"Back from OKW and Castaway Cay" (DCL).......

[buzz5985]

I cruised this past Oct 2003. I had booked a Cat 10 - Secret Porthole room, and was upgraded to a Verandah Cat 6. We have never figured out why we were upgraded, maybe because we booked close to 1 1/2 years out, or as soon as the prices were out. The ship was full. We figure they were upgrading the Cat 10 and 11, to make room for more Cate 10 and 11

Hate to say it but the Verandah was lost on us. We spent about 10 minutes total on it. We are never in the cabin. We left the room at 8 am and would return to get changed for dinner, and not return until 11 pm or midnight, depending on how tired the 7 yo DS was.

 

[JimC]

Nick -- Enjoy your trip! We thought the Category 6 staterooms were fabulous.

Hope you were getting plenty of exercise! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_5_131.gif' alt='Aerobics' border=0></a>

 

[MiaSRN62]

Nick !
Nice to hear from you--glad you're having a good time. I knew you'd love the cruise

We are going on the 7 day cruise and are really looking forward to enjoying the verandah. Any advice on which locations are better than others with a category 6 w/verandah room? We are a party of all adults.

Dee,
You'll love the verandah. I've heard as close to midship as possible is best for the least amount of rocking. Also, starboard side is nice because usually the ship backs in when docking at Castaway Cay and this way you get the most gorgeous view of the island from your verandah.
We had a starboard verandah (though it was all the way aft) on our last Disney cruise and loved it.
Going cheap this trip because we need 2 rooms ----I have 2 connecting secret porthole rooms reserved which is all the way forward. I'll never know if the rocking is less midship because I never seem to get a room there but this is what they tell me as far as feeling less movement.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I am glad you are enjoying your cruise Nick!

After my first Disney Cruise I was hooked! The combination of cruising with my love of Disney is just overwhelming!

Looking forward to more trip details when you return.

 

[BWVDee]

Originally posted by MiaSRN62
Nick !
Nice to hear from you--glad you're having a good time. I knew you'd love the cruise

Dee,
You'll love the verandah. I've heard as close to midship as possible is best for the least amount of rocking. Also, starboard side is nice because usually the ship backs in when docking at Castaway Cay and this way you get the most gorgeous view of the island from your verandah.
We had a starboard verandah (though it was all the way aft) on our last Disney cruise and loved it.
Going cheap this trip because we need 2 rooms ----I have 2 connecting secret porthole rooms reserved which is all the way forward. I'll never know if the rocking is less midship because I never seem to get a room there but this is what they tell me as far as feeling less movement.

Thanks Maria!
I do have a couple more questions, I hope you don't mind.
Those cabin locations sound great, when do we request the cabin location? We booked the cruise through a TA. Is it already too late to request a cabin location?
Have you eaten at Palos? If so, did you like it and which night would you advise us booking. We are on the 7 day Eastern cruise leaving Oct 30.
Thanks again for the information!

 

[MiaSRN62]

when do we request the cabin location? We booked the cruise through a TA. Is it already too late to request a cabin location?

I also booked thru a TA (DU) and got our stateroom #'s at actual time of booking. Call your TA and ask if you have assigned room #'s yet. Even if you do and want to change I don't feel it's too late. We actually had our staterooms changed about 30 days out on our last cruise.
We did not dine at Palo's only because we were on the 4 day Wonder and didn't feel we'd have enough time to fit everything in that we wanted to do. We plan on it with this upcoming cruise though because I've heard nothing but positive reviews----maybe Nick can fill us in when he gets back ?
But, I have heard a good night to book Palo is on the 2nd night you rotate to Animator's Palette because they don't do the light/animation show the second time around----thus making it an ideal night to skip the regular dining rotation. I'm not sure if the TA will have access to your actual dining rotation earlier than the day you board. We booked with points thru MS last cruise and as soon as we got into our room, our dining rotation card was there. Try and see if your TA will know sooner than this what your rotation will be, that way you can immediately get in line for Palo reservations as soon as you board. Good luck.
I'm getting on the Magic the same day your disembarking. Have fun on the Halloween cruise.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We're really looking forward to our 3-day Wonder cruise in October. This will be the grand prize cruise from the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Play It! game I won during our fall trip to the Food and Wine Fest. The prize cruise is in a cat 9 cabin, but we have paid the price to upgrade to a cat 4 to get more room and a verandah. It'll be our first cruise, and the price cannot be beat .

Ralph

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by BWVDee
I do have a couple more questions...
Have you eaten at Palos? If so, did you like it and which night would you advise us booking. We are on the 7 day Eastern cruise leaving Oct 30.

We booked Palo (adult only restraunt) as soon as we got on the Wonder for the 2nd night of our 4 day cruise. It is very nice, and it is a $10 per person charge(plus gratuity)........and it is worth it.
The other restraunts(Tritons,Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay) are just as good and give larger portions.

We are mid ship on deck 6(6076). Verandah's are very nice but if you are only doing a 3 or 4 day cruise it is not a must unless you got extra cash($400) to burn. We booked this current cruise about 17 months out through DU(Dreams Unlimited).

Will complete this report thursday evening late or friday morning.

 

[kathleena]

Hey Ralph - congrats on your WWTMAM win! I was there for a win once and even in the audience, it is so exciting.

BTW - My sister lives in Naperville - on Fair Oak Drive.

 

[wisbucky]

Thanks for the report and asking about the slide. We will be at OKW in little over a week. We will also ask about the slide and see what answer we receive. Enjoy your cruise.

 

[lenshanem]

Thanks Nick. Have fun!

 

[KNWVIKING]

***" Thanks Nick. Have fun! "***

Not a single spelling error

 

[lsutigger2]

Glad you guys are having a great time!

DH and I leave in 7 1/2 wks for our first ever cruise! I get more excited each day. I'm sure I'll be difficult to live with as time gets closer!! LOL!

Thanks for all the good things about the cruise!

Anxiously awaiting that trip report when you return.

 

[nisiemouse]

Thanks for checking in. I can't wait to hear the full report. We are going on our first cruise in December.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Here is the rest of my report.................mainly for DVC'ers who haven't cruised before and are considering it.

Getting on the ship is very organized. We drove our rental car from OKW to the Avis on A1A. From there....the Avis shuttle took us to the port around 11:00 am. It only took 10 minutes to get checked in at the Terminal. Around 12:00 they started to let us on the Wonder.

The Wonder is absolutely "gorgeous". We were in the mid-ship area in room 6076. We had a verandah but I bet in the 4 days we were on the ship, we spent a total of 2-3 hours total on it. There is just to much to see and do.

There restraunts on the ship(Animators Palate,Tritons,Parrot Cay,Palo) are all excellent. Most of them are on decks 3+4 except for Palo which is on deck 10. We had early seating(6:00) and would do it again. We had a table for 4 and sat with a honeymooning couple from Ohio. We only sat with them 2 of the 4 nights because they also had Palo reservations one of the nights.So most of the time except for 2 dinners with them, Cindy and I ate alone and enjoyed each others company.

Food is one thing not lacking on the ship if you happen to get hungry before lunch or dinner.Besides room service 24 hrs a day(at no charge) there is on deck 9 by the pools "Pluto's Dog House" which has hot dogs,hamburgers,chicken fingers,etc.There is also Beach Blanket Buffet, which is a casual buffet style restraunt.

The shows playing in the Walt Disney Theater were Hercules,Golden Mickeys, and Disney Dreams. They were all excellent. They also had a comedian (Gary Delena) on 1 night.

The Wonder has 3 pools on deck 9. Mickey pool for toddlers, another pool for families and one strictly for adults(Quiet Cove).

Our favorite part of the trip was Castaway Cay. The Wonder is only docked there from 8;00 am until 4;30 pm. We went to the adult only beach (Serenity Bay) and it was "breathtaking". The water is so blue and clear, I have never seen

anything like it.

They have plenty of lounge chairs,enough for everyone. They also have a great luch there at Serenity Bay for adults with hamburgers,hot dogs,chicken sandwhiches,fruits,drinks,etc. You also can order drinks

right from the beach and have them brought to you.

They do have an Internet Cafe on deck 3 with 10-12 computers. We did purchase the unlimited package for $39 so we could keep in touch with our 17 yr old daughter back home. We never had to wait for a PC. I even printed our boarding passes from the ship on the last night.

The last night of the cruise you put your luggage out by 11:00 pm and you won't see it again until you are in the terminal on your way out. We had the early breakfast at 6;45 am and got in line to get off the ship.

Disney has the "getting off" the ship very well organized. It only took us 10 minutes to get our luggage,pass through customs, and check our baggage at US AIR(port), and get on the DCL busses.

We were at the Orlando airport by 8:50 am for our flight. Our flight didn't leave until 4;50 so we got a "day room"($60) at the Hyatt inside the airport. We just relaxed, went outside and sat at the pool, had lunch inside the airport,etc until we boarded our plane at 4:30. It was a nice ending to our OKW-DCL trip.

Any questions feel free to ask............

 

[niks81]

Sounds like you had a good time The only question I have for you is when is your next cruise?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Disney has the "getting off" the ship very well organized. It only took us 10 minutes to get our luggage,pass through customs, and check our baggage at US AIR(port), and get on the DCL busses.

I agree Nick....couldn't believe how orderly everything was. Sounds like you had a fantastic time. Did you dine at Palo's ? If so, what did you think ? We never got a chance to do this on our last 4 day cruise, because, like you said, there's so much to do.
BTW, any reports of a jellyfish problem at CC ? I read over on the cruise boards that someone who was at CC on 2/19 reported a terrible jellyfish situation---stating 1 out of 4 people were getting stung. Just curious if you noticed anything there ?
Thanks for the report.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by MiaSRN62
I Did you dine at Palo's ? If so, what did you think ? We never got a chance to do this on our last 4 day cruise, because, like you said, there's so much to do.
BTW, any reports of a jellyfish problem at CC ?

Maria
We dined at Palo's the second night. It was very good. But to be honest..........I think we would pass on the next cruise. It was $10 per person, plus gratuity. It is a great atmosphere.....adults only,tables for 2, great view,top deck,etc.

Didn't see or hear of any jellyfish problems while we were there.

Originally posted by niks81
The only question I have for you is when is your next cruise?

niks81
I think we will be doing a 4 day cruise combined with a 2-day OKW trip at least once a year.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by Nick@ VB+OKW
Here is the rest of my report.................mainly for DVC'ers who haven't cruised before and are considering it.

Disney has the "getting off" the ship very well organized. It only took us 10 minutes to get our luggage,pass through customs, and check our baggage at US AIR(port), and get on the DCL busses.

We were at the Orlando airport by 8:50 am for our flight. Our flight didn't leave until 4;50 so we got a "day room"($60) at the Hyatt inside the airport. We just relaxed, went outside and sat at the pool, had lunch inside the airport,etc until we boarded our plane at 4:30. It was a nice ending to our OKW-DCL trip.

Any questions feel free to ask............

So glad to see you were able to check-in at Port!

Glad to see you booked another!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Oh, it all sounds so lovely. We'll go on a Disney Cruise someday, I really really want to experience Castaway Cay. (I think the idea of a DVC there would give them a sold out resort before it's even finished. )

Thanks for giving us the report!

Bobbi