TCD...there was a very small cruise thread for this cruise because I posted on it!! We were on the cruise and we had actually done the 4 day DD right before this one. (turned into a B2B) It was cool to stay on the ship. There were a couple of families that did this. If you saw an older lady in a wheelchair she was 102 years old. They did the B2B too and we had sailed with them 2 years ago. DD14 went to the Aloft some . I'll ask her if she met your DD's. We had a great time. Sorry we didn't get to meet you though.
6/5/08 3 Night Wonder Trip Report- with Navigators, 20 tips, and 100+ photos!!!
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<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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Intrigued? Then you will need to read on to see how the TCD gang partied with the Bahamians on their national holiday!
more more - I can't keep waiting....
I've got some more coming up. Hang in there!
I just have to tell you I love your TR! Your family really seems like a lot of fun! You have a beautiful family, and from the looks of your pics a really outgoing fun loving family! Cant wait to hear more!
Outgoing? Fun loving? True! (well, for most of us, anyway!)
WHAT? I never saw any meets thread for this cruise! Of course, we only had about a month from booking until cruising, and would not have done much chatting anyway, but I would have loved to meet up with a Disboard buddy. I'm thinking a B2B would be pretty sweet. Maybe I will need to consider one next time!
Read on everybody- there's still plenty more to tell.
Including a tip that you have never heard of on the Disboards, but you will be glad to know!
TCD
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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- 4,937
Sorry- before going on to our adventures in Nassau, there is a tip that I forgot to mention.
Tip #13- Spend some time exploring the ship!
One of the great things about the DCL ships is that they have some remarkable public spaces. Early in the morning and late at night, you can wander around and literally feel like you have the ship to yourself.
You also might see some interesting behind the scenes things, like how those Nescafe coffee makers work.
These coffee machines are at all the WDW resorts. This stuff has a taste and look that strongly resembles coffee, but there is something not quite right about it. Well, here is a shot of what those machines use to make your coffee. It is a box of something. What is in that box, I couldn't tell you. In this scene, the castmember is replacing the box. See the extra box on the counter on the left of the machine? I tried to grab it so I could send it to the lab for analysis, but there were too many witnesses around.
At least we know it isn't coffee that comes out of those machines.
But if it isn't coffee, what is in that box?
TCD
Tip #13- Spend some time exploring the ship!
One of the great things about the DCL ships is that they have some remarkable public spaces. Early in the morning and late at night, you can wander around and literally feel like you have the ship to yourself.
You also might see some interesting behind the scenes things, like how those Nescafe coffee makers work.
These coffee machines are at all the WDW resorts. This stuff has a taste and look that strongly resembles coffee, but there is something not quite right about it. Well, here is a shot of what those machines use to make your coffee. It is a box of something. What is in that box, I couldn't tell you. In this scene, the castmember is replacing the box. See the extra box on the counter on the left of the machine? I tried to grab it so I could send it to the lab for analysis, but there were too many witnesses around.
At least we know it isn't coffee that comes out of those machines.
But if it isn't coffee, what is in that box?
TCD
HoosierFrog
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2008
- Messages
- 249
My DW and I are planning our first cruise ever on Sept 25, 2008 aboard the Wonder for a 3 day. This is an amazing TR, thanks for all the great info. Reading this report helps to calm my vacation woes, 3 months seems so far away.
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2004
- Messages
- 4,937
Our Adventures in Nassau
OK, if you are paying attention, you know the plan is for me and two of the DD's to make a quick trip to the island, and get back on the ship.
So, at about 10:30 or so, we head down to the Deck 1 gangway, and head out to Nassau.
Today there are two other big ships docked with us at Nassau. Lots of folks are walking down the dock to the city. Here, as soon as you get off the dock you are in the city. You can see the "world famous" straw market and Senior Frog's restaurant from the ship. They are about three blocks away from where you enter the city from the dock. But before you get there, you will have to run the gauntlet of the locals hawking hair braiding, taxi rides, cigars, t-shirts, etc. Here on Nassau, the locals are very polite, and will leave you alone at the first "No, Thank You." I appreciate that. Be polite to them, and they are polite to you. That is not the case in every cruise port.
So, here we are on the dock, looking back toward the Wonder, as well as the other visiting ships:
And here we are at the end of the dock, entering Nassau:
As you enter Nassau, you are forced into a building that the Bahamian government must have built. It is kind of like a not so nice mall. There are little shops in there, and counters where all types of excursions are being sold. Keep on walking. There are signs to the exit. As you exit, there will be about 50 (or more) gentlemen offering to give you a ride to wherever you may wish to go on the island. You must tell each of them no thank you. Even if one of them already heard you say no thank you, he is still going to ask you. Maybe you will change your mind? Also, these fellows will ask you where you are going. If you say you are just going to walk to the straw market, they will advise you to take a cab, as the walk is longer than it looks. It isn't. You can practically see the straw market from where you are. Keep walking, they will leave you alone.
Tip # 14- If you are going to shop on Nassau, you do not need a cab. No matter what the nice men at the port mall tell you. Nassau is an easy city to walk around.
And then, you are in beautiful Nassau.
As we entered the city, we heard loud music, and could see that there was a parade going down the street, just the next block over. We love parades!
We must go look!
So we do.
This was quite a big parade. The strange thing was, that every participant in the parade had on the same yellow t-shirt, and every truck had a sign for Perry Christie, whoever he is:
It turns out that June 6th is the Bahamian Labor Day! A lot of streets are closed, and I am sorry to report that a lot of the stores were also closed.
It seems like everybody on this island is partying. If Perry Christie is running for office, then he clearly is going to win, because I didn't see his opponent's face anywhere.
Anyway, like I said, we like parades, so we ask the folks in the yellow t-shirts if we can join in . . .
Well, there you have it. The TCD family has officially endorsed Perry Christie. (I hope that he isn't a communist or something).
We walk along the parade route, and arrive at the "world famous" Straw Market:
Yes, that is really it.
The sad thing is that when we were last in the Bahamas in 2004, the building in which the Straw Market was housed had been destroyed by a hurricane. So, it was moved into this temporary structure. As I said that was in 2004. This was 2008. The old site is still just vacant ground. I guess they are still in the permitting process?
Anyway, I have to tell you that the old location wasn't that much nicer than this temporary location. I remember the first time we went and wondering what is the attraction of this place? And why is it called the Straw Market? It should be called the cheap t-shirt and fake purse market.
Sorry. So, we buy a few Bahamas t-shirts, and we are ready for our walk back to the ship.
As we exited the ship, the oldest DD noticed that there is now a Starbucks in Nassau (you are not surprised to hear that, are you?), and she wished to visit there on the way back to the ship. What the heck.
Here it is:
Wow! It looks just like a Starbucks. What a surprise. There are a lot of young people in here with their laptops. I think this must be a hangout for the cruise employees. I don't recognize anyone from the Wonder, but the young people look like they work on cruise ships.
We have our coffee (much better than Nescafe), and head on back to the ship. We are walking along a narrow sidewalk, with buildings on one side, and a pretty busy road right next to us. Bahamanian drivers drive crazy, so we walk in single file.
All of a sudden my younger DD screams!
I turn.
If you have a weak stomach, please skip on to the next post. I am about to describe something pretty gross, but as a service to the public, I must go on.
Are you still with me? I'm warning you. Stop reading if you just ate.
So, I turn, and my DD is holding out her arm. There is a large amount of brown goo dripping from her arm. What the heck is that? Then I look up, and I see him. I can swear that I heard his evil Bahamian laugh. Here he is:
This evil creature had just unloaded the biggest load of bird doo-doo that I had ever seen in my life!
It was all over my DD's arm. And she was quite upset (understandably).
I found a dirty napkin on the ground, and got her arm wiped off pretty good.
And then I saw the back of her shirt:
Yes, that is bird doo-doo on there!
I told you it was gross.
And there was another big spot in the middle of her back.
How did all of that come out of that filthy bird?
I have heard pigeons be called flying rats. My mind went wild thinking of the diseases that this critter could be harboring. It still scares me to think about it. Even now. Don't anybody tell me that pigeons carry bird flu.
Sorry to share this with you, but I warned you.
So, this is the tip that I was foreshadowing a little bit ago:
Tip #15- Do not walk near any buildings in the Bahamas!
We get DD wiped off the best we can, and head back to the boat.
I tell her that we will laugh about this some day. I also tell her that getting bombed by a bird is good luck. You have heard that, too, haven't you?
I am tempted to hop in a cab and bring her to the Casino, because if bird doo is really good luck, I am thinking she should be playing at some of those tables. But, she is in no mood for gambling, and I am pretty sure that there is a minimum age at the casinos, so it is back to the ship.
But not before we stop for a photo op:
We head down the dock, and are back on the ship:
We had our fun in Nassau, and the rest of the day will be spent enjoying the activities aboard the Wonder.
TCD
OK, if you are paying attention, you know the plan is for me and two of the DD's to make a quick trip to the island, and get back on the ship.
So, at about 10:30 or so, we head down to the Deck 1 gangway, and head out to Nassau.
Today there are two other big ships docked with us at Nassau. Lots of folks are walking down the dock to the city. Here, as soon as you get off the dock you are in the city. You can see the "world famous" straw market and Senior Frog's restaurant from the ship. They are about three blocks away from where you enter the city from the dock. But before you get there, you will have to run the gauntlet of the locals hawking hair braiding, taxi rides, cigars, t-shirts, etc. Here on Nassau, the locals are very polite, and will leave you alone at the first "No, Thank You." I appreciate that. Be polite to them, and they are polite to you. That is not the case in every cruise port.
So, here we are on the dock, looking back toward the Wonder, as well as the other visiting ships:
And here we are at the end of the dock, entering Nassau:
As you enter Nassau, you are forced into a building that the Bahamian government must have built. It is kind of like a not so nice mall. There are little shops in there, and counters where all types of excursions are being sold. Keep on walking. There are signs to the exit. As you exit, there will be about 50 (or more) gentlemen offering to give you a ride to wherever you may wish to go on the island. You must tell each of them no thank you. Even if one of them already heard you say no thank you, he is still going to ask you. Maybe you will change your mind? Also, these fellows will ask you where you are going. If you say you are just going to walk to the straw market, they will advise you to take a cab, as the walk is longer than it looks. It isn't. You can practically see the straw market from where you are. Keep walking, they will leave you alone.
Tip # 14- If you are going to shop on Nassau, you do not need a cab. No matter what the nice men at the port mall tell you. Nassau is an easy city to walk around.
And then, you are in beautiful Nassau.
As we entered the city, we heard loud music, and could see that there was a parade going down the street, just the next block over. We love parades!
We must go look!
So we do.
This was quite a big parade. The strange thing was, that every participant in the parade had on the same yellow t-shirt, and every truck had a sign for Perry Christie, whoever he is:
It turns out that June 6th is the Bahamian Labor Day! A lot of streets are closed, and I am sorry to report that a lot of the stores were also closed.
It seems like everybody on this island is partying. If Perry Christie is running for office, then he clearly is going to win, because I didn't see his opponent's face anywhere.
Anyway, like I said, we like parades, so we ask the folks in the yellow t-shirts if we can join in . . .
Well, there you have it. The TCD family has officially endorsed Perry Christie. (I hope that he isn't a communist or something).
We walk along the parade route, and arrive at the "world famous" Straw Market:
Yes, that is really it.
The sad thing is that when we were last in the Bahamas in 2004, the building in which the Straw Market was housed had been destroyed by a hurricane. So, it was moved into this temporary structure. As I said that was in 2004. This was 2008. The old site is still just vacant ground. I guess they are still in the permitting process?
Anyway, I have to tell you that the old location wasn't that much nicer than this temporary location. I remember the first time we went and wondering what is the attraction of this place? And why is it called the Straw Market? It should be called the cheap t-shirt and fake purse market.
Sorry. So, we buy a few Bahamas t-shirts, and we are ready for our walk back to the ship.
As we exited the ship, the oldest DD noticed that there is now a Starbucks in Nassau (you are not surprised to hear that, are you?), and she wished to visit there on the way back to the ship. What the heck.
Here it is:
Wow! It looks just like a Starbucks. What a surprise
. There are a lot of young people in here with their laptops. I think this must be a hangout for the cruise employees. I don't recognize anyone from the Wonder, but the young people look like they work on cruise ships.We have our coffee (much better than Nescafe), and head on back to the ship. We are walking along a narrow sidewalk, with buildings on one side, and a pretty busy road right next to us. Bahamanian drivers drive crazy, so we walk in single file.
All of a sudden my younger DD screams!
I turn.
If you have a weak stomach, please skip on to the next post. I am about to describe something pretty gross, but as a service to the public, I must go on.
Are you still with me? I'm warning you. Stop reading if you just ate.
So, I turn, and my DD is holding out her arm. There is a large amount of brown goo dripping from her arm. What the heck is that? Then I look up, and I see him. I can swear that I heard his evil Bahamian laugh. Here he is:
This evil creature had just unloaded the biggest load of bird doo-doo that I had ever seen in my life!
It was all over my DD's arm. And she was quite upset (understandably).
I found a dirty napkin on the ground, and got her arm wiped off pretty good.
And then I saw the back of her shirt:
Yes, that is bird doo-doo on there!
I told you it was gross.
And there was another big spot in the middle of her back.
How did all of that come out of that filthy bird?
I have heard pigeons be called flying rats. My mind went wild thinking of the diseases that this critter could be harboring. It still scares me to think about it. Even now. Don't anybody tell me that pigeons carry bird flu.
Sorry to share this with you, but I warned you.
So, this is the tip that I was foreshadowing a little bit ago:
Tip #15- Do not walk near any buildings in the Bahamas!
We get DD wiped off the best we can, and head back to the boat.
I tell her that we will laugh about this some day. I also tell her that getting bombed by a bird is good luck. You have heard that, too, haven't you?
I am tempted to hop in a cab and bring her to the Casino, because if bird doo is really good luck, I am thinking she should be playing at some of those tables. But, she is in no mood for gambling, and I am pretty sure that there is a minimum age at the casinos, so it is back to the ship.
But not before we stop for a photo op:
We head down the dock, and are back on the ship:
We had our fun in Nassau, and the rest of the day will be spent enjoying the activities aboard the Wonder.
TCD
Suzanne74
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 28, 2004
- Messages
- 2,933
OMG, I am laughing out loud at this report. Too funny!!
your poor DD - I would have cried!!
By the way, how do you manage to have 3 teenaged daughters that still like to hang out with their parents. Is there some kind of drug you give them?
sandybobandy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,604
Is she able to laugh about it yet?
MandyMommytoReaghan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2005
- Messages
- 265
This trip report has been great reading. I woke up sleeping DH to sit in on this one with me. TCD, your stories are great! You have a beautiful family! I can't wait to hear the rest of your TR. Thanks for posting the tips and your pics.
MandyMommytoReaghan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2005
- Messages
- 265
This trip report has been great reading. I wokr up sleeping DH to sit in on this one with me. TCD, your stories are great! You have a beautiful family! I can't wait to hear the rest of your TR. Thanks for posting the tips and your pics.
LITTLEKID58
Platinum Castaway
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2001
- Messages
- 2,666
TFS your tr awesome 
tlinus
Forever a Proud Redhead
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
- Messages
- 3,181
Awesome, awesome report......I got pooed at the Phillies game once - it rained and they lost 
I love your sense of humor and look forward to more. We are looking to cruise for the first time 4 night on the Wonder, September 2009 for my 40th birthday!
I love your sense of humor and look forward to more. We are looking to cruise for the first time 4 night on the Wonder, September 2009 for my 40th birthday!
CapnJackGroupie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2007
- Messages
- 224
Loving your TR - it's as if we're all there w/ you, having a WONDERful time!!! Except for the bird poo...ewww!!
alwayslisad
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Messages
- 1,493
OH my gosh this is great - I am so loving it! keep it coming!!! I wish you were on the TDay 2009 cruise with us - you would keep us in stitches!
3NJDisneyDivas
sniff..sniff.. there HAS to be a tag around here s
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2006
- Messages
- 204
I am enjoying this TR so much.
I never read about the cruises, but they are appealing to me more & more.
That is until you wrote about the whole motion thing.
I had a traumatic brain injury 4 years ago & since then suffer increadibly from motion sickness. I am a little skeered now about the whole motion thing.
I can't wait to read more.
You are a very entertaining writer & I feel like I am there.
You have a very beautiful family.
Lisa
I never read about the cruises, but they are appealing to me more & more.
That is until you wrote about the whole motion thing.
I had a traumatic brain injury 4 years ago & since then suffer increadibly from motion sickness. I am a little skeered now about the whole motion thing.
I can't wait to read more.
You are a very entertaining writer & I feel like I am there.
You have a very beautiful family.
Lisa
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2004
- Messages
- 4,937
OMG, I am laughing out loud at this report. Too funny!!
your poor DD - I would have cried!!
By the way, how do you manage to have 3 teenaged daughters that still like to hang out with their parents. Is there some kind of drug you give them?
My DD's don't really like to hang out with me. Just at WDW and on DCL. It is the pixie dust, I think.
Is she able to laugh about it yet?
Yes. She was actually laughing about it after she got back on the ship, and we got her out of that shirt. She just got that shirt for her birthday, and this was the first time she wore it. We now call it her lucky shirt, although I am not sure if she will ever wear it again.
Chris- Read on! You guys are going to have a great time camping and cruising!
Thank you, and please keep reading. Believe it or not, I don't even think I am halfway done yet.
And thank you for reading and commenting!
TCD-
Your report is hysterical!!
Lisa and Chuck
Hey Lisa and Chuck! A 4th of July cruise is a great idea! Please let me know if you have any specific questions after I get this thing done.
TFS your tr awesome
Yeah. I googled him. I still am not sure if he is a good guy or a bad guy. The "Opposition Party" sounds kind of sinister.
Awesome, awesome report......I got pooed at the Phillies game once - it rained and they lost
I love your sense of humor and look forward to more. We are looking to cruise for the first time 4 night on the Wonder, September 2009 for my 40th birthday!
See, I am not sure about the bird doo doo good luck theory, but read on about what happens when we get back on the ship. There might be something to this bird doo doo after all.
Well, my Momma always told me sh.... err I mean stuff happens! Even on vacation. Go with the flow!
Follow my tips, and you will have a blast! Happy sailing!
I don't know about that, I am not really that funny. Now, some of the other Turkey Day Gang, that's another story!
I'm not sure what to tell you about the motion sickness. I am pretty resistant to it (but not on the teacup ride at WDW if my DD's are doing the spinning). I would imagine that a doctor could fix you up with something to help you through a cruise. I would stay away from hurricane season. Late spring would probably be a good time.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Let's continue on, shall we?
TCD
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