Countdown Cruisers - Ringing in the New Year on the Disney Wonder - 12/31/2013

[ksloane]

Woo Hoo! Checked in today and got a Port Arrival time of 11 AM. Have 10 more days before I have to pay in full. Getting excited!!

Woohoo! We are paid in full and checked in as well. Can't wait!!

We just got off the Wonder yesterday from it's inaugural Galveston sailing and we had a really great cruise. We spoke to several of the CMs about the NYE cruise and all of them told us that we will LOVE the NYE sailing. They all said that there will be lots of champagne and a party but always winked and said they couldn't spoil the suprise...arggh!! LOL

The Wonder is a beautiful ship - we really enjoyed seeing the small differences between the two sister ships. It has really made us glad that we booked the NYE cruise as I think it will be a great sailing.

I am soooo excited about this! I can't wait. So jealous that you were able to be on the inaugural cruise too.

 

[ultimate_ed]

Woo Hoo! Checked in today and got a Port Arrival time of 11 AM. Have 10 more days before I have to pay in full. Getting excited!!

I'm confused, I thought you had to be paid in full before checking in? Or is that just to book excursions and dining?


We also got a PAT at 11am. I was kinda surprised that I also didn't have any issued getting an 11am PAT for our first cruise out of Port Canaveral. Do people just not pick their PAT when checking in?

 

[madelyn]

Confused? Paid in full on the 4th but I believe I wasn't able to book anything (and check in?) for a couple of weeks after? Is this a priority based on people who have cruised before? This is our first cruise.

 

[ukintheus]

I'm confused, I thought you had to be paid in full before checking in? Or is that just to book excursions and dining?


We also got a PAT at 11am. I was kinda surprised that I also didn't have any issued getting an 11am PAT for our first cruise out of Port Canaveral. Do people just not pick their PAT when checking in?

I think you have to be PIF to book excursions etc., but you can still check in if your check in date is before the PIF date. I think that a lot of people pick a PAT based upon flights etc, and so an 11 am PAT is not always the most convenient. When we have sailed from PC we have done DCL transfers from WDW and so never get there before 1 pm.

Confused? Paid in full on the 4th but I believe I wasn't able to book anything (and check in?) for a couple of weeks after? Is this a priority based on people who have cruised before? This is our first cruise.

yes, your check in date is based upon your Castaway Cay member status. First time cruisers are 75 days, silver is 90 days, gold 105 days and Platinum 120. You can pay in full at any time of course.

 

[DisneyBlingGirl]

We just got off the Wonder yesterday from it's inaugural Galveston sailing and we had a really great cruise. We spoke to several of the CMs about the NYE cruise and all of them told us that we will LOVE the NYE sailing. They all said that there will be lots of champagne and a party but always winked and said they couldn't spoil the suprise...arggh!! LOL

The Wonder is a beautiful ship - we really enjoyed seeing the small differences between the two sister ships. It has really made us glad that we booked the NYE cruise as I think it will be a great sailing.

I was on that cruise as well......had a great time!!!!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Woohoo! We are paid in full and checked in as well. Can't wait!!

Kimberley, I was wondering if you could post the link to the final FE list (if there is a final list yet). I forgot to bookmark the chart after I entered our information. Thanks, Elana.

We are also checked in for an 11:00 a.m. PAT. Excited!

The Wonder is a beautiful ship - we really enjoyed seeing the small differences between the two sister ships.

I didn't realize that the Magic and Wonder were slightly different. I always thought they were identical. I have heard that the Magic has had some updating done. Any idea what they have done? I assumed they updated Animator's Palate to sync with the Dream and Fantasy.

 

[ukintheus]

I didn't realize that the Magic and Wonder were slightly different. I always thought they were identical. I have heard that the Magic has had some updating done. Any idea what they have done? I assumed they updated Animator's Palate to sync with the Dream and Fantasy.

The two ships are extremely similar, but there are some differences between the two. One of the most noticeable for us (and the Magic was our favorite ship) is that the Wonder has been maintained better than the Magic was over the last year. I'm sure that had something to do with the massive drydock. Cove Cafe is larger on the Wonder and is connected to Deck 10 with a staircase. Other things are more minor, restaurants have different names, adult areas are themed and called something different. The interior colors of the ships are slightly different - the Wonder was a little brighter we felt.

So, they have done a lot of stuff to the Magic! Yes, AP has been revamped as you said. Off the top of my head some others are...Topsiders has been converted to be like Cabanas on the Fantasy/Dream, Stateroom beds no longer split, kids clubs have all been changed/updated and renamed, adult club areas have all been changed/renamed, Parrot Cay has been rethemed and is now called Cariocas, the Mickey slide has been redone and they have added a new slide called the Aquadunk, added a splash zone for the kids similar to Dream/Fantasy, the gift shop area has been gutted and redone with floor to ceiling glass.

That's all I can think of right now, although there are some great threads on here, plus on disneycruiseblog with all of the changes and the updates.

 

[ultimate_ed]

I'm curious about what I'll need to buy souvenirs during our excursion time in Cozumel. Is it tourist oriented to the point that they take US dollars, or will I need to plan to get local currency to make any purchases there?

 

[ksloane]

I was on that cruise as well......had a great time!!!!

Are you also going on this cruise with us? If so, please consider introducing yourself and your family.

Kimberley, I was wondering if you could post the link to the final FE list (if there is a final list yet). I forgot to bookmark the chart after I entered our information. Thanks, Elana.

I will PM you the link. I'm not going to post publicly in case anyone posts information they don't want to "world" to know.

I'm curious about what I'll need to buy souvenirs during our excursion time in Cozumel. Is it tourist oriented to the point that they take US dollars, or will I need to plan to get local currency to make any purchases there?

My understanding is that most everyone will gladly take US currency. If anyone knows any different, please let me know too.

 

[WomanRN]

Haven't been on here for awhile...

Nice to see things picking up!

ksloane thanks for all the links to New Year's Eve stuff!

We are checked in and getting excited. I have a question about when to book Palo though. Will our dining rotation be listed on our cards or in our stateroom somewhere upon embarkation? I would like to book a dinner in Palo but also don't want to miss a night in each restaurant onboard. With 4 nights there has to be one repeat. Anyone know how to find that out ahead of time???

 

[madelyn]

Sorry! Don't think I did this! Will go fill out now!

I created a Google Form for all FE participants.

If you would, please fill out the form at this link:


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_w-En-lXiSpbHmHCm_ir4fF3CBTX3AXCznxM5hSyzbs/viewform

If I did it correctly, it will give you a link to save for the results after you input your data. If not, I'll send everyone the link in a private message.

This allows us to share information that we might not want the entire world and keep it private amongst ourselves.

 

[ksloane]

Haven't been on here for awhile...

Nice to see things picking up!

ksloane thanks for all the links to New Year's Eve stuff!

We are checked in and getting excited. I have a question about when to book Palo though. Will our dining rotation be listed on our cards or in our stateroom somewhere upon embarkation? I would like to book a dinner in Palo but also don't want to miss a night in each restaurant onboard. With 4 nights there has to be one repeat. Anyone know how to find that out ahead of time???

You may can call DCL when it gets really close to see if it's (your rotation) has been decided. Or request one and then bank on getting that. I think it is on your room key, but I wouldn't swear to that and ours are boxed up in the attic. I know you get a meal ticket in your room that has it on it.

I've never had to worry about that as I always cruise with my daughter and she's not old enough for Palo and I don't want to have dinner without her.

Sorry! Don't think I did this! Will go fill out now!

No problem. Thanks!

 

[ksloane]

Happy Tuesday Everyone. Only 76 more days until we will all be together.

I cleaned up the FE list today. There were a few instances where people were entered twice, etc. I've also updated our list on page 1. If everyone that originally signed up is still participating, we are at 21 rooms. I have contacted each of those that have not filled out their information yet to see if they are still coming/participating.

As soon as we are finished with gathering information, I will create maps of each floor with everyone's rooms marked.

Have a WONDERful week!

 

[DisneyBlingGirl]

Happy Tuesday Everyone. Only 76 more days until we will all be together.

I cleaned up the FE list today. There were a few instances where people were entered twice, etc. I've also updated our list on page 1. If everyone that originally signed up is still participating, we are at 21 rooms. I have contacted each of those that have not filled out their information yet to see if they are still coming/participating.

As soon as we are finished with gathering information, I will create maps of each floor with everyone's rooms marked.

Have a WONDERful week!

Thanks for coordinating the fish extender group!!!!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Thanks for coordinating the fish extender group!!!!

Agreed! Thank you so much. We've never participated in an FE before, and we are getting excited.

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

I've never had to worry about that as I always cruise with my daughter and she's not old enough for Palo and I don't want to have dinner without her.

We've never dined at Palo because we love the food in the dining rooms and we don't want to miss a night. We pick one night when our kids have dinner in their clubs or leave dinner quickly and go to their clubs so that we have some alone dining time.

 

[DisneyBlingGirl]

You may can call DCL when it gets really close to see if it's (your rotation) has been decided. Or request one and then bank on getting that. I think it is on your room key, but I wouldn't swear to that and ours are boxed up in the attic. I know you get a meal ticket in your room that has it on it.

I've never had to worry about that as I always cruise with my daughter and she's not old enough for Palo and I don't want to have dinner without her.

No problem. Thanks!

Hi. If you don't wont to miss dinner in the dinning rooms try Palo brunch. I just got back from the Wonder and did both Palo brunch and dinner. Both are amazing, but if I had to choose only one, I'd do brunch.

 

[ksloane]

Thanks for coordinating the fish extender group!!!!

Agreed! Thank you so much. We've never participated in an FE before, and we are getting excited.

No problem. We LOVE the FE exchange. I think I've planned my gifts yesterday and will start buying final supplies this weekend! WOOHOO!

We've never dined at Palo because we love the food in the dining rooms and we don't want to miss a night. We pick one night when our kids have dinner in their clubs or leave dinner quickly and go to their clubs so that we have some alone dining time.

Hi. If you don't wont to miss dinner in the dinning rooms try Palo brunch. I just got back from the Wonder and did both Palo brunch and dinner. Both are amazing, but if I had to choose only one, I'd do brunch.

I almost did a brunch this time, but I decided I would pass. Thinking of maybe doing it on the next one as I'll be with my daughter and son-in-law.

 

[Hookemhorns]

Hi All,

We decided that a New Year's Eve cruise was too exciting to miss. I booked this when we were on a Spring Break cruise in March thinking we might move it to another date, but since we're in Texas and this will be one of the last departures from Galveston we're sailing into the New Year on the Wonder.

We're from Austin, and have been on the Magic and Wonder several times over the years. We have a daughter who is a HS sophomore that I hope can correspond with another teen girl before the sailing so she will have a pal beforehand.

Now that we're committed I'll be counting the days!

 

[ksloane]

Hi All,

We decided that a New Year's Eve cruise was too exciting to miss. I booked this when we were on a Spring Break cruise in March thinking we might move it to another date, but since we're in Texas and this will be one of the last departures from Galveston we're sailing into the New Year on the Wonder.

We're from Austin, and have been on the Magic and Wonder several times over the years. We have a daughter who is a HS sophomore that I hope can correspond with another teen girl before the sailing so she will have a pal beforehand.

Now that we're committed I'll be counting the days!

Welcome to the group. The first post has a complete list of those who have said they are going. Hopefully your daughter can use that to find someone to interact with.