A Single Mom's report on the Disney Wonder 4/23 - 4/27!!!

[Kimmielee]

To all of those single parents or solo parents that have asked in the past... I can now give a first hand trip report as a single parent.

In a word.... FANTASTIC!!!!!! My DS (6 and AKA "man cub") absolutely LOVED the clubs and the "independence" he felt in being able to eat on his own (with the club mates of course) and deciding which activities HE wanted to do. So, here's the attempt at my first report.

Day 1 - we were picked up at 9:20 a.m. at All Star Movies by Tiffany's and once again, they were prompt. The driver this time, however, disappointed me a bit by not allowing a stop to get a bottle of water. He stated it was "all freeway" - which of course he must have thought I was blind when we passed the FOURTH gas station or 7-11 just OFF the freeway. However, I digress.

For two of us, you might ask.... why spend $210 on a town car when Disney can get you there for less than $120? Can you spell C-O-N-T-R-O-L freak? Hello, my name is Kimmielee and yes, I'm a control freak. I couldn't stand paying close to $3K (yes, I booked late and no, that didn't include air) for this cruise and not being on the ship as soon as humanly possible!!!

So, as we are traveling in this luxury town car... my man cub says "Mommy, my throat hurts" which is man cub speak for... "I have to throw up!". Oh my, not now... not here.... oh... too late. "Excuse me, Mr. Driver that wouldn't stop to get a water... can we stop now so my DS doesn't continue to PUKE all over the both of us? Yeah, thanks..."

It turned out ok as we stopped by the side of the road for him to empty his stomach and may I stop at this time to give kudos to the inventor of those handy wet wipes that came in ever so handy?

Man cub gets very excited at the "sight" of the ship after the first bridge and now is bouncing in the back seat. I kept praying... "please tell me he puked it all so nothing is bouncing in that belly!"

Finally, we arrive at the Port and after settling with Mr. Driver, using my handy coupon in the back of my Passporter to knock off $15 extra bucks... and a tip for his TIME but it was much less than it would have been had he stopped for a bottle of water!!! (Note: he picked us up 10 minutes ahead of schedule so it couldn't have been a time crunch issue.)

Greeted by WONDERful, cheery people as we made our way inside (with a boarding card with #2 on it) and walked right up to the check-in counter at 10:40 a.m. Not one person waiting in front of me... Can you spell H-A-P-P-Y?

Walk from there to the Registration area for the clubs to get man cub's ID bracelet and my pager. I had pre-registered him, so it was a breeze.

Sat on a comfy chair, watching cool cartoons and took pictures of man cub with Captain Mickey... what a WONDERful start to our day. By 11:45 a.m., they called all Group 1's and 2's to board!!

I've read about it, I've dreamed about it, I've talked about it for months and months... but NOTHING compares to walking onto the ship for the very first time and hearing them announce us and clap like they really are excited for us to sail!!! Everything was even better than I expected. The decor, the attention to detail, the staff, the room, the verandah (can you spell S-P-O-I-L-E-D?) and almost every other passenger that we came in contact with.... was TOP NOTCH.

Thanks to everyone that has ever posted their hints - because I paid close attention to those posts... I knew to have our suits in our carryon bag. I knew to head to the Mickey Pool first. Man cub was the 3rd child in the pool!!! It was literally theirs for their own enjoyment for the next hour and a half. Of course, after that.... well.... it was !!!

I missed our DIS meet (so sorry fellow DISer's), because we got so wrapped up in the pool, then our room was done, then we went exploring and before I knew it we had to do the DRILL! May I say, MUCH less painful and boring than the drill on Carnival and we were lucky enough to be in Animator's Palate, sitting and in the air conditioning!! Yeah!

We then made our way up to the Sail Away party and WOW - how fun!!! Man cub was right up front, dancing away... he apparently has been going to Arthur Murray Studios because he knows the cha-cha-slide.... I DON'T even know that dance!! He was excited being so close to the characters and I made my way up to Deck 10 to take some pics.

Then came dinner - and this is truly the ONLY complaint (ok, there is one more on Day 4, so I just lied). I can't imagine that I was the ONLY single/solo parent on board with early seating (6:00). We were seated at a table for 4 and the first night, our tablemates didn't show... I didn't find out until the third night that we were seated with a lovely couple celebrating their 24th wedding anniversay and had requested a table for two OR a table with NO KIDS. Yeah.... remind me to tell you on Day 3 about Man cub throwing something into Mr. Anniversary's plate... not pretty. Couldn't we have been placed with a family at least? One that understands or REMEMBERS that 6 year olds are not always the perfect dining partners, especially for such a LONG dinner?

So, after Dinner, we go to check out the club and INSTANT warm and fuzzies from the Oceaneer's Club staff. What an amazing group of caring individuals they were! Man cub barely tells me bye... and off he goes. I did see him once more during the cruise... for dinner... once... on Day 3. Other than that, I was ......... can you spell ... A-L-O-N-E? Or my spelling of the word... H-E-A-V-E-N ? I kid you... I did see him a little more than that... but not much. That first night I went to get him at 11:00 p.m., thinking he'd be half asleep but instead, he was wired, happy to be there and reluctant (ok, there was some bribing involved) to leave.

Day 2 to follow soon!!! Don't get too excited, we didn't get off the ship.. it will be shorter than Day 1 because I was... in .... H-E-A-V-E-N!! Only a 24/7 single parent can appreciate reading 3 books in 4 days....

 

[Bethipooh4]

I love, love, love your trip report...
I am patiently waiting for your next one!!!!

I just hope I can do justice when I get to start my trip report in 81 days!!!

 

[disneypoor]

I'm getting soooo excited for our cruise! I can't wait to hear more!

 

[GJM]

Love you report so far - I am going in about 2 weeks, my DS is also 6. Did you DS make friends kids to play with while on the ship?

thanks,

 

[Kimmielee]

Thanks everyone!

Yes, my son did make friends. It was amazing... we'd turn a corner and he'd say Mommy, that's Meredith or Mommy, that's Robert. Kids are like sponges when it comes to making friends and remembering names.

I also met a Mom that was traveling solo with her son (Hubby couldn't come with them) and I traded addresses with her to send some pics of the boys. She's thinking of taking the Halloween cruise in '07 too!

 

[tjeagle]

Kimmielee
Your trip report was amazing! I smiled through the whole thing! (with tears in my eyes at times!)
Thank you!
Jackie

 

[Ker-Bear]

As a single mom 24/7 (except for a month in the summer), I can appreciate everything you are saying. My DS will be 7 when we sail. We won't be alone: my parents, bf and one of my good friends and her DD-7 will be with us. However, I like hearing about it from your perspective.

Looking forward to the rest

 

[Kimmielee]

Day 2 has arrived, as has the Wonder in the Bahamas. What a GORGEOUS view from my loverly, ever so expensive, but oh so worth it, verandah. Say it slowly and curl the r.... Verrrrraaaaannnnnndddaaaahhhhh. It needs a "darling" after it, don't you think?

Man cub wakes up about 8:30 and do I hear.. "Good Morning Mommy, I love you and I can't wait to spend the day with you because you are the greatest Mommy in the world for bringing me on this cool boat with a darling thing to sit outside on"? Well, not exactly. It was more like... "Is the club open?" WHAT? Another day with him enjoying himself beyond imagination and I, yet again, get to... can you spell R-E-L-A-X?

Now, don't think I poo poo'd Nassau from the beginning. I truly did think I'd spend the $200+ for "day room" at Comfort Inn or $350+ for the same at the Atlantis Resort for my man cub to stand in a very long line to go down a slide. NOT!! My Brother takes his entire company to the Atlantis as a "bonus" and he stays in that suite that connects the two buildings. Yeah, he's a gazillionaire workaholic that didn't share well as a child either... So, I had seen the pics, heard the stories, had been told over and over how awesome it was and to NOT miss it... well... I heard the NOT part loud and clear. Outrageous prices when we can stay on the ship, enjoy the Mickey Pool when it's less crowded, etc. Maybe next time. Or better yet, maybe my big Brother will take me? Yeah, a girl can dream....

So, we stayed. Man cub clubbed the morning away and I found the sun to be too hot (I am part Cherokee so I tan well and was already brown, brown, brown from our first 5 days in WDW and the fake bake shop at home) so I took a suggestion from one of the DISer's that put out there that the most comfortable spot on the entire ship was the comfy lounge chairs on deck #4. Great tip!!!

Can you spell S-N-O-R-I-N-G? Oh, for the love of Mickey Mouse - I think I read all of about 3 pages of the latest Nicholas Sparks book "The Rescue" and was fast asleep. How, pray tell, did I know I was snoring? Yeah... well, that also happens to be the same deck that the life boats are on. They run drills, clean them, stand around looking and pointing at them. THEY - you ask? Yes, THEY. The male engineering crew. I woke up, saliva rolling neatly out of the right corner of my mouth and 3 of THEM pointing. Not at the boats, mind you... but at the lady in the lounge chair that was snoring, drooling and oh... did I tell you I moan in my sleep??? ME !!!

So, I wiped my mouth, gathered my belongings and what was left of my dignity and went to see if man cub wanted to go swimming. He DID!!! Went to the Mickey Pool, enjoyed how FEW little ones were at the pool and had some quality Mommy/man cub time together.

Once the sun started turning his cute little cheeks beat red, I told him it was time to go. Ok, so I told him twice.... Honestly, it was one of those "don't make me count to 3" moments that I'm not very proud of. Hey, we've all been there, done that, right?

Took man cub back to the room, got out of the wet suit, back into his club uniform and off he went. "So, you want to be a pirate" was that afternoon in the club and there was no way he would miss that! Arrrggghhhh. Again, no "Bye Mommy"... just POOF and he was gone!

So, time for Kimmielee to find the Spa for a manicure and a pedicure. Now, I get manicures pretty regularly... ok, not like every week... unless I'm dating someone. Which... right now... I am ... so mani's are pretty common for me. My own nails, strong as nails... get it...

However, I am the world's MOST ticklish female. There is not one part of my body that isn't ticklish. Not one. My feet, by the way, are the WORST area of my entire body. A pedicure, for me, is .... can you spell T-O-R-T-U-R-E?

There is a somewhat famous spa in the Detroit area here in Michigan. Prior to a trip to Aruba I went there for a pedicure. I warned the technician.... yeah... let's just say that the OWNER of the Spa asked me to be quiet. You see, when I'm tickled, I giggle. LOUDLY!!! It's soooo embarrassing. So, beyond the torture there awaits embarrassment, my other best friend.

I must say, that I had a wonderful experience. There was another patron, who just happened to be a Kim as well and she made me comfortable by giggling with me. We had a great time. The technicians were laughing too and they didn't embarrass me, they just went along with the giggles and told me how "cute" it was. Isn't everything WONDERful when things go your way? Kim, who was there on a "Make a wish" trip with her almost 18 year old daughter was a sweetheart. She wasn't a DISer, but I told her where to find us!

Ok, hands and feet are now beautimus and I am off to the adult pool. Nicholas Sparks and I have sunbathed together over many, many vacations so it just felt right having him on the cruise as well. For those of you that enjoy his books, "The Rescue" is very good. I can also recommend James Patterson's "Sam's letters to Jennifer" and another book by Mike Brogan called "Dead Air". That wasn't a love story, but a very good, well written mystery by a local Michigan writer. He was describing parts of MI that I grew up in and still live near. I love being able to visualize a "real" place!

Ok, back to the adult pool Great size, never crowded... ok, just a little on the Sea Day.... just a very relaxing area. Now, as a past Carnival Cruiser (I know, don't bash me... it met my specific needs at the time), there wasn't an adult only pool. There was an overabundance of shipmates that had over indulged a bit with the alcohol.... (me included on the pub crawl... I remember up to bar #4 of 7 that we visited that night and my bar tab had 27 shots on it! )... so this is NOT a judgement, in any way. However, at the adult pool, on this particular afternoon, I was reminded of that Carnival Cruise. You see, the adult pool area has signs everywhere that state 18 or Older only. Some take that quite seriously... to the point that no one can walk through the area with a child without hearing from the foghorns in the pool "reminding" them. Oh, for the love of Mickey Mouse... they aren't stopping, they aren't crying, they will NOT poo poo in your pool and close it down. Please let them walk through???

Man cub is still clubbing, so I go back to the room to freshen up for dinner. It's "dress up night". I have a beautiful pant suit that I spent way too much to buy, but it's gotten it's use over the past few months, a wedding... the theater.... now "dress up night". I took my shower and went out on my verandah (darling) to relax and let my thick hair dry just a bit in the air and read some more of Nicholas Sparks. Well, I think I told you my dinner time was 6:00? I woke up at 7:35!!! Now, please don't think his books put me to sleep. It's something about the fresh air, the sun, the lack of man cub poking me saying "Mommy, don't close your eyes... play with me!" that allowed me to fall into a deep sleep wherever my body landed. So, all that fussing about making sure I picked up my drycleaning on time, packed the right shoes, etc... for NOTHING!! I slept through dinner!

I checked my Oceaneer's Club pager to make sure man cub wasn't looking for me and fixed myself up a bit and off I went in search of food. I also completely forgot about "Hercules - The MUSE-ical" and missed that too. In my stupor, I headed to the gift shop. Here's where my night ends....

Marc, in the Mickey's Mates shop ... a great CM... saw me wandering aimlessly about the shop. He said, "Miss, you look sad". I told him that I was sad. I had slept through dinner, missed the show and my man cub preferred the club to me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED that he was having fun.... but I felt I had lost a day/night of really fun things and was a bit "lonely". He asked me about me.... figured out I was a single Mom... and told me that this was a trip for ME as much as it was for him and to not feel guilting about relaxing, missing dinner... enjoying a book... just remember to ENJOY my quiet time! Here's my magical ending to Day 2.

I left Mickey's Mates and went to club with gifts in hand to bribe man cub out of the cave to see me.... and by the time we arrived back to our room, there was a very special certificate waiting for me.

It was a "Magical Moment" certificate, on really nice DCL special paper and it said... "Across the seas and over the years, may you always remember celebrating this Magical Moment with the Cast and Crew of Disney Cruise Line". It was awarded to ME from Marc with a "reminder" to have a relaxing and magical cruise. How awesome was that? I never had another sad moment for the entire cruise!

Day 3 to come... Castaway Cay and Serenity Bay... can you spell... P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E??

 

[Haley'smom]

Yeah! So glad you had great cruise and that you had a great time on your verandah (dahling, intentionally misspelled to sound like Eva Gabor from Green Acres). Can't wait for more of your trip report...

 

[musicgirl]

Love your report!! I am truly LOL, my dh is just staring at me.....

 

[Dandy8]

Great report!! I'm really enjoying it. Since your son got car sick on the way to the port, how did he do with the motion on the ship? We're taking our children on their first cruise in November and I'm concerned about my DS-4 who sometimes gets car sick.

Danielle

 

[Kimmielee]

Great report!! I'm really enjoying it. Since your son got car sick on the way to the port, how did he do with the motion on the ship? We're taking our children on their first cruise in November and I'm concerned about my DS-4 who sometimes gets car sick.

Danielle

He did great! There was one morning.... where we were headed to breakfast and we got off the elevator and he could SMELL the food and turned green so I wisked him outside... he was fine. That was the only time that I think it got to him. Sleeping wasn't a problem and quite frankly that happens to us sometimes at home. Certain smells just don't mix right with him and he'll turn green so it most likely wasn't even the ship.

I took dramamine twice a day (starting the morning of our cruise) and I was fine too.

 

[eeyoregon]

Loving your report - you crack me up! I, single mom, just returned from the April 22 Magic and I am still in shock over how amazing the cruise was for me and my boys (13 and 10). They had their time, I had my time and we had our time and every moment was purely magical for me! Can't wait to do it again!

 

[Downrivermama]

Great report. We need to start a support group for moms whose children ditch them for the kids clubs!

I am still in awe of our cruise in March. It really is the ideal vacation for a single parent. Can't wait till our next one!

 

[professorandmom]

I, too, a single mom, stood on my peaceful verandah in the moonlight thinking I was having more fun than an adult could have (alone).
Pure heaven
Just had to chime in - and I'm glad to know I am not the only one
Barb

 

[Ker-Bear]

more, more, more...I am anxiously awaiting.

BTW, I fall asleep whenever I have any moment of quiet and freedom from my man cub. Don't feel bad. I would have slept through dinner too.

 

[DutchsMommy]

I'm really enjoying your report. That Magical Memory certificate is great. I love that they encourage employees to go above and beyond - it just makes it that much more Magical for the guests.

 

[barbmouse]

Your report is awesome......very entertaining!

And then what happened?????

 

[Kimmielee]

Sorry ladies... I've been a bit delayed with going back to work on Monday, Tuesday man cub was very sick and they though he had appendicitis (he didn't) and on Wednesday I broke up with my BF. It's been a rough week.

Day 3, part #1 - Oh my gosh.... woke up and looked out of the verandah (dahling - thanks Haley's Mom) and our view was incredible. I've seen post cards, pictures and screen savers, etc... but NOTHING can do justice to seeing with your own two eyes. Especially, first thing when the beaches are unspoiled with footprints and the water is clear and void of humans splashing about. I was in awe. No matter how much more I paid for the verandah (dahling) it was soooo worth it just for waking to that view.

Man cub awoke and once again... I was hoping for the "Good Morning Mommy, what fun, exciting thing are we going to do together today?" first words. NOPE! Dream on lady... it was exactly as the day before... "What time does the club open?". Do they DRUG these children??? Will I go home with a Stepford Child... or a Disford Child? Will he return to normal???

We walked off the ship within moments of it being cleared... grabbed a couple of towels and walked toward the beach. The entire walk I kept talking to man cub about playing in the sand, floating in the water... playing together... but no... once again... "Mommy, where is the club?". Ok, so I resigned myself to spending a day in Paradise ... alone.

We made our way to Scutters Cove (aka THE CLUB) and I deposited him. I told him that if he changed his mind and wanted to go to the beach with me, just holler. Southern speak for page me... and yes, we live in Michigan but I was raised by two very southern parents. I have to be careful not to spell wash like we say it... worsh...

He had on a t-shirt and his swim trunks and as I was walking away, I remembered sun screen. So, what does this less than perfect mother do? I put sunscreen on the exposed body parts. Yeah... how long did that t-shirt really stay on? Probably about 2 seconds. Silly me, sunburned man cub coming up later.

I went to the gift shop which hadn't been raided yet... and I searched and searched and found the PERFECT t-shirt for man cub. Stitch is on the beach and it says "Trouble in Paradise"... Perfect, eh? Then I walked to the Tram to get to Serenity Bay. There were very few (maybe 6) people headed there. I knew there would be a few people there already. When the Tram dropped us off and I got my first view of the Bay... I swear it took my breath away. I can't WAIT to get my pictures back. It was absolutely breathtakingly (is that a word) beautiful. I found a spot, put on my sunscreen and dragged a chair out to the water and sat. That's all I did for the next two hours... I sat in this loverly chair, waves lapping at my ample behind.... and started to read book #3. It was pure heaven.

Somewhere in the far off distance I thought I heard a "beep". Why in the world would ANYONE have a cell phone or a pager out here? Oh my... a PAGER? Man cub NEEDS me!!! Dare I say that while in heaven I FORGOT man cub??? I forgot that I was a MOMMY??? Ok, bring on the flames from those that don't understand... but I am a Mommy 24/7. There is no Dad cub around. When I'm not a Mommy I'm a boss to about 30 people and have a very stressful job. Can I get a break for forgetting all of that for a couple of the most wonderful hours I've experienced in recent history???

So, I grab all my stuff and jump on the Tram (it magically seems to be waiting for me!) and off to rescue man cub from the horrible, boring club. Yeah right, he just wanted to go to the beach for a "minute". A MINUTE? "Mommy, I just want to see what it looks like." Oh, for the love of Mickey Mouse... man cub wants to SEE the beach... not play with Mommy, not go swimming, but SEE it. So... I do what every perfect Mommy would do, I picked up our floats that we paid $48 to use (another lesson learned, don't spend $$$ on the package) and gosh darn it... I put him on a float and stuck his you know what in the water...

Ok, it wasn't EXACTLY like I was dragging him... once we actually got to the place where the floats were he was excited and we really did have a good time. Then it hit me... did I tell you I had scheduled a Cabana massage for today? At 1:00???? It's now 12:15 or so... so after luring man cub to do something fun with me, I have to lure him back to the club so I can get oiled and tortured.

I convinced him to go to the BBQ and have lunch with me and then I took him back to Scutters (he was happy to return... really, he was!) and then back to the Tram for me.

Now, the best advice I can give ANYONE ... do NOT pay the extra $50 or so to have a Cabana massage. What is the extra money for, exactly? The priviledge to see the breathtaking view from the cabana? Ah... NO... remember? Your face is buried in one of the massage holey thingys.... (can you tell I get massages about once every 15 years?) so you don't get to SEE the view.

Is it a different massage? I'm told not. You get the priviledge of spending $50 extra for the "open air" feel? Well, our day wasn't horribly hot... but it could have been. Oh wait... I got it... it's because you get to pay $50 for the OIL that they use so when you go back out in the sun you tan faster!!!

I said in the beginning that I had one, ok two... complaints.... here is #2. I booked the Cabana massage on line when the ressies were open to me, the first time Disney Cruiser. I changed my mind, however, while in WDW on the first part of our trip... and I was clearly more than 2 days BEFORE our sail date. So I called DCL. I attempted to cancel because as I was doing the budget, I realized this wasn't a good fit. Our total trip was for 12 days in Florida... 5 first, then the cruise for 4, then 3 more back to WDW. So, as I stated a moment ago, I called DCL to cancel on Wednesday. We weren't sailing until Sunday. "I'm sorry Ms. Man Cub, but you can only cancel on line when you make the reservation on line." Excuse me? I explained that I was already in WDW, no computer, no access, no ability to cancel... "Sorry, that is our policy." That is my complaint. I realize that quite a few of us travel with a laptop and we are wireless and all that good stuff, but I am NOT one of those people. If I had a laptop.. THEY could get to me. THEY being my staff. THEY being my bosses. THEY being... oh, you get the picture. I choose to NOT move into this century because it allows me to vacate my job, even if for 2 weeks.

So, I HAD no choice but to take the massage. I even tried to cancel on the ship... within MINUTES of arriving on board... "I'm sorry, but it must have been cancelled at least 2 days prior to today." BUT I TRIED!!!

I had a wonderful masseuse (sp?) and I explained to her that I had only one other massage in my entire life and I swore off of them right then and there because it HURT. So, please, be gentle... don't dig for China... don't beat my tense muscles into submission... just gently massage my body.

Ok, did I say that she was wonderful... let me rephrase... she was SVETLANA the SWEDISH SHEMALE that practically beat me to death!!! I wasn't really that bad but for that hour I thought I was being tortured.

More to come.... have to take the cat the vet....

 

[wannabecruiser]

wonderfully told so far!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait for more.........I just gave myself a mental note to take along a notebook to make sure to take notes so I can give a nice trip report too!!!