Four Friends, Three Nights, Two Islands - One WONDERful Adventure...A Trip Report
Cast of Charcters:
A group of 4 women who met through a Disney trip planning website and have become sisters by heart. Specifically we are:
It all began a few months ago when a few of my girlfriends and I were IMing and saying how we all really wanted to go on a Disney Cruise. I did a search on Orbitz and found some pretty sweet fares for February and March and in the span of that night our trip was born. Orbitz showed a rate of $603/person for 4 adults in a Cat 4 deluxe family stateroom. Although we could have gone cheaper, we decided we preferred the location of the Cat 4. So Linda called her agent at YMJ who booked us into stateroom 8028 and the adventure began.
I live in Orlando, but my friends were coming from various parts of the country the northeast, the south and California. My friends decided to come in on Wednesday afternoon and stay at my apartment before heading to Port Canaveral on Thursday, February 6th. Using tips from the DIS Cruise forum we began shopping and preparing for our trip picking up such items as a hanging shoe bag and small flashlights for the stateroom. I thought it would be fun to have a theme for our trip and to make t-shirts to wear for embarkation. So I came up with a theme Four Friends Three Nights Two Islands One WONDERful Adventure Since we come in a variety of shapes and sizes, I knew it would be tough to get matching t-shirts but I found some nice looking ones on the web at Eddie Bauer Outlet. And they were really soft and comfy to wear too. For anyone thinking about making t-shirts, I really liked working with the Avery Dark T-Shirt transfers. I found they were much easier to use than the normal ones for white t-shirts.
After waiting and planning and waiting some more, the week finally arrived for our trip. We made our final arrangements for meeting on Wednesday and then we had a little more waiting to do. For myself, I had a lot of trouble packing and definitely overpacked next time I hope Ill do better but somehow I doubt it. In addition, I had to make my apartment presentable for guests! But finally the day arrived!
Linda was flying in first and was being picked up by Duchess for some lunch and hanging out time. Susan arrived later that afternoon and was picked up by Duchess and LINDA. They went to Florida Mall to pick up some last minute things and I met them there after getting out of work. Luckily traffic on I-4 was a breeze and I made it to the mall in great time. I was hoping to find some nice strappy black sandals not too high that would fit my wide foot and make me feel a little bit sexy. I didnt have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised to find a shoe that fit the bill in Payless Shoe Store. Rather higher than Id hoped for the shoes were perfect in every other way. What did it matter if I couldnt walk in them they looked damn good! LOL Susan was looking for a white sweater to wear in case of cool conditions and wasnt able to find much but did end up with an ivory one from Burdines. After shopping, we hit California Pizza Kitchen for dinner and then headed to Target for a few more things. Duchess & Susan wanted to bring bottled water so they bought a 6 pack of Pretty Water from Fiji. We decided we would supplement this with some Zephyr Hills water from Costco.
After shopping, we returned to my apartment. I had picked up some things for Susan and we had a bit of a fashion show to decide what dresses she should bring on the cruise for dinner. We also distributed gift bags I gave out bags with our t-shirts which were a surprise for the others, confetti poppers, soap bubbles, glow bracelets and 6x8 photo frames that I had found in the Dollar Tree store. Linda gave out matching beach bags in 4 different colors along with various helpful items highlighters, flashlights, sticky notes and lots of other good stuff. Finally, after lots of giggles, we went to bed in eager anticipation of boarding the Wonder the following morning.
Thursday arrived bright and sunny. I had to run to the office for a few minutes and while I was gone, Linda & Duchess ran to get some Krispy Krème donuts for breakfast. We donned our matching t-shirts and packed up the cars. I still needed to run to the bank, gas up my car and run into Costco for the bottled water. Duchess & Linda took off in Duchess car heading down I-4 to the Beeline to the Port. Susan and I went to run my errands. Would you believe that as we were walking to the back of the Costco warehouse to get the water we saw cardigan sweaters for $19! Just was Susan was looking for. So she picked one up as well as a couple other items and then we too were on our way. We took I-4 to the 408 (East-West Expy) to the 417 (Greenway) to the Beeline to the Port. It cost a bit more in tolls (less than $1) but was a much quicker route and we arrived at the port shortly after Duchess & Linda. We would have been 10 minutes sooner had we not hit the drawbridge as it opened.
Checking in was a breeze. We dropped our checked luggage with a porter at the curb and then drove across the street to park where we ended up very close to Duchess car. We then collected our carryon bags and walked back to the terminal. Security was quick and painless and as we were collecting our bags after theyd gone through the machine, one of the women working there noticed our t-shirts and told us that Duchess & Linda had already arrived. We headed upstairs to check-in and soon had our KTTW cards and were ready to board. We found Duchess & Linda watching Disney films and went to get our photo taken with Captain Mickey. By now, it was about 11:45am so we decided to join the boarding queue. As we waited in the queue, we spotted our Travel Agents who had also decided to take a working vacation on the same cruise. We visited for a few minutes back and forth until it was time to start boarding the ship. As we were in the boarding queue, we got several comments about our shirts which was gratifying to me as I had put a lot of effort into trying to make them special. LOL For anyone on the cruise, we were the women in the navy blue t-shirts with our names on the front and "Four Friends, Three Nights, Two Islands, One WONDERful Adventure" on the back.
In no time at all, the boarding process began. We posed for our boarding picture and then actually stepped onto the ship where we were asked for our family name to be announced. I think it might have been Jennifer from the Cruise Staff who was doing the announcing and after noticing our shirts she anouced us in te following fashion. Welcome the girlfriends - Duchess, Pam, Susan & Linda was heard in the atrium followed by applause from the crew gathered there. You just have to love that welcome!
We headed down to Parrot Cay for the lunch buffet. Yummy yum yum! We enjoyed fresh fruit, shrimp, salads, roast beef and some champagne, courtesy of Duchess. One of the servers, Ritesh, was quite taken by Duchess, and was very attentive. Unfortunately, he was not our server for dinner. While eating, we made our game plan. Linda & Susan would head down to the stateroom and then to the spa to make their spa reservations and Duchess & I would head to Wavebands to make our Palo Reservation. We had planned to go on our Parrot Cay night which ended up being Saturday night since we had the TAP rotation. We were a few minutes early and ended up being #2 for Saturday reservations. Stanislaw from Poland was coordinating the reservation process at Wavebands so I used my meager knowledge of Polish to speak with him. Obviously, being the 2nd party to make a reservation for Saturday night, we had our pick of times and chose 8:00pm which was in keeping with our late dinner seating but gave us a bit of a cushion for getting out of dinner in time to finish packing & get out bags outside before heading to the 80s party at Wavebands after dinner.
Palo reservations out of the way, we headed up to our stateroom where 2 pieces of our luggage was waiting for us. Getting into the cabin we saw that Susan & Linda and already arrived as had our other pieces of checked bags. Wow! Everything was there by 1:30pm! I was happy. Also in the cabin were lovely decorations and a bottle of Iron Horse champagne, courtesy of Duchess. Thanks girlfriend!!
We spent some time unpacking and settling into the stateroom. It was really lovely and given that there were 4 adult women sharing the space, pretty darn spacious. We decided that Linda&Susan would take the queen bed, I would take the sofa and Duchess would take the upper berth. We chose to use the upper berth instead of the murphy bed so that the path to the verandah would be clear for anyone who wanted to head out there. One thing that Iwill remember for next time is to get the smaller bottles of water if I plan to bring bottled water. The 24oz Zephyr Hills bottles did not fit in the cooler very well at all.
Then it was time to make some spa reservations. Susan wanted to do the walking tour of the ship, and even though Id been on the Wonder before, I decided to join her just for the heck of it. I considered heading to the pool, but I just wasnt feeling like putting on my swimsuit and sunscreen. So off we went to join the walking tour. To my very happy surprise, the guide for the tour was Jason from the Cruise Staff. I had met Jason in June on my first cruise and he was the one crew member that I wanted to see again. He had only been on the ship about 3 weeks at that time and was so enthusiastic and fun with a ready smile and greeting to make you feel like you were just the person he had been hoping to see. He really made an impression in June and I had been hoping to see him again but I hadnt seen his name in any trip reports so I was concerned that he was no longer on the ship. After the tour had gone on for a bit, he did ask if we had met on a previous cruise and we caught up a bit as we walked from stop to stop on the tour. It was just great to see him since he had really been one of the highlights of my first cruise.
After the walking tour we headed back to the stateroom to get ready for the safety drill. Unfortunately, we didnt have an indoor muster station with seats and were out on deck 4. I understand the importance of the drill but those darn flotation devices are so uncomfortable. Linda was really hating the drill and was very uncomfortable the whole time. Finally, the ordeal was over and we were ready for the Sailaway Party. We gathered our cameras, our bubbles and our confetti poppers and headed up to deck 10 to enjoy the festivities. The kids dancing on the pool stage were just adorable. And then as the horn tooted "When You Wish Upon a Sta" we were off! Heading away from the Port and out into the open seas. We shot off our confetti poppers which some of the kids near us enjoyed and blew some bubbles. Then I gave my bubbles to one of the kids standing near us and just enjoyed the breeze in my face.
I didnt take any notes so Im sure Im forgetting something I did that afternoon. Susan & I went to see Hercules the MUSEical which was good, not great but good. I enjoyed it and would even though Ive seen it twice, I would still see it again on a future cruise. After the show, we headed up to the stateroom to dress for dinner at Tritons. We went down to the atrium for some formal photos before dinner and then made our way into Tritons. We were seated by ourselves at a 4-top and our server was Witt from Thailand, assistant server was Yaroslav who I think is from Bulgaria and our Head Server was PJ from Australia. Our servers were good but I dont think I could call them outstanding. It didnt help that their other table was a 14-top which, just demands more time and attention from the service team. Dinner was delicious - I started with the pearls of melon in Port Wine. It was very good although the honeydew melon was a bit underripe. My main course was the Sea Bass which was delightful. Linda, however, had the duck and that was really excellent. It is something that I will order in the future if it is still on the menu. Susan had the grilled salmon which was a bit overcooked. I dont remember what Duchess ordered. I couldnt decide on a dessert so I got both the Crème Brulée and the Hazlenut Puff. The Crème Brulée was a bit too Brulée but the Hazlenut Puff was excellent light and delicious. Linda also got the Crème Brulée and neither Duchess nor Susan ordered a dessert. When Witt served Linda and my desserts, he brought plates for Duchess & Susan that had Nothing written on them in chocolate syrup. We had a good giggle about that.
Dinner over, it was time for fun! Susan & Linda were not up for partying, but Duchess & I got ready for 70s night going a bit over the top with glitter eyeshadow and lipstick. I also changed my shoes as there was NO WAY I would have been able to dance in my new shoes, lol. 70s night was tons of fun! The Cruise Staff looked great in their 70s costumes although I dont think any of them were even born in the 70s!!! Duchess & I had decided that we were going to just enjoy ourselves and not worry about anyone else. We danced and had some drinks tequila shots, ice water and vodka shots and had to convince Samson that we were of legal drinking age. Gotta love that dim lighting in Wavebands, lol. Samson did not believe that Duchess was 34, lol. The Gloria Gaynor lipsync contest and John Travolta dance contest were both fun. I have to say though I thought Jennifer did a HELL of a job as Gloria and she was the winner of the contest in my book! All too soon, the 70s party was over. Frankie & the West End Boys took the stage and we danced some more. At about midnight or a bit after it got a bit dead in Wavebands so we headed over to the Cadillac lounge where Mike Sidaway was tickling the ivories of the grand piano. He was taking requests and no one had any suggestions so Duchess asked for Girl from Ipanema. Mike said that he had just played it so we didnt get to hear it that night. (Sadly, I would not get to hear the song at all during the cruise). All too soon it was 12:30am and Mike was done for the evening. Duchess & I finished our drinks and chatted with another guest for a while before heading up to our stateroom for bed. The ship wasnt moving and we saw lights off the verandah and went outside to see what was about. Were not exactly sure where we were but we were just off an industrial area somewhere. A boat was pulled along side the ship just below our stateroom and was just leaving as we went outside. We never did figure out what it was but our guess is that it was perhaps something to do with Bahamian customs and immigration. At any rate, the ship started moving again, we cleared the industrial area and were back in open water. Then, we hopped into our bunks and settled down for the night.
Stay tuned for our next episode in which our intrepid heroines are tempted by a handsome young Turk, relax in the spa and by the pool and sing for shots.
Cast of Charcters:
A group of 4 women who met through a Disney trip planning website and have become sisters by heart. Specifically we are:
- Me, PammyK. 30-something Orlando resident and 2nd time Disney Cruiser.
- Duchess. 30-something resident of California and second time Disney cruiser. She has a way about her...
- Susan. 30-something Alabaman. A survivor and woman of strength and character
- Linda. More than 30-something matriarch of the group. Rarely found without a camera in hand
It all began a few months ago when a few of my girlfriends and I were IMing and saying how we all really wanted to go on a Disney Cruise. I did a search on Orbitz and found some pretty sweet fares for February and March and in the span of that night our trip was born. Orbitz showed a rate of $603/person for 4 adults in a Cat 4 deluxe family stateroom. Although we could have gone cheaper, we decided we preferred the location of the Cat 4. So Linda called her agent at YMJ who booked us into stateroom 8028 and the adventure began.
I live in Orlando, but my friends were coming from various parts of the country the northeast, the south and California. My friends decided to come in on Wednesday afternoon and stay at my apartment before heading to Port Canaveral on Thursday, February 6th. Using tips from the DIS Cruise forum we began shopping and preparing for our trip picking up such items as a hanging shoe bag and small flashlights for the stateroom. I thought it would be fun to have a theme for our trip and to make t-shirts to wear for embarkation. So I came up with a theme Four Friends Three Nights Two Islands One WONDERful Adventure Since we come in a variety of shapes and sizes, I knew it would be tough to get matching t-shirts but I found some nice looking ones on the web at Eddie Bauer Outlet. And they were really soft and comfy to wear too. For anyone thinking about making t-shirts, I really liked working with the Avery Dark T-Shirt transfers. I found they were much easier to use than the normal ones for white t-shirts.
After waiting and planning and waiting some more, the week finally arrived for our trip. We made our final arrangements for meeting on Wednesday and then we had a little more waiting to do. For myself, I had a lot of trouble packing and definitely overpacked next time I hope Ill do better but somehow I doubt it. In addition, I had to make my apartment presentable for guests! But finally the day arrived!
Linda was flying in first and was being picked up by Duchess for some lunch and hanging out time. Susan arrived later that afternoon and was picked up by Duchess and LINDA. They went to Florida Mall to pick up some last minute things and I met them there after getting out of work. Luckily traffic on I-4 was a breeze and I made it to the mall in great time. I was hoping to find some nice strappy black sandals not too high that would fit my wide foot and make me feel a little bit sexy. I didnt have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised to find a shoe that fit the bill in Payless Shoe Store. Rather higher than Id hoped for the shoes were perfect in every other way. What did it matter if I couldnt walk in them they looked damn good! LOL Susan was looking for a white sweater to wear in case of cool conditions and wasnt able to find much but did end up with an ivory one from Burdines. After shopping, we hit California Pizza Kitchen for dinner and then headed to Target for a few more things. Duchess & Susan wanted to bring bottled water so they bought a 6 pack of Pretty Water from Fiji. We decided we would supplement this with some Zephyr Hills water from Costco.
After shopping, we returned to my apartment. I had picked up some things for Susan and we had a bit of a fashion show to decide what dresses she should bring on the cruise for dinner. We also distributed gift bags I gave out bags with our t-shirts which were a surprise for the others, confetti poppers, soap bubbles, glow bracelets and 6x8 photo frames that I had found in the Dollar Tree store. Linda gave out matching beach bags in 4 different colors along with various helpful items highlighters, flashlights, sticky notes and lots of other good stuff. Finally, after lots of giggles, we went to bed in eager anticipation of boarding the Wonder the following morning.
Thursday arrived bright and sunny. I had to run to the office for a few minutes and while I was gone, Linda & Duchess ran to get some Krispy Krème donuts for breakfast. We donned our matching t-shirts and packed up the cars. I still needed to run to the bank, gas up my car and run into Costco for the bottled water. Duchess & Linda took off in Duchess car heading down I-4 to the Beeline to the Port. Susan and I went to run my errands. Would you believe that as we were walking to the back of the Costco warehouse to get the water we saw cardigan sweaters for $19! Just was Susan was looking for. So she picked one up as well as a couple other items and then we too were on our way. We took I-4 to the 408 (East-West Expy) to the 417 (Greenway) to the Beeline to the Port. It cost a bit more in tolls (less than $1) but was a much quicker route and we arrived at the port shortly after Duchess & Linda. We would have been 10 minutes sooner had we not hit the drawbridge as it opened.
Checking in was a breeze. We dropped our checked luggage with a porter at the curb and then drove across the street to park where we ended up very close to Duchess car. We then collected our carryon bags and walked back to the terminal. Security was quick and painless and as we were collecting our bags after theyd gone through the machine, one of the women working there noticed our t-shirts and told us that Duchess & Linda had already arrived. We headed upstairs to check-in and soon had our KTTW cards and were ready to board. We found Duchess & Linda watching Disney films and went to get our photo taken with Captain Mickey. By now, it was about 11:45am so we decided to join the boarding queue. As we waited in the queue, we spotted our Travel Agents who had also decided to take a working vacation on the same cruise. We visited for a few minutes back and forth until it was time to start boarding the ship. As we were in the boarding queue, we got several comments about our shirts which was gratifying to me as I had put a lot of effort into trying to make them special. LOL For anyone on the cruise, we were the women in the navy blue t-shirts with our names on the front and "Four Friends, Three Nights, Two Islands, One WONDERful Adventure" on the back.
In no time at all, the boarding process began. We posed for our boarding picture and then actually stepped onto the ship where we were asked for our family name to be announced. I think it might have been Jennifer from the Cruise Staff who was doing the announcing and after noticing our shirts she anouced us in te following fashion. Welcome the girlfriends - Duchess, Pam, Susan & Linda was heard in the atrium followed by applause from the crew gathered there. You just have to love that welcome!
We headed down to Parrot Cay for the lunch buffet. Yummy yum yum! We enjoyed fresh fruit, shrimp, salads, roast beef and some champagne, courtesy of Duchess. One of the servers, Ritesh, was quite taken by Duchess, and was very attentive. Unfortunately, he was not our server for dinner. While eating, we made our game plan. Linda & Susan would head down to the stateroom and then to the spa to make their spa reservations and Duchess & I would head to Wavebands to make our Palo Reservation. We had planned to go on our Parrot Cay night which ended up being Saturday night since we had the TAP rotation. We were a few minutes early and ended up being #2 for Saturday reservations. Stanislaw from Poland was coordinating the reservation process at Wavebands so I used my meager knowledge of Polish to speak with him. Obviously, being the 2nd party to make a reservation for Saturday night, we had our pick of times and chose 8:00pm which was in keeping with our late dinner seating but gave us a bit of a cushion for getting out of dinner in time to finish packing & get out bags outside before heading to the 80s party at Wavebands after dinner.
Palo reservations out of the way, we headed up to our stateroom where 2 pieces of our luggage was waiting for us. Getting into the cabin we saw that Susan & Linda and already arrived as had our other pieces of checked bags. Wow! Everything was there by 1:30pm! I was happy. Also in the cabin were lovely decorations and a bottle of Iron Horse champagne, courtesy of Duchess. Thanks girlfriend!!
We spent some time unpacking and settling into the stateroom. It was really lovely and given that there were 4 adult women sharing the space, pretty darn spacious. We decided that Linda&Susan would take the queen bed, I would take the sofa and Duchess would take the upper berth. We chose to use the upper berth instead of the murphy bed so that the path to the verandah would be clear for anyone who wanted to head out there. One thing that Iwill remember for next time is to get the smaller bottles of water if I plan to bring bottled water. The 24oz Zephyr Hills bottles did not fit in the cooler very well at all.
Then it was time to make some spa reservations. Susan wanted to do the walking tour of the ship, and even though Id been on the Wonder before, I decided to join her just for the heck of it. I considered heading to the pool, but I just wasnt feeling like putting on my swimsuit and sunscreen. So off we went to join the walking tour. To my very happy surprise, the guide for the tour was Jason from the Cruise Staff. I had met Jason in June on my first cruise and he was the one crew member that I wanted to see again. He had only been on the ship about 3 weeks at that time and was so enthusiastic and fun with a ready smile and greeting to make you feel like you were just the person he had been hoping to see. He really made an impression in June and I had been hoping to see him again but I hadnt seen his name in any trip reports so I was concerned that he was no longer on the ship. After the tour had gone on for a bit, he did ask if we had met on a previous cruise and we caught up a bit as we walked from stop to stop on the tour. It was just great to see him since he had really been one of the highlights of my first cruise.
After the walking tour we headed back to the stateroom to get ready for the safety drill. Unfortunately, we didnt have an indoor muster station with seats and were out on deck 4. I understand the importance of the drill but those darn flotation devices are so uncomfortable. Linda was really hating the drill and was very uncomfortable the whole time. Finally, the ordeal was over and we were ready for the Sailaway Party. We gathered our cameras, our bubbles and our confetti poppers and headed up to deck 10 to enjoy the festivities. The kids dancing on the pool stage were just adorable. And then as the horn tooted "When You Wish Upon a Sta" we were off! Heading away from the Port and out into the open seas. We shot off our confetti poppers which some of the kids near us enjoyed and blew some bubbles. Then I gave my bubbles to one of the kids standing near us and just enjoyed the breeze in my face.
I didnt take any notes so Im sure Im forgetting something I did that afternoon. Susan & I went to see Hercules the MUSEical which was good, not great but good. I enjoyed it and would even though Ive seen it twice, I would still see it again on a future cruise. After the show, we headed up to the stateroom to dress for dinner at Tritons. We went down to the atrium for some formal photos before dinner and then made our way into Tritons. We were seated by ourselves at a 4-top and our server was Witt from Thailand, assistant server was Yaroslav who I think is from Bulgaria and our Head Server was PJ from Australia. Our servers were good but I dont think I could call them outstanding. It didnt help that their other table was a 14-top which, just demands more time and attention from the service team. Dinner was delicious - I started with the pearls of melon in Port Wine. It was very good although the honeydew melon was a bit underripe. My main course was the Sea Bass which was delightful. Linda, however, had the duck and that was really excellent. It is something that I will order in the future if it is still on the menu. Susan had the grilled salmon which was a bit overcooked. I dont remember what Duchess ordered. I couldnt decide on a dessert so I got both the Crème Brulée and the Hazlenut Puff. The Crème Brulée was a bit too Brulée but the Hazlenut Puff was excellent light and delicious. Linda also got the Crème Brulée and neither Duchess nor Susan ordered a dessert. When Witt served Linda and my desserts, he brought plates for Duchess & Susan that had Nothing written on them in chocolate syrup. We had a good giggle about that.
Dinner over, it was time for fun! Susan & Linda were not up for partying, but Duchess & I got ready for 70s night going a bit over the top with glitter eyeshadow and lipstick. I also changed my shoes as there was NO WAY I would have been able to dance in my new shoes, lol. 70s night was tons of fun! The Cruise Staff looked great in their 70s costumes although I dont think any of them were even born in the 70s!!! Duchess & I had decided that we were going to just enjoy ourselves and not worry about anyone else. We danced and had some drinks tequila shots, ice water and vodka shots and had to convince Samson that we were of legal drinking age. Gotta love that dim lighting in Wavebands, lol. Samson did not believe that Duchess was 34, lol. The Gloria Gaynor lipsync contest and John Travolta dance contest were both fun. I have to say though I thought Jennifer did a HELL of a job as Gloria and she was the winner of the contest in my book! All too soon, the 70s party was over. Frankie & the West End Boys took the stage and we danced some more. At about midnight or a bit after it got a bit dead in Wavebands so we headed over to the Cadillac lounge where Mike Sidaway was tickling the ivories of the grand piano. He was taking requests and no one had any suggestions so Duchess asked for Girl from Ipanema. Mike said that he had just played it so we didnt get to hear it that night. (Sadly, I would not get to hear the song at all during the cruise). All too soon it was 12:30am and Mike was done for the evening. Duchess & I finished our drinks and chatted with another guest for a while before heading up to our stateroom for bed. The ship wasnt moving and we saw lights off the verandah and went outside to see what was about. Were not exactly sure where we were but we were just off an industrial area somewhere. A boat was pulled along side the ship just below our stateroom and was just leaving as we went outside. We never did figure out what it was but our guess is that it was perhaps something to do with Bahamian customs and immigration. At any rate, the ship started moving again, we cleared the industrial area and were back in open water. Then, we hopped into our bunks and settled down for the night.
Stay tuned for our next episode in which our intrepid heroines are tempted by a handsome young Turk, relax in the spa and by the pool and sing for shots.
