First Cruise Ever on the Disney Wonder!

[Grumpy987]

WOW!!!!!!!!!! What a great trip! This was our first cruise ever and I hope not to be the last. I am hooked! Thanks Disney! Well here goes part one of the cruise! We did the Land and Sea package so I'll do the land part in the Disney Parks Forum and the Sea part here. We left our hotel and got to Port Canaveral about 11:50. We unloaded by the drop off and the porters took our bags. Mind you they are rough on those bags! We waited for my DB in law to park the car and then we went right through security , up the escalator and saw the Mickey Mouse entrance on the far side of the terminal. We stayed for a few moments for a picture with Donald Duck! and We didn't have to check in as we had the Land and Sea and could just get in line to board! There were a few large groups ahead of us so it took just a bit longer to get on board! After the photo they welcome you with a round of applause and make you feel very important and welcome. We got in line to enter Parrot Cay for lunch but they told us to go to Beach Blanket Buffet. I must have looked sad enough because she let us move on inside to Parrot Cay! It is a cheery room! The buffet is good and the fruit is excellent! Well we finished lunch and went to find our stateroom. We were on deck 7 and had very nice rooms! Our stateroom hostess was Sonia. She made great towel animals! Well I'll continue this later as I've been awake since 3:15 a.m. and my eyes are a bit blurry...(I was crazy thinking we'd miss our Disney bus to the airport...)

 

[MagicMe]

Great start
Can't wait to read more!

 

[Grumpy987]

Okay! I feel better now. Food does wonderful things! SO... We saw our staterooms and then my daughter and I went to check out her area. She was still 12 so we went to Oceaneer's Lab. The room is for 8-12 year olds. There are board games, video games, a big screen TV, a boat wheel and throttle, and tables to make things on while you are in the lab such as Flubber, Animation art, and other things. We checked in and as we did most of it ahead of time on the computer it took no time at all. They gave us a pager which mostly told us when she left the Lab. Since she was 12 she could sign herself in and out of the LAB. She also didn't get a wristband but a sticker on her Key to the World card. That made her happy to not have that wristband on all the time! We went back to the stateroom. [I guess I better insert here who was on this trip! Myself, DH, DS (15) DD (12), my DSis, her DH, and her DS (22). This trip was all started because I wanted something special for my 40th birthday this year! It is also my husband's 40th. It is also an anniversary cruise for my DSis and her DH, their 25th!] We got back to the stateroom and we went on the Tour of the Ship! It was informative but got me turned around so when they ended I hadn't a clue where I was! We then went to check out the Teen Room! Now my 12 year old wanted to be in this room too but I convinced her to stay in the younger kids area as she is kinda shy. The teen room had computers, board games, an area for drinks (like soda and smoothies). It had an elevator and stairs too. This area seemed to have its own arcade right below it with about three arcade games. Since my nephew was with us my son didn't stay in the teen room long. I just wanted him to check it out in case he wanted to go there. There is another arcade place (deck 10 I think) that had old favorites like space invaders and defender. Well I'll post more in a bit. Never done a trip report so I hope this is what everyone wants to read! This trip was from June 10-14th 2007!

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

You're doing great!! Keep it coming...

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

You're doing great!! Keep it coming...

I agree - more, more please.

 

[Grumpy987]

Still day one!!! We then went back to the stateroom ( I think I have gone up and down the stairs a few times but you really burn calories not taking the elevator! ) By now it was almost 4 so it was time for the emergency drill. We donned our life jackets and wandered down to deck 4 station P. We waited for some who were late comers and heard the blasts of the whistle. Meanwhile a thunderstorm moved in. The lightning was fun to watch as we felt safe on the ship. The actual drill for our stateroom through the drill back to our stateroom took less than a half hour. Disney knows how to move people! Watching everyone in their lifejackets trying to manage the stairs when you cannot see your feet is funny! Now back at our stateroom again. Our luggage had arrived and so I decided to unpack so I could relax later. (yeah right!) I quickly unpacked mostly everything then we went upstairs to deck 10 to wave goodbye to those onshore. They had the sailaway party indoors as a thunderstorm had just gone over us but it had stopped raining by the time we left port. The decks were wet and a bit slippery but the sea air in your face and hair makes one feel just so happy! Well it was getting close to dinner so after exploring the ship a bit more I once again went back to the stateroom and we got dressed for dinner.
more on next post

 

[Grumpy987]

My sis and I had adjoining staterooms and we told everyone to meet at 5:30 for our 5:45 dinner. We were in Animator's Palate the first night! That is one fun diningroom! I won't ruin it for those first timers but I had problems eating because I was watching to see what would happen next. I chose chicken the first night and just the normal chicken you could have in any of the restaurants but our Server Silvije told me to be adventurous and try that diningroom's special chicken for the night and it was wonderful! There were 7 of us with one being a vegetarian and he was happily pleased! I think we all had something different that night and everyone (including the 12 year old who ate off the kids menu) was satisfied! We all got dessert but my nephew and he got nothing! Just try it and see what happens! We had fun meeting our server Silvije from Croatia, assistant server Jose from Peru, and Eric from France, our head server. The boat did a bit of grumbling as this restaurant is over the engines I think and we could feel the movement of the boat. It upset my son's stomach a bit but he was fine the rest of the trip. We went back to the stateroom and some of us changed into more comfy clothes and then we went to find Deck 4 forward the Walt Disney Theater for Rich Purpura the magician! Christian our cruise director gave us all a warm welcome and then we were introduced to Captian John! The magician show was fantastic and I recommend you not miss it! I was laughing so hard I was crying!
I guess I'll write more in a bit but I'll be back soon!

 

[sandybobandy]

Excellent trip report so far, you're doing great! Can't wait to read more

 

[Grumpy987]

Still on day 1 but boy was it a great day! After the show my daughter wanted to go to the Oceaneer Lab again and she stayed from 9:30 till 11 meeting new people and playing games. I got to visit Mickey Mates and Treasure Ketch just looking at all the wonderful things you can buy onboard! I met a CM Paula in Treasure Ketch and we had a nice chat. Everyone kinda did their own thing till about 11 and we all were tired so we went to bed. Day 1 sadly over but day 2 to come!

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 2 Well I was so excited I woke up about early,around 6. I got up and by 7 my daughter was too excited to sleep too so we went up to get a drink at the beverage station on deck 9 aft. We watched as the ship was coming into port. We ran back down and woke my husband and he grabbed his camera and took some pictures. He also got a picture of the pilot and captain docking the ship in Nassau. We ate some pastries early and then ate again after my teenage son woke up. (one can eat all day long if you want to!) We kind of took it easy today just exploring the ship, taking pictures, and doing laundry. While everyone is off the ship is a great time to do any laundry if you so desire. We didn't do any excursions but some of us took an hour to explore Nassau. My daughter never got off the ship but had fun in her area at Oceaneer Lab. In the am she got to go to the teenager section (you know before any of them are awake) and her group played Scene It.

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 2 con't---We really just took it easy today because it was hot, hot, hot! Our poor hostess had to wait till almost lunch to get into our cabin because someone was in there most of the morning! Some of us went to lunch at Triton's about 12 and the rest of the crew showed up while we were finishing up. Again more food but it tasted delicious! I suggest that you do an excursion to get yourself off the ship here. We just were lazy but still had fun on the ship while everyone else was off the ship. My DH, DD and I went to kite making in Animator's Palate this afternoon. It was fun making our own kites but we never did fly them. I went to pick up the treasure maps for our day in Castaway Cay! Definately something fun to do on that island if you've never been there before. On to dinner.
It was dress up night and us ladies wore skirts with nice tops and the guys wore dress shirts with ties. Not many people were dressed up. Some even wore shorts to dinner even though Disney suggests you don't. Dinner was in Parrot Cay. I liked this restaurant. The colors are cheery and it just seems like everyone is happy to be in here. I had chicken again this night and again it was scrumptious! The food is just fantastic each and every night!

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 2 con't--During dinner the boat sailed away from Nassau. Again you felt the grumbling of the engines but not too bad in this restaurant. After dinner we went back to the stateroom and some of us changed into our more comfortable clothes and then we went to Hurcules the Muse- ical. Another fantastic show and if you've seen the video/dvd this is just a speeded up version. It was still fun to watch. I thought as the nights went on the shows got better. We all wandered around for awhile and then to bed for our big day at Castaway Cay.

 

[manntra]

Subscribing! Great TR so far! I am doing a Land/Sea in August so I am off to check out your land "portion" on the Disney forums!

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 3 !!!! Day three was my personal favorite. Partially because we had great weather and mostly because I just had a really great day! OK... I was up around 6:45 a.m. as I was really excited and my DH woke up too. The kids were zonked so the two of us headed up to deck 10 and then deck 9 aft to watch us come into Castaway Cay! It was a beautiful morning and the birds were swooping around off the back as we pulled into port. You can see the Flying Dutchman too and that made it seem more exciting to be there. No one was at the beaches yet so everything looked calm and I was just so happy to be there! I had ordered room service for 8 a.m. so we came back to the stateroom to make sure we were there where it arrived. Room service was right on time and we ate in our room giving us more time to organize what we needed for the day. My son slept in so we left his breakfast in the fridge and he got off the boat later with my nephew. Why they could keep sleeping was beyond me! My DH and DD and I got off around 8:45 but I forgot the postcards I was mailing back in the stateroom so my wonderful DH went back to get them while my DD and I got a picture with Daisy Duck and tried to figure out the first clue from the treasure hunt at the post office! My husband returned shortly and I mailed my postcards. If you don't already have postcards filled out you have to walk down ( or ride the tram) to the family beach to buy them and then all the way back to the post office to mail them therefore I wrote a few the night before. I meant to write a lot more but time got away from me! ....Anyway... We couldn't figure out the first clue very well so we moved on to the second clue and that one was fine. We then saw Captain Jack Sparrow !!! We all got in a picture with him and then moved on to the family beach. It was hot out already but I was having too much fun to notice much. We got another picture with Mickey and Pluto. This really was a great time for pictures with characters because most people were not off the boat yet so the lines weren't too bad. We also got signatures too! More on next post....

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 3 con't.....We finally got to the family beach and found a spot for all our stuff. There are trees and umbrellas and loads of chairs and loungers for all. We put our stuff down and my DD ran into the ocean as she was very hot!! It was shallow as the tide was out that morning. The playground over the water was closed till about 3 in the afternoon because the tide started to come in then. As my DD and DH played I found my snorkel gear and went snorkeling. There is a designated area to go snorkeling and it seems plenty big enough for me. My goal was to find Mickey and after asking a few people I found him and then went back to the spot we had left everything. My DD and DH wanted to go snorkeling so they went out while I went and showered off. They have outside showers to do this and even some for just your feet! My DSis, DNephew, and DS all showed up then and we all went for a swim. We got out about 12 and went to Cookie's BBQ for lunch. It was a buffet type and plenty of food again. Hamburgers, Hotdogs, pasta, Boca burgers, chips, and drinks and ice cream. I think there was potato salad and a couple of other things but I cannot remember it all. There was music playing at lunch and Someone doing games in the background too. My DBrother in Law found us right at lunch time so we were all together for lunch. My DBrother in law and I tackled the treasure hunt after lunch and the rest went snorkeling. It didn't take us long to finish the treasure hunt but you get to see most of the family part of the island. We got our treasure and I went to stand in the shallow part of the water to watch my DSis and DNephew come back in from snorkeling. I stood there for probably 15 minutes and it felt good to cool off. It was almost 3 and my DSis,Dbro-in law, DNephew, and my DS went back to the ship. They felt fried by the sun and tired. I walked with them and did some shopping which they took back to the ship for me. More on next post...

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 3 con't-- We started to pack up our stuff but they had just opened the playground out in the water so my DD played on that for awhile. My DH stayed a bit longer taking pictures around the island and DD and I went back to shower and get ready for dinner. It was pirate night! and people were dressing up piratey like. We wore pirate t-shirts with capris and nicer shirts over the t's. We took a stuffed Grumpy and Dopey to pirate night and sat them in a high chair and our server put pirate bandanas on them. If and when I can post pictures I'll put up one of these. Our server got a kick out of us with stuffed Dopey and Grumpy! They even gave them menus to order from! Except for the vegetarian in our group and my DD we all had the beef tenderloin. It was very good and I liked the sauce it was in. I had the chocolate cake for dessert which was also very good! It was fun being in Parrot Cay for Pirate night but I bet anywhere you were for dinner would be great. My DD left as soon as she finished her dessert for the Oceaneer Lab. They were learning about animation and she wanted to go to that. She met us back at the stateroom before we went to the Golden Mickeys show! This was one of the best shows yet and I really liked watching all the different songs they performed. After the show my DSis asked Christian the cruise director if she and our party of 7 could have a back stage tour. He said he would talk to the stage manager and call us the next day! I guess you never know unless you ask! We then went up to the Pirate party! This was on deck 9 and 10. We went up to 10 but there are so many people everywhere it is hard to really dance. I did the hand movements but didn't really do much foot action. They sing and dance, characters come out and dance with those on deck 9 and there is a story line with Captain Hook and Mickey and then you get to watch a very quick fireworks show! Then there is the dessert buffet that only my husband ate anything as the rest of us weren't that hungry. Everyone went their own way and my DH and I took a nighttime stroll to the back of the ship and watched the stars. You can really see a lot of stars! We finally went back to the stateroom and when I could relax enough we went to sleep! It had been a fun day!

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 4... Our last day on the cruise... It was a day at sea! I woke up later like 8 because I knew we were at sea the whole day. The kids slept in too and my husband and I went up to beach blanket buffet for breakfast. Whenever you go into eat they have you wipe your hands on a wipe and then throw it out. Disney tries really hard to keep anyone from getting sick! We had a cooked to order omelette (spelling?) and then they bring it to you. It filled me up and after walking up and down stairs every day 2-4 flights at a time I felt like I could eat anything I felt like My DH and I walked around a bit and then back to the stateroom to see if the kids were moving yet. My DD was up and then we got her fed. ( I think she ate ice cream almost every meal ) She and I wandered and started packing while the rest of our crew went to the Captain's corner (he answers questions about things on the ship.) and Christian's Debarkation talk. We went to deck 9 for lunch as we knew we would have another big meal for dinner. Some had pizza, some had fries, some had paninis. At 2:45 there was a Galley Tour that my DS,DH, and DNephew went on. They absolutely loved seeing where all the food was and how clean everything was. My daughter went at 3:45 to Oceaneer's Lab to rehearse for the 'graduation'. At 4:45 my DH and I went to the 'graduation'. THey had about 100 kids on the stage ages 3-12. The boat was rocking a bit and it was fun seeing all those kids move together one way....then the other way... They each get a T-shirt and Mickey graduation cap for being there and since my DD was 12 it was her only time to ever get those special momentoes! She was a trooper and felt a bit awkward up there but happy for the stuff! Back to the stateroom and dress for dinner. I had gotten almost everything packed. Stuff had to be out between 9 and 11. We had our last dinner in Triton's. Again dinner was fantastic. My DS even tried the escargo !

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 4 con't... I had the duck and my husband I think had lamb? My DD had Mickey pasta with alfredo sauce. My son had the beef and we all had great desserts! We got a picture with our Server and Assistant Server and felt sad to say goodbye even though we would see them at breakfast. I went to Pin trading with the officers! Back to the stateroom and then off to the last show Disney Dreams! What a great show!!! But our Magical Moment came when we got to stay after everyone else and they closed the doors and we got to have a Q&A with the stage manager and technician!!! We didn't get a behind the scene tour but got any questions answered. Our family LOVES shows, does small theater and church plays so this was a definite highlight to our trip! What fun to have individual attention from the stage manager!! We had to get back to our stateroom but not before going to Treasure Ketch and saying goodbye to Paula. While talking to her Rich Purpura the magician/comedian came in the store and talked with us. Another Magical Moment for us! We made it back to our staterooms just in time to put out our luggage not to be seen again till the a.m.

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 4 con't... I really didn't want our cruise to end but we were kind of tired and after one last look out our verandah we went to bed. The people on board really try to make this a special time and I feel like they did. OUr stateroom hostess made wonderful towel animals and kept our space cleaner than we did! We had to be up early to get to breakfast by 7. The only downfall to having the early seating I could find. We went to sleep....

 

[Grumpy987]

Day 5 or getting off the ship day We woke up at about 6 and got everyone else up to go to breakfast. Once you leave the stateroom they do NOT let you go back to them. We went down for breakfast with all of our things ( ooops, a few too many things!) and I had blueberry pancakes! YUM!! We ran to the restroom after and then came back to say our final farewells to our servers. It was extremely sad to me but they are trying to get you off the ship for the next group that will be coming on in few hours! We hugged our servers (you get very attached!) and they won't let you go back to your stateroom or look around any more it is off the ship for you!.... It wasn't all bad as my family was going back to the parks for two more days! It was a fantastic time on the best cruise ever!! ( Ok the only cruise ever but still I'd go again) Now I need to start saving for the next cruise!!