July 4th aboard the Wonder

[ICEMANPAD]

Well it is a few days early, but hopefully the July 4th Wonder will measure up to the trips reported on by our friends Tri Circle D (TCD) (two weeks ago) and Tinkerbell Mom (this past week). Both of them had a great time and hopefully mother nature will continue to cooperate so we, collectively, can enjoy the trip as well....Notwithstanding our signature below, this will actually be our first trip aboard the Wonder....and while I do not expect to match the very detailed post of TCD, we will hopefully gets out the details.

Chuck

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Leaving for the port tomorrow and full of posting instructions courtesy of TCD.

Chuck

 

[OceanLvr]

ICEMANPAD -

Welcome Aboard the Wonder...My family and I have sailed her many times (as recently as May/June of this year). You'll fallin love with her, like we have.

We decided Sunday to escape for the weekend...We are really looking forward to it, again.

I'm looking forward to reading your views about your trip.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Chuck,
I am excited to hear about the cruise, wish we were still coming along

Have a magical time!! The wonder is awesome!

Kathy

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Am heading to the port shortly, so next post really will be "live" since I am leaving the laptop home.

Chuck

 

[ICEMANPAD]

We are now live from the Disney Wonder!!!!! The cruise director is Rachel (she was actually the cruise director on our very first Magic cruise during Thanksgiving 2004). The captain is John.

We were the first family to check in at the port this am. The person checking us in said there were no upgrades available. However, we then went to the supervisor desk and sure enough were able to upgrade from a cat 11 to a cat 6 for approx $300 total. It was well worth it!!!!!

We boarded the Wonder approx 11:45 am and were peeling shrimp on the deck outside of BBB by noon. The weather cooperated long enough for lunch and swimming. However the Anchor Away party was rained out. The party was held in the atrium area on deck 3.

We just saw the Golden Mickeys. It is an awesome show!! Our DS, age 8, was lucky to be selected as a dwarf (again).

We are now going to have dinner at Palo while our DS enjoys the evening at the Lab.

Oh ya, I attended the Nassau shopping talk earlier this afternoon and won a rum cake!!

We will check in again later....

Chuck and Lisa

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

sorry to hear the party was raine dout. That happens a lot in the summer months. Typical Florida thunderstorms
But obviously your having a blast!

Keep the posts coming when you can.

kathy

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Well last night we skipped Parrot's in favor of Palo ...and we made the right call. Since it was the first night, Palo was relatively quiet. However, we follored Corrina's (from Palo on the Magic) rcommendation and requested her friend Agnes as server...a good choice. Also, Palo now has a new chef of just a couple weeks...the food was very good.

This morning is Nassau....Lisa went to the shopping session yesterday and thus picked up all the freebies today....sorta like a scavenger hunt trying to find the various stores...I am not real good on jewelry so hard to tell if the stuff is any good at all, but it was free.

And for the del sol fans, they now have a stuffed teddy bear whose ears and paws change color...we of course now have one of those along w/a couple punk biker bears to add to the hardrock collection.

Otherwise, there really is not much to see or do in Nassau proper. When we come back next year, we will probably go to Paradise Island, of which we have a great view from our verandah. Oh and we may add the bahamian Police are up to the task...walking down Bay Street we saw a couple guys in cuffs...not quite sure what they had done...and walking past the Police Station on East Street, we saw a group of prisoners - actually wearing striped shorts - doing work duty on the Police Station itself.

So much for Nassau - back on the boat for lunch and we probably won't bother getting back off. At 4 there will be a special deck party since today is July 4th. The DVC presentation scheduled for the same time is being moved. The Castaway Club presentation follows the deck party.

Tonight will be Triton's....have to see if the menu is changed for July 4th...


Back later

Chuck

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

please take pictures of the 4th of July deck party and tell us all about it.
I bet the chanracters will be dresssed patriotic.

cant wait to hear all about it.

Kathy

 

[wvdislover]

Subbing--sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun! Can't wait to hear about the rest of it. How are you doing this "live" if you left your laptop at home? Cell phone? On board computer? Fees?

 

[ICEMANPAD]

We were using the onboard computers...which failed last night. So putting up comments from home where we arrived awhile ago....Lisa will put up more comments later, and I will try to get some photos up in the next few days.

Overall it was a very nice trip...we did very well in the dining room courtesy of DW (initials, not Disney Wife) at Disney who got us some very good servers, and the food at Triton's AP was surpringly good, as compared to some meals we have had on the Magic, especially AP.

The thing to understand about the Wonder, compared to the Magic, from our perspective, is that the Wonder is loaded w/folks who are doing land/sea packages and/or quick weekends (like us). The relationships both among passengers and passengers to crew did not seem to occur given the brevity of the trip. Conversely, there is very little down time as the best of the Magic's activities are squeezed into the shorter trip, both for kids and adults. It really helped us having been on the Magic 5 times previously to know which activities to pick from and enough of the shortcuts/insider tips that make any cruise more pleasant. That said, so long as you like constant activity, you can do very well on the Wonder. If you want lots of down time, it can be difficult.

The main disappointment was Nassau. There really is very little to do there besides Atlantis, which we will probably visit when we return next July 4th, also a 3 day weekend w/the holiday celebrated on Friday in terms of Federal closings. I even violated my rule of never watching a movie onboard that afternoon when I saw Narnia as 2 hours walking around Nassau were enough, and probably 1.5 hours too many. And I was not alone as there were likely 100 people in there, an especially high number when you consider Wall-E was showing at the same time in the 1000 seat theater. Basically the Nassau day was, for many, their "day at sea".

Anyway, in sum, a very nice weekend getaway. Stay tuned for more details later from Lisa.

Chuck

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Thanks Chuck,
will be looking forward to pictures and hearing from Lisa soon.


mom x4,grandma x4 AKA kathy

 

[pillow]

Hi Chuck. I followed you over from the Turkey thread. We're doing a 3 nighter this Thanksgiving. We've only done the longer cruises as well - was wondering what this would be like. Like you, I was figuring on Nassau being a ship day - especially since the cruise will be so short.

What time did you get to the port in order to be the first on board?

Also, would love to see some pictures.

Our Thanksgiving 09 trip seems SO far away!!

Jodie

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Hi everyone!!

We arrived at the port at approx. 9:45 am. Chuck dropped our DS and me off where the busses drop off and then he "waited" in the day lot to be able to park. Our DS and I were the first ones in the port. If you want to potentially purchase an upgrade, after you check in then go to the supervisor's desk (the first desk on the right if you are facing the desks). The person checking us in said no upgrades available, but there were a few upgrades. We went from a cat 11 to a cat 6 for approx $300.00.

The 4th of July party was a lot of fun!!! Rachel the cruise director turned the party over to Clayton (one of the adult/family entertainment staff). First, 4 members of the stage show entertainment staff came out and sang the National Anthem. Then, the characters came out in 4th of July costumes and did a dance. Then, Clayton led a cheer for the US military. Then, they played a lot of American themed music, had dancing and played games--including a watermelon eating contest. Also, there was a food table set up w/ chicken wings, large soft pretzels and crepes. It was a great way to celebrate 4th of July!!!

We saw all 3 evening shows. They were all amazing!! I know that Toy Story gets mixed reviews, but our DS loved it!!

Do not worry about bringing dressy clothes on the 3 day Wonder. Most people dressed very casually to dinner....lots of families wore shorts. The only exception was Palo. Even then, most men wore a button down shirt, but no jacket and most women wore capris or pants.

Definitely go to Palo--the new chef is amazing!! His name is Stefan and his experience is very extensive on high end cruises. He was very personable and came to each table to introduce himself and to ask how everything was. The food in Palo on the Wonder was better than the food in Palo on the Magic. By far it was the best meal of the trip!!!

Captain John was also very accessable. He was dining in Palo the night we dined together, he was always around the ship and he was near the exit this morning to say good-bye to everyone.

I would definitely recommend the 3 day Wonder as an add on to any Florida vacation or as a weekend get a way for those living in Florida. People have asked is it worth it to pack and unpack for 3 days. Since I have now already unpacked, the answer is definitely YES!!!

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Lisa

 

[MouseLovinMom]

So glad you had a great time! We are SOOOO looking forward to our trip next month. I was excited to hear about your awesome experience at Palo. We didn't go last time and really missed it. We're all set for this next trip though! Rachel was the Cruise Director...do you recall who the Assistant Cruise Director was? Thanks. Welcome Home!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Did they still have a musical duo in the Promenade Lounge?
If so, do you remember their name??
Thankyou

can't wait to see pictures

Kathy

 

[pillow]

Hi everyone!!

We arrived at the port at approx. 9:45 am. Chuck dropped our DS and me off where the busses drop off and then he "waited" in the day lot to be able to park. Our DS and I were the first ones in the port. If you want to potentially purchase an upgrade, after you check in then go to the supervisor's desk (the first desk on the right if you are facing the desks). The person checking us in said no upgrades available, but there were a few upgrades. We went from a cat 11 to a cat 6 for approx $300.00.

The 4th of July party was a lot of fun!!! Rachel the cruise director turned the party over to Clayton (one of the adult/family entertainment staff). First, 4 members of the stage show entertainment staff came out and sang the National Anthem. Then, the characters came out in 4th of July costumes and did a dance. Then, Clayton led a cheer for the US military. Then, they played a lot of American themed music, had dancing and played games--including a watermelon eating contest. Also, there was a food table set up w/ chicken wings, large soft pretzels and crepes. It was a great way to celebrate 4th of July!!!

We saw all 3 evening shows. They were all amazing!! I know that Toy Story gets mixed reviews, but our DS loved it!!

Do not worry about bringing dressy clothes on the 3 day Wonder. Most people dressed very casually to dinner....lots of families wore shorts. The only exception was Palo. Even then, most men wore a button down shirt, but no jacket and most women wore capris or pants.

Definitely go to Palo--the new chef is amazing!! His name is Stefan and his experience is very extensive on high end cruises. He was very personable and came to each table to introduce himself and to ask how everything was. The food in Palo on the Wonder was better than the food in Palo on the Magic. By far it was the best meal of the trip!!!

Captain John was also very accessable. He was dining in Palo the night we dined together, he was always around the ship and he was near the exit this morning to say good-bye to everyone.

I would definitely recommend the 3 day Wonder as an add on to any Florida vacation or as a weekend get a way for those living in Florida. People have asked is it worth it to pack and unpack for 3 days. Since I have now already unpacked, the answer is definitely YES!!!

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Lisa

So, was there a formal night? I guess if there was, people didn't really dress formally at all. Fine with me. On a 3 nighter, who wants to pack all that extra "stuff."

J

 

[ICEMANPAD]

So glad you had a great time! We are SOOOO looking forward to our trip next month. I was excited to hear about your awesome experience at Palo. We didn't go last time and really missed it. We're all set for this next trip though! Rachel was the Cruise Director...do you recall who the Assistant Cruise Director was? Thanks. Welcome Home!

The assistant cruise director was Ray.

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Did they still have a musical duo in the Promenade Lounge?
If so, do you remember their name??
Thankyou

can't wait to see pictures

Kathy

We only saw a musical duo in the Promenade Lounge once. We cannot remember their names, but they were very good!! Much better than the duo on our last Magic cruise.

 

[ICEMANPAD]

So, was there a formal night? I guess if there was, people didn't really dress formally at all. Fine with me. On a 3 nighter, who wants to pack all that extra "stuff."

J

The last night was an optional "dressy" night. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy were in formal wear. We did not see any passengers in formal wear. A few sundresses. Other than that, most passengers were pretty casual.