8/21/08 Wonder 3 night

[postalcop]

Happy Easter!! fellow cruisers!!!!!
hope everyone had a great day!!!!

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Okay, the link on the 2008 Wonder meets page is finally correct!!!!

We had a lovely Easter. Chilly but bountiful sunshine.

Did our last day of skiing the day before Easter. So now thoughts turn to this cruise. Just booked a snorkeling excursion with Stuart Cove in the Nassau. This is a 1/2 day afternoon excursion. Wanted something a little more extensive than the DCL snorkeling excursions.

 

[postalcop]

wow, i didn't know that we could book our excursions already??? are you paid in full, maybe thats why, or can we book them this early??

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

wow, i didn't know that we could book our excursions already??? are you paid in full, maybe thats why, or can we book them this early??

Its a non Disney excursion. I booked directly with the company.

Its still too early to book DCL excursions.

 

[postalcop]

when are we able to start booking??

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

when are we able to start booking??

90 days before sailing date if you are a repeat cruiser. So that's sometime in May for us.

Wow - saw that post about no more jet skiing at Castaway Cay. Boy, I hope they resolve that because its something both kids want to do.

 

[postalcop]

wow.... repeat cruiser, well i guess we have to wait a while!!! this is out 1st Disney cruise!! but i hear that we will be spoiled and never want to cruise on another ship again!!! our kids are way to young for jet skiies, but it does sound like fun... i sure do hope they bring it back for you.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

wow.... repeat cruiser, well i guess we have to wait a while!!! this is out 1st Disney cruise!! but i hear that we will be spoiled and never want to cruise on another ship again!!! our kids are way to young for jet skiies, but it does sound like fun... i sure do hope they bring it back for you.

Its 75 days out for 1st time cruisers to book excursions.

Yes, DCL is incredibly addicting. If you rebook for another cruise while onboard (there is a desk where you can make your reservations) you get 10% off your next cruise and a $200 onboard credit. And you can switch around this future reservation and still keep the discounts.

Its funny about rebooking. I was the one who planned our first DCL cruise yet it was DH who suggested we rebook onboard for future cruises.

 

[minniemandy]

Hi Guys, I'm new to this site so bear with me! Me and my family are booked for this cruise too, can't wait! So It's looking like we'll have the whole ship to ourselves then huh? Anyhoo, just thought I'd post this to introduce myself.

Have a nice day y'all, Mandy.

 

[postalcop]

Welcome Mandy!!

Welcome to the DIS, and Welcome aboard the Wonder!!! lol!! yeah, so far it does'nt seem like we have alot on our sailing!!! oh well, i'm sure more will join us!!

~Sue

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi Mandy,

Welcome....yes, we're a small group right now but I'm sure as we get closer to the beginning of summer that more people will book.

I also think the 4-day cruises with the two stops at Castaway Cay are drawing moe people to the 4-day cruises this summer. The 8/17 cruise is basically sold out (if you book with kids) and has been for quite some time.

I did the 3-night Wonder last summer around this time and the ship didn't "feel" very full. It was a very relaxing atmosphere.

 

[minniemandy]

HI again,

Nice to meet you guys. I was kind of worried about the amount of people on board. Had visions of it being very busy. Glad to hear that the ship has a relaxed feel to it. I received my cruise vacation guide today, I'm soooo excited. We are staying at Port Orleans from 15th and planning to get a taxi to Port Canaveral from there. Any ideas who would be best to contact for transport?
Also, I don't know what type of clothing to take, is it very formal? I'm not telling my girls about the cruise, they will think we are moving on to our scond hotel until we get to the port. I believe there is a pirate night? Is anyone dressing up or will I be on my own?

Talk soon, thanks for making me feel so welcome!
Mandy.

 

[postalcop]

hi Mandy,
i just got vacation guide in the mail today too! I still have to look over it, all i saw was the reminder about the final payment due on june 7.
i don't know about any taxi service in the area. does'nt the Disney Cruise line shuttle pick up from Port Orleans?? we are taking the Autotrain so we will have our own car. we are staying at Old Key West, but booked the land sepretley from the sea part of the trip.
This will be our 1st Disney cruise, so i don't know much about formal night. i do know about the pirate night, and do plan on dressing up. i don't know if i should by everything before we leave, or shop at the shop near Pirates of The Carribean ride.
ok, well i'll chat with you soon!!
~sue

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Yes, DCL busses do run from certain WDW resorts. DB stayed at Port Orleans and used DCL transportation to get to the port.

But I would also price out using a car service as if you have a family of four or more it becomes cheaper to use a town car rather than pay per person on the DCL bus.

We booked with Florida Tours or whomever is sponsor of the DIS boards. I went over to the transportation board and clicked on whoever is the sponsor. You had a choice of towncar, luxury van or limo and you can see the price of each one.

In terms of clothes on the cruise....for the 3-night cruise the first night is cruise casual. That means no jeans/shorts/t-shirts. A nice pair of pants/capris and nice shirt/blouse will do just fine.

The second night is pirate night. We bring the full-blown pirate outfits but we are the exception. Most people buy pirate t-shirts at WDW along with some cute accessories (eye patches, etc). You are given a pirate bandana at dinner.

So any kind of black t-shirt along with some pirate accessories works great. You can definitely wear shorts at dinner on pirate night. It will be extremely hot at the pirate party. I swear I sweated off all the calories I ate at dinner that night.

I will tell you that that the CMs love if you get very dressed up on pirate night. The CMs are all dressed up so they enjoy seeing the passengers dress up.

The third night is "dress up" night. This is not formal night like on the Magic. This just means something dressier than casual night. Women wear skirts/dresses and the men wear a nicer shirt (button down). Some men pair that with a jacket. Some will add a tie but not many.

The key is to mix and match outfits - a nice top can be paired with pants one night and a skirt to make it dressier. For men....tan pants can be paired with a casual top one night and a jacket/button down shirt for dress up night.

 

[postalcop]

ski-and-sea,
thanks for the info about how to dress. this is our 1st short cruise,(well sort of) we did the 1 night cruise to nowhere on NCL Dawn & Spirit for the past 2 years. but other than that we have been on 1 week or longer cruises. so i feel this will be just a tease. i want to see how the kids can handle being at sea,(seasickness). so the next one can be on the Magic!!!

~Sue

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

ski-and-sea,
thanks for the info about how to dress. this is our 1st short cruise,(well sort of) we did the 1 night cruise to nowhere on NCL Dawn & Spirit for the past 2 years. but other than that we have been on 1 week or longer cruises. so i feel this will be just a tease. i want to see how the kids can handle being at sea,(seasickness). so the next one can be on the Magic!!!

~Sue

Definitely a good plan. You can rebook onboard and get the discount for the longer cruises.

I know a lot of DISers feel the 3-night cruises aren't worth it but I disagree. My 3-night cruise last summer was one of my most relaxing vacations ever.

 

[minniemandy]

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated. I am planning on buying our pirate outfits here, we have some very funky ones in the shops at the moment. I think the pirate outfits at disney will consist of Elizabeth Swan type dresses, which are great but not as piratey as I'd like, oooarrrr, shiver me timbers and all that stuff!!

I will def check out the transport as suggested. Because I am trying to keep it a surprise, I think a towncar would prob be the best way to go.

Right I'm off to check all this stuff out, talk again soon,

Mandy.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated. I am planning on buying our pirate outfits here, we have some very funky ones in the shops at the moment. I think the pirate outfits at disney will consist of Elizabeth Swan type dresses, which are great but not as piratey as I'd like, oooarrrr, shiver me timbers and all that stuff!!

I will def check out the transport as suggested. Because I am trying to keep it a surprise, I think a towncar would prob be the best way to go.

Right I'm off to check all this stuff out, talk again soon,

Mandy.

This is a good plan. Grab what you can now. I agree that the Elizabeth Swann outfits are too dressy (and expensive).

We bought our pirate outfits in pieces and mixed and matched. All of us just wore black pants that we wore at dinner on the other nights.

One thing to mention is that it is extremely hot on deck 9 during the pirate party. The ship has to stop in order to launch the fireworks so you lose the sea breeze. Its fine in the dining rooms but sweaty outside.

This is the first time we're using a car service to take us to the port. We've always used the DCL buses but we're coming in a day early and staying at the port. We are taking the DCL busses back to the airport after the cruise.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey everyone!!!!

Got my Wonder travel guide in the mail

And told my TA to pay off the balance (not yay).

But it sure makes the cruise seem more real. And spring has sprung here with the weather even though not much is green outside. My lawn looks horrible. Did spring clean up last weekend and started cleaning out the garage today. Now my back is hurting so I'm off to the chiropractor.

You know the time is going to fly by. Little league season starts next week. I'm taking my Girl Scout troop to a dude ranch next weekend. We've been planning this trip for three years and everyone is so excited.

Then in early May I'm having two surgeries on my left foot to fix some old injuries. Going to broke and fixing everything at once. But that will put me out of commission until the end of June.

That's why I'm glad we're cruising so late in August as my foot will be completely healed by then. Last summer on my Wonder cruise I tried dancing at the pirate party and lasted about five minutes before my foot started to hurt.

 

[postalcop]

hello,
ha... beleive it or not we just paid off our trip also, today!!! we just gor 2 totally unexpected checks in the mail so dh said to just put it on the vacation!!!

jeez, ski, i'm sorry to hear about you surgery.. i hope everything will be ok!!! it's tough when you have little ones and are out of commision for a while!!

yesterday was just a perfect day!! today, not so nice, well it didn't start to rain, yet??? tomorrow they say is gonna be pretty wet. so ds soccer will be cancelled for a 2nd straight week! i hope the rain just bypasses us alltogether.. dh & i are going to AC tomorrow night, we both have the weekend off, so we figured lets have a night away w/o the kiddies!!

well you guys also convinced me not to wait until we get to Disney to buy our pirate stuff!! now i just have to figure out where to get it here?? where do you get your stuff ski-n-sea???

well i'm gonna go and make some dinner now... we'll chat later!!

~Sue