Disney wonder southern Caribbean??

[1Winston]

Hi All,
Thinking about this cruise for jan 2018 but read a lot of reviews from 2016 cruise that were not good. Anyone do this cruise in 2017? Anyone have comments about the wonder upgrade?? We have always sailed concierge but won't be this trip as we are sailing with friends not interested in concierge. Want to make the best cruise choice. It is this or the eastern on the fantasy which we have done previously.
Thanks so much in advance for your help.

 

[Explore]

I can't speak for the Wonder upgrades (we won't be on her until September) but our family loved the Southern we took on her in January of 2016. The weather was perfect (don't underestimate a warm climate in January!) and the islands were great. We have been on a 5 night Bahamas and a 7 night Western before (as well as Alaska but not on Disney) and the Southern is probably tied for Alaska in our book.

 

[AquaDame]

We've done two southerns (2014 on DCL & 2016 w/ RCCL) and are booked on one of the ones in 2018. What did you read that is deterring you? I *believe* the 2017s aren't until April and are on the Magic.

 

[jrabbit]

We did the Southern Caribbean in Sept 2014 and LOVED IT!!

We left from San Juan (which I really enjoy!) Spent several days before the cruise in Old San Juan and just last month got off of the Wonder there and spent a couple of more days.

Visited Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and St. Kitts. We enjoyed everything we did in each port. Did not have any issues. We used DCL port adventures in all locations except St. Kitts.

I would not hesitate to visit any of these places again, and in fact we have a Southern Caribbean booked on the Wonder next January and can't wait to go. Looking forward to returning to some of the same ports and exploring new ones. In Antigua I assume that we will probably do the same excursion as last time - but might choose to go the history route and visit Nelson's Dockyard.

I enjoyed the upgrades to the Wonder. But I have always enjoyed the Magic and Wonder. I'm old enough where I don't need to be entertained by electronic gizmos all of the time. I bring my own!! I do enjoy the Mickey Midship Detective Agency on the Dream Class ships. I don't miss anything else from them. Well the AquaDuck is fun for a trip or two if the crowds are not too bad.

The Magic and Wonder are more personal. You have the opportunity to meet some fantastic people that work on the ships from around the world. There's more "competition" for the CM's time on the Dream Class so that's a plus for the Magic/Wonder. The oceanview staterooms on the M/W are larger than on the D/F. Not by a lot, but it's noticeable!

I have two more cruises on the Wonder this year, and I am very much looking forward to them.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

While I greatly prefer the Fantasy to the Wonder and in my experience had far superior service on the Fantasy compared to the Wonder, I would book the Wonder Southern itinerary in a heartbeat.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I just posted on another thread that the Southern Caribbean was the best cruise we've ever been on - that is 14 DCL cruises, 3 RCCL, 1 NCL and 1 Celebrity. The second best was the Alaskan trip. I want to do this again. We left from San Juan in January and the weather was gorgeous all week - mid to upper 80s. The islands were great and so different than the Western or Eastern routes. It is very port intensive and I wish I had scheduled a down day because we were running each day at the ports.

 

[1Winston]

Thank you so much for the info everyone! I like the idea that it would be warm the whole time where with the eastern it can be cool leaving and at castaway.
I'd miss castaway though
Worried because it's so port extensive it'd be exhausting.
I was worried the wonder was a bit run down even with the updates.
All that being said a Disney cruise is a Disney cruise and we've done the eastern on the fantasy and it was amazing but the weather was cool. I'm only nervous because these other families have never done a Disney cruise and i want them to love it and have the best experience.
Love this board for hearing everyone's experiences.
Thanks folks