April 22, 2007 Wonder 4 Night!

[LadyShiva]

My family and I were also on the 4 night Wonder. The cast is DH, 2 year old DD, and myself.

Night 1:
I made the mistake of doing a red-eye flight, thinking kiddo would sleep on the plane. Well, I guess she did... She finally crashed on the landing! Very wild for a kiddo who has flown all over the world with no previous problems. Guess I won't do THAT again!

We stayed at the Marriot Orlando Airport. Bed, Bath, & Beyond toiletries; great size, VERY comfortable beds. Shuttle from the airport.

Hubby went back to the airport the next morning to get the rental car for the drive to the ship. No real problems renting from Budget, and I got a $30 full size car to carry all 6 bags + carry-ons + car seat + stroller from MCO to Cape Canaveral. Here's a hint... DON'T PACK THAT MUCH! I'm pulling clean clothes out of my bags today. LOTS of them! Coming from Denver, I pack for all seasons because we could have returned to snow.

So we pack everything up (Dawn, I don't know how you got 2 kids' worth of stuff to fit in one car!!) and start driving:

Daddy drops kiddo and I off at the terminal, where a guy whisks off our luggage and we stroll through security while waiting on DH to drop off the car and return. I go ahead and get checked in without him (wow!) and get a #9 boarding pass.

Kiddo gets comfy in the terminal:

We got on the boat and went to eat at the buffet at Beach Blanket.

After lunch, we headed to the cabin (Cat 5 on level 7, #7094) to check out the room.

I was amazed because there actually was enough room to have all of our stuff and yet still move around.

Next came the Sail Away party. One criticism here was it was just TOOOOOOOOOOOO LOUD! Kiddo refused to participate because it was so loud. We ended up on the upper deck, scooted on the back of the speakers, and even that was just hard on the ears.

She did, however, enjoy the fruit smoothie... She refused to share!!!

The great part about our hidey spot was we got to flirt with the characters before they went on stage to dance:

So after the ship sailed, we went back to the room to get swimsuits on. While Daddy took kiddo to the sprinklers, I sorted the room and got everything stowed.

 

[LadyShiva]

Night 2:

So Daddy and kiddo get back from the pool, and it's time to report to Flounder's Reef. Munchkin LOVED this place!!! To skip ahead a little, Snow White and Jiminy Cricket showed up Sunday night, and kiddo had an absolute BLAST playing with them. All the minders also said they had a great time playing with munch, which was nice to hear, too. When we first got to Flounder's, there were a bunch of little ones wailing. It didn't faze kiddo; she went right in (after wiping her hands down with hand sanitizing wipes), got a shopping cart, and went to the far side of the room to play! Wow, huh???

Hubby and I reported for our date at Palo's. We were already feeling a little sea sick, but were trying to brave it out. By the way, this is DUMB on our parts. Take the meds, if you feel the waves.

Anyway, we got to Palo, sun started setting, we're trying to concentrate on each other, the sun is setting in another set of windows (that must be how you get to the Bahamas, right? Go out to the international lanes and then turn?), there's even MORE food to nibble, DH is bumping the table and then the chair with each wave and having problems trying to eat..... Yeah, that wasn't working so well. I eat my THREE desserts (well, I didn't eat ALL of them, all right??) and DH goes back to the room to lie down and feel sick while I go get kiddo early.

Ok, if you were reading the above closely, you're probably laughing, right? Did I mention how good the food is at Palo? And how this is our first cruise? I didn't? How remiss of me. The food is GOOOOOOD at Palo. The service is EXCELLENT. This was our first cruise. It might also be our LAST cruise, if I can't get hubby to forget how sick he felt for 3 (count 'em! THREE!!) days.

So I go down to Flounder's and watch kiddo have a -wonderful- time with Snow White. I don't bother them, just watch them play. When Snow White comes out, she remarks on how fun Fiona is to play with and how Fiona's her new best friend! Pretty wonderful for a mother to hear, huh? So I do like a good mommy and go away to come back later.

I had to do this twice more. No way I'm taking kiddo while she's having this much fun! The minders were ~extremely~ chipper and attentive, too.

So the 3rd time I come back I actually have to get her. It's 10:20, her time is up at 10:30. While I'm talking to the lady minding the desk, the Captain of the ship comes on the intercom to explain why the ship is headed back to Port Canaveral. My heart sank; I was imagining all number of horrible things happening to the cruise, but thankfully, I was wrong. The crew was moving as fast as possible (i.e., no stabilizers!) to return someone to Port Canaveral for a medical evacuation. I have to say that impressed me; I didn't understand why they had to get back to Port Canaveral versus any other options (such as a Coast Guard boat meeting us--it took a LONG time for us to get back in that big of a boat, and we had to go slow up the canal (?) ), but I appreciated them evacuating the person the best way they could.

The best part, though, was the schedule was changed. Sea Day was Monday, Nassau was Tuesday, and CC was Wednesday! Yay! The last day wouldn't be spent mourning a return to dry land! Instead, we got to look forward to dry land!

Day at Sea:

We frankly didn't do much. We weren't feeling so hot with all the waves, and it honestly didn't feel like the stabilizers were on to us. It was very windy, but it was gorgeous blue skies above, and it was very nice, temperature-wise.

We ate at BBB and the quick restaurants due to kiddo. We watched cartoons on the big screen, and mainly just meandered around the ship.

Here's a funny picture of the babygirl:

She had my headband on and was playing in the sink. Hours of entertainment with no expensive toys!

 

[LadyShiva]

Here's some more pretty pictures:

 

[CNC1010]

Brandie! GLORIOUS and Amazing photos! I forgot to take ones of the water looking over our verandah railing so THANK YOU!!! Stabilizers working WHEW!

Keep it coming!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Very nice so far Brandie,
thanks, Kathy

 

[LadyShiva]

Approach to Nassau:

Rising up out of the waves... It is ATLANTIS!!!

So the morning of Nassau, we get off the boat and wander:

And did some shopping (glittery Christmas ornaments):

I also got some banana rum cake and a small bottle of coconut rum (which leaked in my suitcase a little--which actually was a lovely surprise!).

A glimpse of Atlantis:

We went back to the ship to go on our excursion to the aquariums of Atlantis. There was a little tiff when we went on the bus, which led to us being put on another, smaller bus (still air-conditioned, though). We noticed later that we were missing a walkie talkie from this change, though. Evidently, the first bus driver didn't want to take the excursion to Atlantis. It was weird.

Anyway, we got on our way through the amazing traffic of downtown Nassau. I was sooooo glad to be on a big bus and not taking a taxi with that horrid traffic. That gave traffic in India a run for its money! (well, except for the livestock--there were no animals in the roads!)

Nassau itself looked pretty rundown and in need of repairs from the last hurricane. There seemed to be at least one broken window in each building. Atlantis itself was the exception to this observation. It was absolutely beautiful and well-kept.

I have over 50 pictures from this excursion, so, to summarize:
1. Kiddo slept through the whole thing.
2. The aquariums are worth going to see.
3. The tour is too fast. This is definitely a place to take your time wandering through. A nice, cool, calm, leisurely walk through.
4. No, Atlantis is not real. As the tour guide kept reiterating.
5. The casino didn't do it for me.
6. Buying stuff there was expensive... A single scoop of lemon sorbet was over 4 bucks.

If you want pictures, tell me. I'll add them later.

That night was the Pirate Party. The fireworks were lovely. I had brought light sticks from home, and kiddo had a good time playing with those. She wasn't too interested in the drama on stage, but had a good time running Daddy all over the place, chasing after her. She noted the characters, but wasn't entranced due to the sound being up too high again. Too loud for us again.

The single line for midnight desert was waaaaay too long to stand in with a tired 2 year old, so we called it a night and went to bed.

 

[Dawn414]

ok, I KNOW we were on the same ship...so funny how different people's trips were... I"ve got more coming on mine...just trying to make like I'm working (came back to over 250 new emails...gag). Great meeting you!

Oh...and the kids' stuff was actually in one suitcase although the princess dress was in the suitbag. I had also taken a bunch of stuff out that I knew they wouldn't wear until we got back to Disney. And believe it or not, most of the stuff was worn...only a few clean clothes were put back.

Dawn McG

 

[LadyShiva]

Castaway Cay:

The weather was just lovely for our day. I managed to leave all the sand toys at the boat when we left, so we just got kiddo a set of souvenirs to play with. $18 for a cool recycled set (sand already included! ) and a little bit more for a huge shovel with Mickey ears. Fiona was in heaven.

The second we got to sand, she started digging:

I left daddy and Fiona there and went to claim a shady spot by the water. DH got her to follow eventually while I set up camp. Didn't get a hammock, but I still did pretty good.

We saw Stitch and Lilo, which are Fiona's personal favorites, so that was cool:

Good food at lunch, though it seems like more gotten eaten off of Mommy's plate than Fiona's own plate! Evidently, food is better when it is from someone else's plate.

A tip is to bring water shoes. Crocs didn't work so well, though. Pulled and tried to come off when trying to walk in the water. There are sharp shells everywhere and that sand is HOT.

Daddy and Fiona went back to the ship for a nap while I went on the stingray expedition. Never thought of sting rays as being soft, but they were. The spines were sharp down their backs, though. VERY worth it to go on, even if I couldn't snorkel (I'm blind without glasses, and contacts are not an option for me right now).

Linda, I agree with you... Konk Koolers are ~lovely~ and all they are advertised as being. I got one on the long walk back to the boat from the expedition. Soooooo wonderful!

 

[Dawn414]

Ok, I agree we had awesome weather on the trip, but that water was COLD!!! The lifeguard did verify it was unseasonably cold. Sitting in the tube was okay though.

 

[LadyShiva]

Ok, I agree we had awesome weather on the trip, but that water was COLD!!! The lifeguard did verify it was unseasonably cold. Sitting in the tube was okay though.

I agree, that water was startling... It warmed up as the day went on... But the wind also came up later. Did you get sunburned? We did, due to sunscreen operator issues... and it wearing off our feet (see first reason).

Brandie

 

[Dawn414]

Kyle had top of feet issues...I didn't get sunburned. I started off tan (I plan that, by the way...I am purposely tan BEFORE my trip begins) which means I only worry about the kids...all 3 of them (Kendall, Gavin AND Kyle)...

 

[LJC1861]

Brandie,

Great trip report! It was so much fun meeting everyone at the meet and then seeing you guys throughout the cruise.

Let's keep in touch.

We got back and told all our friends how much fun we had and showed them the pictures we took.....now we are all going next May for a 7 day Western!

I am just way too excited.

Linda

 

[mommykds]

Great report. Looking forward to more.

 

[LadyShiva]

Linda, that is tooo cool! Awesome!

Brandie

 

[Dawn414]

Linda-We booked the May 3rd 7-night western too! How cool is that? Of course, I've got the little ones so things like Serenity Bay are a distant future dream , but it's neat that we may see each other again!

Dawn McG

 

[LJC1861]

Dawn,

How cool is that!!!!!! We will definitely have to plan another meet.

Lisa and I spotted you, Kyle and the kids throughout the cruise, but the crowds were too thick to get to you. You were sitting a few rows in front of us for one of the shows...the night Gavin was dressed in his pirate outfit. He was so unbelievable cute!!!

Lisa and I are so excited about sailing again. Our friends were so enthusiastic about what we told them they couldn't wait to book. Now mind you this is coming from someone who wanted to know why 2 adults would want to go on a DISNEY ( said with a little sneer....LOL) cruise. After hearing Lisa talk about the adults only areas she was sold. The other couple heard about it from them and begged to be included....the more the merrier in my my book.

You should have no trouble spotting us on board....6 middle aged women laughing and probably drinking.....LOL. It is going to be a blast!

Now we have to start a thread on the meets page to see who else is traveling with us.

Linda

 

[Dawn414]

I was at the adult pool for about 30 minutes one day, but that was it...

Thanks for the compliment on Gavin's costume. We got SO many compliments from passengers which was really nice. He'll probably wear it again next year since I'm sure it'll fit him.

I did a trip report too...I haven't inserted the whole thing yet, but you'll find it's vastly different from your experience!...but still had an awesome time!

Dawn McG

 

[LadyShiva]

When we woke up the next morning, we found all the sunburned spots. Thankfully, Fiona had two little adult-size fingerprint burns on her shoulders and her scalp (she refused to wear a hat, and I wasn't thinking), but I was in some serious pain. Evidently, the spray sunscreen hadn't actually gotten on me on the reapplication in the afternoon, so I was left with a huge, clearly defined stripe down my left leg. My scalp was also singed. In addition, I also had fingerprint swipes on my back where you could see where sunscreen had not been applied (THANKS, honey!!! ) and the tops of my feet and my ankles were on fire. Hubby just had the tops of his feet and ankles where the water had washed off his sunscreen.

All together now: OOOOWWWWW!!!!

My scalp still hurts, by the way. Moral of this story: WEAR a decent HAT! Reapply sunscreen multiple times!!! Have your partner CHECK their sunscreen applications on the spots you can't get to!!!

So packing up and walking down to breakfast hurt like the dickens. We get down there, and have a hurried breakfast. Hubby got the tip from the DCL person that the Category 1-3's open up to "tour" after breakfast... We skipped it, though it was mighty tempting! We just got off the boat (a real non-event) and got the rental car.

So we've made a reservation for a 7 day Western for next April. I think we'll wait until next year when Fiona is able to take advantage of the kiddo clubs, because while she absolutely LOVED Flounder's Reef, it didn't leave us much time to ourselves. She also wasn't able to do too terribly much; she tired of the sprinklers pretty quickly. This is not to say I regret the cruise or that we didn't have fun; it's just we want to do a longer cruise where the hubby chooses to pack properly and kiddo gets to get into more stuff (as in, she's potty trained fully and so on).

April weather was beautiful, and while Orlando was sweltering hot, the Bahamas were perfect for us Denverites. I don't think we could do a hotter month without melting! The waves got to us, but we also noticed on the last day of the cruise that we had adjusted!

Hope this trip report helps others!

Brandie

 

[Dawn414]

Brandie-4/19? Say it ain't so...May 3rd, May 3rd, May 3rd!!!!

Ok, ok...I'm sure you have your reasons for choosing 4/19, but did I mention---5/3? it's also cheaper!!! Ok...I'll stop pushing now.

Dawn McG

On a separate note...were you impacted by the snow? My boss lives in Evergreen and then got like 2+ feet last week! YIKES!

 

[LadyShiva]

Brandie-4/19? Say it ain't so...May 3rd, May 3rd, May 3rd!!!!

Ok, ok...I'm sure you have your reasons for choosing 4/19, but did I mention---5/3? it's also cheaper!!! Ok...I'll stop pushing now.

Dawn McG

On a separate note...were you impacted by the snow? My boss lives in Evergreen and then got like 2+ feet last week! YIKES!

Nope. No reasons at all. Is May 3rd a Western or Eastern? I'd like to do a Western cruise next.

And we didn't get any snow at all. Evergreen's in the mountains/foothills, while I'm in the suburbs by the plains. No such luck! We could use the water!

Lemme know about the 3rd... or I'll go look it up. Whichever.

*wave*
Brandie