Braids

[Allie in Wonderland]

I am going on the 4 day Wonder cruise sea only, and wanted to know any information you have on hair braiding. Some things I was wondering is:
How much money does it cost?
Where does a nice job, and where doesn't do a good job?
Where does it on a 4 day cruise?
And anything else you have to share.
Thanks so much!

 

[annorken]

Hi,

We just returned from the 4 night Wonder (12/15). My daughter did braid on this trip and also on our previous trip (7 Night Magic). We followed the recommendation on this board and did the braid with Disney affiliated people mainly for sanitary reasons (Castway Cay and Ship).

The first time was on Castaway Cay - cost $2 per braid + tip. According to my daughter, it was very painful. The lady did the braids very tight and took us 2 hours to get it done. Cost me $50 + tip + time (2 hr waiting on a beautiful island for hair briading was definitely not worth it.

The second time, my daughter got her hair braided on the ship. I told the Hair Braiding lady about the painful experience that she had on Castaway Cay. She therefore was extremly gentle with my daughter. She did a wonderful hair braiding job and my daughter still has the braids. The cost is the same $2 per braid. However, it costs me less b/c the braids are not tight. The total cost was $20 + tip.

I would definitely recommend to do the braid on the ship (hate to miss the valuable time on the Castaway Cay for getting hair braided). Just follow your naviagator and it will tell you when/where for making the hair braiding appointment. For the 12/15 4nt Wonder, it was on the first day at 5PM at the Prelude.

Good Luck and Enjoy!
Ann

 

[castawayfan]

Ok, so for a different point of view. We had the opposite experience of Ann. DD 11 has had her hair braided on Castaway Cay twice now and they did a fantastic job both times. The braids really lasted a long time (3+weeks) and she was very happy. She had the "headband" style done with the braids all the way down the back of her hair. Took about 45 minutes last week and cost with tip was $40. She has very, very thick hair. She did say the part near her ears hurt because she did pull it tight. She also had braids done on the ship in April and it took 3 hours, fell out in three days and she felt it was much more painful. I think it all depends on who you get to do the braiding.

 

[shefor24]

We really took a chance....
I have twin daughters age 10. We went on the Wonder in Oct. We had a family we knew on there also, they had a 10 year old girl too. They went off the ship at Nassau and came back with the 10 year olds hair braided nicely. The mom paid 2 bucks a braid to do it, and it cost total 54 bucks. I told her mom about how dangerous that was to take a chance on unsanitary, and my twins wanted theirs done too. I debated over dinner at Tritons weather or not to let them do it. I decided to go ahead and take the chance and so I took $50.00 with me off the ship. I decided that IS ALL I am paying total for both. I told myself and the twins that this is IT, all we are spending. So we went to the pavillion where they all hang out and beg you to get your hair braided. By now it was getting dark. People were yelling at each other off to the side of where we were. It was pretty scarey really. So I told the group there what I wanted, and how much I had. They all started saying they can't do it and argueing over who gets the business. So we acted like we weren't interested if they were going to argue about it and we started walking away. Well, one of the ladies came out towards us and said she will do it for that price. I double checked with her that I said I only have 50 and that is for BOTH. She agreed, did it, and all is well. I know it was a big chance as far as lice goes, but darn those are expensive and we just didn't have that kind of money.... times two! So it ended well, and I got both my kids done for less than the friend got her hair done and it looked good too.
When we were standing there waiting for the last one to finish, a big huge RAT went waddling past us, and the women didn't even say anything about it. We were freakin' out. Yuck!! I don't think I will ever take that chance again. We went thru the lice thing last year and I never want to do that again!!

 

[rae519]

shefor24-
A rat? In Nassau?
Why am I not surprised?

My DS (7) wanted to see what was there since he didn't get off the Wonder during our first cruise. We couldn't have any type of conversation with the people asking/begging/bargaining with us for things we either didn't want or hadn't looked at. He asked to go back within a half hour. Sad too because there could be so much potential information and sightseeing there.

The best part about Nassau was that we were on the side of the ship that looked out toward the ocean and Atlantis Hotel/Casino. Made for a lovely (and QUIET) afternoon on our verandah.

Rae

 

[SuAnne]

My DD had her hair braided on CC two years ago. It really hurt and she was in tears, but they stayed in for about a month.

We were on the 7 Day Magic cruise on Dec. 14 and we decided to have her hair braided on the ship this time. I did mention to the girl that DD has a very sensitive head and this time , DD said it didn't hurt at all. Two of the elastics broke while she was showering on the last night of the cruise and those braids came out. Not a problem though as she was wanting them out anyway.

It was nice to have them done on the ship as she was able to have them done on Sunday (our first sea day) and they were in for the entire cruise which made hair care very easy, which is always a challenge with DD!

 

[Allie in Wonderland]

I was wondering if uou get it done on the cruise do you need a reservation? Can you pick who does it? If you watch them can you tell if they will do a good job?

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Yes, you need to make a reservation to get braids done onboard. The spots fill up quickly, so make your reservation early.

 

[dianedisney]

I always tell clients not to get braids by the locals. I have yet to see them use any kind of sanitation between clients. They never wash their hands after working on previous clients. I even had a client come back with head lice....yuck. So to me the cheaper cost is not worth it.

 

[Allie in Wonderland]

Thanks! This really helps a lot.

 

[SuAnne]

Go before the time that is listed in your Navigator. The posted time was at 9:30 at the gift shop ( Treasure Ketch) but they started taking reservations at 9:00 am.

 

[sassytpotts]

Cost is $2 per cornrow and $1 per braid.

I have a 10 and 12 year old and it hurts. They put solarcaine on it afterward. One braider was 1 hour and 15 minutes behind so we just came back. It took about 45 minutes for each child. $46 total each girl. They love them.

Do it on a sea and save your time on Castaway Cay.