A Very Merrytime Cruise on the Wonder

[BrookeMQ]

We just got back from our cruise on The Disney Wonder (December 7th sailing).
I always find such great information on these boards and i love reading the reviews, so I guess its my turn to give back

So quick introductions:
On this cruise was myself... mom/Brooke. I am a SAHM and soccer coach.
My husband Mike.
My son Hayden age 6.
My daughter Amelia age 3 1/2.

My mother...aka Grandma Barb also came along.

We have been on 5 cruises before this. 4 were just my husband and I. And our last cruise was a year ago with the kids on the Carnival Dream. We had a great time on the Dream and the kids loved it so we thought we would try a Disney cruise.

I had originally picked out a cruise in April. I wanted to go for a week and do the western Caribbean itinerary on the Magic. I liked the idea of a smaller ship that was just redone. My son loves Avengers so that ship really appealed to me. The price was a little high for us and would wipe out all of our vacation money for the year.

My mom really wanted to try a Disney cruise too (she has never cruised before and a disney lover). And she wanted to go with the grand kids. This cruise would not fit her budget.

One day at the end of October I randomly looked up some sailings for November and December and found good deals on a 5 day for the Wonder. We were able to put my daughter on my moms room to get her price down without raising our cost. So we booked this cruise. I liked the idea that it was 5 days, it went to castaway cay, and would have all the extra Christmas things going on. And of course it would be nice to leave the cold weather of Pittsburgh and head to the Caribbean.

So we booked the cruise the next day. We booked thru Small World Vacations. Their price was the same as listed on the Disney site but we got $50 on board credit for each room.

I immediately was on here and found our meet up page and joined the fish extender group just before the cutoff. It was a great group (more on that later).

Well I think that is good introduction. I will have lots more to share and plenty of pictures.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Since we didn’t have long to wait for our cruise we decided not to tell the kids. They didn’t know we were going anywhere until a few days before when I started packing. We just told them we were going on a trip to a hotel. They love hotels. Ha ha.

The morning of our trip we picked up Grandma Barb and told them she was coming along and that we were going on a plane. They still just thought we were going to a hotel.

My husband gets southwest points thru work so that is the airline we use. Southwest doesn’t fly to Miami so we flew into Fort Lauderdale. We flew in the night before our cruise. We left the cold rainy weather of Pittsburgh and landed to almost 80 degree temperatures. So nice.

Our flight was pretty full. We found a row near the back. Unfortunately we sat in front of two guys who were definitely high. Their conversations were so annoying! Eventually they fell asleep. Thank goodness. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

My husband also gets Hyatt points so we stayed at the Hyatt place near the airport. Our room was free. A free shuttle picked us up at the airport. It was pretty easy. Our room was very large. It had 2 double beds on one side and a large couch that folded to a bed that both of our kids slept on. It also has an area with a sink and a small fridge. Breakfast was included in the morning.

Of course we had to an outside swim in December. So we ordered dinner and while we waited for it to arrive we swam in the pool. Vacation has officially started!

Around 9am we arranged for a phone call from mickey. It was just a generic call. I thought it would mention the cruise but it didn’t. The kids were excited to have Mickey and Minnie on the phone but they just thought they were going to Disney World again. When I told them were going on the Disney cruise they did get excited. So I don’t have that perfect video to show but it was still fun to keep it a secret.

I put my husband in charge of transportation. He decided to use UBER. He called and driver with a van was there within 15-20 minutes. He drove us right up to the port. It cost $64. There were 5 of us so that wasn’t too bad. We tried to tip him but he wouldn’t take it. So I am not sure if the tip is included or not. I never used UBER before so I will have to check our invoice. The driver was pleasant and we gave him a good review.

 

[MouseFan88]

Joining in! We just got off a Very Merrytime cruise on the Dream, so I'm looking forward to hearing about any differences

 

[BrookeMQ]

We went thru security and took this quick picture with the sign.
Then we checked in. We were boarding group 5. (We were given a 11:30 arrival time) We also got the kids signed up for the kids club. That was the longest line we stood in the entire trip. The kids got their magic bands. Make sure you return them at the end of the trip or you will be charged for it!!!!

We got a navigator and checked it out. you can see an example here:
http://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Personal-Navigators-Wonder-5N-Western-Day-1-Miami-20141123.pdf

While we waited for our boarding number we stopped to get a picture with Mickey. I love pictures and I also scrapbook so we stop for lots of pictures. My husband is usually pretty good about it but it does annoy him sometimes.

We were the last family to meet mickey and Minnie was already there for the next family. My little girl loves Minnie and got so excited. Everyone was so nice and they let her meet Minnie quickly. How lucky!

 

[dglilbit]

Subscribing! We are going on our first Disney cruise next December on the Wonder out of Galveston. i'm so excited for your trip report!!!

 

[BrookeMQ]

Not long after that, they called our boarding number. We boarded and they called our family name. The cruise has officially begun!

Of course I researched on here and knew that we need to go to the Port Adventures Desk for Anna and Elsa meet and greet tickets . We also wanted to get the Princess Gathering tickets and Disney Jr. And gingerbread house making tickets. I sent my husband and we headed off to lunch.

A quick look out the window at miami

On our last cruise the lunch by the pool was so crowded and chaotic. When you have your luggage and 2 kids it was just stressful. The kids were already getting cranky from sitting and waiting all morning. I decided I didn’t want to deal with that (not sure if Disney is like that but Carnival was). We headed to Parrot Cay. It is a buffet like by the pool but it is in the restaurant. They seat you and bring your drinks. Way more relaxing. There weren’t many people in there at all which was nice.

Chocolate cake makes everyone feel better.

Since our last cruise was on Carnival I will do a quick comparison about lunch right now. The actual buffets on Disney were good. There was always something that I enjoyed eating. I never really like d anything on the Buffet on our Carnival Ship. But what Carnival does better is the lunch stations. They have so many other options besides the buffet. They had a pasta bar (made to order), tandoori, a deli, burrito bar, and a Mongolian wok.

Both Carnival and Disney have a pool side pizza place and hamburger/hot dog station. The pizza on the Disney was not very good. It was like frozen pizza from the grocery store. The pizza on Carnival was delicious. They were making the dough fresh each day. They made small pizzas so you could have a fresh one. We got pizza every night . The hamburgers were ok on Disney. My son enjoyed them a few times. The chicken fingers were actually pretty good. WE all liked them. Do not order the steak n cheese. It was a special one day and it was GROSS.


Ok Back to our regular review. After lunch I had the kids change into their bathing suits (from our carry on) and we headed to the kids pool.

It was warm and no overly crowded. The water was a good temperature and they got right in.

My son loved to ride the waterslide. He rode it over and over that day with no wait. My husband was too tall to ride it. I didn’t try as I have a bad back.

 

[BrookeMQ]

We also checked out the splash area. If your child is in swim diapers this is the only "pool" they are allowed in.

Later the kids remembered that on our last cruise you could get ice cream whenever you want. So we headed to get some. It was always vanilla or chocolate or swirl when we went. (except Castaway Cay). They enjoyed their treat and were back in the pool.

We also checked out the main pool with the movie screen. Life jackets were provided.

The kids love hot tubs so we hopped in there for a little bit.

We attended our fish extender meet n greet. We met the organizer and said hello but the kids wanted to keep swimming so I only got to talk for a few minutes.

The safety drill was next and that was the quickest I ever experienced. We were in and out in no time.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Afterward we went straight to the deck party. We decided to just go to a table on the deck above the party. Grandma could sit and we could stand and see everything. The kids really enjoyed it. They waived their little pom poms.

At the end they said kids could join them on stage and Hayden wanted to so we went down. They both danced and had a blast.

Later we headed down to our room to get everything situated. We got our magnets out. We printed them all ourselves and just covered them with contact paper (from the dollar store) and put magnet tape on the back. We also got some magnets at the dollar too. We hung up our fish extender.

Our fish extender had 3 groups. Each group closed when they got 15 cabins. We also had a pixie dust group for late comers. We were the last family in group 2. It was a great group and I will write more on it later.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Now its time for dinner. We ate our first dinner in Tritons.

On our way there we stopped to see the gingerbread house. It smelled delicious.

We were seated with a couple from Philadelphia and their son who was 7. They were very nice. It was great for our son to have someone to talk to and play with. Amelia felt a little left out so after the first night we brought her some things to do or let her bring her baby doll.

I don’t remember our servers names. But they were both very friendly and good at their job. They did magic tricks for the kids and made them laugh

The menu for this night can be found here:
http://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/tritons-menu/

I ordered the soup and it was good. And the fried Brie. I enjoyed that also. We both ordered the steak and it was cooked perfectly. We enjoyed our dinners in the main dining room on Disney better then we did on Carnival.

The only thing that wasn’t better were the desserts. Carnival had the warm chocolate melting cake every night it you didn’t want what was on the menu. I got that most nights and it was delicious. The MDR on Disney didn’t have anything to compare to that. I will have to get a reservation at Palo next time and try the chocolate soufflé.

Hayden had the kids mac n cheese almost every night! Amelia usually got pizza or the hamburgers. I think she got chicken fingers once also. They were given a mickey bar after dinner. It sure got messy!

After dinner The kids went to check out the kids clubs. They did the Oceannear lab that night. It seemed better for the older kids. Lots of cool sounding science stuff or computer/video games. Amelia wasn’t a huge fan of this club. She liked the other club better.

We hit the shops. I bought some 2014 things since they were on clearance. I got a scrapbook kit and an ornament. I spent way less than expected so I was happy.

We also stopped at guest services to drop off our items to be signed. I bought a plain white star ornament and scrapbook page. My mom bought photo mattes. While there a lady was flipping out because she apparently missed something early that day because she did not have a navigator. She was screaming and just so rude. I felt so bad for the CM. We saw her many times after this and she was always miserable.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Before we called it a night we went to see the tree lighting. We just stood at the railing on the highest floor and watched from above. I am not into crowds! It was a cute little show and the kids liked it.

I guess later that night ( after 10) there was a Christmas event and Anna and Elsa came out and it snowed in the atrium. It was just way too late for our kids. That was really one of my only complaints. I was surprised how many kid type activities were so late. It didn’t ruin my cruise or anything so I wouldn’t really call it a complaint. I just wish they would start earlier.

After the tree lighting it was back to our room to go to bed. The kids were happy with their first towel animal.

And Grandma Barb got one too. I forgot to mention our rooms were connected. this was nice because we booked and inside guarantee room and didn't get to pick our stateroom. In fact we didn't know our room until about a week before sailing!

 

[BrookeMQ]

Day 2 -- Day at Sea

We were all up pretty early, just like at home. I took Amelia upstairs around 7:15 to get breakfast and let my husband sleep a little more. Well breakfast doesn’t open until 8am. I have never had that issue on another cruise before. I would love to sleep in past 8am but kids just don’t always let you.
I forget what we did. I know we walked around a bit. The weather looked great.

At some point we went up to check the sports deck. The kids liked playing fusbol and ping pong.

Our last ship had miniature golf. I was surprised they didn’t have it on this ship. They did have a basketball and soccer area.

I think we decided to deliver some of our Fish Extender gifts until breakfast was open. The kids came with me for some of them. It was fun to see how everyone decorated their door and their fish extenders.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Here is a better look at ours.

I bought a mickey door shelf from amazon for $8. As it got closer to the cruise I decided I wanted it to be more personal so I went to the graphics page and got some mickey heads made with each of our names on it. Everyone picked their own out. I printed the heads on our computer. Then I covered them with contact paper from the dollar store. I covered each pocket with yellow felt and hot glued it on. Then hot glued the mickey heads

For our gifts we gave:
M&M men ornaments that held small packs of M&M’s on the back. They were made of felt. Very simple to make.

Wreath ornaments made out of Christmas scrapbook paper. We glued a mickey head on each of them. We used all different kinds of papers. I found the idea on pinterest and it was very easy.

For the kids it depended on their age. Young kids got Pirate tattoos, Disney or marvel glow sticks and other goodies.

Teen and tween girls got frozen chapsticks and compacts. I found the compacts in the dollar section at Michaels and added a mickey head.

Teen/tween boys got large santa Hershey kisses and some dollars folded into Christmas trees so they could order room service and tip.


We also brought some thing for the pixie dust group. Small smiley cookies (they are made in Pittsburgh).

 

[Sneezie]

Loving your trip report! We leave on the Disney Wonder on Jan 9th and your report has been very informative.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Eventually breakfast was open and we headed to the buffet up by the pool. It was no busy at all. There were plenty of options on the buffet. I enjoyed a chocolate krispy kreme donut every day. Its vacation right?!

They had a made to order egg station in the back. You placed your order and they gave you a card to put on your table and they delivered them to you. There were also omelets all ready made there.

The first 2 days of the cruise the juice dispensers had the "jungle Juice" that you can get at tusker house in animal kingdom. It is a combination of passion fruit, guava and orange juice I think. We love it. Sadly it wasn't there all of the time.

I don't have many pictures of the food. Eating can be a rough time with 2 kids. My boy is extremely picky. The girl is extremely messy.

After breakfast it was time for the princess gathering. We had our tickets and headed down to the atrium. People were already lined up for our time slot. (They determine if you can line up by your time on your ticket). It was at most a 5-10 minute wait before we saw the princesses. We got to see 4 princesses.

Rapunzel was first.

Then Ariel

Next was Tiana

And last was Belle

Having tickets for this is so nice. No one wants to wait in long lines on a cruise. This really prevents that.

We had about a half hour before our meet n greet with anna and elsa. Cinderella was one floor up with no wait. So we stopped to see her.

Cinderella's handler was so nice. We stayed and talked to her for a bit.

 

[BrookeMQ]

Finally it was time for our meet n greet with Anna and Elsa. Again make sure you get tickets for this the first day. We headed to animators palate right at our given time and they were waiting for us. So we didn't have to wait at all. There were some people there for the next time slot and they had a coloring table set up for them.

Amelia was excited to meet them. Her face does not show it in these pictures. She is funny.

Then the whole family got a picture since we all enjoyed the movie.

Hayden got a hug from Anna. It looks like he is grabbing her butt. Ha ha.

As I said before having this as a ticketed event is so nice. This line would be so long since most little girls love frozen right now. We went to Disney World for a day after the cruise and the line to see them was over 2 hours long. On the cruise it was so easy.

 

[iloverags2]

Enjoying your report!

 

[BrookeMQ]

The kids wanted to go to the pool again. So we hung out there.

It was a little more crowded today but still not as bad as I have seen/read about. We talked to some crew members and the ship was 800 people less than full. So that helped.

We enjoyed sailing along. Nothing but calm seas.

I think this was the day we saw lots of dolphins. I have never seen any on our other 6 cruises. The captain announced it and we went to the railing and saw a huge pod of them. Tons just kept jumping out of the water. It was very cool. I don't have any pictures sorry.

Later Amelia and i met Donald.

Then later Daisy

We fed the kids lunch at the pool. Pizza, hamburgers, and some ice cream of course.

Then they went to the kids club. While they were there they go to play with chip n dale. When we picked them they were playing hide and seek. They both had fun.

 

[BrookeMQ]

While they were in the club we had a relaxing lunch at tritons. Nothing jumped out me and I had the meatloaf. it was fine.

We went to the adult deck. They don't have a ton of loungers/chairs in this area. We did get some padded ones by cove cafe. I stopped in to check out the free desserts. I put a few on my plate. They all looked better then they tasted.

We took the kids swimming again to tire them out.

And just hung out in the sun

After that it was nap time to get ready for Pirate night. The fireworks weren't set to start until 10;30 so I knew it would be hard

 

[BrookeMQ]

After our naps we got ready for Pirate night. Before Halloween I started looking at Thrift Stores for Pirate Costumes. I got my costume, my husbands, and Hayden’s all at a thrift store. Amelia’s is the pirate fairy (from Tinkerbell movies) and we got it at Toys R us.

They give you some bandanas in your state room too. Amelia is wearing them in all of the pictures.
We headed to dinner. First we stopped for a family picture.

You can see the menu for dinner here:http://allears.net/cruise/ships/dream/dining/menus/pirates.htm

Our meal was in Animators palate.

I had the pot stickers and the chicken salad and enjoyed both. I am not a huge seafood fan so this menu did not appeal to me to much. And I wasn’t very hungry either. I got the pasta and I was ok with it. I didn’t like any of the desserts.

We let the kids get the glowing pirate mugs that night. We still use them at home.

After dinner Amelia wanted to meet Pirate Minnie.

Also I forgot if you want to see the navigator you can find that here:http://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Personal-Navigators-Wonder-5N-Western-Day-2-At-Sea-20141124.pdf

 

[BrookeMQ]

Hayden went to the kids club and Amelia joined him after.

We stopped to see Pirate Mickey since we were in our costumes.

Later we got the kids and went up to the deck for the pirate show. They wanted to be close. The kids played some kind of pirate video game on the pool deck. They enjoyed it. Afterwards the pirate party started. It was cute at first but it got a little long. My kids were so tired and started to get super cranky. For some reason I had it in my head it would be more a of show. But that navigator does say party. It was one big dance party. Either way my kids got tired of dancing…just tired in general. But we forced them to stay up for the fireworks. They were very good.

We walked thru the buffet afterwards. We just grabbed some quick desserts since the kids were so grumpy at this point. So I can’t really comment on it.
We got some towel animals when we got back. Then time for bed. Cozumel was next.