A Tricky, Tricky Cruise! 4 Nt Wonder 10/29

[Keggy]

This is a trip report for our 10/29 4 day Wonder Cruise! I am warning you in advance. I am not a writer! So, please forgive me! I would like to post pictures, so if anyone has any easy instructions – please PM me!



We booked this cruise to be apart of the Disney Pin Trading Event that was going on during this cruise. This was our second Pin Trading cruise that we had been on and our 4th cruise total. My DH is a pin trader. More of a Pin Collector. He collects everything Goofy. So, we have a little of everything out there of Goofy, including pins! We have previously been on a 7 Night Eastern, and 2 other 4 Nights. We were also married on Castaway Cay in December of 2002.



We have had the opportunity to make some great friends through this hobby so we were very excited to be able to spend some time with all of them on this cruise. We were also sailing with DH’s parents. This made our cruise fun for us because we were able to sit with friends at dinner. The downside to this is that I was not able to really be active with the Dis-Meets thread because I knew we would be so busy with everything else.


My DH and I do the happy dance the minute we leave work. If one of us leaves earlier than the other – we are sure to call and taunt them with refrains of the Vacation Happy Dance Song! “I'm on vacation! I'm on vacation!" I took off the Friday prior to vacation to get some odds and ends done around the house. We were going to MNSSHP at the Magic Kingdom Friday night, so I needed to get the packing done for the cruise during the day on Friday. Because of this I had an entire night and half day on Friday, until DH left work at noon to do the Vacation Happy Dance and Song to taunt my DH! We did do the countdown every hour on Friday morning though for DH. T-Minus 4 hours, T-Minus 3 hours, etc. Until he could celebrate with me and we were both doing the Vacation Happy Dance and Song!

 

[Keggy]

We went to the port on Saturday afternoon and checked into the Residence Inn. DMIL travels to Boston every week for work so, she has a lot of Marriott Reward points to use! She tried to book a 2 bedroom suite, but there wasn’t one available. She was able to book 2, 1-bedroom suites. We were on the 4th floor and the rooms were very nice. The hotel is still very new, so everything was in good condition. We could have very easily fit 4 people in the one bedroom suite, with 2 adults on the fold out couch. We spent the evening at Grills and then on to Ron Jon. It was very neat to see the Magic sail out at Grills. I have gone and watched the Wonder sail out before at Jetty Park, but at Grills we were able to walk out on to a floating deck and that is where we were able to get some great pictures of the 10/28 Magic.



Sunday I was up early because I was “too excited to sleep!” I started in on the stack of magazines that I had been saving up for vacation and waited for DH to get up. I am envious of how he is pretty much able to sleep anytime anywhere. Finally, he awakes and we get ready! We had friends who were driving over from WDW to eat breakfast with us at the hotel and then head over to the Port. They arrived and the 6 of us went down to eat breakfast. When we had checked in we had signed up for the shuttle. They had given us the choice of 11am, 11:30am, and 12pm. We had taken the 11am timeslot. We had a lot of time to kill so we sat around outside and chatted for a bit. It was a little chilly outside, but we were showing our Floridian colors as lots of people ran past us to jump in the hotel’s pool. We decided that we could drive to the port and drop everyone and their luggage off and my DH and our friends DH would go back to the hotel and drop our car off and then park their car at the port. So, we ended up arriving at the port around 10:45am. We received #7. My DIL’s checked for upgrades but by that time there were none available.



The time went by very fast. Our Dfriend and travel agent had a large group of people sailing on this particular cruise. She had a table set up for all of us to “check in” with her first. She had some fun goodies for us there and then we headed over to the Castaway Club line to check in. We were very excited when we checked in to see that Goofy was on our room keys! We quickly found out that this was for Castaway Club members and first time guests had Donald Duck on their cards. Very fun! I really enjoyed the numbered boarding system. The last time we cruised, two years ago, everyone hearded in a line to board. So, this was a very non-stressful time. People were able to wander, relax on the couches, and really enjoy the terminal. We were able to catch up with those we had not yet seen at MNSSHP and plan for the rest of the day!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Great start, I will be anxious to read the rest!! we are going in a couple of weeks and your report gets me ready to go!!!

mom x4,grandma x4

 

[Dixielady908]

Looking forward to the rest of your repot.....I hope your able to post picture.....would love the view them.

 

[Cruelladevil]

Sounds great so far, I would love to read more. I would love to see pictures too. I am thinking of taking my daughter and my niece next year on the Halloween cruise (I love Halloween)...

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

More! More!

 

[Keggy]

Thank you all for the encouragement! I appreciate it!!!

Kelly
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Soon we boarded and had our group picture taken. We were with several different families when we boarded so we made up a name. I definitely suggest this if you are a family with different last names or have multiple families boarding together. It was very exciting to be back aboard the Wonder again.


Since we were also attending the pin even on the cruise we needed to go to Studio Sea to get our merchandise and some other fun things! If you are interested in more details about the pin cruise, feel free to ask – I won’t include a lot of details about it otherwise.


After we were all situated we headed down to check out our staterooms. It was just before 1:30, so we waited with a few other families by the elevators. Everyone was very excited. We had booked Category 9 cabins, 2594 and 2596. They were connecting rooms. DH and I had never stayed in a Category 9 before, so we were interested to see if we would like it. Our last two cruises we had, a Navigator’s Verandah, and a regular verandah. On our first cruise we had an inside stateroom and it didn’t suit us well at the time. My DH wanted to sleep a lot because it was so nice and dark. We didn’t Dis back then, so I didn’t know all of the tricks that I know now!


Once we got to our rooms, I really liked them. The porthole was very large and we ended up really enjoying our cabins and the location. I loved the Castaway Club gifts. We ended up using the mesh backpack and sunscreen at Castaway Cay.


Soon after, we headed up to Parrot Cay to meet friends for some lunch. By this time I was starving. There was quite a spread there. Much more selection than what I remembered from last time.


The rest of the day we had the Boat Drill – we were out in the sun on deck – but it was quick and painless. Soon after it was time for the sail away party. There really was not a bad spot to be in because all you had to do was look at the screen to see what was going on! The sail away party was fun, as usual. I loved the new Dumbotrom. I had seen pictures of the one on the Magic, but that didn’t prepare me for seeing it in person. Holy Cow! That thing is humongous!

I had read someone else’s trip report where they had talked about the Martini Flight! So, we were on a mission. The whole first day we were asking everyone and then we finally stumbled into Diversions. They have a Martini Flight, a Tequila Flight, and a Beer Flight. Maybe some others as well. We were so excited to get back there and try them. You know what, we never did! Oh well, we have to add it to the must do list for next time....

 

[Keggy]

Dinner the first night was in Triton’s, which was very good. We were at tables 39 and 40 which they had pushed together for us to make one large table. Our servers were Juan and Rewat. They were very good! Juan was very personable and friendly. He really did a good job at relating with the adults and the one child at our table. Rewat was very good, very quiet, but he was very attentive. My glass was always full. I don’t think we ever had to ask twice for anything. Also, we had a problem with our Palo reservations later in the week, which were resolved. Juan and our head server whose name I am forgetting…..were able to arrange for Chocolate soufflés for my FIL and myself. We ended up not needing them, but it was nice to know that they were going to do that for us. Also, I am a very picky eater and Juan was very accommodating with all of my special requests.

We headed over to see Match your Mate afterwards. That is always a favorite of mine. The couple that one were the “newlyweds.” It was the consensus of our group that they had gotten their answers together ahead of time! Probably not but it was fun to watch. The middle couple’s father in law was there, so when it came time to the “discover the magic” question the FIL announced – wait! I need to leave! It was very funny! I could never do that!

 

[Keggy]

Monday
Monday we awoke already docked in Nassau. We had plans to meet friends for breakfast in Triton’s. Something I realized being on deck 2 – I thought it was so quiet there. It was funny to go up to a higher deck and see so many people out and about since our deck was so quiet. After breakfast we headed out to do some shopping. Someone in our group was wanting a piece of jewelry and I needed to get some Rum for gifts for the people at work who were covering for me. It was pouring down rain! DCL was handing out free ponchos to everyone as you left the ship. I have a feeling that most people stayed onboard that day. I probably would have too, but I needed to get that Rum! It was a fun day – I was glad I had on my Crocs! We were able to get everything we needed, our friend ended up with a beautiful bracelet. We bought rum cakes from the Turtoga store and rum from the liquor store next door. We took a limo for $3 a piece over to Atlantis. The limo was very old but it fit the 6 of us just fine. At Atlantis we spent some time at the slots. DH wasn’t feeling like blackjack that day. I think we ended up plus $30. A guy at the slot machine behind us won $2500. I think he was on his honeymoon – it was nice to see! We returned back to the ship via a bus that was outside Atlantis when we re leaving it was $4 per person.


We returned to the ship just as the restaurants were closing for lunch – we made a mad dash for Topsiders. Very good selection – something for everyone. I think I had fried chicken and mashed potatoes - very good - the mashed potatoes were so think it took me two hands to get the spoon out of the bowl!


After our late lunch we took a nap – ended up being a daily ritual – a nap from 4pm to 6pm!


Dinner that night was in Animator’s Palate. Monday night was Pirate Night. Our entire group dressed up that night so we were very festive. Juan, our server, said not a lot of people dress up on the 4-night cruises? I found a good mix of people dressed up – it was fun to see everyone. I don’t know if more people were dressed up on our cruise because it was over Halloween? Not sure. This was the first cruise I have been on since they started having Pirate Night, so I was very interested in seeing the Pirate Party. We got a great space to stand right behind the dance floor and in front of the bar. We had room to dance and stand around and drink! It was a lot of fun – Mickey flew right over our heads! It would have been neat to have had more “piratey” music being played? It seems the same dance songs were played here that were played for the sail away party. The fireworks were very cool. It was really cool to be on a cruise ship at sea and have fireworks. We were able to see them perfectly were we were standing.

 

[LITTLEKID58]

So Far So good you are doing great.

Liz

 

[Keggy]

That evening was spent enjoying cocktails and listening to Karaoke. There were some really good singers! It was a lot of fun! Have you ever used the woman’s restroom near Diversions? That restroom is tricky, tricky! Or maybe I just had too much to drink! Once the door shut – I couldn’t find it, to get out!

I found all of the evening actitivites on the cruise to be a lot of fun. We did the shows our first cruise and just haven't gone back to them. Maybe next year we will revisit them!

Tuesday - Halloween
Tuesday was Castaway Cay day! DH and I went up to Topsiders for breakfast. We sat outside and had a fantastic view of Castaway Cay and of the Flying Dutchman. My soon to be ex-BIL had worked on it so it was fantastic to see it in person. We took pictures to send to my nephews. I hope it is still there next December so that the boys are able to see it in person. After breakfast we headed off the ship and walked to the tram to the adult beach. By walking we were able to get some great shots of us with The Flying Dutchman.

We had a short wait for the tram for the adult beach. Once we arrived we rented floats. We grabbed some chairs and put them on the waters edge. OH - this is the life. Someone did good when they thought of Serenity Bay! We just hung out all day - eventually our whole group made it there and we took turns eating lunch. There was a great selection. It did lightly sprinkle on and off throughout the day, but really nothing to make us leave. It really just served to cool us off.

Around 3pm we decided to head back to the ship. I did want to look in the shops on Castaway Cay, but I didn't find anything that struck my fancy. The line to board the ship was long but they had opened two entrances to get back on - one in the front of the ship and one in the back. A benefit to staying on deck two was that it was never hard to get back to our room!

That night was Halloween so after our daily 4 to 6 nap we got in our costumes and headed to dinner at Animator's Palate. Our group had decided ahead of time to dress like the Mickey Mouse Club. There were some great costumes on the ship. I would say a majority of people dressed up. I would also say that I didn't see any kids not dressed up. The kids were so cute. Apparently the line of kids for treak or treating was endless but the kids had fun!

That night we went to family karaoke - it was cute to hear some of the kids sing but it was dead. There were only a handful of people there. We were pretty tired so we headed to bed early.

 

[Keggy]

Wednesday

Wednesday we awoke to smooth sailing and beautiful weather. We had a 10am reservation at Palo's for brunch. We had never eaten brunch at Palo's so I was excited to eat. We met everyone there and were escorted to the private room on the side. We had 14 people that we were dining with. Our server was from Bosnia Herzagovena. His name is escaping me - this is what I get for waiting so long to finish! He was absolutely wonderful. How he handled all 14 of us so well! He said he had been in the army for 5 years and retired and had been with DCL for 5 years. He had started off in engineering and worked his way up. He said he loved to work in Palo. The food was absolutely wonderful - it is a toss up for me as to what meal is better lunch or dinner! I had a lot to eat!

After lunch I needed to rest a bit. Afterwards we went to rebook for next December. My MIL and FIL rebooked for the transatlantic cruise. There was a shorter line at this time to rebook. There were times when we walked past that the line to rebook was fairly long. We also took care of our tips at this time as well.

That afternoon was the final bingo. Bingo was A LOT of fun! Good thing I have never been to bingo on previous cruises! That could addicting and expensive! There were a lot of winners!

That night we were also eating dinner in Palo. We met again and had the larger table in the middle of the dining room and a smaller one near it. Dinner was good and I was excited to have my favorite dessert - the chocolate souffle! Please don't shoot me - the souffle wasn't as good this time! Seriously, I think I will order something else next time. I am a chocoholic - I was just disappointed this time around. My DH had the sorbet and the lemon was wonderful. We also had a lemoncello - very good!

That night is a blur - packing to make sure luggage got out on time and I wanted to make a last stop in the shops and at shutters. I was able to purchase a charm for my charm bracelet - it is off the ship and has Disney Wonder etched on the bottom. At shutters we didn't by a single picture this cruise which is a first for us. The sizes were just to large. I would have bought a lot if they had been made in smaller sizes. I just don't need or have space for a lot of 8x10s.

We went to sleep that night slightly sad that we were leaving the ship in the morning, but it was nice to know that we already had our next cruise booked!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

Great report... well done

liz

 

[GavinsMom]

I really enjoyed your trip report! Thanks for sharing!

80 days until our Cruise~

 

[jns]

Thanks for sharing
we were on the cruise before you
and our table was in 39

we are thinking of doing the halloween cruise next year