Back from the 12/19 Wonder!

[dotterson]

We had a GREAT time! I thought I would make a few observations and answer questions if anyone has some... This was our 3rd cruise and it was the best yet!

1. Service was SUPERB! I really mean it. We were overcome with the attention to detail, fantastic attitudes and the extra miles that all Disney people had! (The ship was constantly being cleaned too.) We left extra tips and even wrote some letters to get some crewmembers recognized.

2. The REAs was totally worth it. Hubbie was pleased and surprised with the massage. He was excited that there was a new fun thing every day.

3. Palos was great. I was told they just got a new chef 2 weeks before. Our meal was definitely 4star, the presentation was creative and artistic. The souffle was unbelievable (and the wonderful waiter boxed us one for our daughter.)

4. Lots of entertainment for everyone.

5. Weather wasn't the best (windy and a bit cool), but it beat the week before and I understand that this week won't be any better... Seas weren't too choppy.

Castaway was great! We got there early, and had a hammock. I didn't swim, but the DD and DH did. Water was around 70 degrees or so.

Nassau was dull. We walked around the straw market for a short time and went back on the boat to enjoy things there. (I wish Disney would find another port of call. I enjoy the market, but there wasn't anything else too exciting for us.)

6. Our DD is 12 1/2 and I have to say she didn't have the best time at the Lab. (I guess she's more mature than some.) They have to do something besides the Flubber for repeat cruisers! Also, the kid's meals were your standard fries and chicken fingers (etc.) and she thought they were pretty nasty. (She loved the adult food.)

I think the 11-12 age group needs other activities than the younger kids. DD is, however, looking forward to the older group when we go next time. (She thought their area was cool.)

7. There was an effort to get the 18-25 yr. olds together. This was somthing new, I believe.

8. Some of the free soda machines weren't working, but fixed quickly.

9. The mattresses were BAD. (Hope someone at Disney is reading this!!!) I had read there were being replaced. PLEASE DO SO! ARG! Our DD thought the bed from the couch wasn't too big and not comfortable either.

10. There were lots of characters, but since there were SO many kids, it was hard to see them. If we made an effort tho, and waited for them to come, we had lots of interaction. We took lots of photos!!!

Really, we had a great time! Most of the cruisers we met were really nice. (I did see some mom yelling at her kid, but he did call her a "b*tch" and he was 3!!!!)

Hope this helps for new cruisers! I would love to see a 5-day cruise. Seven days seems too long and 4 just a bit short.

d

 

[chasbos]

Thanks for the report - we are going on our first cruise Jan 23! I was wondering about the clubs, my DD's are 6, 9, 11, 13. I am worried that I am going to have a moody 13 on our backs for 4 days because she is the only one old enough for the teen club. Funny how that works, my 11 is more mature than the 13 year old.

We have booked the Dolphin Encounter - did you here of anyone who did this encounter and if so did they enjoy it? My family is really looking forward to this and I hope they are not dissapointed.

I am also glad to here that service was superb, call me snobbish but that is why we picked Disney and are paying through the nose for it - but I want to be waited on!

 

[westjones]

We were on the Dec. 19th cruise with ''d" and also had a wonderful time.

This was our 6th cruise (3rd on the Wonder--the other three on the Magic). A couple of things I noticed:

--They now have nachos at Plutos! My girls loved that. They ordered fries and had them put the nacho sauce on to make cheesy fries.

--The Wonder still had the M&Ms for ice cream at scoops (we noticed that the Magic didn't have them in September).

--There is some new items in the gift shop, our favorite was a cup with a 3-D animated like picture of Ariel and the ship (with Mickey on the ship). These cost $8.50 each, but I must confess we all got one to use at home. BTW, there were no 2004 photo albums left, they did have the 2005 ones out, so if you are sailing this weekend you won't be able to get a 2004 album.

--I didn't like the check in at the port for the Kids Club as much as the old way BUT that is because we were always the first ones there when we boarded and there was NO wait for us. We got to the port late this time (riding the surrey bikes around Boardwalk at WDW that morning before we headed to port), so that is probably why it seemed to take longer to get the kids registered.

--The Castaway Club line to check in was WONDERFUL! As I said, we got to port late for the first time, so we were not use to the long lines to check in. The Castaway Club line had only 2 other families in it and we were able to get checked in without too much of a wait, but the other lines were terrible! BTW, they had a new process where WE had to pull out all the pages from our ticket books that we had filled out. This had changed from September when we went when they still did it when you checked in. We were told to go to a table and do this BEFORE we got in line---had I known, I could have done all of that while waiting for DH to park the van.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Those are the only things I can think of right now. I am hoping DH gets our pictures uploaded to webshots this weekend and I can share them with you guys.

BTW, dotterson, my girls had a great time with your DD. I am glad we had them write to each other before the cruise.

DJ

 

[kristen821]

I checked my kids in at the kids club instead of at port and that worked out great. I figured they already had a spot for my kids and my kids didn't plan on going the first day anyway. They also let my dd2.5 into the kids club which was wonderful. She is potty trained.

I agree with the op on the mattress issue. one side of the bed was fine and the other side the mattress wasn't so nice. I know wierd but both dh and I agreed on the issue. By the end of the night dh and i were both on one half of the bed. It felt like the old days!

 

[dotterson]

And, actually, glad we didn't do any excursions since it was so cool. I saw people getting on those boats with sweatshirts and freezing.

DJ- Nat had a great time with the 'girls.' We have a few pics that we'll send to you. (I'm getting the real film developed. We already have the digital done.) We'll email you privately!

As I said, we had such a GREAT time! For those that are going, you're in for a treat!!!!!

d

 

[alexandrew]

Is this true that you can now register the kids for Oceaneers at the port prior to boarding??? Please elaborate...

If so, that is really great....I remember long lines at the clubs to register, prompting us to wonder if and when they would start registering at port...One less place to "scramble" to at embarkation....

 

[westjones]

Yes, they are registering the kids for the club/lab over in the coffee shop area. So that is something you can get out of the way before boarding. They have computers set up there and can get the kids all ready to be in the club/lab there so that evening they can just show up for the activities.

DJ

 

[alexandrew]

do they issue the kids the wristbands at the port as well...???

 

[westjones]

My kids are old enough to check themselves in and out, so they didn't get them. They did get these 'key holders' with info on them that they were suppose to turn in everytime they checked themselves in. I would guess they would give out the wristbands there at the port for the kids that needed them. They had all of the computers and printers they needed to complete the process. They basically took over the coffee shop. One of the CMs said that DCL will eventually take over the whole coffee shop area.

DJ

 

[alexandrew]

thats really good stuff....It was always such a drag in registering the kids at the clubs-very chaotic, and a long process...now we'll have one less thing to do at embarkation....so much more convenient to have DW register the kids in terminal while I wait in line to embark....

 

[nisiemouse]

We also had a great time on the 12/19 cruise and dotterson and westjones both posted great reports. I just wanted to add that our bed was very comfortable with a pillowtop mattress. Maybe our stateroom mattress had already been replaced.
Sorry I missed those cups. They sound really cool.
I was also impressed with the level of service especially from our server and stateroom host.
It's hard to believe a week ago today we were just starting our cruise.

 

[NickandLivvysmom]

Kirstin815- I am so glad I saw your Post!!! My dd will be 2.8 yrs. and potty trained when we take our cruise and I was curious on whether she'd be able to go in the kids club!!! Has anyone else been in my situation and their child NOT been allowed?

 

[Suzanne033]

I agree all that has been said. The service was great (we has Hank from Jamaica and Audrey from France). The shows were top notch. Our stateroom host (Emer) always seemed to be 'hoovering' (as my husband said). The food was abundant and fabulous. Castaway Cay was amazing. Our room (Navigator's Verandah) was great.

Our only disappointment was that our excursion in Nassau was cancelled due to bad weather. So we only got off the ship long enough to go through the straw market and take some pictures of the ship. My husband (who is a Police Officer) was a little bit more adventurous and actually went into the city. He said it is not a place he would go again or that he would let his family go. He compared it to some of the worst neighborhoods he has worked in his career. He said that if we were to ever cruise to Nassau again he would not even want to get off the ship unless we had booked an excursion.