January 16-20: Wonder

[Kiadon]

"Logan2000" has done such a great job on his trip report, I feel inspired to try to tell about our vacation on the Wonder at the same time.

We left Texas on Sat. morning; AA out of DFW to Orlando. No problems and everything running on time. Arrived MCO/Orlando and were immediately picked up by Tiffany Towncars. We were VERY pleased with their service. Stopped on the way out to Port Canaveral at a grocery store and picked up bottled water, film, and DD's favorite candy. It was about this time that I remembered the video camera! Hmmmm, still sitting right where I left it back in Texas. Oh well!

DD (9), her Grandma and I were then taken to the Raddison at t
he Port. It was wonderful. The beautiful pool was heated and DD jumped right in! Actually she swam again later that night, too. I waded around the sides of the pool---it was warm but I did not swim or hot tub. I didn't want to be wet OUTSIDE the pool were it was cloudy and sprinkling rain from time to time. Didn't want to be cold out in the wind! So I just enjoyed watching the wild parrots flying around from tree to tree out by the pool. Very cool.

The next morning we had a wonderful buffet at the hotel The shuttle from the Raddison (free) took us to the ship where we joined the lines of people checking in....didn't really take very long at all. NOT true for the club registration which was a longer line than the one to get Mickey's autograph! Bought DD a Mickey Mouse card-holder necklace to keep her Key to the world card in---smart idea.

After we finally boarded we were starving and headed up to Deck 9 for the buffet. It was SO CROWDED inside because it really was not a pleasant day for setting outside: cool, cloudy, windy....yyukk! The food was really excellent though and I enjoyed trying new things.

Next we found our stateroom: 2064. This is a wonderful room. The porthole was huge. I could stand in the middle of it with my arms outstretched and just touch either side. It went from just above my knees to way above my head. The room had been completely redone and we were the first guests in the "new" room. It was beautiful and I assumed everyone else's was just like ours until I overheard a lady passing by who said, "My isn't that a beautiful room; my room doesn't look like that." Who knew?

DD didn't want to swim; It was too cold even for her to try the heated pools though some hardy kids were already in them. We decided to take the tour of the boat with Lynsey (DD just loved her and enjoyed seeing her as one of the dancers on the stairs later at the sail away party. Party was indoors in the Deck 3 lobby. I think it would have been a lot more fun outside, but again, it was just tooo chilly.) The tour was good and ended outside the spa just as the spa tour was beginning, so we took that too! Kayla (DD) was jumping up and down to see that spa. She sooo wanted to be old enough to do everything they offered! Looked good, but we didn't indulge....not even a message, though that was tempting!

We had late seating at Parrot Cay. DD was hungry around 6:30, so we went up to Deck 9 and got her some pizza and of course, another round for her of ice cream! She was absolutely in heaven over the idea that she could have all the ice cream she wanted, anytime she wanted for free! We found the drink station and I discovered that if you asked for a tray from Pluto's dog house you could carry back drinks to your room. By this time the sea was rocking and rolling. Swells were expected to be 7 to 12 feet that night and they easily were every bit of that! Kayla's grandma had taken dramamine before we got on the ship, but was feeling a bit quesy anyway. DD (9) refused meds. We went by Guest Services and picked up the "Sea Calm" they were giving away just as a precaution. This medicine was for adults only, but Kayla still seemed okay.

Ahhh, not so! We had been seated in our lean-to-the-left/lean-to-the-right/lean-forward/lean-back/up-down-yahoo! dining room chairs (this was the sea, not the chairs actually) only about 20 minutes when Kayla looked at me and said, "Mommy (not "Mom", uh-oh, something was definitely wrong) I need to lay down. NOW, Mom, Please! Mommmm!" So Grandma whipped out the dramamine and we were off to the room leaving poor Grandma behind to sort things out with our waiters. They were wonderful! Gané, our waiter, brought the whole meal to our stateroom where we ate while Kayla peacefully slept.

We stood in the Port Hole Window for a long time and just watched the power and majesty of the sea. Gosh, it was beautiful and just a bit scary. That huge ship could actually be felt to roll with the waves going under it. We could see the white and turquoise water kicking out into a wake caused by the ship's forward motion through the ocean. Then, just passed the wake, the water rolled upward into giant waves capped with white foam that jumped, curled and rolled into other huge waves. It was awesomely beautiful.

And me? Did I get sea sick? Nope. I thought it was great! Loved the rocking and rolling. Thought it was great fun just trying to walk down the hallway without being bounced over to one side and then to the other. And it WAS perfect for sleeping----I kept imagining being rocked in a hammock in the top of a tree by the wind. It was a wonderful night's sleep.

We had to be up early to get to our 10:30 Swim With the Dolphins that I had arranged independently (less expensive). We were soooo hoping for calm weather and beautiful clear skies in Nassau since we didn't want to miss this Dolphin Swim. I called and arranged a wake-up call----these are sooo cute---Mickey Mouse wakes you up. I actually called back and arranged for another wake-up call a few minutes after receiving the first one so that Kayla could hear it!

Tomorrow: Day 2 Swim with the Dolphins in Nassau followed by
The Most Horrible 25 minutes of My Life

 

[RobinMarie]

Excellent report so far!

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Thank goodness you didn't get sick! I am so paranoid as to sea sickness that I take ALL of the precautions possible...Can't wait to read the rest :jumping4:

 

[treloarf]

Can you tell me what time the ship left Nassau? The itinerary says 10:00 pm, but I've been hearing reports about it leaving at 4:30 or so.

Thanks

 

[Kiadon]

We awoke to a little warmer weather and broken sunshine, but there was still that blustery cool wind to deal with. I was SO excited. This was THE day I had been looking forward to!

I packed our towels and sweatshirts (in case it was cold when we came out of the water. We pulled them over our swimsuits that we had worn under our clothes, and pulled our sports pants back on to return to the ship. Felt good.) and some sun block since there was sun by the time we left.

We ate breakfast at Parrot Cay.....so much to chose from....such wonderful omelets, pasteries, fruit, yummmm.

Our Swim was scheduled for 10:30. (There is another one later) Since I had arranged for it independently of Disney, (www.dolphinencounters.com was a little cheaper) we had to get to the Dolphin Encounter place on Paradise Island on our own. There are two ways to do it. You can either take a water taxi ($3 each person) or a taxi ($4/each....should be able to pay less for a child...they like to haggle. Some taxi drivers ask for a dollar for the toll over the bridge; others include it in the price so ask FIRST! They should not charge you for the toll.

We left the ship about 9:00 ish or as soon as we could after the ship cleared the port authority (they came aboard; no one could leave until they had cleared the ship) We had plenty of time and the Dolphin Group didn't actually leave their Office/ticket place on Paradise Island until 10:30 +. Bahamians don't seem to worry overly much about time.

We took the taxi over because it was so easily available. You have to walk thru a building to get from the dock area onto the streets of Nassau. There are all kinds of hustlers asking you if you want your hair braided, a taxi, whatever! Our taxi driver yelled out of the window in his own version of Bahamian English that I couldn't understand but that definitely was rude judging from the looks and yell backs he was getting from people in other cars and on the sidewalk. He drove like a maniac, but we got to the Dolphin Encounter Office/ticket window where we were loaded onto their boat and taken to Blue Lagoon Island. Enjoyed seeing all the large, lovely homes on the water along the way.

The Dolphin Swim was absolutely fantastic! DD (9) loved petting the Dolphins, hugging them, dancing with them while holding their fins, and even kissing them, but really didn't like the Dolphin Push where the dolphins come around to your feet while you arelying prone in the water with stiff legs and stiff feet (soles exposed so they can put their noses against your feet) and push you thru the water so fast your arched back and head come up out of the water and make your own wake splashing up along side of you! I thought it was awesome, and Kayla was a trooper. No one but me knew she didn't like that part and was scared silly! They took film (Yeah, I bought it) and pictures (yeah, I bought those too) + Grandma, who only observed ($20) took pics that I haven't gotten developed yet. This was pricey indeed, but for us, it was a once in a lifetime.

We wore the wet-suits that they provided. The water seemed cold to the touch but wet-suit clad it was fine and even the parts of you that weren't covered felt warm after just a minute. It was like swimming in a spring fed lake---cold at first, then fine. Before the swim they had given us instructions on what/where to touch/not to touch. Next we changed clothes. Then we went to the dock/ramp and the dolphins came in. Finally we changed clothes again and watched the video to see if we wanted to buy it. Then they printed up the photos; videos and left us to prowl around in their store or grounds. We left at 1:00+ish. Boat ride back to ticket office, then we took the water taxi back to the ship.

I highly reccomend the Water Taxi. You catch it at the SAME dock that the Dolphin Encounter people return you to. ($3/person) Wonderfully leisurely boatride on a ferry-type boat back to the same dock where the Wonder is anchored. This is definitely the way to go to/from Paradise Island. We got back just before 2:00--too late for dining room dining but the buffet on deck 9 was open and Goofy's Dog House has those wonderful chicken tenders, nachos, fries, cheeseburgers, brats, etc. Kayla was interested in more ice cream and I was interested in soda! We did not go hungry!

The ship doesn't leave until 11:00 pm so there would have been plenty of time to do the afternoon swim or just to have stayed on Blue Lagoon Island and swam/bought lunch or brought a packed lunch and caught their later boat back. We wished we had stayed since the wind on top of the ship was really making it too unfomfortable to enjoy laying out or swimming. The lagoom was protected and we did not notice any wind there at all!

Next: Back on the boat and Kids Club: They LOST My KID!

 

[Kiadon]

Can you tell me what time the ship left Nassau? The itinerary says 10:00 pm, but I've been hearing reports about it leaving at 4:30 or so.

Thanks

Everyone had to be back on the ship by 5:00 pm. The word around the ship was that Nassau wasn't all that safe after dark....this was not from anyone-Disney, just word-of-mouth from others who had been there. Our ship did not leave until late....not sure when...it was after dinner while we were in the movie theater.

 

[Kiadon]

Back on board from our wonderful morning, DD (9) decided that she wanted to go to the Club. We had eaten our late lunch, showered and changed clothes before heading to Deck 5 and the Club. Kayla had not been there before, so when we arrived (4:20ish) the friendly club guy started to check her in, then said that she would have to go up to Deck 9 since the 8-9 year olds were eating DINNER! Well, of course she wasn't hungry, so we said we would come back in an hour. Nice guy said okay and we left.

We just rested and watched a Dis Movie on TV for the next hour. Kayla could hardly wait to finally get to the club and start meeting some kids her age! I gave her permission to go from Deck 2 (our room) to Deck 5 alone (she's 9!) and check herself in.

Okay, now begins the nightmare.

My daughter left, all happy! About 30 mins. later I started to fret over whether she had gotten there or not (Silly, the girl is extremely reliable and very mature.). Finally the "what ifs" got the best of me and I decided to phone the club and confirm arrrival. Nice guy who had been at the desk earlier answered the phone and confirmed that Kayla, an 8-9, was indeed in the club.

Reassured, Grandma and I sat out to do our thing for awhile. Kayla had been given sign-out privileges with the HIGHLIGHTED ON THE FORM INSTRUCTIONS that I was to be beeped FIRST any time she left. Okay, I swing by the club a couple of hours+ later to pick her up/change clothes for dinner. Grandma heads on down to the stateroom.

I arrive at the club. The nice guy who had been there earlier is no longer on duty. Nice girl checks the computer and informs me that Kayla IS NOT THERE! Says she checked herself out at 4:30 pm!

I reply that she was not there at 4:30 pm. That since the club was at dinner, she went to our room with us until about an hour later when she left the room and returned to the club.The girl argued that Kayla had sign out privileges and SHE had signed herself out. I said no, not at that time, she was with me....and besides, I WAS TO BE BEEPED FIRST even if that had been possible to occur, which it wasn't since she was with me at that time.

They just latched on to the idea that she had sign out privileges and they did not HAVE to beep me first unless SHE told them to----all this inspite of the fact that it was written otherwise on the club registration form. They were insistant that Kayla had come down, checked in, then checked out at 4:30 pm. Again I stated she was with me at 4:30 pm. Didn't leave to come to the club until an hour later. It was like they just did NOT HEAR!

No, they say. She NEVER MADE IT to the club. Nope they haven't seen her! OKAY, I'M BEYOND PANIC.

My kid started from my room and never made it to deck 5 they tell me! She's lost. Been lost for hours out there somewhere. ONLY, this is not possible for her to just go roam'in. If you knew my RULES-ARE-GOD kid, you would know that it is just INCONCEIVABLE for her NOT to have followed the rule to go straight there and sign it. Especially since it was her first "independent foray" and she was on-trial for doing it just right and thus getting the privilege again.

All this went swimming through my head and I knew that if Kayla was not there it was not of her own free will. Someone/Something had interferred in her being where she had set out to go. Dire deeds of the most horrible nature were crashing through my head as I headed back to the room to see if there was a note and to tell Grandma! Grandma agreed to stay in the room (no note) and wait for a phone call or for Kayla.

Panic, total panic! I ran back to the club, only to be told they were putting out a ship-wide alarm for Kayla---what was she wearing; what did she look like?

Dear God in Heaven, this is just not happening! They said they had checked with the 8-9's CM in the movie theater and Kayla was not there!!!

I could not just sit still! I told them to page me and I was going to Deck 9---Scoops that she loves---still I knew this is NOT Kayla behavior and I knew it was futile, but I had to do something. Dear God, I prayed, please keep my baby safe. Please God, keep her safe and free from harm.....over and over....tears pouring down my face all the while visualizing someone doing horrible things and throwing her overboard.

I ran to the side of the ship and actually looked overboard. Nothing but endless sea. Went to Scoops, and while I was there the beeper went off. Anticipating and Dreading all at the same time, I checked the message: Go to a ship phone and call this number. My heart would not stop pounding. I raced inside, called, and the club people said she had been found safe and sound in the movie theater with the other 8-9's. I thanked them; I thanked God; and trembling so hard I could hardly walk, raced down the steps to the movie floor.

Realizing that Kayla had no clue what was going on, I tried not to run. I tried not to cry. I tried......but when I saw her standing with the Club people I just broke down, grabbed her and hugged her so hard the poor child thought her Mother had lost her mind!

"Mom! MOM! What's wrong?" "Why are you crying? What's happened!?" I didn't want to scare her any more so I started laughing that kinda hysterical laugh and hugged her and said "Nothing baby. Mommy was lost and couldn't find you. I love you baby."

Bewildered, "I love you too Mom. MOM! Don't cry."

I thanked them for finding her, grabbed her and left to get back to Grandma as soon as possible. The Club had contacted the room and Grandma already knew that Kayla was all right! She grabbed the poor kid too and hugged and hugged her.

I asked Kayla what could have happened that they didn't know she was there.

This is Kayla's story:

She left our room and went up to the Club. The nice guy from earlier was there and said the kids were now down at the movie theater and she would have to go there. He gave her directions (she's 9, this is a huge ship, I would have preferred that she be taken there like all the other kids in the club who had been escorted there....but....) Okay, she makes her way to the movie theater without any problem.

She goes inside and walks up to the person in the yellow shirt and says, "I'm Kayla (last name) and I'd like to check in. My room is 2064." The CM says "Stand back, please. I have to get all these kids seated first."

Kayla moves back as the kids file by and are seated in the theater. Kayla says the CM keeps bumping her and bumping her back so she moves as far out of the way as she can. When she thought the CM was finished seating everyone, Kayla said she went up and said again, "I'm Kayla and my room is 2064." Kayla said the CM just turned and walked off!! Kayla waited, assuming that the CM needed the clipboard or something, but when no one returned, she didn't know what to do, so she sat down with the other kids and watched the show.

Now, remember. I called 30 mins after Kayla left for the Club and was assured by the nice guy at the desk that Kayla WAS IN THE CLUB. He didn't say movies, but apparently this was the guy who sent Kayla down to the movie theater. He didn't sign her in either, but HE KNEW she was there since he assured me that she was when I called.

The CM at the theater dropped the ball badly. For hours my child was with the group at the theater, but apparently not under anyone's supervision, though Kayla thought she was. She had done everything she had been told to do and so Kayla believed that she was "IN" the club. She was safe and I thank God for that, but essentially, she had been shoved out of the way and left to figure out what to do on her own.

This is just unforgivable......I entrusted the most precious treasure of my old life (I'm in my 50's and she was a gift from God, literally) to Disney and these young people who were proclaimed to be wonderfully responsible and totally child centered. ON THIS DAY, THIS PERSON was neither.

For 20+ minutes I thought my child was dead. Gone. And for 20+ minutes life had no meaning for me. For that brief time I knew what it was like to be Amber Haggerman's (Amber Alert) mom. I don't know how they went on.

Our story ends well and Kayla did go back to the club again. I needed to face down my fears and allow her to go. I needed for her to have that independence and feel good about herself. But, even thought the sign-out privilege had nothing to do with her not being signed in, I recanted those. I know my child. She would have been fine and done everything exactly as directed---it's who she is. It was the Club I could no longer trust to keep track of her signing in's/outs. She would sign out with me. Period.

May God Be With Anyone Who Has Had To Go Through This.

 

[little_susan]

I am so sorry for what you went thru. We were on that cruise - my kids were in the 5-7's but I do believe they were overbooked as far as kids are concerned... possibly because of the holiday weekend? DD never went, it was just total chaos and I was hoping for a CM to help her transition but I was lucky just to get someone to check DS in... He went twice, once when we went to Nassau for shopping and to the Dig at CC, they were running late from lunch and I got beeped right after the Dig - he wanted to be with us - and that is just not like him...
I was really hoping the kids would go to the kids clubs at least one night and give us some alone time - but once I saw how crazy things were - I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable so I didn't push it... if they were older maybe it would have been different...

 

[Kiadon]

While the wind was a bit chilly, the sun was bright and so we headed off the ship and onto the beach after breakfast. The early birds had gotten all the hammocks, but there were tons of loungers and chairs to be had.

DD (9) got her hair braided in a "headband" kind of corn-row style. It looked great but, since her hair is massively thick, I really thought there was no reason to do the 1/16th of an inch, teensy-tiny cornrows......well, except to collect more money ($2 a cornrow/$1 a braid)! They were done very tight and Kayla complained that they were too tight! She kept them in though, until today (we've been home 4 days). Satisfied that they had been seen by her friends at school and on her BB team, she wanted them OUT! She says never again. It's okay with me.....that's how we learn what we like and don't----she gave it a try, and I've got the cute pics to remember what they looked like!

The water was cold at first, but as I waded, while Miss Brave (DD) swam with a new friend, the water became comfortable. I did not wish to test it past by knees, however. Enjoyed sunning. Grandma covered up and read a book....seemed to enjoy it.

We shelled down by the Teen Beach and found some great shells, not knowing that we could not bring them back into the country! Grandma heard the amount of the fine if you are caught and tossed the whole bag into a trash can! Still, finding them was fun! It was afternoon by that time and I was wearing a sweatshirt over my swimsuit and was totally comfortable.

We thought the ribs at Cookies were wonderful. Really everything was great...had several sodas while they were available!

That night we really enjoyed the Golden Mickies. Thought it beat Hercules hands down. But then we had not yet seen the even more wonderful show, Dreams.

Such a good day........

 

[Kiadon]

Sun! Yea! It was warm enough today for even me to swim in the pools, and so we did. Well, Grandma did the hot-tub thing, but I really enjoyed the heated pools, as did Kayla.

Wonderful relaxing day. Spent a ton of money at Shutters (how can you not?). I did the find-your-pics-and-stack-them-and-put-them-all-together-in-one-spot trick we had learned about here on these boards, and it worked beautifully.

Loved, absolutely loved the show "Dreams". It was awesome. Had a wonderful late dinner, hugged our waiters good-bye, gave our tips to them (I had pre-paid mine along with the cruise and been provided little vouchers to put inside the envelops, but added a little more since we thought they had done a really good job---especially providing us with a meal in our room the first night after DD got sick and we had to flee the dining room!

Got more autographs after dinner then beat a path back to the room to fill out all the forms, get backed and get the suitcases out by 11:00 pm.

Finally in bed, I noticed that we were hardly swaying at all......such a change from that first night.

 

[Kiadon]

Had Mickey give us one last great wake-up call, and then dressed, double checked the room and finally headed out to out 8:00 or was it 8:30, can't remember assigned breakfast time. I was surprised the night before to be told we had a specific breakfast time and a specific table to be seated at.

We joined the crowd waiting outside the dining room to be let in and then had one last scrumptuous breakfast! Hmmmm, such wonderful pineapple. Knew I was really going to miss this part of the cruise......and I have!

Customs was a bit of a laugh; we could have kept our shells but as surely as we did we would have been THE ones! LOL As it was we just flashed out photo id's and walked on past. At least one member of the group had to have their key to the world card, so I was glad Grandma had hers handy....mine was packed!

It was cool, cloudy and threatening to rain in Port, just like it had been when we left! We found our luggage easily, grabbed a porter (soooo worth the tip. They just fly you right through everything! They already know where whatever you are looking for is and swish you right thru.), and checked our bags in right there at the port! How cool is that! AA was right there....nothing to carry but the carry-ons from that point on!

The Tiffany Towncar Lady was waiting, right on time. We jumped in and were off.....just like that. Goodbye Wonder. Goodbye Cruise!

Hello Orlando......for like, EVER! The plane was delayed for hours; Security was everywhere (men with walky-talkies and dogs) and I had totally forgotten that it was Inauguration Day. Geeez, they must have been expecting an assault coming directly thru Florida! Everything took longer and longer, so we went shopping in the airport---Great Disney Store! Bought DD the cutest necklace (zirconia shaped liked a mickey head) and earrings (the same). She still is wearing them--4 days later!) Picked up some souvenirs for family and a tee-shirt for me......met friends we had made on the cruise and in general hung around the airport!!! Called everyone we could think of to make the time go faster!

Finally we left the cloudy, almost rain of Florida and flew back to DFW.....it was 71 degrees and sunshine at 5:00ish when we finally arrived!!! Everyone said it had been it the 70's for a couple of days.....Now wouldn't you just KNOW it!!!! LOL

Still, the cruise was a wonderful experience........so many wonderful memories. And just when I figured out how to do everything, it was over...