6/5/08 3 Night Wonder Trip Report- with Navigators, 20 tips, and 100+ photos!!!

[Tri-circle-D]

Introduction

Have you ever thought about taking a last minute DCL cruise? I have. Lots of times. Well in late April or early May of this year, DCL announced Florida Residents’ rates on some of the May and June three night Wonder cruises. Mrs. TCD and I talked about it, and I called DCL, and before we knew it, we were booked for the June 5 cruise!

The TCD family consists of me (TCD), Mrs. TCD, and our three DD’s aged 16, 13 and 13. The younger girls just turned 13 at the end of May.

We have cruised aboard DCL twice before. Our first cruise was in November 2004 for a four night cruise on Thanksgiving week. We re-booked while on-board for Thanksgiving 2005 aboard the Magic. That was a cruise to remember. At the time, we were not sure when we would cruise again, and we just never got around to setting another cruise date.

We are campers, and spend a lot of time camping at Fort Wilderness in WDW. We spent Thanksgiving week at Fort Wilderness in 2006 and 2007, and probably will again in 2008.

We always thought that a three night cruise would be too painfully short, that we never even considered one. But, after checking on the Florida Residents’ rates, we thought it would be fun to give a three night cruise a chance.

We are glad that we did. While a 7 night cruise is still our ideal, a three night cruise can be a lot of fun, and we probably will do another one rather than a 7 night cruise.

To save some more $$$, we booked connecting category 10’s for our family. On our previous cruises, we booked connecting 9’s. The savings on this cruise was around $400, so we figured this would be our chance to give the inside cabins a try.

Well, enough with the introduction, let’s get to the trip report, shall we?
In this report, I will provide you with 20 useful tips, complete copies of the three night Navigators, and at least 100 photos.
Let’s get on with it, then.

Embarkation
I should have mentioned that before cruising on DCL, Mrs. TCD and I have enjoyed cruises on Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival ships, as well as a couple of cruises on the Big Red Boat when our oldest DD was 5-6 years old.

The DCL embarkation process is so much better than any other cruise lines.
Just arriving to the DCL terminal is exciting, and such a great way to begin a cruise.

I should also mention that the tips I provide in this report (with one major exception that you will read about later) are not original. Almost all of them came from the Disboards.

Tip #1: Arrive Early. The terminal opens at 10 am.

We are Florida residents, and we drive to the terminal. On this trip, as we have with our other cruises, we arrived at the terminal at about 9:45 am. We were directed to an area of the overflow parking lot, where we were told to wait with a few of the other early arrivals. Right at 10, we were directed into the main parking area, and to an area where our luggage was unloaded. A porter took the luggage from us right there, and Mrs. TCD and the DD’s went into the terminal while I went to park the car.

Since the Magic is away in California this summer, we were able to park right in the main parking lot. Parking is $15 per day, and they have you pay at a booth right there. You can use a credit card.

After parking the car, I went ahead into the terminal. Mrs. TCD was in the check-in line for Castaway Club members. She was second in line. The signs on the check in counter say that check in does not start until 11 am, but the castmembers were logging on to their computers and getting ready to start checking in guests as we stood there.

At about 10:20, we were called up to the counter. I had completed the on-line check in process, so all I had to do was hand the pages that I had printed from my home computer to the castmember, and show her my credit card. She also checked everyone’s birth certificate, as well as my and Mrs. TCD’s drivers’ licenses. This whole process took maybe five minutes. Before I knew it, I was handed my Key to the World Cards (KTTW), and Castaway Club lanyards, as well as a #2 Boarding Pass, and we were checked in. It was probably about 10:30.

Tip #2- Take advantage of the online check-in. It greatly expedites the check-in process.

I inquired about the possibility of upgrading our cabins, and was directed down the row to a supervisor. There were some navigator verandah rooms, and family suites available, but not at a good price, so we stuck with our category 10’s.

That gave us plenty of time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the terminal. After completing the check in, that really only gave us about an hour to wait before boarding. That hour goes fast, and it is just plain fun to relax in the terminal and take in all of the excitement and energy.
We took one of these photos:

And, we got to meet a few characters:

Also, at this time, I went back out to the car to get my beer and rolling cooler. This is probably the best tip that I got to the Disboards. The cruise documents state very clearly no coolers. There are signs right at the security area for check in saying no alcohol. But, for some reason, DCL will let you bring a cooler full of booze right onto the ship. The big no-no is that you cannot have ice in your cooler. I really think that is so you don’t get the x-ray machine belt wet, not for any other reason.

So, what I do is I have a regular cooler out in the car with all of the beer iced down. I also freeze a few bottles of water. I take the beer out of the ice and put it in my rolling cooler with the frozen water bottles. Then I wheeled the cooler right up to security. The guard asks what is in the cooler, I told him beer, He asked is there any ice in there? I said no. He said put it on the belt, and I did. Then on I went without a problem, I never even had to open the cooler.

Tip #3- Bring some of your favorite adult beverages on board. If you enjoy these, it is nice to have them handy in your room, or even to bring up onto the deck, or onto Castaway Cay.

While you wait in the terminal, your kids can meet some of the youth team members, and you can also register them for the clubs. Since we now have all teenagers, we did not have to register anyone, but the DD’s enjoyed speaking to these castmembers about what activities were available for teens, and they had copies of that day’s Navigators there at the table, so we could get a preview of what was scheduled for the day. Also, this is a chance to see who else will be cruising with you. Unfortunately, there was no thread started on the meets section of the Disboards for this cruise, so we had no Dis friends to meet.

In what seemed like no time, an announcement was made for guests holding #2 Boarding Passes to proceed to the boarding area, and we walked through the mouse ears to the area where our photo was taken:

And then . . . .we were aboard the Wonder. It was about 11:45 a.m.!

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Continuing on- I know this is going a little slow, but things will get interesting by the time we sail, so keep reading.

Aboard the Wonder

As you enter the ship, you will be stopped by a castmember who will ask the family name. He or she will then announce your arrival, and other castmembers in the atrium will applaud you! Such fun!
We were announced about by Neville. We didn’t know it yet, but he would become one of our favorite castmembers on board.

As you enter the atrium, a castmember will direct you to either Parrot Cay, or Deck 9 for lunch. Since we were one of the first families to board, we were offered the choice, and we chose Parrot Cay. We have always eaten our first lunch here, and probably always will. As you walk toward Parrot Cay, the Guest Services desk will be on your right. Right in front of the desk is a rack that will have the day’s Navigator on it. Try to remember to pick one up! Lunch is the perfect time to look at the Navigator, and try to plan out your day.

Tip #4- Pick up a copy of the daily Navigator when you enter the ship.

In Parrot Cay, we were escorted to a table, where a waiter took our drink orders and promptly served us. It is nice and cool in Parrot Cay, and we were among the first to go through the buffet line.

This guy was working the room:

DD was the first to get ice cream in Parrot Cay:

We always try to have a leisurely lunch when we board, and use this time to try to plan out the afternoon. Mrs. TCD and one DD wanted to just hang out on Deck 9, and the other two DD’s wanted to explore the ship. So that is what we did. We brought 2 way radios, and this is really the only time that we used them. Since we were still in port, cell phones would have worked too.

So, we finish lunch, and go on our way.

We carried bathing suits aboard, and changed in the restrooms located between the Mickey and Goofy pools, and had our choice of lounge chairs. It was a beautiful sunny day. I think we had a lot of first time cruisers on this cruise, as not many people were enjoying the deck, and a few who were did not have their bathing suits.

We got a couple drinks of the day, and enjoyed the sun. At a little after 2 pm, the ship’s DJ’s came out, and began playing music, and taking requests. The DD who was with us enjoyed that. Our other DD’s came by for a visit and told us that they had been to the room and had dragged all the luggage in. Mrs. TCD decided to head down to the cabin at around 3:00 ,and I stayed till just about 3:30, when all services are suspended for the safety drill.

I went to the cabin, and got my suitcase unpacked, I encouraged the girls to do the same, and we were pretty much unpacked, with the suitcases stowed under the beds by the time we were called to our muster station. I suggest that you do the same. There is plenty of space to place your suitcase contents, and get those bags out of the way. This was easy to do on a three night cruise, as we had so much less than on a seven night.
We also had time to get our magnets up on the cabin doors. This is a fun little touch, and it also helps you to find your cabin. A special thanks to Disboard member TooExcitedtoSleep for the DCL name tag magnets.

Tip # 5- Decorate your cabin door. Make some magnets before you go.

Here is what ours looked like:

The safety drill went really fast, and we were back to the cabins to drop off our life jackets. Then we headed up to the sail away party. This is something that I never want to miss!

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Sorry- it's a little dull so far. This is where things pick up. A little.

Sail Away!

a/k/a Adventures Away Celebration.

We all head up to deck 9. Do not miss the sail away on a Disney Ship!

Tip #6 Do not miss the Sail Away!

What a fun time the sail away celebration always is.

I guess this event has a new name, but the concept is the same as always. High energy music and dancing from the cast members.

We grab a drink and get our party on.

They have free streamers for folks to wave. I don't remember those.

Here are the girls dancing:

Everything is played on the big screen TV (official name is Ariel View Television):

We have fun seeing ourselves on TV.

As I am busting a move, two young castmembers approach and ask if I can help with the celebration. They need some men to come up on stage to dance to Y.M.C.A. Since I was around when the Village People were new, I accepted the offer. Also, it was my chance to practice some of my dance moves for the Pirate Dancing contest (which I am sad to report I later learned has been discontinued). I came in second in the pirate dance competition on our last cruise, and this was my chance to shine.

So, the DD's were treated to this:

Does that Indian- I mean Native American- look familiar?

Here I am on the big screen:

After all these years, I think it is getting harder and harder to embarrass the DD's, but I think I did it during the sail away. Take a look at this (thankfully) short video clip:



Honestly, now, when is the last time you saw that kind of dancing? Hopefully, never! This is the part where the trip report starts to get funny. You have to admit that is some funny dancing.

Anyway, the cast was very appreciative of my enthusiastic dancing, and they handed each of us a free drink on our way off the stage. Mine was like a strawberry Pina Colada. I didn't know that I was going to get a free drink. The thunderous applause way payment enough for my efforts.

Soon enough, the festivities end with that famous sounding of the horn, and we are moving!!!

Have you ever wondered how they can cover and then open the Goofy pool so quickly for events?

Well, here is something that I never saw before, and perhaps you have not either:

It is basically a tug of war, and they slide those big panels back. No sooner were those panels open, that the pool was full of kids.

We headed up to deck 10 to watch the sights on our way out to sea.

Here is a photo of Mrs. TCD and the girls:

As we passed this restaurant, we saw folks waving to us with Mickey gloves on their hands:

We stay up top for just a little longer, and then we head down to the cabins to get ready for the Golden Mickeys.

TCD

 

[Suzanne74]

great report - keep it up!!!!

 

[MTMom]

Thanks for your trip report and fabulous photos! Have you seen those Disney commercials where the parent turns into a child for a day? Well, I have a feeling that's how you feel when at WDW or on DCL. I know I do! We are spending a week at WDW (a few of those at Universal) followed by a 3 night cruise. We've done 3, 4 and 7 night cruises, and the shorter ones seem to work best for our family. I am anxiously awaiting the rest of your report.....

 

[MTMom]

Oh, and btw, it's not dull at all!!

 

[okwminnie]

Love your report and photos! I feel like I am on the ship, too - can't wait for the next installment!

 

[BrettySpaghetti]

Talk about a smile that lights up the whole world! I am putting a copy of this photo on my bulletin board.

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Hi TCD!

Great trip report and great family pix!!! We want to hear more!!!

Lisa and Chuck

 

[ScotnSteph]

I love your trip report. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for more.

Stephanie

 

[wilma-bride]

Great trip report so far - it's not boring/slow at all so don't worry about it. Great dancing, by the way - not sure if it's a saying you have over there but my kids would call that 'Dad dancing'

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Thanks for your trip report and fabulous photos! Have you seen those Disney commercials where the parent turns into a child for a day? Well, I have a feeling that's how you feel when at WDW or on DCL. I know I do! We are spending a week at WDW (a few of those at Universal) followed by a 3 night cruise. We've done 3, 4 and 7 night cruises, and the shorter ones seem to work best for our family. I am anxiously awaiting the rest of your report.....

Yes- I know the commercials that you are referring to. Yes, that is me for sure, although my DW would say that I act like a kid most of the time at home too.

Hi TCD!

Great trip report and great family pix!!! We want to hear more!!!

Lisa and Chuck

Hey Lisa and Chuck, my old Turkey Day Gang buddies. Thanks for reading along. Hopefully, you guys will find some useful information in my report, although y'all are by far more experienced on DCL than I am.

I love your trip report. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for more.

Stephanie

Mom? Is that you? I didn't even know you had a computer in the nursing home!

Great trip report so far - it's not boring/slow at all so don't worry about it. Great dancing, by the way - not sure if it's a saying you have over there but my kids would call that 'Dad dancing'

DAD DANCING? What is that crack supposed to mean? Actually, that is a more charitable description than I would get from my DD's. I like that term.
Reminds me of when the fellow who beat me in the pirate dancing on the '05 Thanksgiving Magic cruise did the Curly shuffle, and his DD's asked him where he learned how to break dance!

Keep reading folks, it picks up from here.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

The First Night

So, we are on our way.

We have late seating. We have always had late seating. I can't imagine having to be in the dining rooms by 6:15.

We head back to the cabins to get ready to go to tonight's show, which is the Golden Mickeys. That surprised me a little bit, as the first show used to be Hercules, and the Golden Mickeys would be on the second night. Since Toy Story replaced Hercules, I expected it to be the first show.

Oh, I forgot a tip. If you are prone to sea-sickness, the first night of the cruise is usually the roughest. Take your Bonine in the afternoon before the ship starts to move. If you have second seating for dinner, the ship is going to be rocking and rolling when you are trying to eat. On our last cruise, about half the dining room did not make it through dinner. As I stated earlier, we have been on a lot of cruises, and when ships leave Port Canaveral and travel through the Gulf stream, there will be some roughness. On this particular cruise, we were blessed with smooth seas the entire time, so we had no problems with motion sickness whatsoever.

Tip #7- If you are prone to sea sickness, take your medication before the ship starts to move! If you wait until you start to feel ill, it will be too late.

So, anyway, we are going to go to see the Golden Mickeys. It is a great show, and the pre-show is fun too. A red carpet is set up leading into the theatre, and cast members pretend to be paparazzi and take photos of you as you walk in. Also, there is a castmember who interviews the arriving guests, and the interviews are played on the big screens in the theatre.

Here is DD getting interviewed by Rona Rivers:

Rona asks predictable questions, like "who is your favorite Disney princess?" We have had a joke planned out since our last cruise that if Rona ever asked DD this question, she is supposed to answer: "Why, you are, Oprah!" But, luckily for us all, Rona did not ask that question.

We enjoyed the show, although there was some type of technical difficulty which required the show to actually stop before it was finished. Never heard what it was, and I am not sure that folks even knew that they missed something.

Here at the show was our first chance to hear from our Cruise Director, Clayton. I give him two thumbs up . Our favorite cruise director yet! Very full of positive energy. I will take this opportunity to also comment how impressed we were with all of the staff on the Wonder. These people really worked as a team, and all of them really seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. The Captain, John, who was introduced at the beginning of the show, also seemed to have a more relaxed attitude than the Captains on our previous cruises. The positive energy flowed throughout our cruise!

Another tip:

Tip #8- Go to the shows! These are an important part of the cruise experience, and you will get information from the Captain and Cruise Director that you might otherwise not receive.

Have you ever seen one of Disney's Broadway productions? The quality of the performances that you will see aboard the Magic or Wonder compares favorably to those shows. Try not to miss the shows!

After the Golden Mickeys, we have about an hour before dinner. So, we stop by Studio Sea for the Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer game show. Here is another tip:

Tip #9- Every night of your cruise, there will be a family event in between the show and dinner ( or right after dinner and before the show if you have early seating). Go to it. These shows are fun for everyone, and you can also win something!

So, here we are in Studio Sea:

As you enter the room, you are handed a number on a piece of paper. This is how they choose the contestants.

In the meantime, we had a drink. I finally ordered a Mojito. On our last cruise, some of my cruising buddies raved over these, and for some reason I never ordered one. Back on land, I have ordered Mojio's a couple of times, and never saw what the fuss was about. But, here on DCL, the Mojito is a very nice drink. It is full of lime and mint, and just right for drinking on a ship.
Here is me with my Mojito:

I would have given it two thumbs up, but then I might have spilled a little of it.

So, the game show begins. It is modeled after Who Wants to be a Millionaire? A contestant is chosen, and is placed in the hot seat, where the hostess asks questions. The questions are not too difficult, and there are lifelines. If you are chosen to play, you receive a pin, and if you win, you receive a paperweight. I recall that the game was a little harder on our previous cruises, and that the prize may have been a little nicer.

The first couple of contestants are called. One young lady flames out, the other wins the paperweight. And then . . . DD's number is called!

She is in the hot seat:

Well, I would like to tell you she won the paperweight, but no such luck. She did pretty well, but ended up with a pretty tough question. She used her 50/50 and guessed wrong . The question was about what attraction at Epcot used more computers than the Space Shuttle. The 50/50 choices were Test Track or Spaceship Earth. She chose SE, but the correct answer was TT. Oh, well, maybe next time.

And now, it is time to eat!

TCD

 

[Live4FW]

This is great. After so many trips to the Fort, it is great seeing it from a regular FWer's perspective. Keep it up. My wife and I are taking our inauguaral cruise in Sept on the 3 night Wonder.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

This is great. After so many trips to the Fort, it is great seeing it from a regular FWer's perspective. Keep it up. My wife and I are taking our inauguaral cruise in Sept on the 3 night Wonder.

Hello Camping Buddy! Please keep reading. I have to say that a cruise on DCL is almost as nice as a visit to FW! They even have an outdoor movie screen (copied from the Fort). This was our first 3 night cruise, but third Disney cruise. If you follow my tips, you will be fine!

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Dinner at Parrot Cay

Our dining rotation for this cruise is Parrot Cay, Triton's, and Animator's Palette. You can find that by looking at your KTTW card. Your table number is on there too.

As has already been reported on the Disboards, they have done away with staggered seating, which means that everyone with your dinner seating shows up at the same time. What do you think happens? You are right- a long line waiting to get into the dining room. No biggie, but I like staggered seating better. The line moves quick, and the service in the dining rooms was great- I mean excellent as usual.

For some reason, I used to like Parrot Cay the least in the dining rotation, but now I like it the best. I like the atmosphere and menu in here better than the other restaurants.

On every DCL cruise we have been on, there has been a Conga line in Parrot Cay after dinner, and tonight was no exception:

As you might have noticed from these photos, we in the TCD family appreciate a good Conga line.

Here is out waiter, Nino- it is an action shot- the man never stood still so we could take a photo. He and our assistant server, Ava, earned excellent marks on our comment cards, and a little extra tip $$$ as well:

One thing about late seating, is that you sit down to eat at 8:15, and inevitably it is well past 10 when you are done. I don't think we finished up with dessert until about 10:15 here on our first night.

After dinner, the three teenagers (I am still getting used to the fact that all my kids are teenagers now) wanted to go to the "411 Information Session" in Aloft, and Mrs. TCD and I wanted to go back to the cabin to make sure everything was unpacked. We agreed to meet back at the cabin before 11, so we could go to the Buena Vista Theatre to see College Road Trip.

So, the girls went, off, and before long we were all back at the cabins to go to the movie. Mrs. TCD bowed out, so it was me and the girls. I strongly recommend that you try to catch at least one movie in the Buena Vista Theatre on your cruise. The Theatre is gorgeous and comfortable, and the sound and lighting are great.

Tip #10- Try to catch a movie in the Buena Vista Theatre while you are aboard.

We had all seen College Road Trip before. I give it two thumbs up. It stars Martin Lawrence and Raven Simone, but in my opinion, Donny Osmond, who plays a supporting role, steals the show. And, this movie is rated G! True family fun!

Well, we made it to the theatre by 11, but it wasn't long before my eyelids were getting really heavy. I finally told the DD's that I was going back to the cabin some time before midnight. They all wanted to stay and finish watching the movie. So, I went back to the cabin. It wasn't 15 minutes before they joined me. They were all tired, too.

So, at just after midnight, we called it a night. It was a good first day.

Next, the wonderful island of Nassau, and a tip that I know you have never read here on the Disboards.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I promised Navigators, so here we go.

First, this is the one page sheet they give you at check-in. There is a map of the ship on the back:

While somewhat useful, this does not have nearly the information that you need to have. Like I said, pick up a Navigator right outside the Guest Services desk on Deck 3 as soon as you board. There will be one in your cabin, but you can't go there until 1:30.

Here is the whole first day Navigator:

IMHO, the most important page is page 2, which has the grid of activities. Make sure that you review this, and that you don't overlook something that you might want to do.

Another tip:

Tip #11- You cannot do everything that is offered-so make a reasonable plan, and don't kill yourself trying to do too much.

Looking at the day one schedule, I would have loved to watch some Karaoke, and to visit Diversions for some of the activities there, but there was just no way. I didn't sweat it, and you shouldn't either. Just do the best you can.

Oh, and here is the movie and TV schedule, just to give you an idea of what might be offered on your cruise. These also can be picked up as soon as you board, and copies will be in your cabin.

In addition to these, movies are also played on the Ariel View Television up on deck 9.

TCD

Next, Nassau

 

[Gatordad]

Man, that trip report was otter this world...... Your family is beautifuly, you must be proud as a peacock! Do you know if they serve a drink called Kungaloosh on board?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Man, that trip report was otter this world...... Your family is beautifuly, you must be proud as a peacock! Do you know if they serve a drink called Kungaloosh on board?

Nicely Done!

Now, go back to the camping community board before I lose all of my new cruising buddy readers!

Nobody here knows anything about otters, peacocks or kungaloosh.

TCD

 

[clkelley]

Great report TCD!!! Looks like fun!!