Just got back from Dec 9 Wonder!!

[*Fantasia*]

It was super duper awesome!! The ship is perfectly beautiful!! The ship is huge! We enjoyed our very first cruise. Every staff that we met are just super! They are so friendly and helpful and makes you feel right at home.

The food was great! I miss my creme brulee my favorite. Our server and assistant server are just wonderful. They went out of their way to make us very happy. And they did. The service was excellent.

Our hostess (mousekeeping) was also wonderful. He made animal towels everyday. Our room is always clean. We also had turndowns which was great!! Love those chocolate candies he leaves.

...To be continuted...

 

[CamColt]

So glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Did your kids go to the clubs and did they enjoy it?

 

[westjones]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise. We are going on Sunday for the 4 night. I was wondering, are they registering the kids for the club at the terminal now? I thought I read somewhere that they started doing that. It would be nice have that done before we boarded.

I can't wait to see the holiday decorations! I bet they are beautiful!
DJ

 

[Dodie]

FYI: Other 12/9 Wonder thread at the bottom of the page - with some questions/answers...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=696379

 

[*Fantasia*]

CamColt, my kids enjoyed the Oceaneer's Club. There were couple of times when they didn't want to come with me. I ended up picking them up at midnight!! They are open until 1am. There's so much to do there and lots of activities, they will never get bored there.

westjones, yes, you can now register the kids at the terminal. I did this cause I thought this is the way to register them. I didn't know you can also register the kids once on board as well. The kids get a bracelet for them to wear for the whole entire time and you get a pager. Enjoy your cruise!!

Continuation...

Our server by the way loves to show us tricks while we eat our dinner. His name by the way is Gede and his assistant Thanbang. They are a great team.

The food at Castaway Cay was....YUMMY!! All was delicious!! I thought the food here was even better than the one on the boat! I tried their bbq ribs and bbq chicken...it was just MMMMmmmm GOOD! And everything is just taste real goooood!!

I don't think I would want to do a 7 night cruise. I think it has to do with boat rocking. By the 3rd night, I felt like it's time to go home, my head and body was rocking. I had my seaband on for a day and a half and took bonine. The kids did fine, no rocking feeling. I would however would like to do a 4 night cruise. 3 night just gives you enough taste of what cruising is about, but it is not very relaxing. There is just too much to do and see that you just can't do everything. And whenever my kids are at the club, I just go back to our room and take naps.

I think the reason why I was so tired on this cruise was because our flight had one stop over (change plane) and the plane was delayed so by the time we got to Orlando, it was already 11:00pm and we didn't get to our room at the Hyatt till about 11:30pm. Also what added to my exhaustion was that I packed our luggages very late and so I didn't get enough sleep the night before our flight.

What I would do differently is...(considering I have 2 small kids)..take a direct flight to Orlando and take the morning flight.

There were lots of characters meet opportunities during our cruise. So, if you miss getting their pictures taken and their autograph...don't worry they will be there again.. in the morning..afternoon and at night. We got our pictures taken by their photographer and most of them turned out really nice and guess what...I ended up buying almost all of them! I thought I was doing so well budgeting myself...but they got me...they got my money!! But I'm happy cause they are nice pictures and guess what...I'm in some of those pictures! (I'm usually not in the pictures cause I'm the one taking them!)

The christmas decorations are just gorgeous. We are so glad that we did go during this Holiday, but I think I will not go during winter again. I don't want to take the chance again of the weather being cold and can't enjoy the pool much nor the beach at Castaway Cay.

The 3 shows we saw was just magnificent!! Hercules, Golden Mickey and Disney Dreams are excellent shows. 6:30 shows for the late seating dinner and 8:30 for the early seating dinner. We have the late seating dinner and it worked fine.

At Nassau, we just did the Nassau city tour. It was fine. We were going to do the Blue Lagoon excurssion but, we decided to just enjoy our stroll and do our little shopping at the Straw Market. This place is big! There was no hagglers. They do ask you if you need a ride or do you want your hair braided, but I just smiled and just tell them firmely NO and they just leave you alone. It wasn't bad at all. We stopped at Hard Rock Cafe and got some souviniers there. We ate at this Filipino restaurants right by the Straw Market. The food was fine. I saw one of the Disney cruise staff eating there.

The ship was a melting pot. There's many different nationalities that works there, but I have seen a lot of asians there, mostly Filipino. They always aske me where I am from in the Philippines and what state I am from. They are so friendly and all the staff from different nations are so nice and friendly. They all make you feel right at home.

We did room service and yes, they do charge you for pop. The menu selection is very limited.

Any questions?

 

[CamColt]

Thanks for the info!
I have to agree about Cookies BBQ. On the 2 Wonder cruises we have taken, other than Palo, the BBQ on CC was my favorite food. Im bummed about missing CC on our upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise. Hope they do have that food on the boat 1 day though.

 

[lookingforward]

I am so glad you had a great cruise. Our waiter was also Gede on our Wonder cruise and I thought he was wonderful. He was especially great with the kids.

 

[tam012864]

Oh Fantasia...you made it seem so "Wonder"ful...My son and I take our first cruise in June---we are so excited--and you just made it that much more anticipated!!! I see in your post that you went to Hard Rock---do you happen to remember how far from the ship it was? Was it a very long walk?
Thanks for the trip report---loved it!!!!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

tam012864, when you get off the boat, there is about 10 minute walk to the gate or entrance to the "happenings". Once you get to that entrance, it was only about 5-10 minute walk to the Hard Rock Cafe. You can not get lost, it has a sign right on one of the bldg telling you that this is the way to Hard Rock Cafe. Anyways...you will have a map of the downtown and it is easy to follow. You might want to walk around the Straw Market and just experience the open market. The kids enjoyed just looking around.

If you're going to do any excurssion in Nassau, book it with DCL, it's so much easier. You guys will meet at a certain place/time on the boat, then you guys will go together. They will give you sticker to put on your clothes so you know who is in your group. After the excurssion, they will take you guys back the entrance or near it, here you can do whatever you want, this is the best time to roam free to do some shopping/eating there.

You will love this cruise! Our kids enjoyed it so much that they didn't want to leave the boat! I think I am now hooked on the Disney cruise. I am even considering doing it again in June or July of 2005!

I can tell you that you will never be bored on the ship. Lots of fun and exciting things to do for you and your son. Have fun! Enjoy!!

 

[westjones]

You will love this cruise! Our kids enjoyed it so much that they didn't want to leave the boat! I think I am now hooked on the Disney cruise. I am even considering doing it again in June or July of 2005!

Yes, this is the worse part of the cruise, once you go it is hard to not go back again. We are about to go on our 6th and I am just waiting for our school system to come up with spring break schedules for 2006 so we can plan our next one! That will be number 7!

DJ

 

[tam012864]

Thanks for the info....You are making me want to book my next cruise and I havent even been on the first one yet...hahahahahah We are doing the land and sea package..plus added some days to our land portion. We arrive at the Parks on June 5th and then board the Wonder on June 12th -June 16th. We are so excited--my little boy says--Mommy tell me about our trip--just skip the first part (he has been to Disney 3 times) and tell me about the boat..haha..I think he is hooked already too!!!!!

 

[TheWog]

Glad you had such a great time!

 

[CDN-NEWBIE]

We are crusing on Jan 9th Wonder and the hubby has read that when dining at Triton's men must wear a jacket...is this true? If so, are there other dining options for that night?

Thanks

cdn-newbie

 

[lvmymcky]

We are crusing on Jan 9th Wonder and the hubby has read that when dining at Triton's men must wear a jacket...is this true? If so, are there other dining options for that night?

Thanks

cdn-newbie

Though I'm sure Disney would want the guys to wear jackets I think a nice button up shirt will suffice. DH wore a nice sweater and no one said anything. We saw a couple of guys who were wearing shorts and a shirt and sandals and though I'm sure other people notice DCL didn't seem to mind at all.

Fantasia-I completely agree with you bout how there are so many asians working on the ship. It seems wherever I turned my head I would see someone who is from the Philippines. They get excited when they find out you are a fellow filipino. I didn't know there was a filipino restaurant on Nassau have I known that, we would've stop in there and ate some Filipino food. Glad you had a blast, I know we did and thats why we booked a 12/9/06 cruise

 

[*Fantasia*]

CDN-NEWBIE, on your personal navigator's daily newletter, it will tell you how to dress according to what dining room you are going to. "Triton's- Deck 3 Midship. A jacket is recommended for men and a dess or pantswuit is suggested for women."

If you husband doesn't want to wear a jacket, I would suggest to at least wear a tie and of course a dress pants. My kids and I were dressed up. I wore a sleeveless top with sequins and a dress black pants. My daughter wore her christmas dress and my son wore his tie and jacket.

My tablemate on the other hand, they just dressed casual. Most of the people dressed up for that evening, some even wore black tie and women wore evening gowns. It was fun to dress up cause I don't do it much.

You don't have to dine there. I guess your option would be the Beach Blanket (I think that's what it's called) on Deck 9. Very casual and it's buffet. Or you can just do a room service, this would be a good time to try room service. Just a quiet private moment dinner just you and your husband.

 

[*Fantasia*]

lvmymcky, yes, they are always happy to see another fellow Filipino. Some looks like Filipinos but they are not, they are actually from South Pacific like Bali which Gede is from.

You should try the Filipino restaurant next time, it is right next to the Straw Market. The food is made to order, it's fresh.

Don't hesitate to ask what is not on the menu, they may have it. They didn't have creme brulee that night, but I asked and they made me one. Also you can order something from the adult menu for the kids as well. My kids had corn on a cob and I love them, so they gave me some. My kids ordered chocolate smoothies (YUMMMMMY!) with whip cream and cherry on top. Well my daughter loves cherries and whip cream, so I asked if she can have whip cream with cherries on top. She got it! Then our tablemate (child) wanted on too, so I ended up ordering two more for her and for my son. Gede asked what they want for dessert, my daughter said "I already had some!"

Before heading to the theatre to watch the show, go to deck 9 where you get your snacks and pop, bring it to the theatre so you don't have to buy any from the stand. I ended up buying some from the stand cause I didn't have enough time to run up there and get our snacks and drinks. The stand sells this huge bag of popcorn, we didn't finish it so, we brought it back to our room, then we brought it back to the following show, saved us some money.

 

[hightown]

Enjoyed reading your post! We'll be making our first cruise sometime next year maybe in May-the 3 night wonder. We're all excited about it however and after reading up on it and with posts like yours we're getting more excited.

I can't schedule it yet because am having to move to st. Louis but once I get an address, will book it!

What category and cabin were you in, if you don't mind my asking? I get motion sick and take meclazine/bonine for WDW and am nervous about that. Were you on the 24hr pills?

Glad you had a great trip and it's always nice to see you on the boards.

 

[Aisling]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise! I remember reading your posts and how excited you were about it coming up!

Why not do the Christmas 2005 cruise?? That'll be my family's first time cruising, and we can hardly wait.

About the snacks, were they for the movie or the live show? I was wondering if you can take food into the live show theater.

 

[*Fantasia*]

hightown, were were in Cat 9, Deck 2 midship. I only took Bonine a couple of times, then one Dramamine chewables. I let the kids take Dramamine a few hours before we boarded the ship. I only wore the Seaband on our first day. I was fine, so I guess this means that I don't get sea sick, however, I had the headaches from the rocking. If my headache is really bad, then I would feel nausea. The kids did great. They only took it one time.

I hope you have a wonderful trip whenever that maybe after your move to St. Louis.

Aisling, I don't know if I want to do another Dec or Jan. I just don't want to chance the cold weather. I love Castaway Cay, but I would even love it more if we were able to enjoy it. The ship is gorgeous with all the Christmas decorations and the Christmas trees. Have a wonderful trip!!

The snacks we bought was for the live shows. We didn't get the chance to watch any movies cause there was so much to do/see. I figured I can always see the movies here in the theatre. Though I did wanted to see The Incredibles again, they just wasn't enough time to do it.

I honestly thought that this vacation would be relaxing, but too be honest, I think it was more exhausting for me cause like I said, there's too much happenings and the timing sometimes overlaps where you have to decide what to see/do. Whenever my kids are at the club, I just take a long nap just to catch up on my sleeps and my relaxation time. By the way, my rocking is finally going away. Tomorrow I should be almost back to normal.

I can see myself and the kids doing another Disney cruise. I don't know now if I want to try another cruise line. I really like the DCL. The service and everything they offer are top notch. Everything was a wonderful fun excellent experience for us.

 

[Angelgirl13202]

I did a Cruise two augests ago and am hooked Im trying to convince my Fiance and his family to go on one (they have never been) I have to say the only thing i really didnt like was that our formal night was the first night and I really wasnt ready for it the only perk of that is i got tritons twice i ended up thier the last night in rotation it was the greatest Dressing up for filet minon the best part of that it was my grams bday! So they brought her a Cake!