Just Returned from my First Cruise on The Wonder

[marathonziggy]

We just returned from our very first cruise on The Disney Wonder on Sunday. We sailed from Port Canaveral on Thursday and returned back to Port on Sunday morning. We took the DCL Bus from the Orlando airport to the Port. We arrived to the Port at about 10:45 AM. They started to pre-board wheelchairs onto the cruise at 11:45 AM. They started the general boarding at 12:00 PM. At 12:05 PM we were in the atrium onboard The Disney Wonder.

The Disney Wonder was FANTASTIC. We had the rotation of Triton's, Animator's Palate, and Parrot Cay. Everyone onboard was so friendly and so helpful. We arrived into Nassau in the morning on Friday around 8:30 AM. We mainly stayed onboard to enjoy The Wonder, although we did get off for a few minutes to take pictures around The Wonder at Port in Nassau. We sailed from Nassau to Castaway Cay at 11:00 PM. The Tropical deck party was very fun and the entire cruise staff cast was very energetic and played great music just like they did for the Sail Away Party from Port Canaveral.

We arrived at Castaway Cay at about 8:00 AM on Saturday. The weather was very nice and in the mid-seventies. There were a few clouds in the sky and it started to rain at about 10:00 AM. It rained heavily for about twenty minutes and then the sun played hide and seek with the clouds. It rained again for a little bit, although it was very light and more like mist. We explored Castaway Cay and took many pictures. We returned to the Wonder at about 12:45 PM. At about 1:00 PM, Captain Henry made an announcement that we would be leaving Castaway Cay at 2:30 PM instead of 5:00 PM due to the fact that there was a cold front with storms that was approaching and would be in the area around 5:00 PM. He was definitely wise to leave early since with all of those rocks and the way The Wonder docks at Castaway Cay as he mentioned it could be impossible to leave if The Wonder was caught up in the storm.

We sailed away from Castaway Cay at 2:30 PM. It became rather bumpy around 10 PM. Captain Henry noted earlier in the afternoon that it would start to get bumpy around 10:00 PM. It was nothing too alarming and only added to the adventure of the cruise. Captain Henry did a fantastic job in sailing The Wonder back to Port Canaveral. We definitely enjoyed Hercules, The Golden Mickeys, and Disney Dreams. It is comparing apples to oranges, however I liked the Golden Mickeys the most since it paid tribute to Walt Disney

I am sure that many of you have questions to ask about The Wonder so please feel free to email me or post on this thread.

The movies that were shown in the Buena Vista Theatre were:

Brother Bear
Haunted Mansion
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean
Veronica Guerin
Freaky Friday
Under the Tuscan Sun
Cold Creek Manor

They showed Haunted Mansion twice in the Walt Disney Theatre. Plus they added so many activities onboard as well as a showing of Freaky Friday in The Walt Disney Theatre. Also a matinee performance of Disney Dreams was performed on the Castaway Cay day as we were sailing away.

We stayed in Cabin 5642 with a great balcony and perfect location. Very close to the Buena Vista Theatre and one deck away from the Walt Disney Theatre. We do not have any children so it was just adults, however there are many activities for the kids. It looked like the Oceaneer's Club is a fun place for kids.

Also in the room there is a television on which movies are shown also. The movies on the television (channel 42) were:

The Fighting Temptations
Seabiscuit
Good Boy
Radio
Matchstick Men
Runaway Jury
Secondhand Lions

 

[Luckymommyx2]

So are you ready to book your next cruise yet?! Sounds like you had a great trip! I think I would have asked Capt Henry why would it have been so bad being stuck on Castaway Cay!! Sounds like the perfect place to be stuck for a few days!!

 

[donmil723]

Thanks for the report! We cruise on the Disney Wonder in May for our first ever cruise.

Which restaurant did you like the best?

Do you think the three day cruise is a good cruise for the first time?

Thanks!

Donna

 

[marathonziggy]

Captain Henry was very friendly and was available for pictures and also to sign autographys even while we were cruising back to Port Canaveral. I think that The Disney Wonder is a perfect cruise for three days, however it will certainly leave you for wanting to book again. I would love to sail on The Disney Magic for an Eastern or Western trip. Castaway Cay is certainly amazing and very breath-taking. It is interesting at how much time Disney took into the planning and development of the island. I watched on the Travel channel the special where it detailed how Disney bought the island and made it is what it is today. There are only forty-five people who live on the island year round to maintain its natural beauty.

It is difficult to make a comparision to the restaurants since each one has its own speciality and beauty. My favorite though was Animator's Palate since it transforms from black and white to color at the end of the evening. I hope that you have fun on The Wonder.

 

[karina]

Thanks for the report. I'll be sailing this Thursday on the Wonder. I can't wait. In which order were the shows performed? Did you see Golden Mickey's on the first night? Was the weather warm enought to swim in the pools? Was the ship full or was it not too crowded? This will be our first cruise on the Disney Wonder also...so sorry for the all the silly questions. Oh what time were you able to disembark on Sunday? Thanks

 

[marathonziggy]

There are certainly no silly questions. The first night Hercules was performed, the second night were The Golden Mickeys, and the third night was Disney Dreams. The pools were usually about seventy-seven to seventy-nine degrees in temperature. I would definitely recommend checking out the ninth and eighth decks (aft, at the back of the ship). There is door on both the eighth and seventhdecks which says deck number aft overlook. On both of these decks are plenty of lounge chairs and I never saw anyone using them. I think that Disney built them this way on purpose so that you can have a hidden place to relax. Disney said that the cruise was full and it probably was, however the ship is so big that it did not feel crowded at all. Definitely check out Pluto's on deck nine they offer the best french fries and chicken tenders. Plus be sure to see at least one movie in the Buena Vista Theatre. Also check out the dueling pianos in Route 66 on the third deck. Definitely be on deck number nine for the Sail Away Party. I hope that you have fun and please feel free to ask me anything that you would like to know. Take Care!

 

[marathonziggy]

The Wonder sailed from Port Canaveral at 5:00 PM on Thursday. We returned to Port Canaveral at 5:30 AM on Sunday. This is earlier than normal since we left Castaway Cay at 2:30 PM due to the weather. Normally The Wonder sails from Castaway Cay at 5:00 PM. We were off The Wonder at 7:15 AM and at the Orlando airport via the DCL Bus at 8:45 PM. We had to wait about 45 minutes until they filled the first bus up to go to the airport. It took less than five minutes to go from The Wonder through Customs and onto the DCL bus. I hope that you have a fantastic time.