January 28, 2007, 4 nights on the WONDER

[GirlieGirl]

Shauna--
I'll try and do some research too and see what I can find out.

I see in your husbands sig that you guys joined DVC in Dec 05--so did we!!! Love it! Makes it so much easier to plan more trips "home"

Susie

 

[dalemm]

We just finished our seventh trip with Disney going on a 11 day special Southern Caribbean trip. The trip was fantastic as only Disney can make it. Of the many things we saw and did was our visit to Castaway Cay. The Flying Dutchman from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" was sitting in the water just off the aft of the Wonder. Capt. Jack Sparrow was available for pictures on the beach with the Flying Dutchman and Wonder in the background. The character actor who played Sparrow was perfect, a copy of Johnny Depp in his mannerisms and dress. Since our last visit to Castaway Cay, they have added some improvements, one being the Stingray Encounter. We are going on this cruise with our DD, SIL and their 5yr son. This will be his first cruise and it will be interesting to see how he responds to this new experience. We have been to Nassau and did not do any of the excursions, but have taken a taxi and a small boat at different times over to Atlantis. It is interesting to walk through and see the facility and view the fish which is free. To use their water amenities will cost a fee. The downtown area is a short distance from the ship where shopping and some sightseeing can be done.

 

[stampinshauna]

Welcome dalemm! Thanks for the info about Atlantis, I didn't know that you could walk through the fish area for free. Do you remember how much it cost you to get over to Atlantis?

 

[dalemm]

Stampinshauna - The last time we were in Nassau was 2000 on the Wonder. You could walk through the Atlantis casino area, down one flight of steps to a restraurant and see the fish thorough a number of viewing windows for free. The main areas of viewing the fish were outside and there was a charge to view them and use their other facilities. The cost of using a water taxi at that time was about $3-4 per person one way. The cost of a van from the dock to Atlantis for 6 was $15-20, one way. Times have changed the Atlantis and I'm sure the cost of transportation is up. Negotiate a price before getting a taxi to take you anywhere.

 

[stampinshauna]

Hey everyone--

We're into double digits now!!!

97 more days until we board the WONDER

 

[luvcruisn]

DH and I are on this cruise too! We have a DD who is 11 and DS who is 1. This will be our third time on the 4 night cruise on the Wonder. We love it and there are still activities that we have not been able to fit in. I would be happy to answer any questions. I am so excited I am already counting down

 

[stampinshauna]

Welcome luvcruisn!

Since you've done the Wonder before, perhaps you can tell me how hard it is to get dinner reservations for Palo. I've only sailed on the Magic so there are 7 nights to choose from. Do I really need to do it at 3am EST on our 90 day mark to get what I want?

 

[luvcruisn]

Stampinshauna-we have only done the brunch at Palo (both previous times) because we hated to miss a night at dinner. I don't think it was too hard to get the dinner reservations but I wouldn't wait too long. I would make sure to book them before the first time cruisers are able to.

We are going to book the 7 night Western while on this cruise. Which of the 7 nights did you take?

 

[stampinshauna]

We are going to book the 7 night Western while on this cruise. Which of the 7 nights did you take?

We went on the 7-night Western in October 2004 and on the Eastern in October 2005. Our Western cruise was after hurricane Charley, Francis, & Jeanne, so Grand Cayman was closed to tourism at the time and they substituted Costa Maya. We did go to Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Castaway Cay. We snorkeled at Cozumel and spent a lot of time just walking around because there were so many shops close to the pier.

 

[luvcruisn]

Did you like the Eastern or the Western better? My DH thinks the ports on the Eastern would be better. We haven't totally made up our minds which we would rather take.

 

[stampinshauna]

Hmmmm....Hard question.

From what my travel agent told me, Western is better for snorkeling, diving, etc. and Eastern is better for beaches. Do you like sea days? You get one more sea day on the Eastern. We really enjoyed them both. If we were going on another, we'd pick Western so we could try to see Grand Cayman. Really, it is a Disney Cruise and I'm happy with whatever I get. I think part of what makes the ports fun is what you do there. We did more of the regular tour type things on the Eastern and more adventurous like snorkeling and catamaran racing on the Western, so I thought the Western ports were more fun. There really weren't any great beaches to hang out at on the Western--they were very rocky. However, we just took a water taxi across a bay at St. Maarten and there was a fun beach and we rented a jet-ski.

So, I'd say if you want more ports, better snorkeling, etc, do the Western. If you want an extra sea day & better beaches, do the Eastern. Since they both include Castaway Cay, I'd really pick based on what week works best for you. It sounds like you love DCL, so you know you will eventually try whatever one you don't go on next time.

 

[luvcruisn]

Thanks, Shauna! We will have the baby with us (he won't be old enough for the kids clubs yet) so the better beaches would probably work best first and I love the days at sea. There is always so much to do on the ship and never enough time on the 4 day. Your advice really helped!

 

[Frankiesmom]

Hi guys! We are booking this cruise today on DVC points-had to use them. It will be me and DH, 2 DS's 5 and 2. This is our 3rd time on the Wonder. I am really excited! We are booked on the Magic at the end of April '07-but I am going to need to escape the harsh winter here-so this will be perfect! We are also doing 3 nites after at WDW. We are almost at 90 days! WOOHOO. Angel

 

[stampinshauna]

Yea! Another DISer onboard the ship with us. Welcome Frankiesmom.

 

[Frankiesmom]

Thanks Shauna! I am really excited about this. I hope this cruise will be able to make CC-last january we were on the Wonder for a 3 nite and we were unable to stop as waves were to high;nice thing about the 4 day there is an extra chance! Have a great weekend everyone-off to take the boys for their flu shots-joy. LOL Angel

 

[stampinshauna]

I sure hope we can stop at Castaway Cay, out of all of the ports I've been to, it is my favorite. I guess it is a good thing that the sea day is planned for the day after, so in case the scheduled day is bad they can try the next day.

How was the weather on your cruise last January? We've only sailed in October and it has been 80s-100s.

 

[HLAuburn]

Hey cruisers

Any adults planning on dressing up for Pirate night? I'm debating whether to get a costume for myself or just wear a pirate shirt or something tropical. DD will definitely be dressed in a pirate costume, but I don't want to look like a dork being the only adult in a pirate costume!

 

[Frankiesmom]

I too was debating dressing up for pirate nit-where to find the outfits? The weather was so/so in WDW warm days cool nites. The weather in Nassau was warm mid to hi 70's-but it was really windy-that was what prevented the ship from docking at CC-that and the super high waves. So I'm hoping we don't miss it this time-we haven't been to CC since Aug '05-and it was the BEST! Any info the place to find women pirate accesories would be awesome! Angel

 

[HLAuburn]

I too was debating dressing up for pirate nit-where to find the outfits? The weather was so/so in WDW warm days cool nites. The weather in Nassau was warm mid to hi 70's-but it was really windy-that was what prevented the ship from docking at CC-that and the super high waves. So I'm hoping we don't miss it this time-we haven't been to CC since Aug '05-and it was the BEST! Any info the place to find women pirate accesories would be awesome! Angel

Party City has a few women's pirate costumes. This one is my favorite. They also have some good accessories (hats, bandanas etc), which I think is the direction I'm going rather than the full all-out costume! I'm too reserved to be one out of 1500 adults onboard dressed like a pirate!

 

[Frankiesmom]

Thanks that looks really cute;but I'm wonderimg if the skirt is maybe a tad short? I don't want my bottom hanging out running after/bending for the kids! LOL Is anyone else going to be up @ 3:00 to make any ressies? I'll have to set the alarm. This is getting really exciting. Can't wait. Angel