Just left the Wonder, a little disappointed

[AZMermaid]

Im sorry the construction was annoying to those cruising! But, could you tell us if you could tell what repairs or changes they were making to the wonder? Is it a new feature or renovation we can look forward to on the wonder? Thanks!

The area next to the spa was tarped off- near the adult pool. Looking at the spa from the pool, it was the left side. My husband did report the following day it was the right side (where the smoking area is). So it is possible they are almost done? I am not sure what they were doing, but it was tarped off from basically the hot tub to the spa doors.

In the main pool area, it was tarped off where the pizza place normally is. They were serving pizza from the burger spot. The tarp went from the walkway to about half of the pizza/bar area. The bar side was open.

 

[AZMermaid]

But, I don't want to scare people off. I would imagine if you had a deck 7 or 8 forward room, this would be a big problem. But it was pretty minor for us. It did look ugly and added crowding. But, we had a fabulous cruise. Jo, the adult director, was AMAZING! Tiana's- wow! We had this the first night and left thinking, what a great way to start the cruise off. I agree that the shorter cruises do feel a little more rushed, but it was still very fun. We were also slightly disappointed with the movie selection (or lack thereof), but we found lots of other things to do!

 

[cafetao]

We're on the Baja cruise on the 22nd it will be interesting to see if they are still doing construction. We are super excited, and I'm confident we will have a great time.

 

[swooshbear]

We've always enjoyed the Wonder (and have sailed on all four ships). We've done a 7-night Alaska in 2014 and a 3-night Baja in 2015. I didn't feel like there was a difference in the crew, though the people in our experiences tend to be pushier on the shorter cruises we've taken. Lots of rushing elevators and cutting in front of us for ice cream. I haven't sailed her since the reimagining but we will this Sunday - can't wait!

We have sailed four times on the Wonder and the crew has always been great for us, we have made quite a few friends with some of them. We are also on the cruise this Sunday and can't wait to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

 

[cmwade77]

We have sailed four times on the Wonder and the crew has always been great for us, we have made quite a few friends with some of them. We are also on the cruise this Sunday and can't wait to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

Well we are on that cruise as well. For all of those that are on this cruise, have you said hi on the meets thread? I don't think I recognize some of the people who said they are going on our cruise.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-wonder-7-night-mexican-riviera-october-15th-2017.3523328

 

[Dawn71]

I disembarked from the Wonder today, I was left a little disappointed in the whole experience. Perhaps it is because I had such a great time on the Magic a few months back, but I found the crew to be a little sloppy and a little disorganize to my liking. Here are couple things I experienced on the Wonder this trip that I didn't encounter in the past.

#1 No welcome gifts upon checking into the room, I have been on several cruises prior. I later learned that it was because my Castaway number was not entered into the system. It took TWO tries to get guest services to take care of it. The first time I went, the male castmember said he would take care of it. Of course nothing happened. I had to go back in the second time, but the second castmember took care of it very quickly.

#2 While the stateroom was clean, but I found the stateroom host to be a little sloppy. There were missing toiletry, missing toilet paper and even some left over candies that were left from the previous guests. Nice guy, but I expected a little more.

#3 I think there were two spots on the deck that were under "construction", it didn't bother me, but I didn't expect to see that on a Disney ship.

#4 The food servers were nice, but I thought they were a bit slow. It's probably not their fault as they had a lot of people to serve, but it was definitely slower than the time I was on the Magic or the Wonder before. It was the worst at Trident.

#5 I don't know if it has to do with the shorter trips, but I didn't feel the same energy from the kids club compare to the 7 day trip I took on the Magic.

#6 I was hoping for a little more activities during the morning/early afternoon, maybe I expected too much. I figured Ensenada isn't a popular spot, I was thinking they might add more activities on the ship. It didn't help that the middle pool had to be shut down during prime hours due to someone's accidental discharge, ruining another spot on the ship kids/adults can spend time in.

With everything said, I still prefer the Wonder/Magic over the Dream. I was just hoping for a little more heading in, but it was good fun nontheless. I might just throw all my money into the summer 7 day cruises instead of these short October ones.

I have taken two trips on the Dream and one on the Magic. I was disappointed in the Magic, it sounded a bit like your experience, though we loved Tangled. But I haven't been on the Wonder, so I cannot compare. The food seemed better on the Dream.

 

[closetmickey]

I was also on this cruise. Of course we had a fantastic time, as usual. But the construction WAS a surprise, very unlike DCL in our experience. We still loved our time in the Quiet Cove, but it certainly was not quiet. I wanted to say something but didn't want to deal with negativity on the cruise- I may send a quick email.

Also, I really feel the quality of the MDR food has substantially decreased. Honestly, my only decent meals were in Palo - brunch and dinner. And MDR service was lacking as well. I'm starting to think they have cut the staff a bit and each serving team has more diners...anyone have any inside information on this? It was hard to get to know our servers when they barely had time to take the orders and deliver the food. And speaking of service times, room service took over 45 min once late afternoon and one late evening we just finally hung up after letting it ring for what seemed like a crazy long time. Again, have the cut the staff numbers?

There were, as always, a couple stand out cast members. Be sure to enjoy Jo, the adult activities host - we have had her before and she continues to be so incredibly fun, engaging and friendly! And new to us this cruise, Kendell - our head waiter. Just outstanding in every sense of the word- a complete gem. Loved running into him throughout the ship and being treated as lifelong friends.

Anyone embarking on the Wonder- you will surely have a wonderful time- just keep expectations realistic.

 

[Shanti]

I was also on this cruise. Of course we had a fantastic time, as usual. But the construction WAS a surprise, very unlike DCL in our experience. We still loved our time in the Quiet Cove, but it certainly was not quiet. I wanted to say something but didn't want to deal with negativity on the cruise- I may send a quick email.

Also, I really feel the quality of the MDR food has substantially decreased. Honestly, my only decent meals were in Palo - brunch and dinner. And MDR service was lacking as well. I'm starting to think they have cut the staff a bit and each serving team has more diners...anyone have any inside information on this? It was hard to get to know our servers when they barely had time to take the orders and deliver the food. And speaking of service times, room service took over 45 min once late afternoon and one late evening we just finally hung up after letting it ring for what seemed like a crazy long time. Again, have the cut the staff numbers?

There were, as always, a couple stand out cast members. Be sure to enjoy Jo, the adult activities host - we have had her before and she continues to be so incredibly fun, engaging and friendly! And new to us this cruise, Kendell - our head waiter. Just outstanding in every sense of the word- a complete gem. Loved running into him throughout the ship and being treated as lifelong friends.

Anyone embarking on the Wonder- you will surely have a wonderful time- just keep expectations realistic.

Just curious: when was your last DCL cruise before this one?

 

[closetmickey]

Just curious: when was your last DCL cruise before this one?

October 2015- so 2 years ago. And 6 other cruises from 2008-2014

 

[Vicki106]

And new to us this cruise, Kendell - our head waiter. Just outstanding in every sense of the word- a complete gem. Loved running into him throughout the ship and being treated as lifelong friends.

Anyone embarking on the Wonder- you will surely have a wonderful time- just keep expectations realistic.

So glad that you got to meet Kendall! He was our head waiter on the Dream in March of 2016 and he was wonderful! Such a sweetie! We sailed on the Fantasy this August and when we mentioned his name to our head waiter he told us that Kendall had moved over to the Wonder. If any of you sailing on the Wonder are lucky enough to have him, enjoy!

 

[pepe3penelope]

We have sailed four times on the Wonder and the crew has always been great for us, we have made quite a few friends with some of them. We are also on the cruise this Sunday and can't wait to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

Hi! Also on the same cruise!

 

[tlynk]

I was on the Wonder Oct 1-5 and I did notice things were a little off. That was my 8th cruise on the Wonder in comparison to sailing once on the Fantasy. I heard several CMs had the flu, so that can explain why they may have seemed slower in the dining rooms, etc. As far as the construction going on- it was my first time experiencing it. It was a little disturbing by one side of the adult pool, so I moved to the other side and it didn't bother me. I realize DCL needs to maintain the ship- I'm just sorry for those who had to experience the negative on their first Disney Wonder cruise. I completely understand their point of view. I would make Disney aware of your concerns. With that said I had a fantastic time and met lots of neat people! I can't wait to sail on the Wonder in April.

 

[cruiser21]

We have sailed four times on the Wonder and the crew has always been great for us, we have made quite a few friends with some of them. We are also on the cruise this Sunday and can't wait to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

This has been my experience. I wasn't crazy about my servers on our last cruise which I think I've mentioned in a few threads, but I've had servers on the Magic, Fantasy and Dream I wasn't thrilled with either...it happens. Food to me is always...meh on Disney cruises. Overall though I've had really good experiences on the Wonder. No cruise is going to be perfect. I have things I like and don't like about Disney cruises, but nothing I dislike enough to stop sailing with them.

I was on the Wonder Oct 1-5 and I did notice things were a little off. That was my 8th cruise on the Wonder in comparison to sailing once on the Fantasy. I heard several CMs had the flu, so that can explain why they may have seemed slower in the dining rooms, etc. As far as the construction going on- it was my first time experiencing it. It was a little disturbing by one side of the adult pool, so I moved to the other side and it didn't bother me. I realize DCL needs to maintain the ship- I'm just sorry for those who had to experience the negative on their first Disney Wonder cruise. I completely understand their point of view. I would make Disney aware of your concerns. With that said I had a fantastic time and met lots of neat people! I can't wait to sail on the Wonder in April.

I'm sure being on the West coast there were a lot of first time cruisers. Probably didn't make the best impression. I'm not sure this was a great decision on DCL's part if they are trying to win over that market.

 

[Coss]

I forgot to mention one big one. This is not of DCL's fault. The smoking. Holy crap, the amount of smoking on the ship was out of control. They had no partition to put the smokers into the corner, so the smoke would just travel to the area near the big screen. I am sure it doesn't bother the people who smoke, but it does to people that doesn't.

Also why don't have towel services near the kiddy pool, I had to walk across to the middle in order to get fresh towels. They could have easily add a bin near the entrance to the slide or something.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I disembarked from the Wonder today, I was left a little disappointed in the whole experience. Perhaps it is because I had such a great time on the Magic a few months back, but I found the crew to be a little sloppy and a little disorganize to my liking. Here are couple things I experienced on the Wonder this trip that I didn't encounter in the past.

#1 No welcome gifts upon checking into the room, I have been on several cruises prior. I later learned that it was because my Castaway number was not entered into the system. It took TWO tries to get guest services to take care of it. The first time I went, the male castmember said he would take care of it. Of course nothing happened. I had to go back in the second time, but the second castmember took care of it very quickly.

#2 While the stateroom was clean, but I found the stateroom host to be a little sloppy. There were missing toiletry, missing toilet paper and even some left over candies that were left from the previous guests. Nice guy, but I expected a little more.

#3 I think there were two spots on the deck that were under "construction", it didn't bother me, but I didn't expect to see that on a Disney ship.

#4 The food servers were nice, but I thought they were a bit slow. It's probably not their fault as they had a lot of people to serve, but it was definitely slower than the time I was on the Magic or the Wonder before. It was the worst at Trident.

#5 I don't know if it has to do with the shorter trips, but I didn't feel the same energy from the kids club compare to the 7 day trip I took on the Magic.

#6 I was hoping for a little more activities during the morning/early afternoon, maybe I expected too much. I figured Ensenada isn't a popular spot, I was thinking they might add more activities on the ship. It didn't help that the middle pool had to be shut down during prime hours due to someone's accidental discharge, ruining another spot on the ship kids/adults can spend time in.

With everything said, I still prefer the Wonder/Magic over the Dream. I was just hoping for a little more heading in, but it was good fun nontheless. I might just throw all my money into the summer 7 day cruises instead of these short October ones.

This has been our experience overall on DCL over the last couple of years. Keep hoping DCL will turn it around, but sounds like they are doubling down. We are not interested in taking the risk for what they charge.

 

[Debbru]

I forgot to mention one big one. This is not of DCL's fault. The smoking. Holy crap, the amount of smoking on the ship was out of control. They had no partition to put the smokers into the corner, so the smoke would just travel to the area near the big screen. I am sure it doesn't bother the people who smoke, but it does to people that doesn't.

Also why don't have towel services near the kiddy pool, I had to walk across to the middle in order to get fresh towels. They could have easily add a bin near the entrance to the slide or something.

Just wondering about your smoking observation. Are you saying that they moved the smoking area back to the adult pool area? For the last couple of years (including our Alaska cruise on the Wonder in August) the smoking area was all the way forward port side on deck 9. When you came out of the forward doors, you would turn and walk forward thru a plexiglass enclosed hallway to the front of the ship. Has this been changed?

 

[jetskigrl]

Here is another sloppy work. I did the $250 deposit for the next cruise, I didn't get a single confirmation print out on my door. I only learned it was in via my email. I also didnt get a preliminary final bill the night before I disembark, I had to go fight them on a charge the morning of. Not fun

I don't think either of those things are standard practice though (at least not anymore). When I booked my placeholder on the Wonder in August this year, they said I would be receiving an email confirmation. I asked for a print out and they said they could write down the confirmation number for me, but otherwise only the email confirmation is given. That was fine for me since I just wanted the number in case of any issues when I got back.

Also, I have never received a print out of my account the night before (or any other time) unless I have gone to guest services to ask for one.

I have sailed on the Wonder 8 times now and luckily I have never had a disappointing cruise. My last one was this summer in Alaska so it sounds like it was before all the construction started (and I can see how that would definitely be an issue). Hopefully they have all the construction finished by now.

 

[RedSox68]

I don't think either of those things are standard practice though (at least not anymore). When I booked my placeholder on the Wonder in August this year, they said I would be receiving an email confirmation. I asked for a print out and they said they could write down the confirmation number for me, but otherwise only the email confirmation is given. That was fine for me since I just wanted the number in case of any issues when I got back.

Also, I have never received a print out of my account the night before (or any other time) unless I have gone to guest services to ask for one.

I have sailed on the Wonder 8 times now and luckily I have never had a disappointing cruise. My last one was this summer in Alaska so it sounds like it was before all the construction started (and I can see how that would definitely be an issue). Hopefully they have all the construction finished by now.

We just had the opposite experience on Carnival. My DH went down and stood in line the night before for a final print out, only to discover the next morning that they slipped them under everyone's doors anyway. I do like the fact that some cruise lines have machines you can go to to check your room charges throughout the cruise.

 

[AZMermaid]

Just wondering about your smoking observation. Are you saying that they moved the smoking area back to the adult pool area? For the last couple of years (including our Alaska cruise on the Wonder in August) the smoking area was all the way forward port side on deck 9. When you came out of the forward doors, you would turn and walk forward thru a plexiglass enclosed hallway to the front of the ship. Has this been changed?

Yes, it was in the adult pool area. I am bad with starboard/port side. If you are looking at the spa doors from the pool- it was on your right. We moved from that side of the pool to the construction side due to the smoke drifting into the lounger area (second row, I think first row would have been fine but it was full). It was not enclosed at all.

 

[AZMermaid]

We had a print out of our charges in our Fish outside the door. I almost missed it.