Just left the Wonder, a little disappointed

[jrabbit]

Hi cmwade! I believe we sailed together some years ago! I read somewhere that they are making the upper level of Cove Café a concierge only area. Only the upper level, you still can get your lattes at the lower Cove Café. I am not 100% sure that this is true, however. Aloha, Karen

That was completed in dry dock. In January deck 10 cove cafe was 70% concierge and the other 30% was for us commoners. If they put the partition closer to the center then we could have several more tables in the upper room. Where they put the partition makes no sense since that space us unusable by the concierge guests and is just wasted space on our side.

 

[cmwade77]

That was completed in dry dock. In January deck 10 cove cafe was 70% concierge and the other 30% was for us commoners. If they put the partition closer to the center then we could have several more tables in the upper room. Where they put the partition makes no sense since that space us unusable by the concierge guests and is just wasted space on our side.

From what has been said that partition is going to disappear and the entire upstairs is going to be concierge, but who knows.

 

[Canadian Girl]

In the past year, I have done two short four day cruises on the Wonder and Dream and just got off the Magic from the western TA. We noticed a few differences in the boats with the Wonder being our least favourite. Toiletries were never replaced, and a staff member in the Edge was very heavy handed with the kids yelling and and telling them food was not allowed etc. My daughter had had an awesome time in November on the Dream and was very disappointed so she only went in once or twice. The Magic was magical. Staff were amazing all around and I felt like we were in a holiday. Granted it was an eleven day cruise and we got to know the staff better but the Dream staff was also more involved with passengers than we found on the Wonder. My daughter loved the Edge staff on both the Magic and the Dream who made her experiences something to be remembered. Other kids stopped going to the Edge in the Wonder as well and set up their own games such as hide and seek which I was not comfortable with. Maybe the staff were at the end of their contract, I am not sure but it was not a pleasant place for the kids. I have no clue why the difference but we definitely felt it.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

You do look familiar, were you on the cruise to No Where on of San Pedro? We also did a Mexican Riviera cruise that year as well, then we did the re-positioning from San Diego to Canada, then the inaugural Star Wars day at sea and then last year the Magic from NYC to Canada.

And yes, I have heard that too, my issue is more if there is a lot of noise, we go fro the cruise to be relaxing and enjoyable, jack hammering is not that and I would say something, again politely about it. Personally I don't drink coffee, so I am not worried about he lattes, but the noise is concerning.

Yes we did the repo San Diego to Vancouver and the Alaska as a back to back!

 

[Dug720]

Now I'm getting more nervous about my February 7-night (supposed to be) Eastern on the Wonder. But I'm pretty much locked in - I teach so I'm limited to school breaks, and Presidents' Week is a break for us that isn't affected by onboard booking blackout dates. I have the Celebrity Edge booked for the same week in 2019, so I can't push this onboard booking back a year and there's no other time I could do it (have a Greek Isles cruise planned with a friend in the summer and I'm not backing out on her) before the onboard booking benefits expire.

The other option that week is the Fantasy, and while I love the Fantasy, I do NOT love Star Wars. It was bad enough when it was only one day, but seeing the reports of multi-day meet and greets...EW!

(I just cannot stomach the thought of a 4 night - my parents and I all commented how super short that felt on the Magic this past Feb. And while I adore Miami, the Magic is a) 5 nights and b) Marvel, so essentially the same thing as Star Wars though I can at least tolerate Guardians of the Galaxy, and c) is MORE expensive than at least the 7 night Wonder and maybe even the 7 night Fantasy. And the Dream B2B (the 16th and 19th) is about $1500 more than what I'm paying now.)

Hopefully for the longer cruise it will be better than the more rushed smaller ones? Maybe??

 

[cruiser21]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Another poster recently complained bitterly about loud construction on the Wonder during a recent cruise.

I have a suspicion that DCL puts its emphasis on the Wonder's much more expensive summer cruises to Alaska than it does on the more budget-friendly school session cruises...

There not allowed to make a lot of noise sailing through the fjords. I have a feeling that's why it was put off until Mexico.

 

[Fyrefly]

I hope they get their act together soon if it's truly becoming a pattern. I'm really looking forward to my WBPC. Though maybe since it's not a standard itinerary things will run different than the usual anyway.

 

[Coss]

I should add that Tiana was probably the best restaurant of the three in terms of food (sea bass was amazing). Food service got a lot better on the second day when 1/3 of the people didn't show up. The crowd at the pool was probably contributed to the shut down due to the accidental discharge in the middle pool (not Disney's fault). Plus this cruise was filled with people who have never done a Disney cruise, you can see how eager they were to get in line for everything. With the 7 day Magic cruise, you can see how much more relax everyone was.

I am definitely keeping my 7 day cruise next year, but I am considering cancelling my Mexico 5 nighter for 2018.

 

[Coss]

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

 

[TestingH2O]

Hmmm. That’s too bad. We had an excellent experience on the Wonder in Alaska this summer. Service was attentive and the ship was in tip top shape.

@Dug720 don’t get stressed. I remember recently people having the same concerns about whether the Magic was having consistent problems. Once a couple people come on saying they had a less than perfect cruise, people start to worry.

 

[Dug720]

Hmmm. That’s too bad. We had an excellent experience on the Wonder in Alaska this summer. Service was attentive and the ship was in tip top shape.

@Dug720 don’t get stressed. I remember recently people having the same concerns about whether the Magic was having consistent problems. Once a couple people come on saying they had a less than perfect cruise, people start to worry.

Thank you. I'm trying to chalk it up to these largely being shorter cruises... Hopefully 7-nighters in the Caribbean won't feel as rushed.

 

[NC DCL fans]

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!

 

[RedSox68]

The Wonder is also our least favorite ship. Which is horrible, because we love her itineraries. She just seems a little more worn and worse for wear, then even the Magic. Fantasy is still our favorite ship, but I get bored of the Eastern/Western Caribbean route. We have sailed all 4 of the "new" ships. Didn't get a chance to sail the Big Red Boat.

The Wonder was our first ever cruise -- and we loved it because we wanted a short cruise and didn't have anything to compare it to. We sailed on the Magic next and what a difference -- the Wonder seemed older compared to the Magic. We figured it was because the Wonder takes a beating with two cruises a week and the turnaround. We did the 10-day Southern Caribbean on the Wonder and found the crew to be a little snippy -- found out they were not happy with the longer cruise and having us around so long and preferred the quick turnarounds on the shorter ones. We still consider the Magic our cruise home

 

[abuck75]

Now I'm getting more nervous about my February 7-night (supposed to be) Eastern on the Wonder. But I'm pretty much locked in - I teach so I'm limited to school breaks, and Presidents' Week is a break for us that isn't affected by onboard booking blackout dates. I have the Celebrity Edge booked for the same week in 2019, so I can't push this onboard booking back a year and there's no other time I could do it (have a Greek Isles cruise planned with a friend in the summer and I'm not backing out on her) before the onboard booking benefits expire.

The other option that week is the Fantasy, and while I love the Fantasy, I do NOT love Star Wars. It was bad enough when it was only one day, but seeing the reports of multi-day meet and greets...EW!

(I just cannot stomach the thought of a 4 night - my parents and I all commented how super short that felt on the Magic this past Feb. And while I adore Miami, the Magic is a) 5 nights and b) Marvel, so essentially the same thing as Star Wars though I can at least tolerate Guardians of the Galaxy, and c) is MORE expensive than at least the 7 night Wonder and maybe even the 7 night Fantasy. And the Dream B2B (the 16th and 19th) is about $1500 more than what I'm paying now.)

Hopefully for the longer cruise it will be better than the more rushed smaller ones? Maybe??

I'm a touch nervous as well, as we will be taken our first Cruise this February as well (Western Caribbean - 7 night) on the Wonder. We selected it largely because my 9 year old boy hates Star Wars and he's impacting his younger brother, in addition to the fact a 1 Bdrm Concierge was approximately 65% of one on the Fantasy (and as house rental people, we were concerned about the room size for that long.

Hopefully construction will be done, and the fact that we have nothing to compare it to will still make it magical for us and the boys.

 

[cruiser21]

The things I like and dislike about DCL are consistent among all the ships. They could do construction on any of the ships. I wouldn't avoid the Wonder because of that.

 

[nunzia]

Hmmm. Thanks for the post, OP! We'll be boarding the Wonder in a few days. We were strongly disappointed by the Wonder in 2011 ... and had hoped that this trip would reset our memory a bit. I'm quite looking forward to Tiana's Place ... and hope it is included on our abbreviated rotation.

Have you sailed her since the refurb? I did last November, the 2nd sailing after the redo and it is WONDERFUL. I'm sailing on the 22nd and November 10, and the only concern I have is the construction. What are they working on?

 

[bwvBound]

Have you sailed her since the refurb? I did last November, the 2nd sailing after the redo and it is WONDERFUL.

No -- my only sailing on the Wonder was in Spring 2011 (repo towards Alaska season).

 

[Angie_T]

We sailed our first cruise on the Wonder in 2014 and it was awesome. I don't remember any issues. Of course I have no comparison but our serving team and room steward were fantastic.

 

[AquaDame]

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!

 

[Dug720]

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!

I'll look forward to your review! Bon voyage!!