Dec 8-11th Wonder cruise report

[MichelleVW]

Cast

Me
My husband John
Alyssa 14
Allison 12

First cruise for all of us.

Dec 8th
We left the Animal Kindgom Lodge on a rainy yucky Thursday morning about 9:30 and drove to Port Canaveral. Unloaded the luggage in the pouring rain and John went to park the truck while the girls and I waited for him Got through security about 11 and got a Number 2 boarding card. We had already checked in at the AKL so we just sat around and took some pictures of the decorations and then watched some TV until it was time to board. Went through the ears a little before 12 and were on the ship to hear, “The VanWinkle family!!” That was really cool!!!!

Headed over to Parrot Cay for lunch and the girls were excited to see Max there! Wandered around a little while after lunch and checked out the Oceaneer’s Lab for Allison and the Aloft for Alyssa. Finally our room was ready (cat 6 #6532) so we went to check it out. John and Allison went to the shopping briefing at 3 while Alyssa and I took a little nap and unpacked. Then it was the lifeboat drill and the sail away celebration that had to be held indoors because of the weather. After that we went back to our room and waved goodbye from our rainy veranda.

Went to dinner at Parrot Cay the first night (first seating) and had two wonderful servers. The sea was VERY rough that first day so halfway through dinner Alyssa felt sick and headed back to the room. Then John left before desert because he didn’t feel well either. By the time I got back to the room Allison was feeling sick. I was going to try to go to Hercules at 8:30 by myself, but by the time 7:45 rolled around I too was sick!!! I was ok if I was on the verandah but as soon as I walked into the room I felt sick. So I ended up on the verandah until about 9:30 when I finally crawled into bed because it was getting cold outside!!

Alyssa woke up at 11:15 and got dressed and went up to the Aloft to check out the teen activities that were going on. John woke up at 11:45 and said he was going to see the midnight showing of Narnia and asked Allison if she wanted to go, she said no, but the next morning she said she didn’t remember him asking her and was mad because she wanted to see it!!

Alyssa got in about 1:30 from the Aloft and John got back about 2ish and said Narnia was great.

To be continued…..

 

[MichelleVW]

Cast

Me
My husband John
Alyssa 14
Allison 12

First cruise for all of us.


Dec 9th Nassau

After getting up early every day at Disney World before the cruise we wanted so badly to sleep in late and relax on Friday….wrong….didn’t happen! I woke up about 7 am and was STARVING and excited to be on the cruise so I couldn’t sleep. So we got up and went up to eat breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet. I really loved those chocolate Mickey Mouse waffels!!

After breakfast we decided to go into Nassau to hit a few shops. Kids weren’t too excited about going, but we took them anyway. Hit a few tourist shops and decided they were just like all tourist shops everywhere so we headed back to the ship about 10:30 or so.

Dropped Allison off at the Oceaneer’s Lab so she could make some friends and Alyssa headed off to Aloft and we wouldn’t see much of her for the rest of the cruise.

John and I headed up to the adult pool and I enjoyed the pool and the sun. John had picked up some rum in town and was bringing me rum and cokes instead of buying them at the bar. Ate some chicken strips for lunch at the pool. John can’t sit still as long as I can, so he left me after an hour or so and went to take a nap and then hit the beer tasting at 4. I headed back to the room about 4 and took a little nap myself and enjoyed the quietness of my room!!

Woke up about 5 and decided to get ready for dinner. Allison came back at 5:45 and got ready, but I had no idea where my husband or oldest child was. Finally at 6:10 Allison and I decided to head to Triton’s to dinner without them (we had 6:15 seating) well, when we hit the elevator I saw my husband hurrying up the stairs, he said he was at bingo and won $152 so I shouldn’t be mad that he was late!! After he changed clothes we headed towards the elevator again and then we see 14 year old running up the stairs in a panic because she knows she’s late and in trouble. She changed and FINALLY we were on our way to Tritons.

Kids got chicken strips again and Allison loved the way the server made her ketchup in the shape of Mickey. John got prime rib and I got fish. Alyssa took off halfway through dinner to catch up with her teenaged friends again, I wanted to make her stay with us, but John told me to let her go.

After dinner we wandered around the ship for a bit then went to see the Golden Mickey’s. Our favorite part was the Mulan segment and Tarzan although watching Tarzan spin on that rope when I was a little seasick made me a little queasy! John wasn’t feeling well so he left halfway though the show to go lay down.

Then we were off to the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. That was really fun with the dancing and characters and the fireworks. We had to leave the party a little early because we wanted to see Narnia at 11, but we stayed as long as we could.

Went to the Walt Disney Theater at 10:50 to see Narnia. I had Allison go out and get me a sprite because I was a little sea sick and needed something to settle my stomach. Saw Alyssa with her friends and told her she had to be back at the room 10 minutes after Aloft closed. Allison saw some of her friends from the Oceaneer’s Lab and went to sit with them and left me all alone. Someone that sat in front of me had brought their baby with this flashing necklace they got at the Pirate’s party. It was very annoying and I should have asked them to cover it up, but instead I just scrunched down in my seat and tried to block the view with my jacket.

Narnia was really good even though I fell asleep for a few minutes in the middle (I am really not a late night kind of person). It was hard to get comfortable to sleep in those seats, but somehow I managed!!

Movie was over and Allison and I headed back to the room and hit the sack.


To be continued…

 

[pyramid2000]

Very nice report! Sorry you missed Hercules and the seasickness. Hope the rest of your trip was better in that regard!!

 

[MichelleVW]

Cast

Me
My husband John
Alyssa 14
Allison 12

First cruise for all of us.


10 December Castaway Cay Day

Woke up early because Alyssa wanted to go on the Teen excursion and we hadn’t signed her up yet, (plus I was hungry!!) so we ate breakfast and went up to the Aloft to sign her up for the excursion. Got her settled and then we went back to the room to get ready for the beach. I think we got off the ship at 9:45 or so and headed down the beach. Found some chairs and sent John and Allison to get a couple of floats. Couldn’t believe how COLD the water was, but we got in anyway. John stayed til lunch and went and brought Allison and I some burgers to eat at the beach and he wandered around a bit on the island because he can’t just lay on the beach and be happy like I can!! I think he headed back to the ship about 12:30 or so. One of Allison’s friend’s found her and they played in the water for a while then decided they wanted to go snorkeling so they went off to rent the equipment and I ordered me a daiquiri and soaked up some more sun!!! We saw Alyssa and the teen gang walk by us once on their way to the teen beach where she said she had a blast!

Allison was tired of the beach about 2 so we turned in the floats, and towels and headed back to the ship. We stopped on the way back to shop, I got a magnet and a long sleeve t shirt, but Allison didn’t find anything she wanted. Got back to the room and I had Allison order cookies and milk from room service and she thought that was really neat!! John and Alyssa both came back to the room in time for dinner and to watch us cast off the island from our balcony.

Last night there and we ate at Animators Palate. Can’t honestly remember what I ate, but I’m sure it was good…..I remember the double fudge cake I got for desert and that was REALLY GOOD!!! Alyssa took off before desert and headed out to meet her teen friends of course and I told her she had to be back in the room 10 minutes after the Aloft closed for the night.

After that we checked out the shops before the Disney Dreams show. Allison and I really liked the show, but I know my poor husband would have been happier if I didn’t make him go with us!!

After the show we went in the gift shop and I got a Disney Cruise Line Hoodie and John bought some Crown Royal for a crazy cheap price!!

After that we were all tired and John was feeling sick since he was coming down with a cold so we headed back to the room to pack. Sat out on the verandah in the dark for a while and listened to the ocean before I finally went to bed. Alyssa came in about 2:10 and went to bed..

Next thing we knew it was 6 am and we were getting our wake up call for our 6:30 breakfast. After breakfast we hung out in our room for a few minutes until it was time to leave the ship. Got off the ship, found our luggage and left and were in the car well before 8 AM heading back to North Carolina.

 

[LuckyCharm]

Excellent report.

 

[yogibigdog]

Thanks for posting such a nice report. Sounds like you all had a good time. We were on that same cruise. I was amazed the first night out how many people were sick. I went to Hercules there were not many people there. The person in front of got sick (in a bag) Then stayed for the rest of the show. Around 11:00 pm I went for a walk on Deck 4. There were so many people sleeping out on deck. They told me the air made them fell better. Up on Deck 9 there were families sleeping in chairs with their head on the tables. I was lucky I felt fine. Nobody in our group of 11 got sick. Dinner at AP emptied out pretty quickly.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for your report. We're heading out on our 1st cruise this weekend on the Magic. Was there a charge for the milk from room service? I think we can get it at the beverage station but was wondering if they can bring it thru room service w/o an extra charge.

Sounds like you all had a great trip except for the seasickness to start with. I'm like your DH - I can't be still for long when there is so much to explore! Did your DD do Scuttle's Cove at Castaway Cay with the Lab? My boys will be at the Lab some, so I"m interested in that.

Thanks!

 

[MichelleVW]

I talked to a lady by the pool on Friday who said that 18 out of the 24 people traveling with her got sick Thursday night, and our head server told us that 14 of his servers were also sick by the second seating....it was bad. I wanted to see Hercules soo bad and tried up until about 8:25 to go, but every time I walked in from the verandah I felt sick again. I was afraid I'd have to spend the whole night on the verandah, but luckily the seas died down a bit and the dramamine kicked in...

Milk from room service was free, I was ready to pay for it, but we didn't have too. Since DD has never experienced room service I thought that cookies and milk would be a fun thing to do. I had her call them and she opened the door for them and gave the man the tip.

Allison didn't want to go to Scuttles Cove on Castaway Cay. She saw one of her friends at the beach so she decided to stay at the beach and play with her. She did have fun at the Lab on the ship though. She's kind of shy and didn't want to go in the first place, but I made her go and she stayed for about 4-5 hours on Friday so obviously she had fun or she would have checked herself out.


I really would have liked to explore Castaway Cay a bit more with my husband, but 6 months ago I broke my heel and I really can't walk much at all, so making it to the beach was enough of a trek for me!!!

 

[MichelleVW]

I have a ton of pictures but since I'm new to posting I can't post the link, so if anyone wants to see them just let me know!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Milk from room service was free, I was ready to pay for it, but we didn't have too. Since DD has never experienced room service I thought that cookies and milk would be a fun thing to do. I had her call them and she opened the door for them and gave the man the tip.

That's what I was thinking - my kids haven't had room-service before either - shoot, neither have I! I know my DH likes a glass of milk before bed, and so does DS#2, so I think we'll do that!

Sorry 'bout your heel... but hey, there's still so much to see and do that you'd never get to see and do it all anyway, right? We're planning to rent bikes at CC. DS#2 learned to ride w/o training wheels just a couple of months ago, especially to be able to ride on the cruise! My DH is training for the 1/2 marathon at WDW in early January, so DS#1 has been bike-riding while DH runs -- DS#1 says DH has to keep training even on the ship! Guess I'd better cancel DH's bike - I think DS#1 is gonna make him run

 

[MichelleVW]

That's what I was thinking - my kids haven't had room-service before either - shoot, neither have I! I know my DH likes a glass of milk before bed, and so does DS#2, so I think we'll do that!

Do the milk and cookies for SURE....it was fun...we almost got it when we got back from watching Narnia at 1:30 in the morning, but I just wanted to go to bed.....and I didnt' want to get off the ship and not get FREE room service!!!

The cookies were pretty tasty too!!!!

 

[Paula H]

We were on the same cruise, but I haven't had a chance to post a report. Yes, it was pretty rocky Thurs. night - DH, who is more likely than me to get seasick, had a glass of wine (not a wine drinker; have no idea why he wanted it) at Triton's for dinner and went to bed with a head ache. My kids went to the club and I explored the ship - no one was out and about. Kids didn't sick at all and I only felt a little queezy when I laid down on the bed and turned the light out. Yikes, did my tummy feel funny! Right around 11:30 it seemed to get much calmer.

We had a great time, too. We didn't love our server, but everything else was WONDERful and we can't wait to go again. And, I wish I knew how to make a Conch Cooler!

 

[MichelleVW]

Just thought I'd bump this up since I posted the link to the cruise pics for this trip....

 

[Fargoman2]

I read your report with great interest since I am contemplating a 3 night cruise with wife and 3 kids (17, 14 and 8) in late Nov.

2 things that got my attention in your report:

1. SEASICKNESS-sounds like it hit everyone (is that typical or not?)

2. COLD water at the beach--(bad time of year?)

At $2,300 for 72 hours of fun, I'm concerned about such issues.

Also, not just from your report--but from other threads I've strung together: These trips seem geared to kids who like to take off and do their own thing for most, if not all, of the day. I'm sure I'm a controlling, overprotective freak of a parent, but I'm really not thrilled by the concept of just turning my teenagers loose into what sort of sounds like a nightclub atmosphere. (I'm sure I'm exaggerating, but I am skeptical about what happens with these teenagers at night--access to drinking, etc.)

I know, I know, given my unreasonable paranoia a Disney Cruise just might not be the wise thing for me to do.

 

[AshAlytwins]

MichelleWV.....We were on the same cruise....I have an Ashley and an Alyssa who are both 13....wish we would have met up, they were looking for kids to hang with!
Thursday night was rockin'. ....I wasn't sick until we were at The Atlantis the next day.
We are booked to go on the 4 night November 26th this year. 3 days was not enough!!!!
I couldn't encourage someone enought who is thinking of a Disney Cruise to save the money and go on one!!!
The food was remarkable and the service outstanding!!!!
See you on the High Seas!!!

 

[MichelleVW]

I read your report with great interest since I am contemplating a 3 night cruise with wife and 3 kids (17, 14 and 8) in late Nov.

2 things that got my attention in your report:

1. SEASICKNESS-sounds like it hit everyone (is that typical or not?)

2. COLD water at the beach--(bad time of year?)

At $2,300 for 72 hours of fun, I'm concerned about such issues.

Also, not just from your report--but from other threads I've strung together: These trips seem geared to kids who like to take off and do their own thing for most, if not all, of the day. I'm sure I'm a controlling, overprotective freak of a parent, but I'm really not thrilled by the concept of just turning my teenagers loose into what sort of sounds like a nightclub atmosphere. (I'm sure I'm exaggerating, but I am skeptical about what happens with these teenagers at night--access to drinking, etc.)

I know, I know, given my unreasonable paranoia a Disney Cruise just might not be the wise thing for me to do.

1. The seasickness the first night was mostly due to horrible rocking seas...from what I gather, it's not usually that bad!!

2. I think the cold water was due to the time of year....I don't know if November would be that much warmer than Dec.


I'm a pretty paranoid parent too, and my oldest had to check in every few hours so I would know where she was...and although she did stay out pretty late, it didn't sound like (to me) that the teens were getting into any trouble. I just asked my daughter again what she did there, and she said, "mostly we just hung out at the teen club, or go get ice cream, and then hang out again" But if you want to keep them with you, I'm sure you would still have fun, but my oldest is really outgoing and loves to meet new kids, so no way could I have kept that one with me!!!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Great Tip Report
We went on our first disney cruise in May, and we still talk about
it all the time !!!! I love coming back to these boards once in awhile
and all the memories come flooding back......................