From the Sea to the World - Completed!

[Flossbolna]

I just realized I did not comment your last update, sorry! I guess that!s why you called yesterday

Yes, I was very disappointed in you!!!

Of the meal, only the starters and you salad looks appealing to me. I guess I would have been all over the goat cheese and potatoe thing - cheese I can eat and potatoes But I'm sure the used cow's milk or cream to smooth the cheese...
Michael's main course looks like something a carnivore without any fantasy would come up with when having to cook something without meet. I'm very happy it did not disapoint him as much as it would have disappointed me.

I wonder whether they would be able to prepare stuff for you like this without any added milk or cream. I know that they are supposedly very good on the ship with special dietary needs, you just need to order your food the day before.

And I agree about your comment on Michael's main course. I was surprised that he ate it. To me it looked like something that I would want to send back immediately. And I felt guilty as I had talked him into getting it a bit. It sounded much better than what it looked like.

Now I'm hungry....

Sorry!

The bathroom looks really tidy and very well themed!

The nautical theme was really nice. This was the standard design, but other bathrooms were designed differently. It seems that on the newer ships the bathrooms are even more themed!

Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

Yes, yes, I am busy writing already!!

Enjoyed the update of your final meal, although I think it would be a little bit of a downer to be reminded on the front of your menu "Till We Meet Again"

It's at least nicer than "Goodbye". Surprisingly, the last night was sad, but much less than I thought it would be. We focused more on enjoying what little time onboard we had left than think about that it was over soon.

I was actually surprised looking at the menu that so many of the choices appealed to me. I guess it helps not having all the allergies that you mentioned.

I think with the different menus there will always be days with lots of things that are appealing and other when there aren't. Eating fish and shellfish certainly helps with liking more choices!

Your Beef Wellington looks like a really good choice in the picture. Too bad they didn't get it cooked the way you preferred so you could enjoy it more.

Everything else on the plate was really good. The vegetables and potatoes were perfect and the mushrooms around the beef and the pastry were really good, too.

Strange looking apple pie. I think I would have opted for the Baked Alaska.

Yes, not the best pie I ever had. Next cruise I will get the Baked Alaska!!

I'm sure it was very sad having to say goodbye to everyone you grew fond of during your cruise. Can't wait to hear about the WDW part of your trip. Hopefully you had many more highlights and great experiences!

WDW was great and I will begin reporting about it soon (I hope!!). Lots of highlights there!

 

[Flossbolna]

Day 9:

The next morning there was no chance to sleep in  from 7:30am onwards we kept hearing constant announcements about which group was allowed to leave the ship now inside our cabin. We had decided to skip breakfast and slowly got ready to leave the ship. Michaels friend would come and pick us up, but in order to avoid the worst of the rush hour through Miami we had agreed that he would not be there until 9:30. So we tried to be among the last people of the ship, it was 9am by the time we disembarked.

This is kind of a long process, there was quite a bit of wait at customs as well. All in all this is truly the least magical aspect of a cruise. Getting off an airplane is far nicer in my opinion than the madness of the port.

Driving away I got one last shot of our lovely ship:

The picture is taken from the road going out to South Beach  we drove along the scenic route. Another sight along the way was this impressive Holocaust memorial:

As you can see, the weather that morning was not really very nice. We got Michaels car, went for some lunch and some coffee with Michaels friend afterwards and then it started to rain. Heavily, and there was even more water coming down. It just seemed to never end! We tried to wait out the rain for a bit, but then we thought we better get a start since the last thing we wanted to do was drive through the darkness when it was raining like this!

The drive started out really bizarre, we went slowly through this:

Some new lakes:

After an hour the rain became more normal rain and the drive to Orlando was less scary! Just before Orlando the sun came out for a little bit even!

Next: Final Thoughts on my first Disney Cruise

 

[kid-at-heart]

And since I already had started I ended up with a pin with the logo of the Disney Wonder (which I conveniently can’t find at the moment…) and a magnet:

Outlook Café. I ordered a glass of white wine and got myself some of the snacks:

Love the PJs, just my style. I bought the same magnet on our April cruise. I try to buy a magnet every time we vacation someplace special.

Lastly, I loved Outlook Cafe. Rob and I both had to work during our April vacation so we would hang out in the Cafe with our computers while Sarah hung out in the Vibe. It was a win-win situation for all of us.

Kate

 

[Flossbolna]

I thought this is a good point in the narrative to stop for a short moment of contemplation as we are moving on to a totally different part of the vacation experience.

So here are a number of random thoughts and conclusions, my experiences about issues that seemed important to me when planning the trip and other musings:

I absolutely loved the cruise (if you have read this far, you know that already). I loved it more than I expected. I do have trouble slowing down when on vacation, but being on the cruise really helped me relax as there was the right level of activity available without me feeling overwhelmed. I did not take part in as many activities as would have interested me. But that was a conscious decision. I wanted to have time to soak up the atmosphere. Still, we managed to do quite a number of events that I had wanted to do: two meals at Palo, having drinks at the Cadillac Lounge, the design of the ship tour, trying out roomservice, the DVC member event, fireworks on the seas.

I had worried endlessly about for when I wanted to plan our meals at Palo. In hindsight I think I ought to have taken a more relaxed approach towards this. I was so focused on not missing out on any special meals and looked at menus and dining rotations. Now I think we would have been fine with just dinner and it really did not matter to me that much which evening we lost. We ended up not going to our assigned restaurant one day anyway and I was fine with that. I think I would not want to dine at Palo on the first night on the ship, but every night besides the first would have been fine.

Just like a theme park, you cannot get to know a ship from looking at deck plans and pictures. I still remember when I was at WDW for the first time and had to find my way around the MK. It was pretty confusing. The ship felt the same way in the beginning. It might be smaller, but it has several floors. Once I accepted that I would have to learn my way around, it was easier to relax. And it was fun to explore a new environment!

Just like the parks the ship has certain crowd patterns, and you can avoid crowds by trying to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing - like on our day when we saw the show in the afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to avoid crowds.

I was amazed at the level of service, professionalism and friendliness by nearly all the CMs I met onboard. This far exceeded my CM experiences at WDW in general. The only exception was our stateroom host who did not introduce himself until the evening of the second last day.

I found the ship to be in an incredibly well maintained condition. I recently read on a few comments from people who thought that the Wonder looked very worn. She did not look that to me. Compared to a standard hotel of that age she looked fabulous. If you look closely, you can tell that some design elements are not that fashionable anymore. But in general I think that she kept extremely well and looks much less outdated than certain elements on the Magic - until she will come out of dry dock in October.

The food was surprisingly good. The dining rooms delivered a very consistent quality. You could still tell that this was mass produced, but for that it was amazingly good. It surpassed many WDW restaurants in quality (as these aren't cooking to order either). Room service was not that exciting, but that was ok.

Palo was truly outstanding, it truly is comparable to a high end restaurant on land. I preferred dinner over brunch. One reason is that I don't like buffets that much as I hate having to make choices and I then tend to overeat. But I also think that the food quality and general dining experience was much better for dinner. Which does not mean that brunch was bad in any way!

I really liked our ocean view stateroom. I think for a shorter cruise, I really don't see the need for a verandah for me. Would I love to have one? Certainly! Would I be prepared to pay a considerable amount more for that privilege? Certainly not! We would have been fine in an inside cabin, too. Also, if you don't have any trouble walking, the classic ships really aren't that big, nothing will be really far far away from your stateroom.

Castaway Cay was truly wonderful and a highlight of the cruise. I am really happy that I went there, but now that I have seen it, it is no longer a deal breaker for me. As wonderful it is, there are plenty of other fascinating destinations out there that I would love to cruise to. Actually I do have several ideas for a cruise next year, none involves Castaway Cay. Considering Castaway Cay's geographic location and the reports I have read about temperatures there in the winter, I think for example those 5 night cruises from Miami that go to Grand Cayman and Cozumel instead of Cozumel and Castaway Cay make far more sense for December or January.

I am a bit torn on what to say about the shows. I understand that they are one of DCL's unique selling points. But then I have never been that interested in shows - not at the theme parks either. I am glad that we did see all the major shows, I would recommend to at least try them. I would love to see Dreams again and I think I would see the Golden Mickeys again as well. On longer cruises they do have secondary acts performing on the nights when they don't have the big Disney shows and I am sure I would skip some of these. I really enjoyed the two evenings when we/I did not rush to a show before dinner. But this is just my personal preference.

I suspected this and my experience confirmed it: I truly loved the sea days. Cruising never appealed to me as a method of travelling to see new places. I am a "slow traveller" I like to have the time at a place to soak up the local atmosphere, experience sights that are not considered highlights, just walk around, sit in a cafe etc. The idea of being in a new port everyday to do some more sightseeing just seems stressful to me. But neither am I the type to just stay on the ship when in port. If there is an opportunity to explore a new place, it has to be used! I am sure everyone has a different approach to travel, so what works best for me might be not good for someone else.

I never had any problems with sea sickness on the cruise and I am prone to motion sickness  mainly in the car or on a bus, much less on theme park rides. But we also had very smooth waters, so I am not sure how well I would do in more exciting weather. I had some dramamine with me from Germany, but did not use any of it. I could tell that our midship deck 2 stateroom was even less moving than other areas of the ship. The two places where I felt the movement the most were the theater and Palo. I did feel the ship moving for a while after getting off the ship though  took me some time to feel totally used to land again. But it was not bad, I thought of it more as a nice memory of the cruise.

There seems to be a thing on the DISboards about trying to be the first people at the port and then on the ship. I think for us arriving at around noon, so one hour later that the earliest arrival time, worked perfectly though. We did not have any unnecessary waiting and once we had finished lunch we had access to our room and could get rid of the luggage. And I think at the most we were 45 minutes behind the first people on the ship...

Next: Arriving at the world!

 

[Poolrat]

I can imagine that disembarking must be a pain.

Sorry that Miami greeted you with downpours.

I like your thoughts about the cruise. I really hope to have the chance to experience a cruise sometime.

Funny about feeling the ship moving after you left the ship.


Now on to AKL and WDW!!!!

 

[englishrose47]

Great conclusion to the cruise portion !! I don't remember having a long or tedious wait disembarking in May, possibly as mine was a US passport !!Finding our luggae was easy too !!Considering we had 10 to find for !!! Looking forward to the next leg of your vacation!!

 

[nodnol]

I remember the rain, I think we texted or e-mailed?

So you are allowed to disembark later, but not earlier than your time slot?

You made me really want to try out a cruise as well. But only on a Disney ship, so it may take some years before I'll be able to go. That's why I'm looking forward to your next cruise

 

[Flossbolna]

I can imagine that disembarking must be a pain.

Sorry that Miami greeted you with downpours.

I like your thoughts about the cruise. I really hope to have the chance to experience a cruise sometime.

Funny about feeling the ship moving after you left the ship.


Now on to AKL and WDW!!!!

Somehow the rain really fit the mood that morning... And I hope you will get to go on a cruise sometime as well!

Great conclusion to the cruise portion !! I don't remember having a long or tedious wait disembarking in May, possibly as mine was a US passport !!Finding our luggae was easy too !!Considering we had 10 to find for !!! Looking forward to the next leg of your vacation!!

There really were no separate lines for US passport. The wait was while we were all still on one long line in a hallway before it divided into different lines. I think it was some temporary thing.

The nice thing at Miami is that they put out the luggage on belts like at the airport, so easier to find!

I remember the rain, I think we texted or e-mailed?

So you are allowed to disembark later, but not earlier than your time slot?

You made me really want to try out a cruise as well. But only on a Disney ship, so it may take some years before I'll be able to go. That's why I'm looking forward to your next cruise

Yes, I think I emailed you that afternoon while we were waiting for that rain to get less.

If you carry off your own luggage you can disembark at the first call. The calling by character (Minnie, Ariel etc.) is as they put out the luggage. Also, there is an official breakfast on the last day in the same dining room where you ate dinner the evening before. So the people with the early dinner seating have early breakfast seating and then the people with late dining (like we) would have breakfast later. The characters are connected to that I think. We skipped breakfast as we were not hungry and did not want to hurry to breakfast. I think the whole process is also designed to keep the lines for disembarkation reasonable. If all 2500 people would line up at the same time, it would be quite a horrible experience!!!

We will need to scheme a plan on how to get you on a Disney ship!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Originally we had planned to stay for one night in Southern Florida after getting off the ship and driving up to Orlando the next day. That's why our reservation at AKL did not start until then. But then a few weeks before the trip we discussed our options and thought why waste two days with travelling if we could easily get off the ship and drive up to Orlando in one day. I looked into options for DVC for that one night and we had the choice of studios at OKW, SSR and even BCV. We decided to be economical on points and stay at OKW, also because neither of us had ever stayed there.

So after a 4 hours drive we finally arrived at our new home for the night. Check-in at OKW was uneventful, we were handed the folder with map and info and were quickly back in the car to drive to our studio. I had done online check-in and had checked two of the requests the computer had offered to me: fair way view and top floor. We ended up with a fairway view and ground floor. Which was fine, we were only staying one night anyway.

This was our lovely studio:

The studio was in very good shape, the only thing we did not like was that there was some rust on the patio - and it looked like they had done a cheap paint job there. Coming off the well maintained ship it did look very tacky.

I knew that those OKW villas are larger, but I was pleasantly surprised how spacious these were. A very different feel from the studio at BWV that Katharina and I had on our last trip. I really liked it there! Originally I had never thought of OKW as an attractive place to stay, but with the new decor in the rooms and the space, I really like it!

It was starting to get late and we headed out for some dinner at Wendy's, because that was easy and economical. And then we checked out the resort for a bit. We looked around the store and I did see some nice things, but only got a granola bar. It started to rain once again, so we decided against hanging out in the pool and just spent the rest of the evening in our villa.

Next: So many colours!

 

[Flossbolna]

Love the PJs, just my style. I bought the same magnet on our April cruise. I try to buy a magnet every time we vacation someplace special.

Lastly, I loved Outlook Cafe. Rob and I both had to work during our April vacation so we would hang out in the Cafe with our computers while Sarah hung out in the Vibe. It was a win-win situation for all of us.

Kate

I nearly missed your post!!

Yes, I like to get a magnet from every "special" trip as well. And I liked that it was made from metal. I actually found some more really nice magnets at WDW, pictures will come later!

Sorry that you had to work during your vacation! But at least you got to enjoy the Outlook Cafe while doing so.

 

[jedijill]

I love OKW...AKV is my first love but OKW is really my top choice for a resort focused vacation...I just love the vibe and the size of the villas.

Jill in CO

 

[CRdisMom]

oh the rain. that was my fear for the may trip too. Glad it really dissipated for you by the time you got to Orlando. OKW was the place to start vacations this year

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Last day is always so sad, so good that you got to take your time disembarking. Too bad your day was greeted by rain, but at least it eased up for you!

I really enjoyed the Cruise part of your trip, and the wrap up. I can't wait to try a Disney cruise one day!

Glad you made it safely to OKW, and check-in was uneventful. I think OKW is a great resort!

 

[Poolrat]

Good choice in making it to OKW instead of offsite and then driving again.

I was thinking as I was looking at pictures that boy does that look familiar as I stayed there for the half marathon in Jan.

No Oliva's - I am sure you were sick of even looking at food by the end of the cruise. Wendy's is quick easy and not too bad for a quick meal.

 

[englishrose47]

Good Choice , it is always better to be close to the Mouse !!!!

 

[lovealldisney]

Lovely update! The room at OKW does look really spacious! And WOW what a storm! That looked really scarey! Looking forward to you Disney stay...

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Wow, that rain storm mean business! I know what you mean about disembarking from the ship. Not very magical, but I'm not sure how they can make it better.

I absolutely loved the cruise

Wait, what?!

I found the ship to be in an incredibly well maintained condition. I recently read on a few comments from people who thought that the Wonder looked very worn. She did not look that to me. Compared to a standard hotel of that age she looked fabulous.

She sure looked good in your pictures. And some people go in with unrealistic expectations.

I really liked our ocean view stateroom. I think for a shorter cruise, I really don't see the need for a verandah for me. Would I love to have one? Certainly! Would I be prepared to pay a considerable amount more for that privilege? Certainly not!

Makes sense to me!

I am a bit torn on what to say about the shows. I understand that they are one of DCL's unique selling points. But then I have never been that interested in shows - not at the theme parks either. I am glad that we did see all the major shows, I would recommend to at least try them.

You and I are very simliar here. They are nice to see once, but I'm not much for shows either. They are very well done, just not my favorite thing to do.

Cruising never appealed to me as a method of travelling to see new places. I am a "slow traveller" I like to have the time at a place to soak up the local atmosphere, experience sights that are not considered highlights, just walk around, sit in a cafe etc. The idea of being in a new port everyday to do some more sightseeing just seems stressful to me. But neither am I the type to just stay on the ship when in port. If there is an opportunity to explore a new place, it has to be used!

Totally agree! If I'm in a new place, I'd like to have enough time to truly see everything. It's hard when you only have a few hours to explore.

But then a few weeks before the trip we discussed our options and thought why waste two days with travelling if we could easily get off the ship and drive up to Orlando in one day.

Spending more time at WDW is never a bad decision.

I knew that those OKW villas are larger, but I was pleasantly surprised how spacious these were. A very different feel from the studio at BWV that Katharina and I had on our last trip. I really liked it there! Originally I had never thought of OKW as an attractive place to stay, but with the new decor in the rooms and the space, I really like it!

Looks like a nice room! The theme there has never been my favorite, but it looks like a very nice place to stay.

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

I honestly never think of OKW as an option, either. But the new decor does look lovely!! We are planning a trip in February and decided on BCV, but perhaps we should save the additional points and go with OKW.

That rain is a serious downpour! I'm glad that you were able to safely make it!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Magdalene! And also to Katharina!!! Can't wait to also hear a little about your trip too!

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi everyone!! So sorry for that momentary break in my trip reporting. Somehow the last weeks just went by and I have no idea what happened with that time!

However, I found time in the meantime to book a January trip to Paris and DLP. We are going to stay at the Sequoia Lodge (the small cousin of the Wilderness Lodge) and are looking forward to spend the evenings there at the lobby bar at the large fire place.

So I do have decided that I definitely need to be done with this TR before I go on my next Disney adventure!!

I love OKW...AKV is my first love but OKW is really my top choice for a resort focused vacation...I just love the vibe and the size of the villas.

Jill in CO

I can totally see why people like it there. I think it would be easy to just stay there without heading to the parks at all!

oh the rain. that was my fear for the may trip too. Glad it really dissipated for you by the time you got to Orlando. OKW was the place to start vacations this year

Yes, I read that you arrived in that horrible rain as well! It was quite amazing, but really quite a singular event luckily.

Last day is always so sad, so good that you got to take your time disembarking. Too bad your day was greeted by rain, but at least it eased up for you!

I really enjoyed the Cruise part of your trip, and the wrap up. I can't wait to try a Disney cruise one day!

Glad you made it safely to OKW, and check-in was uneventful. I think OKW is a great resort!

I am glad you enjoyed the cruise part of the TR!

Yes, I have a few DIS friends who love OKW and to be honest I never quite understood the attraction. But now I would love to return there! But the same goes for AKV and the Boardwalk.