Just off the Wonder, any ???????

[misseulalie]

Just got off the Wonder a few hours ago, loved every minute of it. I want to book again right now!

Anybody got any questions?????

My thoughts on the cruise: (may sound like a trip report...)

Didn't do Palo and don't regret it.
Pillowcase idea was great! got some great signatures, but the CM didn't bother to read my note; I wanted Princesses only, but got all the classics (mickey, minnie...)

The Bahama Mama drink wasn't all that great. If you want one, get it in a plastic cup, don't pay extra for the fancy DCL glass that is a souvenir. I saw tons of empty "souvenir" glasses sitting empty all over the ship that people left behind. You could just take one. It will save you a few bucks.

Flounders is definetly not open enough. What's with closing from 2-5:30??

If you are thinking about Parasailing; DO IT!!!! It was great!
I am not athletic at all. The most exercise I do is walking from the car to Starbucks. Any one can do it. I think the boat ride while parasailing was worse. It was very bumpy and really fast.

We ate lunch at PC on the day at Castaway Cay. Really liked it because it was not busy at all. We had almost the whole restaurant to ourselves.

I caved and bought pic's from Shutters. yikes, $85 !!!
Don't miss the final farwell show with the characters. I got more pic's that night, then all 3 days.

Verandah for a 3 night was not worth it. I loved it, and spent a lot of time at night looking at the ocean, but I don't think I got my $$ out of it. I was almost forcing myself to go out there more just to justify the price. I think Oceanview is a better option.
Am I the only one who doesn't care for the Golden Mickeys? I thought it didn't compare at all to Disney Dreams.
Zoran is the best server of all. Ask for him by name. He can predict what you will like and brings you food from the other restaurants. (like bringing DH escargot from triton's while we were eating at PC.)

I thought the idea of bringing cheap sand toys from home was a good idea, but they just ended up taking too much space, and found I could buy a few buckets and shovels from CC for $9. Don't bother....
Bring a watch! there are very few clocks around the ship. Since I usually rely on my cellphone for the time, and I left that at home, I was constantly asking people for the time.

Tipping question.... if room service brings two plates with hot dogs and fries for the kids, how much do you tip??? I couldn't decide because $2 seemed too little. I left $5. DH yelled at me

This is my 2 cents, I'm sure you may disagree or even agree with a few things, but thought I might share...

Sad to be back home, especially at the thought of making dinner...

 

[Caradana]

Okay, too funny. I just got off the Wonder a few hours ago too, and here were a few of our impressions:

- Did Palos, loved it. Now we were six adults in our twenties/thirties, and no kids, so it was definitely a little easier for us to pull off trips to Palos.

- The Cove Cafe is misguided. That space would've been better off used other ways.

- Loved Animator's Palate, skipped Parrot Cay.

- Wine package is a great deal if you like Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Three bottles for $88 compared to $35 each.

- Adult beach at Castaway Cay was awesome. Loved the privacy, loved floating around on the tubes, and totally enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie dough soft-serve ice cream at the Bar-B-Q.

- Watched the Derby @ Diversions and LOVED it.

- Still do not know the rules of shuffleboard, but had terrific fun playing it.

- Two words re: the spa: EXOTIC RASUL

Had an amazing time at an incredible price! Can't ask for more.

- Dana

 

[KarenNY]

Thanks for the reports.
Just a quick question-what movies were playing? Thanks

 

[misseulalie]

Um, let's see:
8 below, Chicken Little, Stick It (new movie)

There were a few others, I don't remember...hey Caradana; do you remember???

 

[disgrits]

Were they the "new" format, or were they the ones we see posted in the FAQ thread? Thanks for the info. We board on June 22 for the 3 day and can't wait! It's our first time......

 

[misseulalie]

They are the new ones. Don't care for it as much as the old ones, actually if your eyesight isn't great, it is hard to read.

 

[disgrits]

Thanks for the info...now I know what to expect.

 

[mitsguy2001]

Glad to hear that both of you enjoyed your cruise! I posted a very long trip report for the 4/30 - 5/4 cruise.

Just out of curiosity: why did you not like Cove Cafe, and how would you recommend using that space? I was not in it too much, so I have no strong opinion of it, but it did seem like a very nice place. I used it on Sunday to check my e-mail, and I used it on Wednesday to print my boarding pass (which boardfirst secured for us), and I found it very convenient to have that internet cafe up on Deck 9 by the adult pool. Although, I didn't have any drinks there.

About the shows: I did enjoy Golden Mickey's, although Disney Dreams was my favorite. What night did they have Golden Mickey's on the 3 night cruise? On the 4 night, it was Tuesday night, which was pirate night. I am surprised that they didn't have it on Monday night, which was formal night. I would have thought that Golden Mickey's would have been more appropriate for formal night.

About the barbecue at Serenity Bay: I did not see it listed on the navigator. My girlfriend and I had lunch at Cookie's. What food was served at the Serenity Barbecue? Was it similar to Cookie's? I hope that she and I didn't make a big mistake. Although, we did enjoy Cookie's very much! We enjoyed both the family beach and the adult beach. They both had completely different atmospheres, and we enjoyed experiencing both of them.

I also bought some pictures for Shutters. I agree they were expensive. However, not only was this my first cruise, but it was also the first major trip that my girlfriend and I took together, so it will always be special to me, so I wanted the pictures. I'm sure we will have many more trips together, hopefully spending the rest of our lives together, but this will always be our first trip!

Speaking of tips: what is an appropriate tip to give at Palo? We just had to take a guess, since we did not know what the actual cost of the meal would have been (obviously far more than $10 each).

 

[misseulalie]

The Golden Mickeys were also on Pirate night. If I remember correctly, there is no real "formal" night on the 3 day. (Maybe I'm wrong, but we don't do formal at all; khakis and polos for DH)

 

[mitsguy2001]

The Golden Mickeys were also on Pirate night. If I remember correctly, there is no real "formal" night on the 3 day. (Maybe I'm wrong, but we don't do formal at all; khakis and polos for DH)

I thought that I had heard that the 3 night cruise had a formal night on the 3rd night (Saturday), but I could be wrong, since I have never been on a 3 night cruise.

In case you were wondering, the show schedule for the 4 night cruise was:

Sunday: cabaret show (is it always Michal Harrison, or do they have someone different each week?)
Monday (formal night): Hercules
Tuesday (pirate night): Golden Mickey's
Wednesday: Disney Dreams

Based on what you said, I'm guessing that the show schedule on the 3 night cruise is:

Thursday: Is it Hercules, or is it a cabaret show? I'm guessing Hercules
Friday (pirate night): Golden Mickey's
Saturday: Disney Dreams

 

[misseulalie]

I saw in your trip report that you wondered why anyone would eat at PC for lunch while at CC.
Well, we did and liked it better. We didn't care for the food at CC. Plus, we got to CC early and was ready to head back by 1pm. (too much sun) so we cleaned up and went to lunch at PC. There was hardly anyone there. Very peaceful after a hot and tiring day.

 

[Ker-Bear]

I should really know this answer but for some reason my mind is blank. Do you recall if there were a lot of umbrellas on the family beach on CC?

 

[misseulalie]

There is a good amount of umbrellas. What we noticed is that everyone stayed at the beginning of the beach. if you walk down to towards the middle-end of the family beach, there are tons of chairs available with umbrellas and the beach was almost empty.

 

[Ker-Bear]

There is a good amount of umbrellas. What we noticed is that everyone stayed at the beginning of the beach. if you walk down to towards the middle-end of the family beach, there are tons of chairs available with umbrellas and the beach was almost empty.

Thanks for the hint!

 

[sandy5764]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but here goes again. My mom and I are going on the 7 day land and sea cruise in December (3 nights on the cruise) and wondering about dress code. We went through our local AAA and the travel rep said casual every night, but our idea of casual may be totally different than his. We are not dress-up people, so need to know what exactly is okay to wear. We do not plan on going to Palo's. Thanks!

 

[taeja71]

Thanks for the hint!

What a great mini-trip report! Don't feel bad about the $5.00 tip. I'm sure you felt room svc. deserved it. misseulalie, how was the weather at CC when you were there?

I cannot agree more about the umbrella situation on the family beach. That is one first hand experience I will NOT forget for our upcoming cruise. Our family found a very small Palm tree start and tried to huddle under it in '04. What we tried to do then was rediculous compared to the wide open space of the the other section of the beach- DOH!

Welcome home posters, and keep posting to get past the post cruising blues. I look forward to seeing your posts.

IS IT TIME YET????

 

[misseulalie]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but here goes again. My mom and I are going on the 7 day land and sea cruise in December (3 nights on the cruise) and wondering about dress code. We went through our local AAA and the travel rep said casual every night, but our idea of casual may be totally different than his. We are not dress-up people, so need to know what exactly is okay to wear. We do not plan on going to Palo's. Thanks!

I wore capri's and a cute top. Also wore a jean skirt with a polo type shirt. I don't dress up too much. I saw jeans and t-shirts at one table, and the next had cocktail dresses and sport jackets.

DH wore khakis and polos the whole trip. He fit in well.

 

[misseulalie]

The weather at CC was perfect. A slight breeze and about 85 degrees. The only problem was that a neighboring island had a lot of brush fires, so in the morning there was a real smokey smell. (Jackie, the cruise director kept coming on the loudspeaker telling us not to worry, that it wasn't the ship or CC on fire!)
The ocean water was kinda cold, though. I was a bit surprised.

 

[mitsguy2001]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but here goes again. My mom and I are going on the 7 day land and sea cruise in December (3 nights on the cruise) and wondering about dress code. We went through our local AAA and the travel rep said casual every night, but our idea of casual may be totally different than his. We are not dress-up people, so need to know what exactly is okay to wear. We do not plan on going to Palo's. Thanks!

According to the Navigator, Cruise Casual means no shorts, tanktops, or swimwear. It did not mention anything about jeans, so I do not know whether or not they are allowed.

For the formal night (Monday night on the 4 night cruise), it says that men should wear a suit / jacket, and women should wear a dress or pantsuit. My girlfriend and I followed those guidelines, but many other people did not.

For Palo (I know you don't plan on going there, but I'm just posting for anyone who is interested), it says for dinner, a dress shirt or jacket is required for men, and a dress or pantsuit is required for women. For brunch, it says cruise casual.

On my cruise casual night, I wore a polo shirt and khakis. My girlfriend wore a dress, although that clearly was not required. I wore my suit both at the formal night and at Palo.

I've never been on a 3 night cruise, so I don't know if it has a formal night. I thought I had heard that it had a formal night on the last night (Saturday night), but someone else said that is not the case. I think the 3 night cruise has pirate night on the 2nd night (Friday); it seems that the same cruise casual guidelines are in effect on that night.

One thing I am not sure about: if one is scheduled for Triton's on a cruise casual night, are they supposed to dress up, or dress casual? I thought that I had heard that Triton's had a more formal dress code. It was a moot point on my cruise, since, by total chance, I was in Triton's on formal night (where I dressed up anyway), and on pirate night (which overrides restaurant dress codes), so I was never in there on a cruise casual night. I don't know for sure what happens in Palo on pirate night, but my guess would be that the Palo dress code would override the pirate night.

I will also mention that there were many people who were dressed casually both on the formal night and at Palo. I personally didn't care, but it did annoy my girlfriend slightly.

I beleive that at breakfast and lunch (at least at Parrot Cay, Beach Blanket Buffet, and obviously the counter service places; I never had breakfast or lunch at Triton's, so I don't know for sure), there are no dress restrictions at all.

 

[mitsguy2001]

The weather at CC was perfect. A slight breeze and about 85 degrees. The only problem was that a neighboring island had a lot of brush fires, so in the morning there was a real smokey smell. (Jackie, the cruise director kept coming on the loudspeaker telling us not to worry, that it wasn't the ship or CC on fire!)
The ocean water was kinda cold, though. I was a bit surprised.

The weather was also perfect when I was at CC, on Tuesday, May 2! I did not smell any brush fires, so that must have happened later. I thought that the water was warm. But I'm from the Northeast; maybe someone from a warmer climate might have found it cold. It felt cool when I first walked in, but then I got used to it right away. At first my girlfriend thought it might be cold, but then I reminded her that it was warmer than the water in August where she lives, and she was fine after that.