How crowded is it?

[joyfull]

I was just wondering how crowded it is on the ship? Should we get to the events early? How about the pools? I know there are three of them but they don't look very big.

 

[debm]

When are you going? We just got off the Wonder a few weeks ago and it was a FULL ship. My inlaws wanted to travel with us at the last minute--we even had empty spots in our rooms but they were not allowed because we were told the max capacity had been reached. That said, we did not have any trouble getting into things. Disney does an amazing job of making you feel as though there are not that many people on the ship I think. The only thing that was crowded was the matinee for Dreams the last day. We went to both the matinee and our show time because we love the show so much. We went 30 minutes early for the 6:30 PM show just to get good seats for the kids but there were lots of empty seats left at showtime. There is so much to do on the ship I think people really pick and choose what is important to them so it works out.

Have lots of fun!!!

 

[Ohanamom]

We sailed on the Wonder the beginning ofthis month and the ship was not crowded at all (total of 2500 guests, I believe). We had no problem doing all the events that we wanted, especially the shows. The only pool that was crowded was the pool for the kids. The other two were not busy at all, day or night.
Hope this helps some! Enjoy!

 

[debm]

I forgot to mention the pools....

We found the kids' one very crowded and chose to swim while we were in port and others were off the ship. Also we wore our swimsuits under our clothes when we embarked that day so we could swim right away after taking care of the "particulars" of the Club, seating assignments, etc. It was a great time to swim that day. The line for the slide can be crowded but the kids don't seem to mind waiting....

 

[BeanoC]

Since the sit down meals and the shows are split into 2 "shifts", crowds aren't too big an issue for that. It's the things that everybody on the ship wants to do at the same time that can get crazy! The worst thing ever for us was trying to get off the ship at Castaway Cay. The gangway area was PACKED! We felt liked herded cattle in a locked pen. But, when 2,500 people all want to exit the same door at the same time, that will happen! Also, the lines for taking photos got pretty long; both for character pics and formal pics. Otherwise, it was amazing to me how empty the ship could feel at certain times, in certain places. We had the piano bar entirely to ourselves more than once, which made for a very relaxing time together.

If crowds bother you, try to plan things against the grain, so to speak:

Wait an extra hour to leave the ship when in port, to avoid the early crowd. Just don't expect to get a good spot on the beach!

Stay on board in port if you're not wanting to see anything in particular there, and take advantage of uncrowded pools and theaters.

Take care of any business at Guest Services late at night or very early in the morning, when the normal people are asleep!

If you really want to go commando style, and be among the first to get the choice spots on the beach at CC, you'll simply have to put up with crowds. But whatever the case... relax and enjoy your vacation!!!




'Beano'

 

[jds]

Great advice, Beano! I'll just add that if you want to enjoy the dessert buffet, go early--when were on a full ship last July, the line for the buffet at 11 pm, when it was scheduled to open, was REALLY long! (We gave up and went to bed...)

 

[jlp651]

What are the hours of Guest Services? The boyfriend and I are both nite time people...taking care of stuff later than usually would really work for us!

 

[BeanoC]

Guest Services is open 24 hours a day.

So... why people wait in those long lines towards the end of the cruise will always be a mystery to me!!

We have always made it a point to go by Guest Services at least once every day and get a printout of our balance, and also pay it down each day. You will find that you walk right past Guest Services probably 5 times a day, for one reason or another, so just wait until a time when there is no line and stop to take care of your business!




'Beano'

 

[joyfull]

Well it isn't really me that has a problem with crowds, but my son has autism and can have a problem waiting in line. Beano, what time would you think we should get in line if we did decided to "go commando style" and try to be one of the first off the ship at castaway cay?