is a boat that picks up the Pilot from the ship after it leaves the channel:

I will post some photos later that I took from my Veranda that show how the Pilot boats approach the ship to pick up or drop off a pilot.

Here is the beach as we leave the channel. This beach looks pretty nice. It would be a fun place to hang out and watch the ships:

Mrs. TCD and DD again:

And, with that, we left the channel and headed off to sea.

From here, we headed down to the cabins to prepare for our first night aboard the Wonder.

The cruise has really begun now!

Coming up, fun and games on our first night at sea!

BTW- Later that night, one of the DD's told us that she was out on the Veranda right before we sailed, and saw a group of folks hurried onto the ship. They didn't even come through the terminal, but walked right on to the ship through the entrance right below our cabin. So, they made it. But, what a hectic way to begin your vacation.

TCD

 

[HappyGrumpy]

I can finally go to bed now that you have posted!!!

 

[SoExcited!]

I NEED MORE!!!!!!!!

 

[Leger13]

we're out to sea!!!

 

[Skyw]

I remember that camp ground from when I was a kid. I was on a band trip and we got to go to "a beach". It was that camp ground with no beach. It totally stunk.!!!

Waiting for more.

 

[IrenicMom]

Yay! Glad we're out to sea.

I'll admit to stalking this thread LOL!!

 

[ears4four]

I love your trip report!! Me , my DH , DS (11) , and DD (9) are sailing on the 3 night Wonder on July 30th.

This is our first cruise and we are all very excited. We will be spending 7 nights at the Polynesian before boarding.

I love all your pictures and look forward to more info!