Just Back -- 3/27 Wonder! Thanks for Tips That Made It Great!

[JulieWent]

Just returned from a spectacular 4 day cruise. Weather was beautiful (80's, sunny skies, breezy, smooth water). DS (age 9) fell in love with magic (not the Disney version -- there was a magician / ventriloquist on board. DS went to three of his shows!) DH spent a lot of time reading and relaxing, and I did a lot of exploring.

Trip report aside, I thought I'd let you know what tips I got from this board that REALLY helped. The first was to use the Mickey pool at off times. DS went straight there when we got onboard. (We were allowed on at 12:30.) We got lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet and ate at a table near the pool while he swam and then we forced him to eat. He was amazed that he could just walk up to Scoops and ask for ice cream. Anyway, he enjoyed the Mickey pool without crowds then and when we came back on board at 2:30 on Castaway Cay. (Our family can only do about five hours or so of beach time.)

The second really great tip was to take a power strip / extension cord. I would have been out of luck if we hadn't had one. (It also helped knowing right where to look for the outlet -- behind the television -- thanks to you guys!)

Making sure we had all of our docs filled out before we got to the terminal was also helpful. I saw so many people filling theirs out there, and all I could think was how crazy I would be.

I was also glad that I had booked my excursions early. Since we did not plan on going to Palo's, once we got on board, I had no running around to do. We just enjoyed exploring. I could see that there was a lot of running around being done.

I also benefitted from your adviced when it came to tips. Before we left home, I went to the bank and got specific denominations of cash and set each aside for our servers and room steward. I made sure to put aside extra so that I could add to the tips if I wanted to (and, of course, I did!). But it was nice having the specific amounts that I originally wanted actually set aside in a safe spot before I left.

I am sure I will think of other things, but these were the ones that I thought of while we were aboard. Feel free to post questions. I will happily answer.

Julie

 

[mommasita]

Glad to hear how well it went.. Little things we learn on this board make a lot of difference... Sounds like your DS had a great time....

 

[Jillpie]

Thanks Julie! We're leaving on our first cruise in two more weeks, this was very helpful. Can you tell me, what exactly did you need all those plugs for? I have short hair, so I don't use a special hair dryer or curling iron etc. But we do have digital cameras and a camcorder..is there a regular plug for these things or do you really think I need to bring a bigger one?
About the tips...we have two staterooms, did you seperate the tips in different envelopes, or how did you keep them organized? thanks so much!

 

[JulieWent]

Jillpie--The hairdryer in the room is really horrible. Really. It worked for my husband, but his hair is maybe 1/2 inch long. I can't see it working for almost anyone else. So, I used the extra electricity for that.

There was a place over on the desk that worked for recharging my camera battery. I didn't need the outlet for that. So, if you think that you can use the on board hair dryer, you may not need the extension cord.

I just made sure that I had the correct denominations and that I wrote down who would get what. Then I put it all in one envelope marked "specific tips." You will receive envelopes to put the tips in on the last night of the cruise. I'm not as organized as some, so that worked for me.

Hope that helps. Hope your weather is as beautiful as ours was!

Julie

 

[Jillpie]

okay, thank you Julie, most helpful! Good night.

 

[ljql_5969]

I apologize, but I still don't understand about the extension cord. Was it a power strip with extra plugs on it or just a regular extension cord so that youwould be able to walk to a mirror or something with your hair dryer?

 

[Goin4forty]

We were on the 3/20 Wonder. The bathroom only has one plug in and can only accomodate a shaver. I missed the thread about the plug in behind the TV. I went to use our dryer and could not plug it in in the bathroom. It probably took me an extra 5-10 minutes to dry my hair (I have shorter hair) with the dryer in our room. I did take an extension cord but did not use it. There is a large mirror next to the TV so if you could plug your dryer in behind the TV that would work great!

I totally agree with JulieWent about the great tips here. I religiously read these boards for months. Even at work. Another great tip that I used was the over the door shoe holder to hold all toiletries, sunscreen, combs, brushes, etc. I am SO glad I had that. I bought it at Walmart for $6.00. Very easy to use.

Kris

 

[Angie_Ohio]

I too have been reading this since I received my Passporter and found the web address. The tips are great. We are not leaving until 6/06 but the info is fabulous. I just wrote down "over the door shoe holder" in my cruising folder. I wouldn't have thought of that. I just passed on the site to friends who are cruising in Nov 05.
Angie_OH

 

[JulieWent]

I apologize, but I still don't understand about the extension cord. Was it a power strip with extra plugs on it or just a regular extension cord so that youwould be able to walk to a mirror or something with your hair dryer?

We got a power strip with a seven foot extension cord. As it turns out, we could have just brought an extension cord because I never needed more than one outlet at a time. You definitely need the extended cord, though. (About 7 - 10 feet.)

Julie

 

[mecook]

Hello fellow Alabamian! Glad you had a good trip. We are on the 6/26 Wonder, our very first cruise. DD will be 11.
I'm trying to make sense of all the recent changes from night to night.
Please tell me which shows you saw on which night. I know they changed the Pirate night to after CC instead of Nassau.
Thanks,
Melanie

 

[JulieWent]

Melanie,
My boys (husband and son) are not big on shows, so I didn't see as many shows as I'd like to. But, here's what was scheduled. First night was Hercules (which we missed because we were exploring). Second night -- Nassau night -- was a magic / ventriloquist show with Michael Harrison which we did hit in the Walt Disney Theatre. I am so glad we went to this one. My son (age 9) fell in love with magic and ventriloquism at this show. It was a BIG hit. I am told this guy is on the Wonder a lot. If you catch him, definitely go. Anyway. Night three is CC. It is Golden Mickey night and Pirate Night. We skipped Golden Mickeys so we could rest to get ready for the Pirate Party. (Fireworks actually happened around 10:30.) The last night was Disney Dreams which I went to. It was beautiful and fun. There are also lots of little shows. (DS caught Michael Harrison on three occasions in different places. He did a workshop teaching the kids how to do magic tricks and how to "throw" their voices. Then he did another short show in Wavebands on the last night.) There were other musicians performing all over the ship, and we caught many of these. So, other than the "big" shows, there is so much going on.

Julie

 

[snowiit]

Hello fellow Alabamian! Glad you had a good trip. We are on the 6/26 Wonder, our very first cruise. DD will be 11.
I'm trying to make sense of all the recent changes from night to night.
Please tell me which shows you saw on which night. I know they changed the Pirate night to after CC instead of Nassau.
Thanks,
Melanie

Hey! I'll be on the 6/26 Wonder! Can't wait! This will be DH and my 3rd Wonder cruise. The first was for our 20th anniversary. The second was with my mom, her friend, our daughter and her friend.. You will love the Wonder. The information you get here is SUCH a help. I can't imagine getting on not knowing all that we know from these boards! We'll be on deck 7, where will you be?? Can't wait to experience Pirate night! What fun. We haven't seen Golden Mickey's yet either.
Nancy

 

[lbgraves]

While I found the hair dryer to be enough for me, my hair is long but I only dry the front, I will be taking a power strip with us next time. It was a pain to have to remember to switch out all the chargers for the camcorder & digital cameras' batteries. We used 2 digitals so that if we split up DH & I would each have one so we had to keep batteries recharging all the time.