Gluttony on the High Seas 11 Day Wonder Southern Caribbean Trip report

[PrettyInTink]

Hi folks! We just stepped off of the 11 day Wonder mere hours ago. WOW what a cruise! This is my first trip report and I have studied others to see how I should fashion this one and I feel the need to give a little back story:

My name is Cyndi. My dh Kevin is my eternal cruise buddy. I would never want to go without him. We drive truck together cross country so needless to say we are joined at the hip 24/7. He is the oldest little kid I know which makes for a great time at WDW and on DCL.

This was our 4th DCL cruise. We previously sailed the Magic to the Eastern and Western Caribbean on 7 days for both and also did the 10 day Christmas cruise in '04 on the Magic.

So this was our first trip on the Wonder. We came upon this cruise because we had a 10 day stay at WDW planned and everyone bailed out on us so we said "CRUISE TIME" and we booked this special cruise! That was the best decision we EVER made!

Ok, back story over, I think- if I think of anything from previous cruises I'll just add it in the report as it comes to me.

 

[RoyalVizier]

Yay!!

Can't wait!!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Ok, so we arrived at the terminal at Port Canaveral a leisurely time of around 11am. This was a great time to get there and with the new boarding system worked out great for us. We checked in and were on the ship almost instantly. I should mention that we were a part of the DIS meet for this cruise so we met a lot of really KEWL people. We stepped through the entrance on to the ship and the MAGIC and WONDER surrounded me as they "Welcomed the Back Family". I teared up a little then, but kept my cool as I breezed into the atrium arm in arm with my dh. I was so excited that we were FINALLY there! We headed straight to Beach Blanket Buffet to grab lunch. Let the "Gluttony on the High Seas" as I like to call it begin!!! Kevin was a man on a mission: SHRIMP! He got some, too! I had some pasta salad and some little sandwiches that were to die for! It was a little crowded but we managed to find a seat with our new friends and chow down.

Soon after lunch our room was ready, Stateroom 7125. I quickly pulled out my Fish Extender and zip-tied it to the fishy outside of the door (to prevent little pirates from making off with it ) and then we proceeded to drag our 8, YES 8, bags into the room that had already been delivered. I know 8 bags might sound a little obnoxious but I had to have clothes for 11 days plus formals and pirate costumes! And 3 of them were my dh's. We half way unpacked and took a few pictures. I was on cloud 9 I think it's the smell. The DCL ships have a distinct smell. I think it's the cleaner they use but I love it.

Time just flew by and soon we were headed for the sailaway party. I had signed Kevin up to be a part of the Grass Skirt Fraternity, a prestigious group of men that don grass skirts for the sailaway party. I bought the grass skirt (or, em, skirts- he needed 2 to fit) and told him about this and he kind of nodded and said OK but I really didn't know if he would go through with it. So we are getting ready and I pull the skirt out and he gives me this look.......

As we walk out of the stateroom door his grass skirt is swishing in the wind! Success! His new Mantra for this trip was "What the Heck, I'm on VACATION!" You will hear this phrase repeated over and over again throughout this report. While heading to the sailaway party we met our room hostess Emy. She was VERY sweet and the BEST hostess we have EVER HAD!
We get to the party and there are all of the other members of the DIS meet and the Grass Skirt Fraternity. It was a HOOT seeing all of the people I had been chatting with on the DIS, most of them in grass skirts. We took some pictures and met as many people as we could. It was like a family reunion of sorts.
When sailaway came, Kevin was off taking pictures and it was then that I had my moment. You see, this year has been rough. In April my mother and father divorced after 26 years of marriage. Very shocking, and VERY nasty. The stress from this caused problems in my brothers marriage as well and he and his wife also divorced. Life has been turned upside down. As I heard that horn play "When you Wish upon a star" I lost it. I was overcome with with emotion. Good thing no one caught me through my sunglasses! I just felt at peace with everything and KNEW that I was on the Happiest Cruiseline on Earth and that I would be just fine.
Stay tuned for the next installment......the show and dinner!!! Gotta go for now!

 

[RoyalVizier]

Awesome start... sure sounds like you were in need of a Disney cruise. Glad that you were able to experience the first part of it with DIS friends... in grass skirts nonetheless!

Great job... keep it coming!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Awesome start... sure sounds like you were in need of a Disney cruise. Glad that you were able to experience the first part of it with DIS friends... in grass skirts nonetheless!

Great job... keep it coming!

Thank you! I REALLY did need it! Next installment headed your way.....

 

[PrettyInTink]

So we walk around the ship to check out the differences in the Wonder and the Magic. Te ship is absolutely beautiful and we are impressed . We scurry off to our room and get ready for dinner and the show. The welcome show was nice! We were thrilled to see Brent Davies as the Cruise Director. We really like him. We left the show fluttering with all of the same feelings that sitting in that theater always brings. There is just something about walking down that Deck 4 hall and seeing the wall portrait of Walt staring back at you. We headed down to Route 66 and boy were we happy!!! How cool was that place! On the Magic, Beat Street is nice but Route 66 was AWESOME! Remember, we are long haul truckers (or Transportation Specialists, as I like to say ) so this was right up our alley! I love how they have the music playing in the background and it's all themed (east bound and down loaded up and truckin' plays, as well as other "road" songs). Kevin was just about to take a picture of me in front of WaveBands at the Airstream bench when as I was handing him the camera it slipped out of my hands.
TRAGEDY HAS STRUCK! I immediately go into hysterics as my calm-cool-collected dh surveys the damage: Our slightly crappy digital camera was BROKEN!!! ON THE FIRST DAY OF VACATION! AND IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! The little do-hicky on the front that zooms in and out was stuck permenantly in the "out" position. After attempting to take a picture we finally faced the fact that the camera was a goner. Now you should know that my dh is a bit of a tightwad. He enjoys the finer things in life but the "surprise" costs really get him. As I was freaking out he looks at me and says "Shutters sells camera's, lets go look". Ok, who is this man and what has he done with my husband!!!! First a grass skirt and now this? So off to Shutters we go and sure enough, they have a camera MUCH nicer than ours and after a few minutes of checking it out Kevin gives the nod and out comes that Key to the World Card that I love so much. NEW CAMERA! I was feeling a little better about breaking the old one mostly because Kevin just kind of shrugged it off. This wasn't in the Cruise Budget but that's ok, and here comes the Mantra again "Hey, I'm on Vacation!" right out of my dh's mouth.
So we head to dinner and meet our tablemates. Nice folks. We meet our Server and Assistant Server, Arnel from the Philliphenes and Yavor from Bulgaria. THE BEST SERVERS EVER! Arnel was VERY knowledgeable and sweet and Yavor was just a doll! I was very happy with them both! I forget what we ate the first night but I will NEVER forget the taste of the dessert: Creme Brulee, CHOCOLATE Creme Brulee! It was HEAVENLY!!!
Ok, dinner over- heading to Route 66 to get our kicks! We wander into the Cadillac Lounge to have a drink. Then more Magic happened: We me Jackie. Jackie is from Thailand and we immediately hit it off. She was so sweet and we just talked and talked! Jackie is a server in the Cadillac Lounge. She brought Kevin his Mudslide and me my glass of wine and we enjoyed the atmosphere.
Then we headed to WaveBands. I honestly can't remember what was going on there that night but whatever it was we watched it! And it was great! We met up with some DISers and laughed until well after midnight. Then we turned in for what would turn out to be the most peaceful night of sleep I have had in a long time, with the ship rocking me softly to sleep..........
Day 1 complete! Day 2 coming up!

 

[jrose529]

Awesome start! I'm loving your TR. I'm glad everyhing was so amazing. Getting a new camera is great. I hope you took loads of pics and post them here.

I'm looking forward to Day 2.

 

[Verandah Man]

Great start Can't wait to read more about the 11 day!!!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Awesome start! I'm loving your TR. I'm glad everyhing was so amazing. Getting a new camera is great. I hope you took loads of pics and post them here.

I'm looking forward to Day 2.

Thanks! I took TONS of pics but we are still on our way home so I am on my CrapTop right now. I will load all of the pictures when I get home and have my decent computer handy.

VERANDAH MAN- thanks for the comment as well! I figure there will be lots of trip reports from this cruise. It will be so much fun to read all of them each from a different perspective! It was the greatest travel experience of my life to date! More coming up.......

 

[E&BMom]

Can't wait to hear more!! It makes me feel like I am back on the ship! Keep it coming!!!!!!!

 

[famof8]

Oh my happy day! What a great TR so far! I would have loved to be on this trip and you are doing an awesome job of making me feel just like that. I can't wait for more!!!!

Have a safe trip home!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Thank you, Fam of 8!

OMG, I just remembered- I think the 1st night in WaveBands was Match your Mate! It was either the first or the second night, I'd have to check my navigator to be sure but it's packed away, but I'll tell about it anyway, but there is a DISclaimer:
Before I tell this story, I do not want my trip report to turn ugly. I know a lot of cruisers had adverse opinions and I do not want that ruining my report because the people involved are now new DIS friends of mine. Please don't make this ugly! That said...

I had never watched Match Your Mate before. For those of you who do not know, this is an adult entertainment feature that is done Wavebands for adults only kind of like the Newlyweds game. Three couples were picked from the audience- 1 younger couple from the NorthWest with 4 kids, 1 older couple that had been married thirty some odd years that were just adorable, and then a young gay male couple that we later befriended. Hollywood, the announcer for the game, gave ALL of the couples a hard time, but ESPECIALLY the gay couple. All of the couples were GREAT sports and had a lot of fun with it. They sent the "wives" and "husbands" away and asked them questions and then brought back the others to see if they could get the answers right. Questions like "Where was the wildest place you ever experienced the "Magic"?" "How would you describe your husband after he gets out of the shower? A stretch limo? A dump truck? Or a pink Volkswagon with two flat tires?" I almost fell out of my chair laughing! The look on everyone on stages face as they tried to keep composure and answer these suggestive questions were priceless! This was one of the funniest moments of the cruise and I strongly recommend watching this show if you get a chance. Just thought I'd share. More coming later........

 

[ibouncetoo]

Really enjoying your report. You were in MY cabin! I had 7125 last November on my 4 day Wonder cruise. I loved the location. Also glad to hear Jackie is still around We had a wonderful long chat at Serenity Bay and she was telling me stories about beer festivals in Thailand

 

[LindaBabe]

Please keep it coming! VERY nice report and amount of detail!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Really enjoying your report. You were in MY cabin! I had 7125 last November on my 4 day Wonder cruise. I loved the location. Also glad to hear Jackie is still around We had a wonderful long chat at Serenity Bay and she was telling me stories about beer festivals in Thailand

I loved this location too. Secret balcony right around the corner offered GREAT photos of the Flying Dutchman at CC. Jackie is still there! She has been on the Wonder for 6 years and has no intention of leaving she says Her contract ends January 7 and she expects to be picked back up mid March. I ADORE her! Thanks for the comment!

 

[PrettyInTink]

Please keep it coming! VERY nice report and amount of detail!

Thank you! If at any moment I am rattling on please say "Get on with it already!" I promise I will post Day 2 later today, I am technically at work going through training for new on-dash computers for our semi-truck I should be home later today. Thank you for all of your comments and expect lots of pictures when I get settled in at home!
I'll give you a little teaser that someone else will probley spoil: Towards the end of the cruise a certain officer wears a pink tutu and tights in front of the WHOLE WALT DISNEY THEATER and I have the photos to prove it! More coming........

 

[Babs417]

8 Bags

 

[curlybop]

Great report so far! I am really enjoying it. Keep on going.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Hey PIT,
Lovin' your trip report!

 

[Jillpie]

LOVE your report! I'm fascinated you are a trucker. You must meet all kinds in your travels. So what do you transport and where? That is so cool.