irongirlof12
<font color=blue><marquee>Am I the only one who lo
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2006
brilliant stuff Corinna, I would love to stay at AKL one day.
East Meets West - A Wonderful Journey
- Thread starter dolphingirl47
- Start date
strawberry blonde
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2009
Your room looks lovely Corrina. Looking forward to your next day 
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 3
We woke up to natures fireworks. There were some impressive thunderstorms in the area. As expected, we were awake long before the alarm went off. We got up, packed what we had needed the previous day and were pondering getting some breakfast at Mara, but decided against it so that we would not spoil our appetite for lunch. So shortly after we got our wake up call from Stitch and Mickey, we gathered our stuff and went downstairs. Graham needed to get some cash and then we headed out to the bus stop.
We got there in plenty of time and the Magical Express Bus was actually running a bit late. Once we had loaded everybody up, we headed to Pop Century to pick up more people. There were about to busloads of people standing there, as an earlier bus had not turned up. He loaded a number of people that were supposed to be on the first bus and radioed for another bus to pick up the rest.
When we got to the airport, we dropped off our luggage and then went to the Disney Welcome Centre once again to check in for the bus to Port Canaveral. There was no line for the Disney Cruise Line check in. To my surprise, we were passed a health questionnaire and a consent form regarding the new Wave Phones that they have for use on the ship (cordless phones that work on the ship and Castaway Cay). They tried to check us in for the cruise at the airport, but apparently this was not possible as we are not US citizens. This was the first time that they tried to check us in at the airport. So we were handed our paperwork back together with the boarding pass for the coach. We had Mickey and there was some disagreement between staff if this was the first or the second bus that would leave for the port. We were told to be back in the seating area opposite the Disney Welcome Centre by 9:30.
We headed up to the terminal to get something to drink. Graham had just an ordinary coffee and I had a Green Tea Frappuccino. I so wish that this was available in the UK. Once we had our drinks, we headed back down to the Disney Welcome Centre. We had just finished our drinks and Graham had gone to the bathroom, when they called the Mickey bus. There was a bit of an uproar. Apparently some of the people for the Pluto bus had been waiting there since 5:00 and were rightly not happy when people who arrived a long time after them were called first. This was quickly put right and as soon as everybody for the Pluto bus had gone, they called the Mickey bus again.
The journey up to the port was smooth. Unfortunately the sound did not work on the video that they are showing on the way to the port, but it was still nice to see it again. When we got near to the port, we saw the Disney Dream in the distance. At the same time I also got my first glance of the Wonder, but this time there were no tears as there normally are when I see the Magic for the first time.
We got off the bus and were handed our boarding cards. We then proceeded through security and up to the terminal itself. We had our documents checked and were directed to a very long line. It was only when we had gone through about 75% of the line that we were asked if we were US citizens and were then directed straight to a desk to check in whereas the US citizens had to wait in a further line. I liked the old system better where they had completely separate lines.
When we got to the check in desk, we were asked for our ESTA forms. At that stage my heart just about stopped. As it says loud and clear on the ESTA website that you do not need to print them out and because we had entered the USA by air already and had our stamp in the passport, I had not even thought to print the forms out. On the Transatlantic it was a different matter as our first point of entry into the USA was Port Canaveral. I did not even have our reference numbers, as we had never needed them before. The cast member checked us in and gave us our Key To The World cards and then directed us to another desk to sort out the ESTA issue. Near that desk, they had set up a computer that had the ESTA website up. In front of us was another couple from the UK who had been on the Transatlantic cruise with us. It was nice to see them and calmed me down somewhat. I suppose it is all about strength in numbers. The cast member that had come to assist us insisted that everybody who needed an ESTA, had received a letter about this. We all said that we had not got a letter. I found mine when I got back to work after our holiday. It obviously had been held up by the Christmas post. Anyway, the other couple managed to retrieve their ESTAs and advised that you do not need the reference number, but that the passport number was enough. We managed to retrieve ours as well and the cast member with us printed them for us. In future, I will make sure that I always carry a copy. When had sorted this problem out, we advised the cast member that we did not have our photo taken. She took our cards and checked them and said everything was fine. So we went on our way.
I got in line for a photo with Minnie. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of that photo. Minnie did not have an escort with her to take a photo with my camera and the professional photos never made it on the CD. Once I had my photo with Minnie taken, I had a walk around the terminal to see if I could find people that I knew and also to take some photos of the terminal.
I went back to find Graham who had sat down somewhere out of the way. Shortly after I caught up with him, Mickey came out for photos. I have never managed to get a photo with both Mickey and Minnie in the terminal for the same cruise, so this was a real treat.
Shortly afterwards, our boarding group was called and we got ready to walk through the Mickey ears. They swiped our cards and I half expected that they would send us back to check in to have our photo taken, but they had actually attached the photos that were taken at check in for the Transatlantic. We then proceeded to have our embarkation photo taken.
We then stepped onto the ship and were announced. This was the first time that I wondered if I had made some big mistake. We were surrounded by strangers and the atrium of Wonder looks very different from that of the Magic. I just felt lost. They had made a beautiful ice sculpture and I took some photos of this before heading towards Parrot Cay for lunch.
On the way, Graham and I were joking what the excuse would be this time for trying to convince us to go to the buffet on deck 9 instead. For some reason they do not like people to have lunch at Parrot Cay the first day and always come up with more or less plausible excuses. This time round we were given the There is quite a wait version, but unlike on other cruises, they actually had a waitlist and wrote down room numbers. We ended up waiting over an hour only to find that the restaurant was relatively empty. On the Magic they always ask if people are happy to share on the first day, which we are always happy to do. They had not done this on the Wonder with the result that there were tables for 8 or 10 that just had one couple sitting there. They really need to sort this out. Lunch was nice though an Graham got his traditional Peel and Eat Shrimp and I got my Chilled Strawberry and Mint Soup.
After lunch, we headed straight to our cabin. Because of the delay over lunch, our cabin was ready when we had finished lunch. We dropped off our hand luggage and had a quick look around. I had ordered Petit Fours and a bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee for our stateroom and they were waiting for us. We also had a Castaway Club gift waiting for us and I had a package with some jewellery that had been sent to the ship. Graham tried out the bed while I had a look at the jewellery.
We woke up to natures fireworks. There were some impressive thunderstorms in the area. As expected, we were awake long before the alarm went off. We got up, packed what we had needed the previous day and were pondering getting some breakfast at Mara, but decided against it so that we would not spoil our appetite for lunch. So shortly after we got our wake up call from Stitch and Mickey, we gathered our stuff and went downstairs. Graham needed to get some cash and then we headed out to the bus stop.
We got there in plenty of time and the Magical Express Bus was actually running a bit late. Once we had loaded everybody up, we headed to Pop Century to pick up more people. There were about to busloads of people standing there, as an earlier bus had not turned up. He loaded a number of people that were supposed to be on the first bus and radioed for another bus to pick up the rest.
When we got to the airport, we dropped off our luggage and then went to the Disney Welcome Centre once again to check in for the bus to Port Canaveral. There was no line for the Disney Cruise Line check in. To my surprise, we were passed a health questionnaire and a consent form regarding the new Wave Phones that they have for use on the ship (cordless phones that work on the ship and Castaway Cay). They tried to check us in for the cruise at the airport, but apparently this was not possible as we are not US citizens. This was the first time that they tried to check us in at the airport. So we were handed our paperwork back together with the boarding pass for the coach. We had Mickey and there was some disagreement between staff if this was the first or the second bus that would leave for the port. We were told to be back in the seating area opposite the Disney Welcome Centre by 9:30.
We headed up to the terminal to get something to drink. Graham had just an ordinary coffee and I had a Green Tea Frappuccino. I so wish that this was available in the UK. Once we had our drinks, we headed back down to the Disney Welcome Centre. We had just finished our drinks and Graham had gone to the bathroom, when they called the Mickey bus. There was a bit of an uproar. Apparently some of the people for the Pluto bus had been waiting there since 5:00 and were rightly not happy when people who arrived a long time after them were called first. This was quickly put right and as soon as everybody for the Pluto bus had gone, they called the Mickey bus again.
The journey up to the port was smooth. Unfortunately the sound did not work on the video that they are showing on the way to the port, but it was still nice to see it again. When we got near to the port, we saw the Disney Dream in the distance. At the same time I also got my first glance of the Wonder, but this time there were no tears as there normally are when I see the Magic for the first time.
We got off the bus and were handed our boarding cards. We then proceeded through security and up to the terminal itself. We had our documents checked and were directed to a very long line. It was only when we had gone through about 75% of the line that we were asked if we were US citizens and were then directed straight to a desk to check in whereas the US citizens had to wait in a further line. I liked the old system better where they had completely separate lines.
When we got to the check in desk, we were asked for our ESTA forms. At that stage my heart just about stopped. As it says loud and clear on the ESTA website that you do not need to print them out and because we had entered the USA by air already and had our stamp in the passport, I had not even thought to print the forms out. On the Transatlantic it was a different matter as our first point of entry into the USA was Port Canaveral. I did not even have our reference numbers, as we had never needed them before. The cast member checked us in and gave us our Key To The World cards and then directed us to another desk to sort out the ESTA issue. Near that desk, they had set up a computer that had the ESTA website up. In front of us was another couple from the UK who had been on the Transatlantic cruise with us. It was nice to see them and calmed me down somewhat. I suppose it is all about strength in numbers. The cast member that had come to assist us insisted that everybody who needed an ESTA, had received a letter about this. We all said that we had not got a letter. I found mine when I got back to work after our holiday. It obviously had been held up by the Christmas post. Anyway, the other couple managed to retrieve their ESTAs and advised that you do not need the reference number, but that the passport number was enough. We managed to retrieve ours as well and the cast member with us printed them for us. In future, I will make sure that I always carry a copy. When had sorted this problem out, we advised the cast member that we did not have our photo taken. She took our cards and checked them and said everything was fine. So we went on our way.
I got in line for a photo with Minnie. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of that photo. Minnie did not have an escort with her to take a photo with my camera and the professional photos never made it on the CD. Once I had my photo with Minnie taken, I had a walk around the terminal to see if I could find people that I knew and also to take some photos of the terminal.
I went back to find Graham who had sat down somewhere out of the way. Shortly after I caught up with him, Mickey came out for photos. I have never managed to get a photo with both Mickey and Minnie in the terminal for the same cruise, so this was a real treat.
Shortly afterwards, our boarding group was called and we got ready to walk through the Mickey ears. They swiped our cards and I half expected that they would send us back to check in to have our photo taken, but they had actually attached the photos that were taken at check in for the Transatlantic. We then proceeded to have our embarkation photo taken.
We then stepped onto the ship and were announced. This was the first time that I wondered if I had made some big mistake. We were surrounded by strangers and the atrium of Wonder looks very different from that of the Magic. I just felt lost. They had made a beautiful ice sculpture and I took some photos of this before heading towards Parrot Cay for lunch.
On the way, Graham and I were joking what the excuse would be this time for trying to convince us to go to the buffet on deck 9 instead. For some reason they do not like people to have lunch at Parrot Cay the first day and always come up with more or less plausible excuses. This time round we were given the There is quite a wait version, but unlike on other cruises, they actually had a waitlist and wrote down room numbers. We ended up waiting over an hour only to find that the restaurant was relatively empty. On the Magic they always ask if people are happy to share on the first day, which we are always happy to do. They had not done this on the Wonder with the result that there were tables for 8 or 10 that just had one couple sitting there. They really need to sort this out. Lunch was nice though an Graham got his traditional Peel and Eat Shrimp and I got my Chilled Strawberry and Mint Soup.
After lunch, we headed straight to our cabin. Because of the delay over lunch, our cabin was ready when we had finished lunch. We dropped off our hand luggage and had a quick look around. I had ordered Petit Fours and a bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee for our stateroom and they were waiting for us. We also had a Castaway Club gift waiting for us and I had a package with some jewellery that had been sent to the ship. Graham tried out the bed while I had a look at the jewellery.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Once I had unwrapped my goodies, we headed up to the spa for the traditional tour and to buy our length of cruise passes for the Rainforest Room. Unfortunately they did not do the couples length of cruise passes that we had on our last two cruises, but the individual length of cruise passes did not break the bank so we got a couple of those.
When we got back to our cabin, I decorated our door with my magnets and put the Fish Extender out. My pride and joy is a magnet that a kind person did for me using the photo of the Bat Cave sign that we took on Tortola on the Transatlantic cruise.
Once the door was decorated, I headed down to Wavebands to try to get a reservation for dinner at Palo for Pirate Night. I had managed to get a reservation for a High Team before I left, but had no such luck with dinner. The line was huge, but moved relatively quickly and I managed to get a 19:30 reservation for Pirate Night.
Once my Palo reservation was sorted out, I headed to the Promenade Lounge for our meet. I managed to pick up my lanyards, nametags, bracelet and Panama Canal Crossing Certificate and also talk to various people and generally put faces to names.
Once the meet was over, it was nearly time for the safety drill. We had heard on the stateroom TV that we did not have to bring our life jackets, which was a first for us. Apparently they have different types of life jackets on the Disney Dream and they cannot fit everybody on the deck with the life jackets on so they have decided to do safety drills without life jackets on all three ships. To me this was a definite improvement. This was short and sweet, not as cramped as it normally is and altogether seemed to be more efficient.
After the safety drill we stayed on deck 4 and watched the world go by. After a bit, I decided to go back to our cabin to get our cameras. On the way back, I could not resist taking a few photos of the atrium as this was completely empty.
I took some photos of the local wildlife and then we decided to go up to deck 10 to have a look at the Sail Away Party. I only had done this once before during our first cruise on the Wonder and it is not really my thing. Graham had never been so we decided to give it a go.
On the way, I took some photos of the area of the adult pool, as this was totally deserted.
When we got back to our cabin, I decorated our door with my magnets and put the Fish Extender out. My pride and joy is a magnet that a kind person did for me using the photo of the Bat Cave sign that we took on Tortola on the Transatlantic cruise.
Once the door was decorated, I headed down to Wavebands to try to get a reservation for dinner at Palo for Pirate Night. I had managed to get a reservation for a High Team before I left, but had no such luck with dinner. The line was huge, but moved relatively quickly and I managed to get a 19:30 reservation for Pirate Night.
Once my Palo reservation was sorted out, I headed to the Promenade Lounge for our meet. I managed to pick up my lanyards, nametags, bracelet and Panama Canal Crossing Certificate and also talk to various people and generally put faces to names.
Once the meet was over, it was nearly time for the safety drill. We had heard on the stateroom TV that we did not have to bring our life jackets, which was a first for us. Apparently they have different types of life jackets on the Disney Dream and they cannot fit everybody on the deck with the life jackets on so they have decided to do safety drills without life jackets on all three ships. To me this was a definite improvement. This was short and sweet, not as cramped as it normally is and altogether seemed to be more efficient.
After the safety drill we stayed on deck 4 and watched the world go by. After a bit, I decided to go back to our cabin to get our cameras. On the way back, I could not resist taking a few photos of the atrium as this was completely empty.
I took some photos of the local wildlife and then we decided to go up to deck 10 to have a look at the Sail Away Party. I only had done this once before during our first cruise on the Wonder and it is not really my thing. Graham had never been so we decided to give it a go.
On the way, I took some photos of the area of the adult pool, as this was totally deserted.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I wish the same could have said about the area above the family pool. It was a zoo up there with people pushing and shoving to get the best view. We just looked at each other and decided to pass. We did however get a Bon Voyage drink. This was the first time for me in 6 cruises and I rather liked it. We took our drink and headed back to deck 4 where we had a good view of the terminal building and watched them loading the ship. We were kind of amused about the stuff that they had to load. It included even some terminals that they use for swiping the Key To The World cards.
Because of the volume of stuff that needed to be loaded, we left quite a bit later than the advertised time of 17:00. Once we were ready to go, the staff working at the terminal came out on the balcony to wave us off wearing Mickey hands. I suppose it was a sad day for them as they might never see the Wonder again.
As we slowly pulled away from the dock, there was the most gorgeous sunset. I had never seen anything like this as the colours were forever changing and were much more intense than the colours that I had seen at previous sunsets.
Because of the volume of stuff that needed to be loaded, we left quite a bit later than the advertised time of 17:00. Once we were ready to go, the staff working at the terminal came out on the balcony to wave us off wearing Mickey hands. I suppose it was a sad day for them as they might never see the Wonder again.
As we slowly pulled away from the dock, there was the most gorgeous sunset. I had never seen anything like this as the colours were forever changing and were much more intense than the colours that I had seen at previous sunsets.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
About 10 minutes after we left the port, we sailed up alongside the Disney Dream. The crew of the Dream were all up on the open decks and were waving at us. I was a little sad as I knew that there were quite a few people on the Dream that had become friends over the years and who we might never see again. It was nice to get such a close look of the Dream though. The two ships embarked on a bit of a horn battle. It was definitely a case of Wonder 4 – Dream 0. The horns on the Magic and Wonder are powered by air, which gives them a nice deep and full sound. The horn on the Dream is digital and sounds very tinny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVi7dIfVcp8
Once we could no longer see the Dream, we went inside and back to our cabin. All of our luggage had arrived in the meantime and I unpacked my stuff and put a couple of my evening gowns that needed dry cleaning in the laundry bag. Once I had finished unpacking, I left Graham to it and headed up to the Rainforest Room to relax on the heated tile loungers. I also had a shower in the spa so that I just had to get changed when I came back to the cabin.
We headed to dinner soon afterwards. Dinner that first night was at Animator’s Palate. We ended up sitting with 2 other couples and a brother and sister that were traveling together. We hit it off straight away. I am always a bit worried that we end up with tablemates that we don’t like or don’t get on with, but we were on to a winner again this time. We ended up having so much fun. Our server came over to introduce himself and he is from Manchester, too. He also turned out the best server we ever had even though he had only been on the Wonder 3.5 months. His assistant server is even newer as he has only been on the ship for one month. He is from Columbia and was very nice, too.
Dinner that night was the Let The Magic Begin Menu. Graham decided to start off has he had ended on the Transatlantic Cruise and let our server choose for him. He ended up with Calamari with Red Pepper Dip, Seafood and Crab Chowder, Sirloin Steak with Broccoli, Twice Baked Potato with Monterey Jack Cheese and Peppercorn Sauce. He did choose his own dessert and decided to go with Apple Tart Tartin with Vanilla Ice Cream. I chose my own dinner and went with Chicken Bastella with Almond and Vegetable Slaw, Chilled Cucumber and Dill Soup and Sirloin Steak with Broccoli, Twice Baked Potato with Monterey Jack Cheese and Peppercorn Sauce. For my dessert I had Kona Coffee and Pistachio Mousse. Our server had also brought out some of the Sweet Temptations Dessert Samplers for all of us to share so I got a taste of the Kahlua Creme Brulee as well.
We were absolutely exhausted by the time dinner was over and headed for the cabin to go to bed. I quickly took a photo of our towel swan that our stateroom host had left us and then we went to sleep.
mandymouse
Bahama Mama Time !!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
Another great installment Corinna. I don't like the idea of joining one line for check-in at the DCL terminal, it's much better to have the non-US line as it's usually empty. And how strange about the ESTA's too, luckily I always travel with mine, but I know it wasn't neccessary to have them
What made you feel that the atrium of the Wonder was so different to the Magic ? When we took our first Magic cruise in September, other than the different statue and the Beach Blanket called Topsiders, I never really thought I was on a different ship, just nosy and intrigued
More lovely pics, and I look forward to your next update
What made you feel that the atrium of the Wonder was so different to the Magic ? When we took our first Magic cruise in September, other than the different statue and the Beach Blanket called Topsiders, I never really thought I was on a different ship, just nosy and intrigued
More lovely pics, and I look forward to your next update
ForTheLoveOfDCL
A Dream is a wish your
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2008
Loved the pics! 
Ok, so I thought you'd post pics of your jewelry in ur package... U gonna post on the vow renewal page or do I have to wait till Oct to see it in person.?
love the farwell of horns! I have the cruise horn as one of my ringers on my cell.
Can't wait for more!
Ok, so I thought you'd post pics of your jewelry in ur package... U gonna post on the vow renewal page or do I have to wait till Oct to see it in person.?love the farwell of horns! I have the cruise horn as one of my ringers on my cell.
Can't wait for more!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Another great installment Corinna. I don't like the idea of joining one line for check-in at the DCL terminal, it's much better to have the non-US line as it's usually empty. And how strange about the ESTA's too, luckily I always travel with mine, but I know it wasn't neccessary to have them
What made you feel that the atrium of the Wonder was so different to the Magic ? When we took our first Magic cruise in September, other than the different statue and the Beach Blanket called Topsiders, I never really thought I was on a different ship, just nosy and intrigued
More lovely pics, and I look forward to your next update
The colouring and the decor are completely different. The Magic has dark wood and the Wonder light wood. The colour scheme is red on the Magic and blue on the Wonder. The chandeliers are very different in both shapes and colours. Then you have the whole Art Deco versus Art Nouveau thing.
There are other areas that are very different, too. Beat Street has a quite dark decor whereas Route 66 is bright and airy. Triton's seems brighter than Lumiere's. I much prefer the decor of Beach Blanket Buffet over Topsiders.
Loved the pics!
love the farwell of horns! I have the cruise horn as one of my ringers on my cell.
Can't wait for more!
A) I am not much good at photographing jewellery. B) The package did not actually contain anything for the vow renewal in the end. I had a necklace with a clear and blue dichroic glass square, Quartz and Rosequartz with matching bracelet and earrings, a dichroic glass pendant in fall colours, a bracelet and earrings in the same colours, a black and blue dichroic glass pendant, a silver dipped maple leaf pendant with blue pearls and semi-precious stones and earrings to go with it and a choker with a gorgeous lampwork bead and Swarovski Crystals and matching earrings. I has however given me an idea for the vow renewal jewellery. I would love to incorporate one of those silver dipped leave pendants in the design.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
For Michelle and anybody else who is interested, here are some photos of the jewellery that was waiting for me in my cabin. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice, but you should get an idea how beautiful it is:
Corinna
Corinna
TotallyAngelic
Disney Addict
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
How amazing to see the Dream up close and personal. The sunset looked stunning too, and as for that jewellery ... WOW ...it's gorgeous 
ForTheLoveOfDCL
A Dream is a wish your
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2008
For Michelle and anybody else who is interested, here are some photos of the jewellery that was waiting for me in my cabin. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice, but you should get an idea how beautiful it is:
Corinna
Absolutely GORGEOUS!!! The pieces she makes for you are just so stunning!!
My favorite piece is the first....kinda Cinderella like
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 4
We were awake bright and early that morning. Once we had our Mickey wake up call, we got up, got dressed and headed for the gym.
On the Transatlantic cruise, we did a stretching class virtually every morning. They did not offer that class on this cruise, but offered Pilates instead. This is something that I always had wanted to try. So we went up to the gym. The stretching classes had usually taken place on deck 10 and I was hoping that this would be the case with this class as well. Unfortunately, they did it in the gym in some rather small space between the spinning bikes and the gym equipment. We opted out and worked out on the machines instead.
As soon as we saw land in the distance, we finished our work out and headed up to deck 10 to watch our approach to Castaway Cay. It was very windy and we could see the waves crashing against the breakwater and the dock. We started to get a bad feeling about this. January is statistically the month with the highest risk of not being able to dock at Castaway Cay and it did not look too promising for us. We watched the first two attempts to get close enough to the island to attempt docking and I took plenty of photos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvdjVentkfk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rSheUb752o
We headed down to Parrot Cay to get some breakfast. Pretty much as soon as we had got there, the Captain made another attempt. Parrot Cay is on deck 3 aft and we could hear and feel the thrusters work very hard. At one stage I actually wondered if we would make it after all. We finished our breakfast and as we leaving the dining room, the Captain made an announcement that we are unable to dock at Castaway Cay and would have a day at sea instead.
We wandered along deck 3 and Graham made himself comfortable in one of the oversized portholes. I went back to our cabin to get changed out of my work out clothes. On the way, I chatted with our stateroom host for a bit. She used to work on the Magic, but transferred to the Wonder two contracts ago. She was fantastic and we both liked her very much.
Once I was changed, I headed to deck 4 to see if the shops were open as I had overtime money that I had put into our onboard account beforehand as I really wanted to get a Disney Cruise Line Dooney and Bourke hand bag. I had bought the matching wristlet on the Transatlantic cruise and have not left the house without it since. So I wanted to start the process of choosing my perfect bag. They are all different so finding the perfect one is quite an undertaking. Unfortunately the shop was still closed. On the way down to deck 3, I noticed that people were assembling at Preludes. I asked the member of cruise staff that was with them if this was for Walk A Mile, which it was. I wished that I had waited a bit longer to get changed as I was now wearing a maxi dress that went all the way to the floor. This was not the most suitable outfit. I went down to deck 3 to see if Graham was still in his porthole to let him know about walk a mile, but he had gone.
I headed back to the atrium to wait for the revised Navigator to be released. I was also hoping that the characters that were supposed to be on the island would be out in the atrium instead. Stitch was one of them and I do love the characters in their beach wear. I decided to sit down in the atrium as they were setting up for the photographers. I got talking with some other people that had the same idea.
Soon the first characters appeared. Unfortunately they were not all the ones that had been scheduled for the island and they were in their tropical outfits rather than their island wear. I still got some nice photos with Chip and Dale, Donald, Mickey and Minnie.
In the meantime, the new Navigators had been printed and I picked up my copy from Guest Services and planned what to do next. I still had about half an hour until the first thing that I wanted to do so I decided to head back up to the stores to start looking for my bag. I encountered a huge line. I asked what this was in aid of and was told that this was for the release of the first of the limited edition pins. I had overlooked this bit of information on the back page of the Navigator. I just shook my head and moved across the corridor to browse at Mickey' Mates instead.
We were awake bright and early that morning. Once we had our Mickey wake up call, we got up, got dressed and headed for the gym.
On the Transatlantic cruise, we did a stretching class virtually every morning. They did not offer that class on this cruise, but offered Pilates instead. This is something that I always had wanted to try. So we went up to the gym. The stretching classes had usually taken place on deck 10 and I was hoping that this would be the case with this class as well. Unfortunately, they did it in the gym in some rather small space between the spinning bikes and the gym equipment. We opted out and worked out on the machines instead.
As soon as we saw land in the distance, we finished our work out and headed up to deck 10 to watch our approach to Castaway Cay. It was very windy and we could see the waves crashing against the breakwater and the dock. We started to get a bad feeling about this. January is statistically the month with the highest risk of not being able to dock at Castaway Cay and it did not look too promising for us. We watched the first two attempts to get close enough to the island to attempt docking and I took plenty of photos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvdjVentkfk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rSheUb752o
We headed down to Parrot Cay to get some breakfast. Pretty much as soon as we had got there, the Captain made another attempt. Parrot Cay is on deck 3 aft and we could hear and feel the thrusters work very hard. At one stage I actually wondered if we would make it after all. We finished our breakfast and as we leaving the dining room, the Captain made an announcement that we are unable to dock at Castaway Cay and would have a day at sea instead.
We wandered along deck 3 and Graham made himself comfortable in one of the oversized portholes. I went back to our cabin to get changed out of my work out clothes. On the way, I chatted with our stateroom host for a bit. She used to work on the Magic, but transferred to the Wonder two contracts ago. She was fantastic and we both liked her very much.
Once I was changed, I headed to deck 4 to see if the shops were open as I had overtime money that I had put into our onboard account beforehand as I really wanted to get a Disney Cruise Line Dooney and Bourke hand bag. I had bought the matching wristlet on the Transatlantic cruise and have not left the house without it since. So I wanted to start the process of choosing my perfect bag. They are all different so finding the perfect one is quite an undertaking. Unfortunately the shop was still closed. On the way down to deck 3, I noticed that people were assembling at Preludes. I asked the member of cruise staff that was with them if this was for Walk A Mile, which it was. I wished that I had waited a bit longer to get changed as I was now wearing a maxi dress that went all the way to the floor. This was not the most suitable outfit. I went down to deck 3 to see if Graham was still in his porthole to let him know about walk a mile, but he had gone.
I headed back to the atrium to wait for the revised Navigator to be released. I was also hoping that the characters that were supposed to be on the island would be out in the atrium instead. Stitch was one of them and I do love the characters in their beach wear. I decided to sit down in the atrium as they were setting up for the photographers. I got talking with some other people that had the same idea.
Soon the first characters appeared. Unfortunately they were not all the ones that had been scheduled for the island and they were in their tropical outfits rather than their island wear. I still got some nice photos with Chip and Dale, Donald, Mickey and Minnie.
In the meantime, the new Navigators had been printed and I picked up my copy from Guest Services and planned what to do next. I still had about half an hour until the first thing that I wanted to do so I decided to head back up to the stores to start looking for my bag. I encountered a huge line. I asked what this was in aid of and was told that this was for the release of the first of the limited edition pins. I had overlooked this bit of information on the back page of the Navigator. I just shook my head and moved across the corridor to browse at Mickey' Mates instead.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I decided to try and find Graham and I did find him in the gym. He pointed to the middle of the gym and there was Pluto joining in with a Yoga class! Graham had told me on previous cruises that he had come across characters just wandering around the ship, but for me, this was a first. This happened regularly throughout the cruise and I really liked this.
Pluto soon decided that Yoga might not be for him after all and worked out with the hand weights for a while. He then headed to the Rainforest Room and by that stage I was in hot pursuit. Pluto got his escort to tie a towel around his waist. I had my camera at the ready as I was half expecting for Pluto to get into a heated tile lounger. Instead he signalled his escort and then made his way towards the door. His escort told be that Pluto wanted a photo with me and we both followed him. We posed together in front of the Vista Spa sign and the resulting photo is probably my favourite character photo from this cruise.
I decided that it was time to head for my next activity. I thanked Pluto and headed for the lifts. Pluto also had enough of the spa and we ended up sharing a lift down to deck 4. When I came past Treasure Ketch, there was hardly anybody in there. So I decided to try my luck and see if they still had a Castaway Cay pin lift. They still had two or three baskets with pins and I had no problems getting one.
Pin in hand, I headed along deck 4 and down to the Promenade Lounge, where Disney Movie Trivia was supposed to take place. I was more than a little surprised when I found Bingo there instead. By the time I figured out that this had been moved to Wavebands, they were on question 4 or 5. So I decided to just find a seat and wait for Disney Theme Park Trivia, which would be straight afterwards. As it was, I don't think that I would have done well with the Movie Trivia.
Theme Park Trivia was another matter. I got 24 out of 25 questions right. The only question that I got wrong was "What body of water does Tokyo DisneySea overlook?" Still, there were a lot of teams that got all 25 questions right and they had to do tie breaker after tie breaker until they had only one winning team. Watching this was almost more fun than doing the quiz itself.
After the quiz, I headed up to deck 9 to see if the hairbraiders were there. Unfortunately they were not and according to the sign on the hairbraiding station, they would not be open until midday on the following day. I think they missed a trick there. People had ended up with an unscheduled sea day with nothing planned. I sure that some people also had intended to have their hair braided on Castaway Cay. I am sure that they would have made plenty of business had they opened.
On the way back, I spotted Graham in the adult pool. I decided to dip my toe in the water and it was lovely and warm. This surprised me as the pool
was empty. I got my swim stuff and joined Graham for a while.
When I headed back to the cabin, I found a Magical Moments certificate and three Stitch pins on our bed. I had told our stateroom host that Stitch was my favourite character and that I was hoping that he would be out for photos before heading out in the morning. This was a lovely surprise.
Once both Graham and I were changed, we headed down to Triton's for lunch. Graham had Tortilla Soup followed by Angus Chuck Burger with Cheddar, Fries and Coleslaw and I had Tortilla Soup, Mild Chicken Curry with Vegetable Rice and Poppadom and Chocolate Cake for dessert.
After lunch, I went to Guest Services to check if they would offer a Galley Tour this cruise. They confirmed that they did have a Galley Tour scheduled for the last sea day, but that this was already full. They were however able to add me to a waitlist.
I spent the next couple of hours just relaxing and reading my book. Shortly before 16:00, I headed up to Palo. When I did the Trivia in the morning, the member of Cruise Staff, who did this, mentioned that he would do The Art of the Theme Ship Tour that afternoon. This is something that I always wanted to do, but never got around to on our previous cruises.
I got to Palo a little early and already there were loads of people there. By 16:00, the elevator lobby outside Palo was packed. They have only recently started to do this tour on the Wonder and had never seen anything like this. Our guide radioed for back up and the group was split in half with one group starting at the top of the ship and the other half at the bottom. Both groups met up briefly outside the Walt Disney Theater, which worked out perfectly, before finishing of their tour.
The tour was great fun and very interesting. Some of the stuff I had known already, but most of it was new for me. I was quite shocked that there are more than 27000 signs on the ship. It was also interesting to find out just how many different carpets there are on the ship and that they are used to set the scene, but also act as sign posts. My favourite bit was that the metal borders with the characters on that can be found around the atrium are actually representing the various departments on the ship. If you ever get the chance, have a closer look.
When the tour finished, there were already characters in the atrium for photos. I decided to get in line and managed to get photos with Mickey and Minnie, Chip and Dale, Donald and Daisy plus Goofy in their nautical outfits. One of the character escorts told me that he had heard that I am a special friend of Pluto. News definitely goes around.
They also had portrait opportunities against a white backdrop and in front of the ship with a sunset. So in between character sets, I had some portraits taken as well.
Once all the photos had been taken, I headed up to the Rainforest Room to chill out on a heated tile lounger before it was time to get ready for dinner.
Pluto soon decided that Yoga might not be for him after all and worked out with the hand weights for a while. He then headed to the Rainforest Room and by that stage I was in hot pursuit. Pluto got his escort to tie a towel around his waist. I had my camera at the ready as I was half expecting for Pluto to get into a heated tile lounger. Instead he signalled his escort and then made his way towards the door. His escort told be that Pluto wanted a photo with me and we both followed him. We posed together in front of the Vista Spa sign and the resulting photo is probably my favourite character photo from this cruise.
I decided that it was time to head for my next activity. I thanked Pluto and headed for the lifts. Pluto also had enough of the spa and we ended up sharing a lift down to deck 4. When I came past Treasure Ketch, there was hardly anybody in there. So I decided to try my luck and see if they still had a Castaway Cay pin lift. They still had two or three baskets with pins and I had no problems getting one.
Pin in hand, I headed along deck 4 and down to the Promenade Lounge, where Disney Movie Trivia was supposed to take place. I was more than a little surprised when I found Bingo there instead. By the time I figured out that this had been moved to Wavebands, they were on question 4 or 5. So I decided to just find a seat and wait for Disney Theme Park Trivia, which would be straight afterwards. As it was, I don't think that I would have done well with the Movie Trivia.
Theme Park Trivia was another matter. I got 24 out of 25 questions right. The only question that I got wrong was "What body of water does Tokyo DisneySea overlook?" Still, there were a lot of teams that got all 25 questions right and they had to do tie breaker after tie breaker until they had only one winning team. Watching this was almost more fun than doing the quiz itself.
After the quiz, I headed up to deck 9 to see if the hairbraiders were there. Unfortunately they were not and according to the sign on the hairbraiding station, they would not be open until midday on the following day. I think they missed a trick there. People had ended up with an unscheduled sea day with nothing planned. I sure that some people also had intended to have their hair braided on Castaway Cay. I am sure that they would have made plenty of business had they opened.
On the way back, I spotted Graham in the adult pool. I decided to dip my toe in the water and it was lovely and warm. This surprised me as the pool
was empty. I got my swim stuff and joined Graham for a while.
When I headed back to the cabin, I found a Magical Moments certificate and three Stitch pins on our bed. I had told our stateroom host that Stitch was my favourite character and that I was hoping that he would be out for photos before heading out in the morning. This was a lovely surprise.
Once both Graham and I were changed, we headed down to Triton's for lunch. Graham had Tortilla Soup followed by Angus Chuck Burger with Cheddar, Fries and Coleslaw and I had Tortilla Soup, Mild Chicken Curry with Vegetable Rice and Poppadom and Chocolate Cake for dessert.
After lunch, I went to Guest Services to check if they would offer a Galley Tour this cruise. They confirmed that they did have a Galley Tour scheduled for the last sea day, but that this was already full. They were however able to add me to a waitlist.
I spent the next couple of hours just relaxing and reading my book. Shortly before 16:00, I headed up to Palo. When I did the Trivia in the morning, the member of Cruise Staff, who did this, mentioned that he would do The Art of the Theme Ship Tour that afternoon. This is something that I always wanted to do, but never got around to on our previous cruises.
I got to Palo a little early and already there were loads of people there. By 16:00, the elevator lobby outside Palo was packed. They have only recently started to do this tour on the Wonder and had never seen anything like this. Our guide radioed for back up and the group was split in half with one group starting at the top of the ship and the other half at the bottom. Both groups met up briefly outside the Walt Disney Theater, which worked out perfectly, before finishing of their tour.
The tour was great fun and very interesting. Some of the stuff I had known already, but most of it was new for me. I was quite shocked that there are more than 27000 signs on the ship. It was also interesting to find out just how many different carpets there are on the ship and that they are used to set the scene, but also act as sign posts. My favourite bit was that the metal borders with the characters on that can be found around the atrium are actually representing the various departments on the ship. If you ever get the chance, have a closer look.
When the tour finished, there were already characters in the atrium for photos. I decided to get in line and managed to get photos with Mickey and Minnie, Chip and Dale, Donald and Daisy plus Goofy in their nautical outfits. One of the character escorts told me that he had heard that I am a special friend of Pluto. News definitely goes around.
They also had portrait opportunities against a white backdrop and in front of the ship with a sunset. So in between character sets, I had some portraits taken as well.
Once all the photos had been taken, I headed up to the Rainforest Room to chill out on a heated tile lounger before it was time to get ready for dinner.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Dinner that night was the Taste of the Caribbean Menu. This was my least favourite menu on the Transatlantic cruise, but I was positively surprised this time round. Graham had Lobster and Shrimp with Grilled Pineapple, Spiced Seafood Soup,Fettuccine with Scallops, Shrimp and Snapper followed by Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Raspberry and Mango Coulis. I had
Pulled Pork and Mango Chutney Tart, Chilled Pineapple Soup, Breaded Veal Parcel filled with Ham, Gruyere and Pineapple, Asparagus, Fried Onions, Fingerling Potatoes and Island Spiced Chocolate Cake for dessert.
After dinner, Graham and I had some photos taken together in front of the ship backdrop.
We then headed back to the cabin to find a towel dog. We also had a schedule for the release of the other limited edition pins and a beautiful lithograph by Don "Ducky" Williams. Once I had taken a photo of our towel animal, went to sleep after a long day.
Pulled Pork and Mango Chutney Tart, Chilled Pineapple Soup, Breaded Veal Parcel filled with Ham, Gruyere and Pineapple, Asparagus, Fried Onions, Fingerling Potatoes and Island Spiced Chocolate Cake for dessert.
After dinner, Graham and I had some photos taken together in front of the ship backdrop.
We then headed back to the cabin to find a towel dog. We also had a schedule for the release of the other limited edition pins and a beautiful lithograph by Don "Ducky" Williams. Once I had taken a photo of our towel animal, went to sleep after a long day.
mandymouse
Bahama Mama Time !!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
What a shame you missed out on Castaway Cay, but you looked like you had a fun time with all the characters
cannp123165
<font color=green>Very Quizzical<font color=teal>
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2005
Just catching up and sounds like a great trip so far!
I just found your new trip report and I am very much enjoying it. You are a great photographer, those are some of the nicest pictures I've seen on here of Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was great that you got to meet Pluto in the Spa, I love those little touches that set Disney apart from other cruiselines!
You are so lucky to have been on the Transatlantic and this cruise. I am looking forward to more of your report. Karyn
You are so lucky to have been on the Transatlantic and this cruise. I am looking forward to more of your report. Karyn
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