Feb 4, 2007 Wonder cruise

[lindakmonty]

Hey everybody I just cant contain my excitement...we leave in 6 weeks I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas

 

[Super Goof]

Hey everybody I just cant contain my excitement...we leave in 6 weeks I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas

We're bursting at the seams too! We've been talking over dinner for weeks about all the things we want to do and see this time around. I hope we have the same perfect weather. One of the things I really can't wait to see again is Serenity Bay on Castaway Cay.

 

[byejou]

Any suggestions for Castaway Cay. With and without kids. ? Snorkeling. My husband has never been to a island or on a cruise. Going to make it wonderful for him and the kids.

 

[Super Goof]

Any suggestions for Castaway Cay. With and without kids. ? Snorkeling. My husband has never been to a island or on a cruise. Going to make it wonderful for him and the kids.

Castaway Cay information on DCL's website is here:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/ports/landing?name=CastawayCayLandingPage

There's also a good deal of information at this website, with Castaway Cay starting on page 72:
http://www.allears.net/cruise/mdcg.pdf

Snorkeling was fun. Lots of interesting fish to see, plus lots of other sights to see under the water. Our daughters (7 and 6) did not want to go snorkeling. They preferred swimming at the main beach with their friends.

You should definitely take a little time for you and your husband at Serenity Bay, which is the adults-only beach. Our kids went to the Oceaneer's Club activities for the first few hours on Castaway Cay, and we went to Serenity Bay. It was very beautiful and peaceful, and is one of our favorite memories of the trip.

 

[lindakmonty]

byejou... I would snorkel if you've never been. It is a good place to start out. There aren't tons of fish to see, but it is a good time. I'll probably take Kenny for his first time too. I did see a stingray the first time snorkeling there. I'll second what Super Goof recommended...definitely take time to venture to Serenity Bay my ds5, Kenny loved playing in the Oceaneer club on Castaway Cay...they were digging in the sand and doing a "whale dig" or something. He loved it. I took my 16 year old cousin a few years ago and she did a few teen excursions. She had a good time. There is so much to do. I took ds on a bike ride around the island...a massage sounds heavenly in the cabanas must not miss Cookies BBQ... get to the beach early for a hammock I'm still thinking about the feeding stingrays for Kenny. He would love it. I've done that in the Caymans...but this looks much better for his age. Good luck. Castaway Cay truly is a slice of paradise!!

Hope you all had a great New Year !!!!

 

[jblb1020]

HELLO EVERYONE!! Hope you all had a good New Year! Our Family had the stomach virus over the last week and I hope we will not have to deal with that again this year. Just glad it happened now instead of next month at this time because 1 month today we will be on the WONDER!!!!

 

[WonderWoman]

Our family, 4 first-time cruisers, is going to be aboard the Wonder for the Feb. 4th sailing. Our daughter is 9 and our son is 5. We are getting really excited as the day gets closer.

We have opted for the second seating because the first just seemed too early for us. Has anyone done the second seating with kids before that may offer us some advice? Thanks.

 

[byejou]

We are also first time cruisers. We have second seating for dinner and I have heard mixed reviews. The shows we have for the evening will be before our seating allowing the kids to be mor eawake to enjoy them but then come dinner. I have 5 and 2 1/2 years old boys and I may need to hold their head up to eat that late. At least you can get a quick dinner or snack around 5p elsewhere or the ship to hold the kids over. Either way I still can not wait for the trip and not even dinner will ruin it for us.

 

[WonderWoman]

byejou - I feel the same. I'll snack them around 4 pm and then they'll hold out until dinner. My 9 year old is no problem - she likes eating later with the grown-ups. Hopefully my 5 year old will be so wound up that he'll be a night owl on the boat.


Do you know if there are shows after the later dinner for the kids, or all they all earlier in the evening?

We are all soooo excited. I have registered them for the kids' clubs and made a dinner reservation for my husband and I to enjoy Palo.

See you on the 4th at dinner! We have the 8pm seating.

 

[WonderWoman]

byejou - I also noticed that you were interested in snorkelling. I snorkelled for my first time just recently in Curacao and it was awesome! Someone suggested to us that we get our own gear before going on to the boat - I guess for both ease of use (proper fit, etc.) and for the germ factor.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hey guys! I wish we were still going on this cruise...but oh well, I know you all will have a fantastic time!!

byejou and WonderWoman: Don't forget about room service!! We had late dining too, and when we got back to the cabin to start cleaning up for the night and getting ready to go to the shows before dinner, we'd all be starving so I'd order a few pizzas and cheese & crackers platters from room service, and we'd snack on them while showering/getting ready. There is no charge for food from room service (there is a charge if you order any beverages though), just give the delivery person a small tip. We always kept a stack of dollar bills in the desk drawer and we'd give the delivery person a few dollars.

Have a great cruise everyone!! I'll be thinking of you all!!

 

[byejou]

WonderWoman

We have 8pm seating and also booked a reservation at Palo. Ours is Weds. the 7th at 6p. We are so excited. Can't believe in is only weeks, even days away.

I am not positive but I think they do have more shows in the evening. The Pirates of the Caribbean Party is one night and that starts around 9:30p with fireworks. Maybe too late for my little guys but thats an option for your family.

It almost here. Maybe we will run into each other. We are flying out on the 3rd and staying at the Radisson so we can board at 10am and avoid any delays incase of bad weather here in NJ. Right now it is in the 70's and that pretty odd for us.

 

[WonderWoman]

Our reservations for Palo are at 7:30 on the Wednesday, so we will probably run into you there!

Are you bringing Pirate costumes for your kids? Someone suggested that I do this but I have so many other things to pack and worry about....

We are spending a few days in DW before the cruise on the Land and Sea package. It will be our first time there too so I am really psyched! Probably more than the kids even....

 

[byejou]

No we are not dressing the kids up. We may wear tropical shirts or something on that line but I am not really a costume person. I think my kids may be too tired and we may only go up there briefly.

Are u planning a night at the club. Because our youngest will not be 3 until 2/19 we have to book daycare for him so I arranged a night for me and my husband to go to the club to hang out like old times.

We hav enot told our kids yet. It going to be a big surprise.

 

[Super Goof]

byejou - I feel the same. I'll snack them around 4 pm and then they'll hold out until dinner. My 9 year old is no problem - she likes eating later with the grown-ups. Hopefully my 5 year old will be so wound up that he'll be a night owl on the boat.


Do you know if there are shows after the later dinner for the kids, or all they all earlier in the evening?

We are all soooo excited. I have registered them for the kids' clubs and made a dinner reservation for my husband and I to enjoy Palo.

See you on the 4th at dinner! We have the 8pm seating.

Wonder Woman,

There are shows for people with early and late dinner seatings. On our last trip, the early show was at 6:15pm for the late seating dinner crowd, and the late show was at 8:30pm for the early seating dinner crowd. There was also a 2:00pm matinee on the day at sea.

 

[jblb1020]

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe that we are almost 3 weeks away! Our kids are so excited and its like Christmas all over again! I have to tell you that the pirate party is a must see if you can make it. We where on the Eastern Cruise last Feb. my daughter was 2.11 (turning 3 in March 2006) and my son was 5. They loved every minute of it. We did not stay for the food after because the kids where tired but I was just happy they made it as long as they did. Our kids dress up for the pirate party but they do have costumes and pirate accessories in the gift shop on the ship if you would like to buy them there.
This weekend I bought my daughter her bathing suites for the cruise. I think everyone was looking at me like I was crazy. The cruise shopping has begun. I never thought I would be happy to see summer clothes after Christmas!
Here is a picture of my kids on pirate night on our Feb 2006 Eastern Cruise

 

[byejou]

Talk about cruise shopping......new luggage at the after christmas sale, good finds.....lands end, sears and most of the larger stores just started with swimsuits, so I bought 1, 2, okay 3, they looked at me like I was crazy but I quickly shouted out WE CRUISE IN 3 WEEKS..YAHHHHHH

Anyone know where to get sandals for boys 5 and 2.11. Their feet have grown since summer and we need sandals badly.

 

[jblb1020]

Kohles, Payless and Famous Footwear should be getting their sandals in soon. But I have found the Zappos.com has a great online selection. I was able to get sandals for our kids last year right before the cruise in Feb 2006. Good Luck and Happy shopping!!!

 

[lindakmonty]

Hey everybody I see I'm not alone getting all excited for this trip. We're leaving in 3 weeks for the land/sea pkg. Its the first time I booked it together like that so we'll see how that goes. I just told ds5 Kenny about our vacation on Christmas...he's so excited. To him, there IS no other vacation He wants to take his POC costume...so that will be great for the POC party on board and for our Pirate and Princess party at wdw

wonderwoman, we did the late seating before but this time we really wanted early b/c Kenny is use to going to bed at 8...he can't last that long even with a nap! good luck and I'm sure your family will LOVE the cruise! We're all counting the days to go.

Ok...I've actually started digging stuff out. Tell me I'm not alone. Have to pack so many different things for wdw and the cruise

3 more weeks

 

[pinkie]

Ok. So I have been so busy I have not had time to think. But now that the holidays and my PTA fundraising is over I have time to dive in to our cruise. We are driving down and this is our first disney cruise. Has anyone ever stayed at the Residence Inn?

Oh and just for a reminder I have Wesley 10, Gradey 7, and Britney Anne 3. I'm sure they would love to have some instant friends. Have we decided a meeting place and time?

Thanks so much for everything..... We are so excited!!!!