Hi. My Dad surprised my family and my sister's family with a 4 day Wonder cruise for New Year. We were over visiting from Australia and were really excited to try cruising for the first time. So there was grandfather, grandmother, 2 men, 2 women and 3 kids, aged 4, 8 and 11.
It was so exciting to first see the Wonder on arriving at Port Canaveral and the excitement remained as we got on board. Because there were so many of us we got separated at lunch (our fault, not theirs). The rest of the family ended up at Beach Blanket but my husband, daughter and myself were at Parrot Cay - and were very happy with that. While the food looked the same as Beach Blanket the environment is sooooo much nicer. In fact we only had breakfast once at Beach Blanket - the rest of the time we ate at other restaurants and were glad we did. But I digress.
There was a party when we left the Port and our first taste of the all singing, all dancing Disney experience. The kids had a blast - as did we. We had the 8.15 seating which proved to be a problem for the youngest child but the waiters did a great job of making a 'bed' for him out of two chairs when we couldn't stay awake any longer.
First day was at Nassau and we did the Atlantis tour. That was interesting (especially since my 8yo DD recognised the hotel from a Mary Kate and Ashley movie) but quite frankly I probably would have been just as happy relaxing at the pool as we really weren't keen on shopping.
Next day was Castaway Cay and we were really impressed with the way they organise everything. The food on the island was good (great freshly made salad plus the usual burgers etc) and even though our cruise was completely full the island did not feel at all crowded. Oh and the free soft drinks are also on the island so no need to lug drinks around!
That night was New Years Eve and they did it really well, a special menu, hats for all and fireworks at night.
The next day we got a special gift - an extra day at Castaway Cay with all bookings made the previous day honoured the extra day as well. We stayed on the ship and the kids enjoyed the pool which was really quiet due to everyone being on the island. We had a brunch booking at Palo which was terrific - the booking was for 11am so we really had lunch. I only wish I'd been able to get a dinner booking, it was so good.
Overall great experience, great service, great people, great shows, great food - unfortunately any other cruise just won't cut it for my daughter as it really was ideal for kids.
It was so exciting to first see the Wonder on arriving at Port Canaveral and the excitement remained as we got on board. Because there were so many of us we got separated at lunch (our fault, not theirs). The rest of the family ended up at Beach Blanket but my husband, daughter and myself were at Parrot Cay - and were very happy with that. While the food looked the same as Beach Blanket the environment is sooooo much nicer. In fact we only had breakfast once at Beach Blanket - the rest of the time we ate at other restaurants and were glad we did. But I digress.
There was a party when we left the Port and our first taste of the all singing, all dancing Disney experience. The kids had a blast - as did we. We had the 8.15 seating which proved to be a problem for the youngest child but the waiters did a great job of making a 'bed' for him out of two chairs when we couldn't stay awake any longer.
First day was at Nassau and we did the Atlantis tour. That was interesting (especially since my 8yo DD recognised the hotel from a Mary Kate and Ashley movie) but quite frankly I probably would have been just as happy relaxing at the pool as we really weren't keen on shopping.
Next day was Castaway Cay and we were really impressed with the way they organise everything. The food on the island was good (great freshly made salad plus the usual burgers etc) and even though our cruise was completely full the island did not feel at all crowded. Oh and the free soft drinks are also on the island so no need to lug drinks around!
That night was New Years Eve and they did it really well, a special menu, hats for all and fireworks at night.
The next day we got a special gift - an extra day at Castaway Cay with all bookings made the previous day honoured the extra day as well. We stayed on the ship and the kids enjoyed the pool which was really quiet due to everyone being on the island. We had a brunch booking at Palo which was terrific - the booking was for 11am so we really had lunch. I only wish I'd been able to get a dinner booking, it was so good.
Overall great experience, great service, great people, great shows, great food - unfortunately any other cruise just won't cut it for my daughter as it really was ideal for kids.
