8/3/08 Double Dip on the WONDER: Can a 14-Year Old Find Happiness at Sea? -- Part I

[BucksFamily]

Great trip report! I'm really looking forward to our cruise on 9/1--hope we get some great family time (and shorter check-in lines!)

I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time. I was a Disney Cruise Line skeptic before the sailing. I'm now a convert. There really is a Disney "difference" that makes it worth the extra $$$ they charge.

Have a great time on your cruise!

 

[BucksFamily]

Thanks for finishing your report - I feel that pain of knowing your cruise is over. Glad you had a great time and, hopefully, if you cruise DCL again, you might be able to hook up with some DISers who have kids the same age so Emily has some company

Thanks for the advice. We are booked on the Aug 8 2009 sailing of the Magic to the western caribbean, so we'll see what happens next year. I am going to set up a thread for the cruise on the "meets" section and see who might want to talk and maybe link up on ship.

I wish I were on the Magic right now!

 

[BucksFamily]

Very good!!!

Do you have any pictures??? I think you must be up to 15 posts to post pictures but we'd love to see some... here's a tutorial if you need it to post...

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17030652&postcount=3

Gee, we do have a lot of pictures, and I'd love to post them, but I didn't know how to do it. I'll review the "tutorial" that you kindly sent to me and get some pix up as soon as I can.

Thanks!

 

[BucksFamily]

Really enjoyed your report! Looks like you arrived at the terminal about the time the DCL buses had dropped off people from the resorts, hence the long lines. It's sort of the 'second wave' of folks arriving at the terminal.

My most recent cruise was the reverse situation, the Castaway Club lines were the longest as there were over 1800 repeat cruisers!

.

Wow, that is hard to picture. Was it a special cruise that brought out so many repeat passengers? Of course, I was so anxious to get on the ship that I would have been impatient even if the wait was only 5 minutes!

 

[Tink rules]

Hi. I think I agree with you. I think my daughter needed a bit of a parental "push" to overcome her understandable fear of a new environment where she didn't know anyone. She still had a good time, but I could see that there were some moments when she would have had more fun if she could have hung with her peers.

We're booked on the Aug 8 2009 sailing of the Magic (western caribbean), so she'll get another chance (and I get to go to Castaway Cay again -- yea!).

Hey... I think we're going to be on the cruise the following week!!! We're planning on a family reunion (well... I'm planning... they're just showing up...) on the 8/15/09 Eastern...

Thanks for the advice. We are booked on the Aug 8 2009 sailing of the Magic to the western caribbean, so we'll see what happens next year. I am going to set up a thread for the cruise on the "meets" section and see who might want to talk and maybe link up on ship.

I wish I were on the Magic right now!

See if there is already a meet thread for your cruise... there probably is... at the top of the meets page, there is a thread listing all of the sailing dates and links to all of the cruises... give it a try!!!

Gee, we do have a lot of pictures, and I'd love to post them, but I didn't know how to do it. I'll review the "tutorial" that you kindly sent to me and get some pix up as soon as I can.

Thanks!

Hey... post away!!! and if it says you don't have enough posts to post pictures... go post on a few other threads and you'll be there in no time...

Wow, that is hard to picture. Was it a special cruise that brought out so many repeat passengers? Of course, I was so anxious to get on the ship that I would have been impatient even if the wait was only 5 minutes!

IT WAS THE 2008 PANAMA CANAL REPOSITIONING CRUISE!!!! (this past May...15 nights of pure Magic!!!)

& I was on it!!!

(right Jackie???)

(that's us with Nan in the middle!!!)
​

 

[trivial]

Jon, great trip report; thanks for posting it. It's a shame Emily didn't enjoy the cruise as much as you thought she would. I think it was probably wise not to push her too hard, even though it may have made the cruise more enjoyable for her. How did she find it compared to previous cruises? Do you think she was hiding her true feelings, or do you think she wouldn't enjoy a future Disney cruise?

 

[solgent]

Enjoyed your TR.

We just got back from our first cruise with twin DDs who are 13 almost 14 and 9 year old DD. The teens had said they were going to spend the whole time in Aloft and we would never see them, but they didn't! They preferred to relax in the room or hang at the pool or go to family activities with me and their sister. We had a lot of fun together.

I think if you get to the port earlier the lines are much less. Disney busses start delivering people at 12:30. Before that it's just people who drove themselves or arranged their own transport. We got there about 10:15 and only waited in one line, the line to register, and it didn't take long at all.

Also, by the way, that is not a "replica" of the Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay. That is what they used to film the movies.

 

[VernRDH]

Hi Jon(Bucks Family)

The title of your post caught my eye. Imagine my surprise when I started reading and realized we just talked to you about this!!! Hope you enjoyed being on the podcast and ITS ALL YOUR FAULT that we are now doing the land and sea package next May!!!

Not to hijack your thread, but to Tink rules-Hi neighbor! I live in Clifton Park, where are you?



Veronica

 

[BucksFamily]

Hi Jon(Bucks Family)

The title of your post caught my eye. Imagine my surprise when I started reading and realized we just talked to you about this!!! Hope you enjoyed being on the podcast and ITS ALL YOUR FAULT that we are now doing the land and sea package next May!!!

Not to hijack your thread, but to Tink rules-Hi neighbor! I live in Clifton Park, where are you?



Veronica

I guess I just can't stop telling the world about my Disney cruise! Doing the podcast was a lot of fun. You and Jamie know so much about cruising, that I was truly humbled by getting the chance to chat with you about my cruise experience.

I really hope that you and your daughter have as much fun and enjoyment on your Wonder cruise as I did.

PS - Even though we live in Philadelphia now, I used to live in Syracuse, NY, so I can still (distantly) recall what it's like to have "real" winters (i.e, with snow), unlike what we get here in Philly (when two flakes of snow fall, they close the schools and everyone goes to buy bread and milk!).

Take care!!!!

 

[BucksFamily]

Jon, great trip report; thanks for posting it. It's a shame Emily didn't enjoy the cruise as much as you thought she would. I think it was probably wise not to push her too hard, even though it may have made the cruise more enjoyable for her. How did she find it compared to previous cruises? Do you think she was hiding her true feelings, or do you think she wouldn't enjoy a future Disney cruise?

Well, in thinking about it, I would say that she probably enjoyed our previous cruises more. I think this is due to the fact that her interests, activities and outlook on things was different when she was 9 or 10, as opposed to age 14. I guess that's just part of growing up, although I miss the days when she and I seemed to have more in common.

As for a future Disney cruise, while on board the Wonder we did go ahead and book the August 8, 2009 Disney Magic sailing to the western caribbean, since we got a 10% discount for booking on-board and we also got a $200 on-board credit. However, the only real hesitation that I have about going on the Magic is trying to figure out if Emily will have a good time or not, especially since this will be a much longer cruise than the Wonder. Over the coming months, I'm going to try to sound her out on this a bit more and see what she thinks. I'm ready to go on the Magic tomorrow, but it won't be fun unless the whole family is having a good time.

Boy, having a teen is hard work!

 

[samily]

Don't worry, during those teen years, I would never had admitted to having a good time on a family vacation! But looking back at them now, I know how lucky I was to have had the time with my family.

Your report so reminds me of that Royal Caribbean commercial with the young teen girl the family finally catches a smile from at the end...

I am not looking forward to my kids' teen years

 

[jenseib]

Looking forward to pictures!!!!

It kind fo sounds like Emily didn't have fun from your report. But maybe I misunderstood it some. I know at that age, I would've NEVER gone by myself to the teen hangout. I don't know if my own kids would've either, though if the two older ones were together, they might have. But as a teen going on vacation with my family was pretty fun. There were a few where we each got to bring a friend along as well. My parents would talk to theirs and they paid for their own portion of the trip. Perhaps there is someone who could come along with Emily next cruise, if their parents were willing to pay her portion?