December 17, 2006 4-Night Wonder Cruise

[TammyAlphabet]

Okay, I did what I normally do. I packed about half of what I want to take and now I have no idea what I packed. Ha ha .... That way I always end up overpacked with the heaviest luggage in all the earth. No one is posting so I assume everyone is getting ready for the cruise.

See ya on Sunday!!!

 

[I M Grumpy]

Plane leaves in 9 hours. If I forgot something, I'll have to buy it when I get there.
Everyone travel safe.
We will see you Sunday.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Leaving tomorrow night!!!! See you guys on Sunday!!!!

 

[Pumba's Dad]

Just got back about two hours ago and I realized I'm having to make dinner...

It was a fun time and the 2nd day on the island was great.

Sorry I didn't get to see everyone. Did have fun with Jerry and Marcy and their families. My daughter had a better time and got to do a lot of growing up and doing stuff without me over her shoulder. Thanks to Christina and Samantha for their assistance.

Hope you all have a good and safe holiday, and maybe we'll see you all on the next cruise. Yes we booked, 7 day western for dec. 15, 2007.

 

[psharrock]

The second day on the island made the cruise for us, having sat at the BBQ area for an hour on the first morning watching the rain come down, we thought the island would be great in good weather but what a nightmare in bad weather.

It was our first cruise and the kids were amazing, their reaction when they found out where they were going on a cruise was priceless. As we passed over the bridge the kids saw the cruise ship, and calmly said thats the disney cruise ship, and then never said another word. We had told them we were going to Busch gardens as it was the only place we could think of with a long drive. We pulled up outside the gate and the cast member asked if we were all sailing, for which I replied yes and were told to go to the next available umbrella (which sounded a bit strange). The kids really didn't take it in and spent the next 5 mins asking if we were really going on the ship. We parked the car, and the two cast members checking ID, got a 3 min story as to how they didn't know they were coming and what a surprise it was. Every disney person they met that day got the same story

The shows and staff were amazing, way too much food though. Dinner at Palo's was outstanding.

We have already decided we want to go on a 7 day western cruise in summer 2008

The only downside was having to get up at 5am to go to the theatre for US Imigration. Once you waited in line it lasted 20 seconds - The officer even said Good Morning and seemed far more pleasant than the MCO imigration which seem to think every family is the latest suicide bomber. I know security is important but a smile does no one any harm.

Hope everyone had a safe trip home, we made it to Kissimmee by 9:30am and will spend the Christmas here before returning to the UK.

Plus Points
Castaway Cay in the Sun
Shows
Food
Service

Negative Points
Castaway Cay in the Rain
Lack of guest involvement in dress up night and pirate night.

Paul

 

[I M Grumpy]

Well, cold and rainy in Chicago. Back to reality.

Sorry we didn't all meet up but I enjoyed getting on this board before the cruise and chatting. I walked around at about the designated meeting time but realized I didn't know who I was looking for. Next time we should all post pictures or wear matching shirts or something.

The cruise was "lavenous". If you didn't see the magician the first night you have no clue what that means.

Food was incredible. Service was awesome. We had Putu and Roberta for servers. Kim was our stateroom person.

The rainy morning at CC was tough. We got to the island about noon. Played in the sand, snorkled, ate at cookies. Another hour on board I would have gone crazy. The second day was even better.
A few negatives (people in shorts in Tritons), activities scheduled at the same time. But, I can live with those.

I actually paused at my front door last night waiting for someone to hand me a wet nap to wash my hands.


Haven't booked another trip yet but looking at a 7 day in 08 or 09.

Guy I work with is going on the 3 day in March. I started telling him how bad everything was. He didn't buy a bit of it.

Happy Holidays and a good New Year to all.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

We were very sorry to have missed the cruise meet. We got to the port a little late and by the time we got on board and got going it was too late for the meet.

We loved the cruise overall but did not get the greatest servers. We were having to constantly ask for more drinks bread or whatever. They always seemed to be in a really big hurry!!! We felt like we were begging for refills on our drinks and more bread, and they took forever to get it to us. But that was our only complaint. It did, however, make me think that maybe I should take a different cruise line next time. I mean, if the service is not that great, then why pay extra for it?

I loved the second day on Castaway Cay, it is a beautiful place to say the least!!

 

[CJH1102]

Hello fellow disers. Sorry we didn't get to meet everyone. I found Marcy in the terminal and since we didn't know any other faces we couldn't find anyone else. I wandered around pluto's dog shack waiting for someone to arrive around 3:00 but never saw anyone. We had a great time though ! I'm ready to go again !! Hope everyone had a grat Christmas !!

 

[Singlemalt]

Hi Guys -
What a great cruise! I too was bummed about the weather on CC day, but we enjoyed ourselves for a few hours in the afternoon. When the captain announced day 2 at CC I was so happy I thought I would burst! I had a spa treatment booked for the day at sea and I cancelled it and paid the 50% penalty because I wasn't about to miss a beach day!

The Highlights:
The shows were fantastic!
The cat 9 stateroom was quiet, roomy and plenty spacious.
The "Arielvision" screen by the goofy pool is amazing. I watched Sunday and Monday night football out by the pool and was in heaven.
Castaway Cay was paradise. We put the kids in the club for about 3 hours and enjoyed every minute on the adult beach. The "Java Juice" drink is a revelation.
Our snorkel excursion on Nassau was really fun. We got to snorkel with reef sharks!
We got our oown table for dinner every night. Not that I'm too antisocial, but it's more relaxing to dine with family and not worry about making conversation with strangers.
The kids had a great time in the Oceaneer Lab. All the counselors were very friendly.

The Mediocre:
Our dining room and stateroom servers were fine, but nothing special. We tipped the recommended amounts but at no time did I contemplate giving more.
Palo was good, but again nothing to knock my socks off.

The Bad:
This cruise was WAY too short! Next time I would definitely do the 7 day trip.

 

[yamata45]

Hello everyone!

Along with what TammyAlphabet said (I agree with every word), everything but our dinner service was great! We had Convoy for our stateroom (Oops, i mean Conrad), Kerry for our head server and Revenge of Zaldy (Zaldy) for our Drink Server. Convoy was terriffic, stateroom was always in perfect shape, but as TammyAlphabet said, Kerry and Revenge of Zaldy were less than ship-shape. I've never been so thirsty in my life (Although I am called TeaZilla in some provinces in Japan)

Of course I dont have to state how AMAZING day 2 on Castaway Cay was. I was Deck 4 Starboard lounging when Capt'n John announced it. I almost jumped overboard when I heard it TWICE THE MAGIC! Wink.

I didnt get a chance to watch much of the Arielvision screen, except on day one. We didn't excursion in Nassau much, preferred to stay on the boat for most of that.

I agree with the previous poster, Palo's was high class and the deserts were second to none, but wasnt "exquisite".

Watch out for a certain Australian drink server the next time you're on the wonder. She will stalk you and repeatedly get you drunk! She was much better than Revenge of Zaldy.

I think the 4 day cruise was just right. I miss the beautiful water, but, for my first cruise, it was nice to get a short feel for things.

TammyAlphabet, keep me updated on any other cruise plans you have! muhahahhahahaha..

Disneyworld was amazing as well. It was my first time for everything. I took almost 1000 pictures on this trip. Hopefully I'll have a selection of them up soon.

Thanks!

Yamata45@hotmail.com

 

[Stinasmom]

Yep! Great cruise!
We actually had a great overall vacation. We liked Universal Studios a lot, and had fun at Sea World especially since you could get FREE beer there! And our resort was really nice. I have to add that we LOVED Islands of Adventure. It is, IMHO, the best park in Orlando!
But the cruise was the tops!
Great to meet Crystal and family!
And, man, what a difference it was for my DD to have friends on the ship! Hi to Samantha and Sara from Christina!

And that second day at CC! Wow! DH and I even got to go to Serenity Bay, but were disappointed that it was so shallow and windy on that side of the island.
We liked Atlantis. Having a room there to use and the freedom to wander the gounds, aquarium, and pools was great.
Our servers were really good. No complaints there. We loved brunch and dinner at Palo...still trying to Jazzercise off that chocolate souffle!
We also rebooked on board. I just couldn't pass up the discounts. I put the deposit on a Disney Visa which will give us 6 months to pay. By then all the sailing dates and destinations for 2008 will be announced and we can decide which one to take... It will DEFINITELY be a 7 nighter this time, however!
Thought I might be able to pull off a trip report, but maybe not. This Christmas has been crazy because of being gone almost 2 weeks prior!
Bye!
Marcy