Disney Wonder 1/24-1/27/08

[dshepherd]

We just returned from our 4 day trip on the Disney Wonder. We had a Cat 3 suite and thought it was great, very clean and spacious. The concierge staff (Lars and Thabi) were very accomodating. We traveled with our two sons, ages 9 and 11, and were impressed with the staff and activities. The biggest complaint was the poor quality of food served in the main restaurants. The beef was tough and most everything else was tasteless. We have recently traveled on Princess and was surprised that Disney produced such poor cuisine. My complaints to the concierge staff did prompt a call from the dining from manager the last night, who promised he would do whatever it took to make things right. Fortunately, the food at Triton's that night was better. We also have to add that the food at Palo's was outstanding on our second night. Overall, I would rate the cruse a 6 out of 10. Beside the poor quality of food, getting off the ship was a nightmare compared to the ease at embarkation. The pools are too small for the amount of people on the ship.The ship is also not large enough to accomodate 2700 passengers. The passenger to space ratio has to be low due to the fact that each cabin averages 4 persons, when other cruise lines average less.

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

Did you have any fun??? I hope the entire cruise wasn't a disappointment for you & your family. That'd be a shame... and quite honestly, hard to imagine. Our cruise was heaven on Earth.

 

[Toddymae]

I was on the same cruise. I've always found the food bad - tasteless. Some people love it so it's just my reaction. This was my 16 cruise and I ate at Beach Blanket - sure wish they'd make this a buffet. The food was cold and servers slow.

I love the cruise ship - 16 cruise proves that. I sure hope you had a good time. I know the first night was cold and the seas were pretty bad. I talked to one couple from Minnesota - first cruise and first time in Florida - they didn't realize that it can get cold in FL. Welcome to the sunshine state.

Hope you try DCL again.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

we were on this cruise too but didnt go to the restaurants. This was also our 16th crusie with DCL. we thought the food in the buffet was luke warm at best? We have never had that happen before.

The flavor was good but it wasnt hot.

I am going to write to dcl and tell them. If enough complain perhaps they will make an effort ot make some improvements.


if you want to let them know about the food here is where to write.

guest communications <wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com>

mom x4,grandma x4

 

[MissFitt]

we were on this cruise too but didnt go to the restaurants. This was also our 16th crusie with DCL. we thought the food in the buffet was luke warm at best? We have never had that happen before.

The flavor was good but it wasnt hot.

I am going to write to dcl and tell them. If enough complain perhaps they will make an effort ot make some improvements.


if you want to let them know about the food here is where to write.

guest communications <wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com>

mom x4,grandma x4

Quick question...do you know if that is where you write if you have a complaint about one of the resort restaurants (had a bad experience at Narcoosee's that I would like to be noted) Thanks!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Quick question...do you know if that is where you write if you have a complaint about one of the resort restaurants (had a bad experience at Narcoosee's that I would like to be noted) Thanks!

No its not, I use to have the address for that but I dont anymore, sorry.
I will ask my son and see if he remembers it, he use to work at Guest relations and he knew all that stuff.
I should see him tomorrow. If he knows I will post it for you.

If not you could write to the cruise address and ask if they have an address for you to write to. You will get an automated response, then a real response within a few days.

kathy

 

[Cruisin]

I was on the same cruise. I've always found the food bad - tasteless. Some people love it so it's just my reaction. This was my 16 cruise and I ate at Beach Blanket - sure wish they'd make this a buffet. The food was cold and servers slow.

This comment confuses me because Beach Blanket BUFFET is the buffet

Unless I suppose you were eating dinner in there at night instead of in the dining rooms??

We were on the Jan 27-31, four night Wonder cruise and all of the food that I had was good. The meat was always tender and tasty.

For me, I find the selections in the dining room not always to my liking but most of what I had tasted okay.

 

[Toddymae]

In the evening Beach Blanket is a dinning room - you order off a menu.

 

[Cruisin]

In the evening Beach Blanket is a dinning room - you order off a menu.

do you happen to know how the menu for the evening meal in Beach Blanket Buffet compares to the menus in the other dining rooms?

Do they serve the same food as the dining rooms, just in the more casual atmosphere.

We always seem to be cruising with new cruisers and want them to experience the dining rooms, so we have not taken the time to eat upstairs for the evening meal.

 

[BethA]

We also had Lars and Taibi, and thought they were very good.

For us the food is fine, but maybe we don't eat out at expensive places enough to know any better. And for me, if it was better I'd overeat more than I already do on a cruise, so I don't complain. Did you tell the head server about the food? They do try to please within their power.

I did not think that the Magic holds 2700 guests--more like 2400 at capacity--was your cruise full?
I agree the pools are way too small, but never felt the ship was overcrowded in other areas--where were your areas of concern?

Sorry you did not really enjoy your cruise.

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

We just returned from our 4 day trip on the Disney Wonder. We had a Cat 3 suite and thought it was great, very clean and spacious. The concierge staff (Lars and Thabi) were very accomodating. We traveled with our two sons, ages 9 and 11, and were impressed with the staff and activities. The biggest complaint was the poor quality of food served in the main restaurants. The beef was tough and most everything else was tasteless. We have recently traveled on Princess and was surprised that Disney produced such poor cuisine. My complaints to the concierge staff did prompt a call from the dining from manager the last night, who promised he would do whatever it took to make things right. Fortunately, the food at Triton's that night was better. We also have to add that the food at Palo's was outstanding on our second night. Overall, I would rate the cruse a 6 out of 10. Beside the poor quality of food, getting off the ship was a nightmare compared to the ease at embarkation. The pools are too small for the amount of people on the ship.The ship is also not large enough to accomodate 2700 passengers. The passenger to space ratio has to be low due to the fact that each cabin averages 4 persons, when other cruise lines average less.

When did you disembark? We were on this same cruise and walked off the boat, retrieved out luggage, and were in the parking lot within 5 minutes. It was so seamless.

 

[MissFitt]

I was on the same cruise too and not at anytime did I feel that the ship was crowded -- in fact, just the opposite...I couldn't believe it when they said the ship was full. I had no problems leaving the ship -- maybe a ten minute process at most.

The food was better than you would expect from a kitchen cooking for hundreds at a time. Sure Palo has the best meals but it also has a much smaller kitchen able to prepare more quality, less quantity.

I guess I won't have to worry about running into the OP on my next Disney cruise.

 

[gardengirlco]

Sorry everyone seemed so disappointed in the food.

I was wondering, though, if anyone can answers a question related to the menu on the second night if any of you ate in the regular dining rooms. Do you remember if the menu was the special pirate themed one or if you had the regular dining room menu? TIA!

 

[BethA]

what went wrong with disembarking??

We have had terrible experiences with that on RC

 

[mebandy]

I was also on this cruise and had a great experience. The food was good, we never felt crowded-except when the shows got out or in a character line which is to be expected.

Wow no idea the ship was full, just didn't seem full.

I have cruised RCCL megaship and then I felt crowded.

My family disembarked at 715 and there weren't any problems. I have never exited a ship so easily and I have cruised more than 15 times, but this was our first DCL.

 

[MegRN]

We cruised on this exact same cruise (1-24 to 27). I thought the ship felt empty compared to the RCCL cruise I did. We didn't do a lot of swimming but the kids did. We never had any problems at the pool.

We were lucky enough to stay in the Roy Disney suite. It was gorgeous! I love sleeping on a ship. The rocking of the water puts you right to sleep. Thabi and Lars (concierge) bent over backwards for us. They even got us a bridge tour! Being on the bridge was an amazing experience. I had spa treatments booked that were fabulous. The tropical room was great. I wished it had stayed open later because we were 2nd dinner seating and I was never able to go up there before bed.

The shows were amazing. Not like the cheesy other cruise line shows. That is the only time I saw the ship busy.

We were able to buy items on the ship to wear to the pirate party. My daughter got the cutest pirate dress. (I will post pictures as soon as I get them uploaded.) I spent a fortune buying duty free items and special cruise only items. It was worth every penny.

Seeing the characters was so easy. Not like at WDW where you wait forever. We had a ton of adorable pictures done. (I will have to get my husband to scan them in for me to post.) I did have concierge do the autographed pillow cases for my kids. They turned out adorable!

The sail away and pirate parties we a great time! It is definately a must do!

Dinners were so-so. We ate at the assigned resturants. Triton's was ok but portions were very small. Animator's palate was my favorite! I don't remember what I ate but the changing of the colors was so cool. My kids had a blast. Parrot Cay was so-so. Loved the limbo! The only reason we didn't eat in the room that night was because my daughter fell in love with our beverage server, Vivien. Vivien is from Germany and is amazing. My daughter has cried multiple times because she wanted Vivien to come live in our house! BTW, dress up night ranged from polo's and khakis to suits and ties. It just depended upon the family. I would have felt out of place if I had dressed formally.

Nassau was a dump. We only got off the ship for a couple of hours. We did an over priced carriage ride. I thought the horse was starving and the carriage was rickety. We ate lunch at the Hard Rock. Shopped at the Coach store. And watched a funeral of a member of Parliment. That was the most exciting thing we saw. They drove the casket down Bay Street and had military marching behind. There were 7 white stretch limo's carrying family members. Many locals were at the government building watching the events unfold. We learned a lot about the government in the Bahamas and the military from the locals. The locals were very friendly. The only time we were bothered was buy the women at the port entrance that wanted to braid our hair. (If you are interested in hair braiding there are 2 women on the ship who do it. It was very sanitary. The girls get to pick their own bead colors. I had the front of my daughter's hair done in an angled corn row pattern with 3 colors of beads. We paid $34 + tip. My daughters hair lasted almost 2 weeks.)

I have officially decided to move to Castaway Cay. I loved it there. The water was to cool for me but I had a nice time laying in the sun. My hubby and I did couples cabana massage. They were just okay. It wasn't like when I get a really good rub down. It was more like a relaxing rub. The bad part was the people outside of the window of the cabana were having a loud drinking party. It made it difficult to relax.

The kids club was a mixed bag for my kids. My son is 8 and not really into video games. He had a tough time adjusting to all the activities (video games) because he didn't feel he could play as well as the other kids. He did like the staff directed activities like the whale dig. My daughter loved the Oceaneer's Club. Who wouldn't with the giant Captian Hook slide and clam shell chairs? They kept the little ones very busy with age appropriate activites. The graduation was very cute.

Getting off the ship was easy and sad. Get a porter it is worth the money and he was able to get us out really quick.

Compared to other cruises I have been on I would give this a 9 out of 10.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

MEGRN,
loved your report. Glad you had agood time.
we had such calm seas that trip it hardly felt like we were cruising.

Hope you will post some photos soon, I would love to see some.

Kathy

 

[dizneygirl3]

Getting of the ship was a snap!! We never felt crowded or as if it was too busy.
Can't wait to go back Love the Disney Cruise Line

 

[Rinderella]

Great report. So glad you had a great time! It's so much fun to read these, it's the next best thing to being there...