Feb 28, 2010 - 4 night Wonder Cruise

[OKWMEMBER]

We're safely in Jacksonville!!!! The drive last night from Erie to Parkersburg, WV was absolutely horrible! It took us two hours longer than it should have but we made it. The drive today started out iffy but was great once we got to North Carolina. Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

 

[Jump4Joy8390]

We can't believe it's over already! Hope everyone had a great time and made it home or to their destinations safely today.

We just want to thank everyone in our "Wonder"ful Fish Extender group for all the great gifts!!!! You guys are so creative and generous! A big THANK YOU to Tammy for keeping us so organized - I can't believe we didn't get to meet you, after all we went through to get there!!! Maybe next time.... Take care, everyone!

 

[FLAngie]

We can't believe it is over already either. We had an awesome time! I think that we spent half of our time in Studio Sea for the game shows and karaoke. We had so much fun we ended up booking a Dream cruise while on board.

Jump4Joy- I saw your FE hanging outside your door. AWESOME!

We didn't end up doing door magnets- I just couldn't seem to get them to print right. But we did do pillow cases with mickey heads/names and they came out really cute. Ton's of signatures all over them.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Wow! We are still wobbling around on our sea legs! We booked another on board as well! The FE gifts are awesome and really creative! We will post more later.

It was really nice meeting a bunch of you, lemme see who I can remember. PoohJen, FLangie, OKW, Chinamom, Pooh Jen sister (cant remember sorry!) If we forgot anyone sorry but we will sail another day!!!!

 

[Jump4Joy8390]

Boy, that booking desk was sure busy! We also booked another cruise!! Four days just wasn't enough, we're going to try the 7-day Mexican Riviera next March.

Thanks for the kind words about our FE, FLAngie, I had a lot of fun making it!

 

[dsneygirl]

Boy, that booking desk was sure busy! We also booked another cruise!! Four days just wasn't enough, we're going to try the 7-day Mexican Riviera next March.

Thanks for the kind words about our FE, FLAngie, I had a lot of fun making it!

We also rebooked on board. We're going Dec 2.I want to see the Wonder all decorated for Xmas.

I was bummed we had bad weather and those high winds the last day but we still had a blast. I think Serenity Bay was the highlight for me

 

[jworkkul]

Well, the party is over I wish we had better weather but it was fun anyway. I want to thank all the people in our FE club for all the wonderful gifts. This was our first DCL cruise so I was not very familiar with how things went; but, we were the ones giving out the Universal gifts and beads. I thought everyone would probably be doing something "DISNEY" so with my daughter working for the "OTHER" park--we would do something different. If I missed anyone I apologize. Hope to see ya all soon.

 

[breakingd_awn]

Thanks everyone for all the gifts, the girls were always checking our FE everytime they heard a noise in the hall I wish I could have met all of you , I went to the pool a little late and didn't see anyone with lime green ribbon,of course it was packed with people . We had a great time and booked another cruise on the Dream same time next year Castaway Cay was BEAUTYFUL!!!!! I wish we could have stayed longer, that was my favorite part. Now I have to burn off all I ate and clean my own room and cook my own food .....ugh..reality sets in

 

[trwprid]

We made it home last night at midnight. We spent Thursday at Disney. We're pooped, but sad the vacation is over.

I am soooooo annoyed we didn't re-book while on the ship. I think DH didn't get that we only needed to pay the deposit, so he didn't consider it until it was too late. At first he was hesitant about going on the cruise at all, but he's glad now that he did and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Now it's time for me to sort through my suitcase full of FE stuff! It was fun going back to the room and finding stuff in the pockets. I sure got a workout delivering gifts, too. Whew, my shins were killing me.

 

[FLAngie]

Okay, so lets see what everyone passed out/received for FE gifts I have one year two months to get it together and participate in the next FE so I need some more ideas!

Glad to see that everyone is making it home safe.

Quiz time now. What was your favorite part of the cruise?

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Okay, so lets see what everyone passed out/received for FE gifts I have one year two months to get it together and participate in the next FE so I need some more ideas!

Glad to see that everyone is making it home safe.

Quiz time now. What was your favorite part of the cruise?

There were so many creative ideas in the FE! I had a bunch of favourites,

Dreams show
Pirate party
Ping Pong with my DS
Hot Tub time with Daisy and Serenity Cove so quiet!
Having one of the smoothest cigars with great conversation

But usually my favourite part of the trip is the adventure in getting to and from. This years didnt disappoint either with the blizzard on the way down, and a stop at Daytonas Bike week, and tour of Savannah on the way home. Those will also be highlights...

maybe I'll try to get our story together and we'll put together a trip report....

THere were more highloghts than I can remember right now, hopefully Daisy will agree with one or two of my faves!

 

[atm55]

I guess I'm the only one disappointed, but by no fault of Disney. The weather was horrible, but what I thought was worse was the rudeness of the passengers on board. Trying to get on an elevator or find a table in the buffet on sea day when the weather was bad and most passengers stayed inside, was made far worse by inconsiderate passengers! I can't tell you how many times I had to explain to my granddauther to just let them pass, they must have a more urgent reason to get on the elevator or a table at the buffet than we do. Disney did a wonderful job of accommodating so many people under less then desirable circumstance, but in my mind, the families on board needed a good lesson on good manners.

I will never cruise with DCL again for this reason - too many young families that don't know the definition of "consideration for those around you!"

 

[FLAngie]

Sorry to hear that you were so disappointed. I will admit that I did see a lot of the elevator and buffet table issues on the last day. We pretty much took the stairs everywhere we went anyway. When we took an elevator we made sure that it was an aft or forward one since they were not as busy. DD6 and I waited about 10 minutes for a table on the Sea Day breakfast buffet before we just took our trays down to our cabin and ate there. I think that a lot of the issues were due to it being too cold to go outside on the last day.

We anticipating all the days to be as cold as the last day, so Nassau and Castaway Cay weather were a nice surprise to us.

That being said, we liked the rest enough that we booked again. Even if you choose not to do a DCL cruise again, I think that was a really nice thing for you to take your granddaughter on a trip like this. I do not think that many of us have grandparents that would do that. In the end she probably won't remember the lines or rude people, but that her grandmother loves her enough to spend special time with her.

On a side note, how did you like the HA cabin?

 

[dthogue]

Hey everyone - we are sitting at MCO waiting for our flight home to BWI. we spent the last 4 days at WDW.

I'm so sorry I didn't get to meet everyone - we ended up at the Nassau shopping talk - DD's wanted the "FREE" charm bracelet!!

Thank you to everyone in the FE exchange for the gifts - we had so much fun looking for the gifts when we returned to the cabin.

We had a good trip, but a little disappointed, although I can't say exactly why - the weather could have been better, but then again it could have been worse. We are already booked for a 7-night in November, but we are trying to decide whether or not we want to go.

I hope everyone made it home safely - will check back in later.

Tammy

 

[atm55]

Sorry to hear that you were so disappointed. I will admit that I did see a lot of the elevator and buffet table issues on the last day. We pretty much took the stairs everywhere we went anyway. When we took an elevator we made sure that it was an aft or forward one since they were not as busy. DD6 and I waited about 10 minutes for a table on the Sea Day breakfast buffet before we just took our trays down to our cabin and ate there. I think that a lot of the issues were due to it being too cold to go outside on the last day.

We anticipating all the days to be as cold as the last day, so Nassau and Castaway Cay weather were a nice surprise to us.

That being said, we liked the rest enough that we booked again. Even if you choose not to do a DCL cruise again, I think that was a really nice thing for you to take your granddaughter on a trip like this. I do not think that many of us have grandparents that would do that. In the end she probably won't remember the lines or rude people, but that her grandmother loves her enough to spend special time with her.

On a side note, how did you like the HA cabin?

Thanks for the compliment Angie, it helped me put things in perspective. The HA room was awesome - very large with a full size bathroom.

Dthogue, sorry you were a little disappointed too. I can't really figure out why either, but I'm sure the weather was a major factor. Not sure if I'll cruise any more.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I guess I'm the only one disappointed, but by no fault of Disney. The weather was horrible, but what I thought was worse was the rudeness of the passengers on board. Trying to get on an elevator or find a table in the buffet on sea day when the weather was bad and most passengers stayed inside, was made far worse by inconsiderate passengers! I can't tell you how many times I had to explain to my granddauther to just let them pass, they must have a more urgent reason to get on the elevator or a table at the buffet than we do. Disney did a wonderful job of accommodating so many people under less then desirable circumstance, but in my mind, the families on board needed a good lesson on good manners.

I will never cruise with DCL again for this reason - too many young families that don't know the definition of "consideration for those around you!"

I've been lurking on this thread after you returned to find out how things went on the cruise for your group. We head out in two weeks ourselves!

I saw this post and thought I'd comment. We went on a 15-night Panama Canal cruise in 2008 on Disney and absolutely loved it. When I returned, there was only one complaint -- elevator etiquette! Unfortunately, I noticed just the opposite. It was generally older couples who were rude to younger guests and kids who had been waiting for the elevators. I thought it might have been an entitlement issue as they were older and should deserve to get on the elevators first.

Regardless, the experience of other guests didn't ruin it for us and we love DCL and are planning three more cruises -- even a cruise sans kids! I think it's a lot like WDW (or anywhere there might be crowds). Other guests can be rude at times, but we learned to just relax and enjoy the flow.

 

[mhw9000]

This was our first cruise and the part we liked best was being treated like royality by the crew.

Since it was our first and nothing to compare it to we really enjoyed it very much. Since we took the stairs most of the time we didn't experience the "rude" elevator issues and when we found one of the eating places with long waiting lines for anything we just went to another place to eat.

The food was outstanding!!! My DH and I actually lost a couple of pounds on this cruise because we walked "EVERYWHERE". We did take the shuttle to the adult beach. There was only one time I didn't order dessert and maybe two times I didn't order an appetitizer.

There were lots of kids, but we factored that into our attitude since we are older with grandchildren of our own.

We were sooooooooo glad to just have a week to ourselves I don't think anything could have spoiled it. Even the rough seas on Wednesday during the day and at night. Now that was an experience. We were most fortunate to have been upgraded to a room with a porthole. I think that was a great thing. Not sure how I would have felt about an inside stateroom.

But by and large our table mates were quite enjoyable. Maybe not the two Austrian men traveling together that only one spoke any English at all. They laughed at me when I asked if they were brothers. Then spoke in their language and howled as they looked at me. So much for small talk.

Will we ever cruise again? Yes, I think so........we may try another liner or we may do Disney again.......

Our experience is definately rated as A+.

 

[china mom]

Well, I am no longer a cruise newbie with this one under my belt. I have mixed feelings about the experience. We were on deck 6, aft and it was a good location. Close to the things we used most (breakfast buffet, mickey pool, drink station). The elevators and stairs were close but it was not noisy.

The bunk beds for the kids were perfect and everyone slept well. Glad we got the balcony even though we didn't actually use it much. It was nice to wake to open curtains and a view of the open sea.

The weather and the rocky day at sea...well, I'll say no more, you were all there. I was disapointed that the weather was so bad for the pirate party. DS and I bailed before it really got started.

The Oceanears club and lab were a bit of a letdown after such a buildup and I wish the pools were a little bigger / less crowded.

The Shows were amazing and I actually got to see two grown up movies (that hasn't happened in five years).

 

[breakingd_awn]

I absolutely loved the cruise, The weather at CC could have been a bit better ...the water was COLD. It was nice to be waited on hand and foot, I loved all of our servers/room hostess, they were all very nice. We also took the stairs most of the time unless we had Evie in her stroller. i was
surprised to see all the people without strollers waiting in line for elevators . Whenever I had the chance I took the steps ....so I could burn off dessertMy calves were killing me by day 2 (on the dream we'll have 14 flights to climb) what a workout. We didn't make to the pirate party I thought it was too cold and windy for my toddler plus she was beat. I should have taken Rogan though she probably wouldnt have minded.She was watching a movie and didnt know it was going on. My DH tells after the fact that I could have upgraded my diamond to a bigger size for much cheaper than in teh states? Is that true? Has anyone done it before? Maybe next time For those who a child in the Oceaneer Lab ..., I hope they all got the boxes we made , I couldn't fit it in some pockets so I had to put it on the floor...which made me kind of nervous about them getting it.

 

[kikids]

Angie, did you ask about stuff received in the FE's? We got magnets, jewelry, scrapbooks, recipes, notepads, pencils, pens, stickers, candy (much of it not shown here b/c we ate it!), carabiners, coasters, card games, cookie cutters, hair stuff, lip gloss, key chains, bookmarks, other mementos, playdoh, lots more! If something you gave us isn't pictured, it's still in the luggage, was probably played with on the airplane! I'm not all the way unpacked yet but wanted to share this pic I took when we got home. Thanks everyone for the AWESOME stuff. The kids loved the FE and we'd do it again for sure!