May 2, 2014 - A WONDERous trip through the Locks WBPC

[Brixton]

That two day is really expensive

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I know two families who booked it so they could "try Disney"... but it's really pricey for one day at sea!

DISers, thanks for all of the kind thoughts & well wishes! I appreciate your virtual support

310 days

 

[Muushka]

Question for those who have done the older ships (Wonder, Magic) then did a newer ship (Fantasy, Dream)
and then went back to the older ships.
Having just gotten of the Fantasy, I fear we will be let down on the Wonder. We did 3 cruises on the older ships and loved them.
But Fantasy was just stunning and offered so much more than the older ships.
Just wondering your thoughts.

The last few pages were a lot to catch up; I have check-in more frequently.
Welcome to all who recently joined our group! Palo brunch during canal transit is a must - we had an incredible view of the storm & the lake.

I can't wait to see our incredible tablemates, but I just found out I'm sick. Barring complications or chemotherapy or restrictions, I hope to meet in319 days! Thanks for the pixie dust

Brixton, you are such a upbeat person, I always enjoy reading your posts.

I hope that your illness is short lived and that this cruise will be a celebration for recovery and good health.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We both love the size of the Magic after having our last 2 DCL cruises on the Dream.

Bobbi

 

[Muushka]

Hi Bobbi

I also like the idea of the smaller ship (especially for the PC, a necessity!).

But the adult areas on the Fantasy were so awesome. I'm afraid I will miss them!

And the artwork that comes alive! I will miss that too!

 

[jrp]

Hi all Very good info being posted on this site about size of the ships. I prefer the Magic class ships ofver the larger ships due to the ambiance generated on the Wonder. You just can't beat it. IMHO I hope everyone has a great day.

 

[aan1701]

I know two families who booked it so they could "try Disney"... but it's really pricey for one day at sea!

DISers, thanks for all of the kind thoughts & well wishes! I appreciate your virtual support

310 days

Even if I wanted to try Disney, that two night is a RIP OFF!!!! It makes the price of the 4 night I am taking for a friends wedding in Oct. look cheep.

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[Muushka]

We're usually Celebrity cruisers. We loved the older ships. But when they came out with their new S class, well, bye bye smaller ships! I'm just afraid I will feel the same way about the Wonder. While I like getting around on smaller ships, I love all that the larger ships have to offer.

 

[twopeasonepod]

I have never been on the new ships, because I have no desire to go to the Caribbean or Bahamas (being from Hawaii). I was talking to Rafael (bar server on the Magic) on the EBTA, and he reiterated what I knew but didn't recognize fully, which is that I appreciate the intimacy of the smaller ships (as well as their ports/sailings). I know that the new ships offer a "wow" factor, but I am not thrilled about navigating through the double capacity.

Now the adult areas? Tell me more!!! I never actually used the adult pool or Quiet Cove area before. I guess that's why I don't think I'd miss much.

 

[aan1701]

I am taking my first cruise on the new ships Oct 6.its a 4 night on the Dream for a friends wedding. I can tell you I am not looking forward to the Dream. I would gladly sacrifice the wow factor and all the bells and whistles for the intimacy of the Magic and Wonder.

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[Muushka]

I have never been on the new ships, because I have no desire to go to the Caribbean or Bahamas (being from Hawaii). I was talking to Rafael (bar server on the Magic) on the EBTA, and he reiterated what I knew but didn't recognize fully, which is that I appreciate the intimacy of the smaller ships (as well as their ports/sailings). I know that the new ships offer a "wow" factor, but I am not thrilled about navigating through the double capacity.

Now the adult areas? Tell me more!!! I never actually used the adult pool or Quiet Cove area before. I guess that's why I don't think I'd miss much.

While these ships do carry lots of people, DCL did a good job of managing crowds.

Back when Freedom of the Seas was the biggest and best, I was in no way impressed with the ship and have no intention of trying out the Oasis class.

The adult areas were wonderful. On Deck 11 (where the kids pools are) waaaay in the front, is a entire adult area. A wonderful pool that has a deep end (5'6" I think) and a shallow area (around 2' I think). In the middle of the shallow area is a place to lay and they have a mister constantly misting very cool water. I am not a sun worshiper so I only tried it for 20 seconds or so, but it was very nice. The area was so isolated it didn't seem to tempt the children to go to it like it seemed to do on the Magic and Wonder. Plus the kid's area has some wonderful water park type attractions, so they were very happy to stay in their own area.

Then up to the 13th deck, also forward is a huge, very quiet deck area where there were tons of chairs, padded that either faced the ocean or the 'satellite pool' which is a smaller, round pool with the satellite providing shade for it. Ah shade, love it.

For me, bells an whistles is comprised of lots of quiet adult areas and some artwork that comes to life.

Our cabin was forward and the rest of the family's cabins were aft.
I detested the size of the ship each and every time I made that treck!

 

[jrp]

Hi All If I got the replys right, it seems that the smaller ship and the atmosphere/ambiance has got the yay. Granted the lareger ship does have its advantages but most of us can't WONDER about our MAGICal WBPC.May you all have a Blessed day, and as always I am looking forward to more info.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I know, I've been MIA since...ooooh...right after the thread started??? We're still onboard. Promise!

Wanted to chime in on the ship comparisons. We've sailed the Magic twice, the Dream twice, and now the Fantasy once (late May). Hubby & I plan to leave the teen boys home in Sept. for a 20th anniversary getaway on the Fantasy, too. We need a redo. I was sick the entire cruise and felt I left much of the ship undone. We also had 2 out if 4 port days were bad weather so more yuck.

Anywhoo, if you poll each person in my family which ship of the 3 we prefer you will get a unanimous "Magic"! The new ships are nice and the tech stuff is fun. The Aqua Duck is fun but not a huge deal. The decor upgrades, etc. really are something to see. The new ships have a bit different overall atmosphere which is prob'ly the difference that sways us all. The larger ships feel more active to us, like more of a go-go thing. We're more laid back so we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, more intimate feel of the smaller ships. My boys both prefer Vibe on the smaller ships, too, over & above all the super-cool tech-heavy spaces on the new ships. They're both gamer-types so that's really saying something. I think the problem lies in the size difference. The smaller space with less kids plus a chance to really get to know each counselor makes them feel like they get more out of the Magic's Vibe. They can do tech-stuff at home. The 2 cruises we've been on the Magic the counselors were very involved with the teenagers, participated in their activities, and had time to engage all the kids on their level. I guess the newer ships with the large spaces don't lend themselves to that sort of interaction level. The boys both said the counselors really didn't have much to do with the kids and didn't spend time hanging with them. Of course that makes the counselors feel more like babysitters than peers which, naturally, kills that cool hangout feel they love in the smaller Vibe. Our oldest has asked me not to book family cruises on the new ships. I guess that would be a bright red flag. Right?

I think the new ships have good things to offer and definitely worth experiencing. The Fantasy was sold out when we sailed her and we never really felt like we were navigating herds. Believe me, we hate navigating herds. That's why we've stopped going to the WDW 4-parks. Obviously we feel they're fun or DH & I wouldn't be sailing the Fantasy again. We do love the smaller ships, tho, and can't wait for 15 whole nights on the Wonder!

 

[jrp]

I know, I've been MIA since...ooooh...right after the thread started??? We're still onboard. Promise!

Wanted to chime in on the ship comparisons. We've sailed the Magic twice, the Dream twice, and now the Fantasy once (late May). Hubby & I plan to leave the teen boys home in Sept. for a 20th anniversary getaway on the Fantasy, too. We need a redo. I was sick the entire cruise and felt I left much of the ship undone. We also had 2 out if 4 port days were bad weather so more yuck.

Anywhoo, if you poll each person in my family which ship of the 3 we prefer you will get a unanimous "Magic"! The new ships are nice and the tech stuff is fun. The Aqua Duck is fun but not a huge deal. The decor upgrades, etc. really are something to see. The new ships have a bit different overall atmosphere which is prob'ly the difference that sways us all. The larger ships feel more active to us, like more of a go-go thing. We're more laid back so we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, more intimate feel of the smaller ships. My boys both prefer Vibe on the smaller ships, too, over & above all the super-cool tech-heavy spaces on the new ships. They're both gamer-types so that's really saying something. I think the problem lies in the size difference. The smaller space with less kids plus a chance to really get to know each counselor makes them feel like they get more out of the Magic's Vibe. They can do tech-stuff at home. The 2 cruises we've been on the Magic the counselors were very involved with the teenagers, participated in their activities, and had time to engage all the kids on their level. I guess the newer ships with the large spaces don't lend themselves to that sort of interaction level. The boys both said the counselors really didn't have much to do with the kids and didn't spend time hanging with them. Of course that makes the counselors feel more like babysitters than peers which, naturally, kills that cool hangout feel they love in the smaller Vibe. Our oldest has asked me not to book family cruises on the new ships. I guess that would be a bright red flag. Right?

I think the new ships have good things to offer and definitely worth experiencing. The Fantasy was sold out when we sailed her and we never really felt like we were navigating herds. Believe me, we hate navigating herds. That's why we've stopped going to the WDW 4-parks. Obviously we feel they're fun or DH & I wouldn't be sailing the Fantasy again. We do love the smaller ships, tho, and can't wait for 15 whole nights on the Wonder!

Hi sweetpee_1993. Good to see you back posting. Like you we are celebrating our 33rd aniversary on the WBPC congrats to you and yours.

 

[Muushka]

I know, I've been MIA since...ooooh...right after the thread started??? We're still onboard. Promise!

Wanted to chime in on the ship comparisons. We've sailed the Magic twice, the Dream twice, and now the Fantasy once (late May). Hubby & I plan to leave the teen boys home in Sept. for a 20th anniversary getaway on the Fantasy, too. We need a redo. I was sick the entire cruise and felt I left much of the ship undone. We also had 2 out if 4 port days were bad weather so more yuck.

Anywhoo, if you poll each person in my family which ship of the 3 we prefer you will get a unanimous "Magic"! The new ships are nice and the tech stuff is fun. The Aqua Duck is fun but not a huge deal. The decor upgrades, etc. really are something to see. The new ships have a bit different overall atmosphere which is prob'ly the difference that sways us all. The larger ships feel more active to us, like more of a go-go thing. We're more laid back so we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, more intimate feel of the smaller ships. My boys both prefer Vibe on the smaller ships, too, over & above all the super-cool tech-heavy spaces on the new ships. They're both gamer-types so that's really saying something. I think the problem lies in the size difference. The smaller space with less kids plus a chance to really get to know each counselor makes them feel like they get more out of the Magic's Vibe. They can do tech-stuff at home. The 2 cruises we've been on the Magic the counselors were very involved with the teenagers, participated in their activities, and had time to engage all the kids on their level. I guess the newer ships with the large spaces don't lend themselves to that sort of interaction level. The boys both said the counselors really didn't have much to do with the kids and didn't spend time hanging with them. Of course that makes the counselors feel more like babysitters than peers which, naturally, kills that cool hangout feel they love in the smaller Vibe. Our oldest has asked me not to book family cruises on the new ships. I guess that would be a bright red flag. Right?

I think the new ships have good things to offer and definitely worth experiencing. The Fantasy was sold out when we sailed her and we never really felt like we were navigating herds. Believe me, we hate navigating herds. That's why we've stopped going to the WDW 4-parks. Obviously we feel they're fun or DH & I wouldn't be sailing the Fantasy again. We do love the smaller ships, tho, and can't wait for 15 whole nights on the Wonder!

I agree with you on the WDW parks. We were there 2 weeks ago with AP's and only went into the parks for a total of 2 days, about an hour for each visit. I can't stand crowded parks! We would not have gone at this time, but it was a family cruise so we tacked the visit on to the cruise.

Interesting reading your take on the differences. We don't have kids so we don't have that input.
I asked my husband the same question last night.
He said that he loved the Wonder and doesn't see any reason why he won't still love it next year.

I think he is probably right, but I will miss that adult area!

 

[granmaz]

We have only been on the smaller ships and really don't fancy the big ones. I really don't know why to be honest. I just 'think' I won't like them:rotfl2. I tend to think of all the extra people and crowds but then there are more spaces so . At the moment it isn't an issue as we don't want to book any of the cruises available on the big ships.

We have been on slightly bigger ships on other cruise lines but on those they have less cabins so less people for the size, so crowds are not a problem.

However if anyone was to pay for me to go on ANY big cruise ship I would lose all my pre conceived ideas straight away!!

 

[socababy]

I am officially booked on this cruise! It will be me, my boyfriend and my dd is currently booked as well. My boys will be in 5th and 3rd grade and they just can't miss 2 weeks of school again. They missed 2 weeks last December when we did the EBPC. It wasn't even the amount of work they had to do that was a problem, it was the grief they gave me over getting the work they had done. Dd will be in Kindergarten and I'm fine taking her. A friend of mine is hoping to make this cruise with her two kids too. If she doesn't, then I think dd will get left with her brothers and it will be a kid free vacation! =)

I was able to get the 20% off while onboard the Fantasy last week.

 

[aan1701]

I am officially booked on this cruise! It will be me, my boyfriend and my dd is currently booked as well. My boys will be in 5th and 3rd grade and they just can't miss 2 weeks of school again. They missed 2 weeks last December when we did the EBPC. It wasn't even the amount of work they had to do that was a problem, it was the grief they gave me over getting the work they had done. Dd will be in Kindergarten and I'm fine taking her. A friend of mine is hoping to make this cruise with her two kids too. If she doesn't, then I think dd will get left with her brothers and it will be a kid free vacation! =)

I was able to get the 20% off while onboard the Fantasy last week.

Glad you were able to book at 20% off. I wish though DCL would stop that promotion so there would be a better chance there will be a travel industry discount.

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[Muushka]

Glad you were able to book at 20% off. I wish though DCL would stop that promotion so there would be a better chance there will be a travel industry discount.

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Not everyone qualifies for a travel industry discount.
I'm grateful they offered the discount on our cruise.

 

[aan1701]

Not everyone qualifies for a travel industry discount.
I'm grateful they offered the discount on our cruise.

I know. I am just hoping for one of the great benefits of my job. For instance tonight we just decided to hop on a plane to Bay Area to spend 4th of July. Not everyone can so that, I am just lucky I can.

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[AZMouseFan]

Two more to join the group! DH and I are signed up for this cruise and looking forward to it in a big way. Our last cruise was the Wonder to Hawaii in April 2012. We love the long cruises with all the great days at sea.
Happy planning!
Judy and Mark