"Flying Commando" and the rest of our first cruise on the Wonder 9/19-9/23

[Jey12]

This is my first attempt at a trip report, mainly due to the fact it was my first trip on a cruise or even to Disney World. Sad life I've led I know. I enjoyed the trip reports before our trip so I wanted to give something back even if it's just a boring dialog with some cool pictures.

We went with our dear friends and their children and had a great time! The cast of characters include

Us...
DW (me) 35 Jen. Veterinary technician that thought I'd never get to see the Mouse in my lifetime! My parents once drove me past Disneyland when I was 9 and said ok now you can say you've been there. Yeah they were quite the comedians. With a little therapy I'd moved past that trauma and had almost given up hope of ever laying eyes on Mickey. Sadly I had lost my father to end stage lung cancer a little over a month before the trip so I was looking forward to some soul recharging. Also as a parting gift my job of 12 years decided to throw at me that we'd been sold to a corporate company but they didn't have any information past that the day before I left. Thanks! Just another reason to check into the drink of the day onboard. I'm going to see this mouse, but it was starting to begin to look like a Grizwald quest to see Marty Moose. I was praying our trip didn't end with me putting a BB gun to the bum of a CM and punching a Mickey statue in the nose.

DH 36 Jason. Great guy! Very easy going and laid back. Just give him a few beers and a date for the beer tasting with some wings and he's fine. Biggest worry was finding a pair of dress shoes the dog hadn't eaten for dinner on the ship. (also he is where the flying commando part comes in but that doesn't happen until our way home so it will be a bit before I get to that part)

DD4 Jordyn. I'm sure I'm partial but the most beautiful little girl inside and out! Always has a smile and can't wait to go sail on Mickey's boat! She would amaze and make this momma proud over the course of our trip!


and the cast of characters from our traveling partners...

DF Lisa we've been friends since we were knee high to a grasshopper. Met playing softball and now that our knees are getting back at us for that we still find great alternate ways to entertain ourselves.

DF and DF's DH Rob. Another great guy. Easy going like my DH and they get along great. Doesn't have the love of beer like my DH but enjoys a cold one and some wings with a side of football. Being guys is there much conversation needed past that?

Their DS3 Eli. A cool little guy that has tons of energy and is the BFF to our DD Jordyn. He says the funniest things and even when he's tired running on steam he's a pretty cool little kid.

other DS 8 months Luke. He is adorable and full of personality. Very easy going baby that is just happy to look around at all of us crazy nuts. I probably don't want to know what he's actually thinking.


Anyway that's all of us. We booked as a Cat. 11 GTY and were blessed with a pixie dust upgrade to a Cat. 9 with connecting rooms on deck 2. We all started by not getting any sleep the night before and Lisa finally decided to pack her 20 bags to bring along. I had to put her kitchen sink in one of my bags since I was traveling lighter.

We almost forgot our passports if you can believe it!!!! I'm sure if I hadn't had that darn kitchen sink in my bag I wouldn't have missed this important detail. We thought about just traveling with birth certificates, but due to my tendancy to lose things even waiting in line I thought passport cards would be a better way to go. Plus DD4 doesn't look a thing like DH and I, and she likes to scream "help me!" when we take her out of someplace where she's having fun. So I wanted a picture ID for her just incase she took a liking to Nassau or not wanting to get off the ship. As it turned out I wanted to scream help me when leaving the ship in hopes they wouldn't make me leave. Didn't work.

Just to throw another wrench into our well laid plans DD who hadn't been sick all year, including a very cold long winter, decided to start sniffling and coughing 2 days before we left! I wasn't going to chance anything, I was determined to see Mickey! I made a quick run to our Dr. and begged them to do something. All was well. DD just sounded like an 80 year old smoker for the first night at the Radisson and was fine past that. I know I sound like an awful parent, of course I was worried about her first over the trip, but all I could think about was answering the "has anyone in your party been sick in the last 72 hr question when boarding." Turns out the question was simply has anyone had a sore throat, cough AND a fever. Whew no fever at all, and we were good to go!

We are from the Kansas side of Kansas City and being landlocked folks we were really looking forward to beaches and the open sea! We started out by heading to the airport at 4:30 am Sat. morning on 9/18 with 2 wired kids and 4 tired adults. Not much would change as far as that goes. Nothing too exciting happened while flying to Orlando. The kids did great, I got a quick nap on the plane and we landed smoothly ahead of schedule in Orlando around 1:30pm. Took our ground transfer to the Radisson at the Port and headed to our room.

I immediately asked where the beach was and was told about a mile "that way." Cool, simple enough, we'd just walk. DF's decided to stay behind and get settled in so DH, DD and I headed for a quick mile walk to the beach. Come to find out a mile "that way" doesn't mean the same thing in Florida as it does in Kansas. Over an hour later we found ourselves at a gas station looking like total tourists asking where was the water? We were again told it's "that way" you can't miss it. Haha I bet I can! Finally after an hour and a half, plus a blister or two, we found Cocoa beach. Ok who cares how long it took, we're here! Hurricane Igor was just over 100 miles off shore so the waves were big and the beach was awesome! Here's some pics of DD's first trip to the ocean.

Her first look at the ocean. She's obviously a born beach baby, as she tossed her shoes off, took a good look and ran for the water.

She loves the waves, although I wouldn't let her go out too far.

Trying to jump over the incoming waves...

She's also a dancer and took this opprotunity to dance on the beach.

Not wanting to make the same mistake heading back to the hotel, we decided to call a cab. Thought this would be better than heading "that way" back to the hotel. Ended up having dinner next door at Kelsey's Pizza and trying to sleep. Up next it's embarkation day!!!!!

 

[Jey12]

To be honest I don't remember much until we saw that ship from the hotel shuttle this morning. Then my little eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning. We made our way through the construction of the Disney terminal and headed up to check in. There the man that checked us in told Jordyn to make sure her Daddy took her to find the ice cream station on deck 9 as many times as he could. Great let the sugar high begin! We were assigned boarding number 6, and because it was only 10:30 we started checking out the terminal. Eventually Mikey and Minnie showed up and the excitement really started.

Jordyn and Eli on their way into the terminal.

Let us in!

Getting their first view of Mickey's boat!

What do you mean we have to wait?!?!

Jordyn and Jason trying to wait patiently.

Finally I meet the mouse! I mean Jordyn was excited to see Mickey.

Jordyn and Minnie

Lisa, Rob and their boys

and here we go!

We had a great time waiting, even though I thought it should be counted as some form or torture. There was plenty to do and see. Mainly the ship we'd waited so long to be on. We met some fellow DISers that were a part of our FE and chatted with them a bit and just tried to take it all in. I took the advice I'd read here on the boards and skipped the forever line to get Jordyn's band and pager for the kids club, and waited until we were onboard. Great advice! The family of the day was announced (not us) but we clapped excitedly and wished they'd hurry up and get onboard so the rest of us could follow! I think complimentary Mickey bars would really help ease the pain of waiting at the terminal. Just my suggestion.

 

[tigger2on]

You're doing GREAT so far.... Love the t-shirts!!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great TR, subbing in and can't wait to see more!!

Oh and your daughter, too cute! I love the pic of her dancing on the beach!

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Plus DD4 doesn't look a thing like DH and I, and she likes to scream "help me!" when we take her out of someplace where she's having fun.

That's freaking hilarious!!

(also he is where the flying commando part comes in but that doesn't happen until our way home so it will be a bit before I get to that part)

Hopefully it involves becoming a member of the "Mile High" club!! I can't think of any other good reason to go commando on an airplane!

 

[Jey12]

You're doing GREAT so far.... Love the t-shirts!!

Thank you! Lisa designed and had the shirts printed up for her family and then surprised us with our very own! I love them!

Great TR, subbing in and can't wait to see more!!

Oh and your daughter, too cute! I love the pic of her dancing on the beach!

Thank you! As the report goes on there will be Jordyn overload on the pics because I just can't help myself!

Hopefully it involves becoming a member of the "Mile High" club!! I can't think of any other good reason to go commando on an airplane!

Haha no nothing that exciting. Although as crabby as the lady behind me on the flight home was maybe if she'd had a "show" she would have calmed down a bit.

 

[Jey12]

After being announced, which was way cool we all were directed to Parrot Cay to eat. When we got there I saw them turning away people saying they were full and to head upstairs. Again after reading the DIS boards I had heard this line is not always true and to simply ask to wait. So we did and magically before we could sit down in the lounge to wait they had a table for our party of 7. Thanks again! I couldn't resist my first drink of the day as well, super yummy! I'm thinking about incorporating drinks of the day into my work week now that I'm back to reality.

Pluto stopped by for a visit and we hadn't been on the ship for more than 30 mins!

My new friend

After lunch we wandered around the ship a bit while waiting for our rooms to be ready. The kids were super excited and if I were able to skip and hop around I would have been right with them. I usually have a camera attached to my hands, but in all of the excitement I didn't take as many pics as I wanted. On our next cruise I'll be sure to get better pics of the lobby and other areas of the ship.

Jordyn and Eli checking out the view.

Jordyn and Mr. Bear hanging out.

I should probably take this time to introduce you to a forgotten cast member of our trip. Mr. Bear or also known as Ted E. Bear. He has a life and a smell of his own. Built at build a bear on Jordyn's first birthday they have been inseperable since that day. I really thought we might need to apply for a passport for Mr. Bear since he tends to drink and get into a lot of trouble. Then again if I were the prized possession of a toddler and had endured what he's been through I'd drink too. As for the trouble he gets into I have no excuse. He is always the culprit of the I don't know and I didn't do it expressions in our home when something gets messed up. He's a trouble maker, wanders off and hides before bedtime causing Jordyn to stay up later than she's supposed to, and is always found in the strangest places like under her bed or behind a door. Of course I don't know placed him there and then I didn't do it gets blamed. So without further hesitation I'd like to introduce Mr. Bear...

Finally our rooms were ready! We were told to expect them around 1:30 and it was just 1pm and we could finally get a look at where we'd be sleeping, and eating late night Mickey Bars.

 

[Jey12]

After unpacking we were off to our first muster drill! After watching the TV, reading the navigator and wandering around in circles for a moment I was able to locate the obvious map on the back of our door that simply showed where we were to go. The Disney theater above us, duh! We promptly squeezed our heads through the life jackets and headed on up.

Mickey telling us what floor we're on. Very helpful!

After all of the muster drill excitement we weren't sure if we could take anymore, but somehow we forced ourselves to head to the Sail Away party. First I had to take a pic of our room view and thought oh those poor people on that ship!

Thanks to carefully tossing our lifejackets on the bed and running back out of the room like the ship was on fire we were one of the first ones on the deck and were able to get a great spot. I was able to bravely fend of the children, who were taller than myself (basically the average 8 year old) so the little ones and myself could keep our spot at the rope.

I'm probably limited on how many pics I can post in one posting so I'll stop there. The party was great and we headed to the railing to watch the coast line get smaller and smaller!

Luke enjoying the show.

Here we go out to sea!

Up next how we Rocked and Rolled all night and then I promise I'll move onto day 2.

 

[verygfy]

Great report!! I remember the shirts at the terminal on the first day. I wish I had known I would have stopped by to say hi!! I can't wait to hear more.

 

[Jey12]

Great report!! I remember the shirts at the terminal on the first day. I wish I had known I would have stopped by to say hi!! I can't wait to hear more.

I really wish I'd said something when I saw your DD's cast, both at the hotel and then outside at the terminal. You know how it goes, aside from being excited and our first cruise, I didn't want to walk up to someone that wasn't from the DIS boards and say hey I see your daughter has a cast, I think I know you. I do try to stay out of the brig if at all possible. I was hoping to see you guys at the DIS meet, but after the boys inhaled a few wings we couldn't stand to sit still and had to leave. Loving your trip report. It is fun to see how we all did so many different things on the same cruise!

 

[Jey12]

OK so I'd heard that going through the gulf steam can cause some rocky water on the first night. Going between two huge storm systems made that a little understatement. I believe I'd heard that we were hitting up to 12ft waves, but I can't vouch for that because I sure wasn't going to go measure them. We had 2nd seating for dinner and knocked on the connecting door for Lisa's family to see if they were ready for dinner. What we saw was poor Lisa passed out on the bed, Rob had just returned from getting her some motion sickness pills and they weren't going to make dinner! No! It was our first night! We tucked our bottom lips back in and headed down to dinner alone at Tritons. When we got inside our servers introduced themselves and we explained that half of our table was trying to keep lunch down so we'd be dining alone. I had already looked at a menu here on the boards so I knew exactly what I wanted to order, so after relooking at the real menu for about 10 mins I finally decided on what I'd orginally planned. Before the appetizer came out Jordyn was asleep. Guess the short mile walk the night before, no sleep, all of the excitement and now the rocking she was done.

Wave shot from room before dinner.

Poor baby was so tired!

Our servers pushed together two chairs and used a napkin as a blanket. Too sweet!

Ceiling view of Tritons.

Come to find out I have sea legs, who knew? I seriously over ate and we headed back to our room. DH was having Sunday football withdrawls and now that Jordyn had recharged a bit we decided to wander up to deck 9 to watch some of the Sunday night game.

The adult pool was closed. Couldn't understand why? Wasn't it supposed to be a wave pool?

If your DH has a serious football addiction and you have to suffer through I highly reccomend watching from the Ariel screen w/ a drink of the day.

The goofy pool going all goofy.

Jordyn was wide awake now and hungry. Thankfully the pizza place was still open and provided a great late night snack.

Finally I couldn't take anymore football and we decided to check out the rest of the ship deck. I mean if everyone is in their room investigating the inside of their vomit bags why not take advantage right? We stopped for some late night soccer and basketball. Just one other family using the courts, and fun times were had by all!

No white boys can't jump.

Guess the crew decided to give up and empty the goofy pool. Of course we had to walk back by so DH could "check" the game score.

Yes I am one of "those" people that should have a rope attached to them at all times. I couldn't quite get the pic I wanted so I leaned over trying to get a better view. DH has given up worrying about me, he figures I can swim.

Finally we made our way back to our room. Found some awesome FE gifts waiting for us, decorated our door and ordered some Mickey bars. I climbed into bed and slept like a baby. As I should have since I hadn't been rocked to sleep in a number of years. I doubt many would agree with me, but I wished the ship would have rocked like that every night.

 

[Jey12]

Finally here we are at day two. Sorry it's taking me so long, but I think I want to stretch this out because the actual cruise went by so fast! I woke up totally refreshed after the night of rocking, and found out Lisa was upright and doing better so we headed up for breakfast. The view was amazing, and I was entertained by watching the sky rats (ie seagulls) all over topsiders waiting for a chance to attack unattended food. I couldn't help but laugh at one table who thought waving their hands in the air would scare off the sky rats. The birds simply thought they were offering them food. Ooops.

Breakfast view. Wonder if anyone would notice if I moved myself into one section of that house? The garage would be fine.

We finished up breakfast, packed a little snack of uncrustables and headed off the ship. We'd spent our honeymoon in Cancun and did some touring of Playa de Carmen as well, and had a blast, so how different could Nassau be right? Ugh. I wish I could pin point what it was that I didn't like about Nassau but I just didn't. I knew not to make eye contact with the time share people, avoid the hair braiding, etc... but there was just something about it that made me want to run back onto the ship. There were good parts, and it was cool to see a new place, but now that I have I think I'll be OK to stay on the ship next time. Might venture off for an hour or so but that will be it.

Military ship docked next to the Wonder and it's crew.

Being a vet tech I am not all hug an animal, but I do believe basic standards should be in force. Especially when it's a working animal. I wish I'd brought some dewormer and grain with me. These poor horses. A horse drawn carriage ride would be out for anyone traveling with me! No way could I expect this animal to haul my fluffy butt around the city.

We found a cab, wasn't hard at all since we had about 10 people trying to shuffle us into theirs and headed to Cabbage Beach next to Atlantis.

Path leading up to the beach.

The waves were decent sized, which we expected after our trip the night before. A good time was had by all!

Jordyn enjoying yet another trip to the beach.

Rob and Eli heading down to check out the water.

We found this the best way to keep kids still and quiet. Problem is they wouldn't let us bring this much sand back with us! Guess we'll have to go back to duct tape until our sand shipment comes in.

Eli having fun in the sun!

Next we walked over to Atlantis to take a look around. The kids loved the aquarium! Might pay for just the aquarium tour next time and head back onto the ship.

Then we took a cab back over to the Straw Market to check things out. I have driven through San Fran rush hours, and nothing compares to Nassau. We decided the road rules were mearly a suggestion. I think it was the Straw Market that might have been the deal breaker between myself and Nassau. I don't know what I expected, maybe something close to the shopping I'd done in Mexico but I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe it felt like I'd walked into a huge family reunion unwanted or I'm just older and more bitter I can't say. We each bought a little trinket for our troubles and pretty much made a mad dash back to the comfort of Disney!

Street performer on our way back. He was very good so we tossed in a couple of dollars and were ready to regain the glossy eyed looks we had on the ship.

Up next....leaving the barf bags in the room and enjoying a great dinner!

 

[verygfy]

This is an awesome picture. I tried to get pics of the pool splashing, but none of them didn't come out.

 

[ld4483]

Loving your trip report, as my DH and I were on this cruise too! In fact I'm the one in the background in your Parrot Cay pic on boarding day. The 1st night was definitely one to remember!! My DH also spent that 1st night on deck 4 passed out on one of those comfy lounge chairs. As for me, I got to know the gift shops quite well! Lol! Your pics bring back so many memories (like the pools-I didn't have a camera with me when I passed by them) Will be showing them to DH so he can see what he missed that first night. LOL!!! Can't wait to read and see more.

 

[Nikki'sMommy]

Loving the TR!!! You've got me worried about the seas now!! I do get seasick and being smack dab in the peak of storm season I'm just hoping the next week is quiet in the tropics.. My dd is the same age-- what were her favorite activities on this cruise?? Looking forward to more!!

 

[Jey12]

This is an awesome picture. I tried to get pics of the pool splashing, but none of them didn't come out.

Thank you! You know I really didn't even notice the rocking except for occassionaly when walking I'd swerve without a blinker into oncoming traffic.

Loving your trip report, as my DH and I were on this cruise too! In fact I'm the one in the background in your Parrot Cay pic on boarding day. The 1st night was definitely one to remember!! My DH also spent that 1st night on deck 4 passed out on one of those comfy lounge chairs. As for me, I got to know the gift shops quite well! Lol! Your pics bring back so many memories (like the pools-I didn't have a camera with me when I passed by them) Will be showing them to DH so he can see what he missed that first night. LOL!!! Can't wait to read and see more.

Oh how cool! I loved those chairs! We're going to have to book again because I just didn't have enough time to properly explore the relaxing areas. I really enjoyed the swishing pool and was a bit bummed when we returned and found it empty.

Loving the TR!!! You've got me worried about the seas now!! I do get seasick and being smack dab in the peak of storm season I'm just hoping the next week is quiet in the tropics.. My dd is the same age-- what were her favorite activities on this cruise?? Looking forward to more!!

It seems most of the huge storms are gone. We happened to be cruising right in the middle of hurricanes Igor and Karl. Who names these anyway? For us it was really just the first and last nights, ok which happened to be half of the trip, but still the 2 days in the middle made you forget about what you had to go through to get there. It seemed the sea bands for motion sickness seemed to work quite well for people as well as the patches that go behind the ear? I grew up on a little boat on some choppy lakes so a large ship in the ocean was nothing to me. I'd said all along I'd be the one up on the deck w/ a drink asking what weather? I think if you prepare and take motion sickness pills beforehand you should be ok? Either way here's wishing you happy sailing! You're going to love it!

 

[Jey12]

By 3pm I had enough of Nassau and saying no thank you and headed back to the comfort of the ship. I wasn't in the market to get DD's hair braided, buy a time share, or give you money to NOT feed your horse. No real reason to hang out. You didn't have to be back on until 2am, but I seriously doubt I could have kept myself entertained that long. I'm sure there are tons of things we missed, like the Queen's staircase, and other exciting places on the island and I'm OK with that. We decided to catch the Toy Story Musical before dinner instead.

View of the wonderful ship as we retreat back into it's safety of Mickey bars and drinks of the day.

Some shots of the Toy Story show. No flash of course! I even put my finger over the annoying light that shoots out like a jedi saber before each picture.

Great show! They were even kind enough to sell us $7 little cups with a drink in the for the kids with light up Buzz Lightyears that are still getting flashed into my eyes in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks DCL! You think of everything!

I almost forgot the most important part of this day. The princess meet and photo opp so early in the morning! DD loved them and I was thrilled to move through line and see 4 Princesses in less than 30 mins! Now that's what I'm talking about! I should point out I'm a tomboy and have always been. The fact that my DD somehow has been bitten by the Princess bug makes my eyes cross sometimes. I was a Fox and the Hound and Lady and the Tramp kind of kid. DH is the one that is always explaining to me which princess goes with what. If it were up to me I'd have the 7 dwarfs under the sea eating apples with Cinderella.

Meeting Tiana. Now I thought this was a wonderful story. Probably because she actually worked her way into Princess status. That's right kids, welcome to the real world. You're gonna have to work and your DH will probably be a toad, or at least have toad like characteristics such as eating flies and not really paying complete attention, but you'll love him anyway.

OK so I'm not a complete Princess hater. I love Belle. Can't wait for the DVD to come out this Tue! Again another story where the girl works hard, and he may be a Beast but you gotta keep trying. They all eat flowers if you let them.

Snow White. I've somehow totally missed the point of this story. Plus she had to use the same squeeky voice that sends me digging for the remote, before I'm stopped by either DH or DD.

Cinderlla. Not really a bad story, I was just busy pretending to be Todd from the Fox and the Hound to really get into this story as a child. Jordyn loves her and that's all that matters. At least I can sit through this movie without digging out the vodka.

We also found Peter Pan up by the elevators on our way back to our rooms. I really wish Tink would make an appearance, DD would have been thrilled to no end! Peter Pan seemed to do at least.

Next we finally headed off to dinner. We were dining at Animator's that night and I had decided to try the Ahi Tuna Tar Tar with Caviar just so I could say I had. After a bad experience in biology class with fish eggs I figured I'd shoot them out of my mouth like buckshot, but instead I really enjoyed them! Gosh I guess I'm going to have to up my standards and incorporate caviar into my diet? It was delish! So was the rest of the food. DD couldn't do anymore mac & cheese or cheeseburgers (what's wrong with her, I know) so they made her a child's size portion of the shrimp and pasta. Another yummy dinner! I wish I had pics from this night but it was the first night we were all eating. The kids went to the club at 9pm and I was just enjoying an adult dinner so much I forgot about the camera right there on the table.

After dinner DH and I explored deck 4. OMG comfy chairs and quiet! Loved it!

The quiet Mickey slide. I have to wonder since it says the height requirement is under 64 inches and I'm almost circus midget sized could I ride it? The 14 year and under age requirement seemed to only be a suggestion.

Up next my favorite day. Castaway Cay and Pirate night! Also some places I think I'm going to hide at Castaway Cay next time and see if they'll go ahead and leave without me.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Enjoying the TR. The pool shots are pretty cool, yet frightening at the same time.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Really liking your TR!! I was appalled by the sight of that poor horse! I think Nassau was just nasty, tho I have to admit, we didn't go too far from the ship. This one lady bugged us to death to buy "Love Beads" bracelette to help poor sick school children with no food, or somthing like that. We finely gave in and paid $4 for two. I have to admit though, me & DH still have them, and wear them together sometimes in memory of our honeymoon. Our trip in May, I plan on staying on the ship and visiting the beauty shop/spa to get prettied & pampered up for our anniversary dinner (hopefully at Remy).

Love the pics of your daughter with the princesses. Could you imagine the training those girls have to go through to learn how to pose with their hands/arms "just so".

Hope you share your hiding place at Castaway Cay! I wonder if people actually live there year-round for maintenance, etc?

 

[pierresgirl]

Love it so far! I actually wrote on your dry erase board when we got off in Port one day. We drove down and when we got to FL I saw my dd10 notebook on the backseat. She had written HELP and had held it in the window in random states so I can relate with you! You got some great pics of the pool splashing!