A WONDERful three nights on the Wonder…Spring break 2018 trip report.

[buzzrelly]

Hi all! We had an amazing, though short, little cruise on the Wonder this past April, followed by seven amazing nights at Bay Lake Tower. I debated on just doing one TR over on the regular TR boards, but I thought about how many times I came here looking for reports about the Wonder before our cruise, so I decided to do a short, separate report here and I'll link to this in my main TR.

This was our third DCL cruise, and our first time on the Wonder. Our first cruise was on the Magic from NYC to the Bahamas. The kids were much younger on that one and didn't really love the clubs. Plus, I think eight nights was too long for our first cruise, as DS was kind of a nervous-nellie and a little stressed the whole time.

Our second cruise was a four night to the Bahamas on the Dream in April 2016 (the link to that report is in my signature) and that's when my kids absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising. Of course, they were a little bit older and loved the Vibe/Edge and they loved the freedom they had on the ship to explore and just hang with their friends.

This cruise on the Wonder was actually going to be three or four nights at Universal Studios prior to our WDW trip. I had booked Hard Rock Hotel months and months prior and had been waiting and waiting for some (ANY!) discounts to come out, but alas, as the trip got closer and closer, it looked like we were out of luck. Any available discounts were blocked-out the week before and the week after Easter. Since our plans were for April 4-8 at Universal, we were going to have to pay rack-rate, or not go at all. That's when I got to thinking and looking at the DCL website and noticed this little three-night cruise that worked perfectly with our flights and itinerary. When I priced it out, it wasn't going to cost much more for us to cruise then it would have if we were to go to UO for a few nights, especially since all the food was included and we wouldn't have many extra excursion expenses. So, I presented this information to the rest of my crew and the decision was unanimous…definitely the cruise!

Anyway, if you've read this far, you're probably wondering who we are.





I'm Kelly, this TR writer, crazy Disney fan, and a DVC member. I am a NICU nurse in real life and I pick up lots of extra shifts to help pay for our trips! I love taking care of those little babies and cannot imagine doing anything else. I've been around these boards for a while and I love reading trip reports and looking at everyone's pictures. It definitely helps to pass the time between trips! Speaking of pictures, I take a LOT of them. I basically use my iPhone camera just because it's easier and more convenient and I always have it with me anyway. I really admire people who take all the gorgeous photos with their fancy cameras, but A-I don't have a fancy camera, and B-I don't know if I'd want to carry it around, especially at the parks. I also have a GoPro and we took some videos on the ship so when I get around to editing some of those, I'll post a link here.

My traveling crew, or our "Disney Squad," as we like to call ourselves, includes my dear mom who we call Grammy, DS-16 Nicholas, and DD-14 Allison.

I'll have to wait and give a little more of an introduction later…Side note…No sooner had I started writing this this morning when I heard some super freaky, scary fluttering sounds coming from my fireplace chute! After calling DH and then leaving messages for animal control and wildlife control, this is what I ended up with…


I'm considering moving out of my house about now and I don't know if we'll have wifi where I'm going

Anyway, if I don't get eaten by a squirrel or a raccoon, I'll be back with another update soon.

Join in if you'd like and don't be afraid to say hi! I won't bite…but I can't make any promises for my fireplace guests!

 

[dnllmz]

Hi! Following along! I hope your unwanted house guest leaves willingly. Yikes!

 

[condorthb]

following

 

[buteraa]

Following.....

 

[buzzrelly]

Hi! Following along! I hope your unwanted house guest leaves willingly. Yikes!

Thanks for joining!

Yes, thank goodness!

following

Following.....

I'll be back soon with an actual update!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Hey, following! I'm doing a 4-night on the Wonder next February so this will be good to get more tips!

And I totally agree about fireplace critters. In a previous apartment I heard some critter (probably squirrel) in the duct system and was flipping out! I called my parents and was like-do I go to a hotel for the night? and they just laughed.

 

[buzzrelly]

Hey, following! I'm doing a 4-night on the Wonder next February so this will be good to get more tips!

And I totally agree about fireplace critters. In a previous apartment I heard some critter (probably squirrel) in the duct system and was flipping out! I called my parents and was like-do I go to a hotel for the night? and they just laughed.

Thanks for following!

Yikes…this is the first time this has ever happened to me and I hope it's the last!

 

[buzzrelly]

April 4, 2018-Travel Day:

Hello again!

Well, my house is critter-free for the moment (thanks to DH!), so I thought it's time for another update!


Our school vacation here in CT didn't officially start until April 8th, but we like to sneak in a couple extra days so I booked the plane tickets for Wednesday April 4th. This meant the kids were going to miss two days of school, which I'm fine with because they rarely miss and get decent grades. But so as not to miss a third day, our plane didn't leave until 5:20. Since we only live about 30 minutes from BDL, I picked the kids up from school and went straight to the airport.

We had fun embarrassing them at pick-up Ahhhh…it was just too easy. They literally refused to get in the car until I took down the signs, teens are such a joy


We got to BDL and parked in the garage after debating whether we should park for cheaper at some remote lot. Spoiler alert, I was glad we chose the garage, even though it cost more, because our trip home was kind of awful.

I had recently gotten TSA pre-check…totally amazing! And because I got it, we ALL got the little "TSA PRE-Check" on our boarding passes. It made getting through security a breeze.






We were soon seated at our gate to wait for our plane which was on-time


We ate our sandwiches and before long our plane arrived:


Bye-bye, CT! See you in 11 days!


DD and I watched The Greatest Showman for the second time. This is SUCH a great movie if you like musicals, which we do:


After a lovely, uneventful flight, we landed and headed to the Fake-O-Rail. It felt SOOOOOO good to be in Florida again! Can't you just see the JOY on DS's face




DS hates having his picture taken, so when I say, "STOP! Turn around so I can take your picture," he does but he isn't happy about it If you stay tuned, I think he lightens up a little and may even crack a smile or two

​

 

[buzzrelly]

Because our plane was landing so late, we had booked The Hyatt at MCO. By the time we collected our luggage, checked-in and got to our room it was almost 9:30pm. The view from our room was nothing great, but it was nice to have a balcony to step out onto and feel that wonderful, warm air.



The kids were kind of hungry so we went in search of food. They ended up getting Chick-Fil-et…mostly because that was pretty much all that was still open…and I got a cup of tea at Starbucks.


We went back to our room and ate and took showers and were sleeping shortly thereafter.

We woke up to this…


Cruise Day!

We packed up and left most of our luggage in the room to be transported to the ship later by DCL.


That convenience alone is worth staying here for. But also, the beds are really comfortable and the room was surprisingly quiet for being right in an airport.

By 8:45 am, we were headed towards the DME area to wait for our DCL bus.



We will see you soon, Pandora!


We were among the first ones there and were assigned to the Dumbo bus…


And by 9:05, we were on our way!




Funny story, I posted that Dumbo picture to a cruise group I was in and when I got on the bus, I noticed a notification from someone else in that group. She was on our same bus! I turned around to wave and she was looking for me to wave too. Small world!

Up next, we finally get to see that beautiful ship!
​

 

[buzzrelly]

April 5, 2018

We arrived at Port Canaveral at 10:04am and were so happy to see our ship



Since there was literally nobody else there when we arrived, we pretty much had the place to ourselves for a while. We definitely could have stayed at the airport or slept a little longer that morning had we wanted to, but we tend to be early risers anyway and once we were up, we just wanted to get going. I kind of liked getting there early so we could hang out on the observation deck and take some pictures in and around the terminal.














Even though we were among the first there, We were assigned Boarding Group 12. We were anxious to get on, but the wait wasn't too bad. Once they started boarding it seemed to go pretty quickly, except around boarding group 10 there seemed to be some kind of a hold up that backed up the line.

AT 12:27 pm, it was finally our turn

​

 

[cstorm65]

Just found your report and am excited to hear all about your cruise!

That kind of stinks that you were there that early, but still got boarding group 21.

 

[buzzrelly]

Just found your report and am excited to hear all about your cruise!

That kind of stinks that you were there that early, but still got boarding group 21.

Thanks for joining!

And duh…I have to go back and edit my post. We were assigned boarding group 12, but the poor lady that was in my Facebook group and on our same bus got boarding group 21. I don't know how it works, but I'm pretty sure we still fared better than if we had booked private transportation because we booked this so late that it was well after everyone's PIF date.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Following! Love your report.

 

[buzzrelly]

Following! Love your report.

And thanks!

 

[cadien]

Hey, following! I'm doing a 4-night on the Wonder next February so this will be good to get more tips!

And I totally agree about fireplace critters. In a previous apartment I heard some critter (probably squirrel) in the duct system and was flipping out! I called my parents and was like-do I go to a hotel for the night? and they just laughed.

Is it the one that starts in San Juan? We’re on the verge of booking that one.

 

[buzzrelly]

Once we boarded, we didn't waste any time heading up to Cabanas. I apologize for my lack of pictures of boarding, but I was also holding the GoPro and recording so trying to take pictures at the same time was impossible.

I am a big fan of Cabanas. I know some people don't like it because it's crazy and crowded, and it totally is. But I like being able to have so many different choices and not feel like I'm bugging anyone to try a little of this or a little of that. Also, I'm kind of a fuss and not really an adventurous eater, but I did make a point to try some new things for me, just because I could take as little as I like without wasting a whole entree.

Anyway, here are our plates from Cabanas:




I'm not a big seafood eater, but I do really like shrimp cocktail. I also tried salmon and didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. That chicken was really good.



My salad…I love, love, love salad and eat it at least once per day.




DD and her standard chicken strips and rolls. That's pretty much what she lived on all week. And this was DM's first plate. I made the mistake of sitting with the stuff and letting her go first and oh my, she took FOREVER just getting that. One of my best tips for people traveling with a group is to find your table BEFORE you all split up and head to the buffet. Otherwise you'll spend a LOT of time after getting your food trying to find each other. We learned this the hard way on our DREAM cruise



Holy, shrimp and clams! My DH and I are going on the DREAM in October and he will be doing some damage to that pile!














Everything looked and tasted excellent. My one gripe, and this happened over and over and over and was seriously annoying…they kept running out of ice. Not only did that happen here, but at the outside drink stations, as well. And nothing annoyed me more than seeing people with these huge jugs filling up at the soda stations and hogging all the ice. Plus, I blame DCL for not having more ice readily available. Ok, end of rant. In the scheme of things, it's not a huge deal, but I really would have liked some ice in my soft drinks.

After gorging ourselves, we went outside to absorb some of that gorgeous Florida sun


​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Is it the one that starts in San Juan? We’re on the verge of booking that one.

Nope, it’s to/from Port Canaveral (Feb 10-14). That way I can get in a visit to WDW too!

 

[cadien]

Our recent cruise on the Magic kept running out of ice too.

 

[buzzrelly]

Our recent cruise on the Magic kept running out of ice too.

Ugh. I find that so annoying. I'll see how it is on the DREAM in October, but I don't remember being annoyed by that last time.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I'm considering moving out of my house about now and I don't know if we'll have wifi where I'm going

LOL I was both scared for you and laughing quite a bit at your contraption here when you posted it on FB!!!

Also, not sure why that is the ONLY thing I quoted out of your updates so far!!

Looks like everything was off to a great start! I didn't realize DME would take care of your luggage out of the room when you stay at the airport hotel--definitely good to know, and such a nice perk if you're heading right out on a cruise!

Everyone looks very happy on cruise day, even your son gave you a nice big smile!