We just returned from the May 23 Wonder 4-night cruise. We had a great time!!!!
My family:
Me
DH
DD8 (almost 9)
DD6
Pre-Cruise
We booked a year in advance with AAA. I met a bunch of DIS-boarders online and a few of our kids exchanged emails before the cruise. About 5 families met at Grills for dinner on Saturday night. It was very exciting watching the Magic sail knowing we would be on the Wonder the very next day!!!
We stayed at the Radisson on Saturday night. Our room was fine except the carpet needed cleaning. The pool was great and we swam twice. Our room faced the courtyard and seemed much quieter than the rooms that faced the pool. We had a leisurely morning on Sunday and just ate some donuts and granola bars in the room. We were on the first shuttle at 10:30am so we headed down around 9:45 so we could checkout, move the car to the grassy parking area and get our luggage out front. The shuttle driver had a list of names and was very organized.
Our view of the Wonder was fabulous as we pulled into the port!!!! Checking in was quick and organized. DH got in the boarding line while I walked around the terminal with the girls. They watched cartoons and looked at the ship model. Minnie and Goofy made an appearance. Boarding began at exactly 11:45 am and the line moved very quickly. Our family was announced and the fun began!!!!
Sunday May 23
We were directed to Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch. Our favorite items were the Caesar salad, strawberry banana soup and cream puffs. The girls swam in a nearly empty pool while I registered them for the kids club. We got into our room at around 1:45. We had a category 11- Room #6581. When we first walked in, I thought we would never fit all our stuff in that tiny room but we did thanks to the many storage spaces. Our stateroom host was Albert and he did an excellent job- love those towel animals!!! DH's boss surprised us with the Family Fun Pack basket, a bottle of wine and a bon voyage cake (which tasted horrible!). They also had our room decorated with the bon voyage decorations.
DH noticed that the laundry room was empty so we ironed our clothes. We were planning on sending our clothes out to be pressed but doing it ourselves did not take long. Our stateroom was about was only about 6 rooms away from the laundry room. We were glad we brought the over-the-door shoe hangar, clothespins, cash for the tip envelopes, TWO bathing suits, TONS of sunscreen, a highlighter for the Navigators, water shoes, Ziploc bags, illuminated alarm clock, extension cord, our own shampoo/conditioner and our own beach toys.
We had a DIS meet in the Promenade Lounge at 3pm. It was great to finally meet everyone. We exchanged postcards from our hometowns. We picked up our AAA mugs- they are very cute and are the same mugs that come with the soda package you can purchase onboard. Then it was time for the safety drill (HOT) and the sailaway party. Do not miss the sailaway party- it was a BLAST!!!
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. Our servers were Manuel and Kecha. They took very good care of us each night. Our favorites at this dinner were the hot crab newburg, BBQ ribs, crème brulee cheesecake and lemon meringue pie. Our girls loved the fruit cocktail and had it every night. The show was Hercules-Hades was hilarious!!! Our girls did not see this show because they wanted to go to the welcome aboard parties in the kids clubs. We walked around the ship a bit, then ordered room service (most items were OK but the pizza was bad) and called it a night.
Monday May 24
We had a great nights sleep- the boat was gently rocking during the night. We had a quick breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet because the girls wanted to go to the Princess Gathering at 9am. Our favorites were the fresh fruit (especially the pineapple), chocolate croissants and the blueberry crumble.
I got in line for the Princess Gathering at 8:40 while DH and the girls wandered around. I am glad I got in line early because the line grew to be VERY LONG!!! The girls had the pictures taken with each princess and they signed their autograph books. This event was one of the highlights of the cruise. I will always remember the looks on my girls faces when all the princesses paraded past us.
We went to the straw market in Nassau and we had fun wandering up and down the rows. We bought some straw items and some jewelry. We were only off the ship for about two hours. When we got back onboard, it was time for swimming. The pools are very small but lots of fun. The slide is a blast for the kids. The adult pool was quite chilly. Lunch was the All-American buffet at Beach Blanket. Our favorites were the chicken tenders, fried clam strips, crab claws, and dessert crepes. Later, we had ice cream cones from Scoops. My girls loved Scoops!!!!
We checked out more of the ship (we loved the cushioned lounge chairs on Deck 4 and the secret aft deck on deck 7) and then it was naptime!!!! It was great to have an inside cabin because when you turned off the lights it was pitch black!
Our dinner was at Tritons. Our favorites were the fried camembert, beef tenderloin and crème brulee.
We got a chance to meet Captain Henry in front of the WD theatre. The show tonight was Mark Nizer- the comedian juggler. He was hilarious!!!! Our kids were just cracking up at his jokes. He really is an amazing juggler. The Tropical Deck Party was lots of fun.
Tuesday May 25
We could not have asked for better weather for Castaway Cay!!! It was warm and sunny with a cloudless blue sky.
We had breakfast at Parrot Cay- our favorite item was the French toast. Those Krispy Kreme donuts are pretty good too!! Our first glimpse of Cataway Cay was magical. The water is so beautiful and clear. We found a nice shady spot under an umbrella. We spent a lot of time just swimming and snorkeling. The view of the ship from the water was perfect-we took lots of pictures. Our girls did not go to Scuttles Cove because they mainly wanted to swim. I had my first Konk Kooler-DELICIOUS!!!!! The lunch at Cookies BBQ was nice- our favorites were the BBQ chicken, the lobster burgers and the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
We went back to the ship and the pools were pretty empty so we swam a bit more and had more ice cream at Scoops and French fries from Plutos. We had another short nap and then it was time for dinner at Animators Palate. The light show was very enjoyable. Our favorite food items were the lobster/shrimp wrapper, Caesar salad, and the strawberry shortcake. DD6 left dinner early to go to the club for Dancing with Snow White. They let her move down to the 3-4 age group so she could attend this event. She ended up staying in the 3-4 group for the rest of the cruise as did several other 5 and 6 year old girls. They seemed very flexible about moving kids to a lower age group. The show tonight was the Golden Mickeys which was very good. We also attended karaoke and it was hilarious. Room service tonight consisted of the wonderful Mickey ice cream bars. We do love our ice cream!!!!
Wednesday May 26
Once again, we had absolutely gorgeous weather with very calm seas. Our head server told us it had been quite a while since he had seen the seas as calm and glassy as they were this day. Today was our day at sea and it was great to just stay onboard and enjoy the ship.
We had breakfast at Tritons- it was nice to be served instead of a buffet. Our favorite items were the Eggs Benedict and the Mickey waffles. The waffles are not on the menu but our waiter went up to Beach Blanket to get some for DD8. The girls hung out in the clubs a lot today and last night. They enjoyed the clubs but there is so much to do that they did not spend as much time in them as I had expected. They also love to swim and they do not take them swimming while they are in the club.
I went to the culinary demonstration given by the head chef of Parrot Cay. He made southwestern seared scallops on a bed of greens with a mango/tomato relish. It was fantastic and they served it to us with a tiny glass of wine. I also attended the debarkation talk- it was very informative as this was our first Disney cruise. It also was shown many times on the stateroom TV.
DD6 wanted to swim a little bit so we had lunch at Plutos (cheeseburgers were a favorite) and ice cream at Scoops. DD8 had lunch at Animators Palate with the Lab. The pools were EXTREMELY crowded today!!! DD8 joined us at the pools. My girls absolutely loved the pools and didnt seem to be bothered by the crowds today (although I was!).
The "Discover the Magic" show by all the kids was so cute. We enjoyed the slide show also. All the kids who participated in this show received a t-shirt.
We ate dinner at Parrot Cay again for the Best Of menu. Our favorites were the artichoke dip, pork tenderloin and the baked Alaska. The lobster bisque was gross in my opinion- way too salty. We visited the gift shops to buy a few items and went to Shutters to purchase a few photos. The show tonight was the wonderful Disney Dreams. It was a beautiful night so we strolled on the decks until it was time for Til We Meet Again. Dont miss this as it is a great photo opportunity. We went up to Deck 4 to take our pictures. The characters turned to every side to make sure everyone got a good shot. After they threw the pixie dust, the kids went down to collect some to take home.
We ran up to our room to put out our luggage before 11pm. We ordered room service one last time. The tuna sandwich, oatmeal cookies, fresh fruit and chicken tenders are good. The tomato soup and choc chip cookies were not.
Thursday May 27
The time to leave came much too quickly!!! We packed up our carry-ons and left the room at 8am. We ate at Beach Blanket. We saw quite a few DIS boarders and bid them farewell. We left the ship at 8:45am and it only took us about 5 minutes to get our bags and clear customs.
The Radisson shuttle arrived in a few minutes and we got back to our car and headed home with many special memories of our time on the Disney Wonder.
Highlights of the cruise:
· The beauty and elegance of the Wonder.
· Spending so much time with my family.
· The awesome shows.
· Beautiful Castaway Cay.
· Meeting so many great people from DIS boards and seeing them throughout the cruise.
· Parrot Cay.
· The Princess Gathering.
· Our server Manuel and our stateroom host Albert.
· The friendly and polite cast members.
· Reading in the cushioned chairs on Deck 4.
· The gorgeous weather.
· Til We Meet Again.
Things that could have been better:
· The coffee- it was HORRIBLE!!
· The kids jumping like maniacs into the pools.
· All the smoking on Deck 4. Maybe they could make one side non-smoking.
· The chocolate desserts were way too sweet and rich. The birthday cake served in the dining room was this disgusting strawberry mousse concoction. Most of the other food was good, some of it was excellent,some of it was average and few things were downright bad in our opinion.
All in all, it was a FABULOUS cruise. We did not rebook onboard because we have other vacations planned for the next few years. We have already decided to book the seven night cruise for our next Disney cruise. Things we will do next time are eat brunch and dinner at Palo, work out in the fitness center, take an excursion, go dancing in the night clubs, eat lunch at Tritons and play bingo. We just ran out of time on the 4-night cruise.
If anyone has questions, feel free to ask!
My family:
Me
DH
DD8 (almost 9)
DD6
Pre-Cruise
We booked a year in advance with AAA. I met a bunch of DIS-boarders online and a few of our kids exchanged emails before the cruise. About 5 families met at Grills for dinner on Saturday night. It was very exciting watching the Magic sail knowing we would be on the Wonder the very next day!!!
We stayed at the Radisson on Saturday night. Our room was fine except the carpet needed cleaning. The pool was great and we swam twice. Our room faced the courtyard and seemed much quieter than the rooms that faced the pool. We had a leisurely morning on Sunday and just ate some donuts and granola bars in the room. We were on the first shuttle at 10:30am so we headed down around 9:45 so we could checkout, move the car to the grassy parking area and get our luggage out front. The shuttle driver had a list of names and was very organized.
Our view of the Wonder was fabulous as we pulled into the port!!!! Checking in was quick and organized. DH got in the boarding line while I walked around the terminal with the girls. They watched cartoons and looked at the ship model. Minnie and Goofy made an appearance. Boarding began at exactly 11:45 am and the line moved very quickly. Our family was announced and the fun began!!!!
Sunday May 23
We were directed to Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch. Our favorite items were the Caesar salad, strawberry banana soup and cream puffs. The girls swam in a nearly empty pool while I registered them for the kids club. We got into our room at around 1:45. We had a category 11- Room #6581. When we first walked in, I thought we would never fit all our stuff in that tiny room but we did thanks to the many storage spaces. Our stateroom host was Albert and he did an excellent job- love those towel animals!!! DH's boss surprised us with the Family Fun Pack basket, a bottle of wine and a bon voyage cake (which tasted horrible!). They also had our room decorated with the bon voyage decorations.
DH noticed that the laundry room was empty so we ironed our clothes. We were planning on sending our clothes out to be pressed but doing it ourselves did not take long. Our stateroom was about was only about 6 rooms away from the laundry room. We were glad we brought the over-the-door shoe hangar, clothespins, cash for the tip envelopes, TWO bathing suits, TONS of sunscreen, a highlighter for the Navigators, water shoes, Ziploc bags, illuminated alarm clock, extension cord, our own shampoo/conditioner and our own beach toys.
We had a DIS meet in the Promenade Lounge at 3pm. It was great to finally meet everyone. We exchanged postcards from our hometowns. We picked up our AAA mugs- they are very cute and are the same mugs that come with the soda package you can purchase onboard. Then it was time for the safety drill (HOT) and the sailaway party. Do not miss the sailaway party- it was a BLAST!!!
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. Our servers were Manuel and Kecha. They took very good care of us each night. Our favorites at this dinner were the hot crab newburg, BBQ ribs, crème brulee cheesecake and lemon meringue pie. Our girls loved the fruit cocktail and had it every night. The show was Hercules-Hades was hilarious!!! Our girls did not see this show because they wanted to go to the welcome aboard parties in the kids clubs. We walked around the ship a bit, then ordered room service (most items were OK but the pizza was bad) and called it a night.
Monday May 24
We had a great nights sleep- the boat was gently rocking during the night. We had a quick breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet because the girls wanted to go to the Princess Gathering at 9am. Our favorites were the fresh fruit (especially the pineapple), chocolate croissants and the blueberry crumble.
I got in line for the Princess Gathering at 8:40 while DH and the girls wandered around. I am glad I got in line early because the line grew to be VERY LONG!!! The girls had the pictures taken with each princess and they signed their autograph books. This event was one of the highlights of the cruise. I will always remember the looks on my girls faces when all the princesses paraded past us.
We went to the straw market in Nassau and we had fun wandering up and down the rows. We bought some straw items and some jewelry. We were only off the ship for about two hours. When we got back onboard, it was time for swimming. The pools are very small but lots of fun. The slide is a blast for the kids. The adult pool was quite chilly. Lunch was the All-American buffet at Beach Blanket. Our favorites were the chicken tenders, fried clam strips, crab claws, and dessert crepes. Later, we had ice cream cones from Scoops. My girls loved Scoops!!!!
We checked out more of the ship (we loved the cushioned lounge chairs on Deck 4 and the secret aft deck on deck 7) and then it was naptime!!!! It was great to have an inside cabin because when you turned off the lights it was pitch black!
Our dinner was at Tritons. Our favorites were the fried camembert, beef tenderloin and crème brulee.
We got a chance to meet Captain Henry in front of the WD theatre. The show tonight was Mark Nizer- the comedian juggler. He was hilarious!!!! Our kids were just cracking up at his jokes. He really is an amazing juggler. The Tropical Deck Party was lots of fun.
Tuesday May 25
We could not have asked for better weather for Castaway Cay!!! It was warm and sunny with a cloudless blue sky.
We had breakfast at Parrot Cay- our favorite item was the French toast. Those Krispy Kreme donuts are pretty good too!! Our first glimpse of Cataway Cay was magical. The water is so beautiful and clear. We found a nice shady spot under an umbrella. We spent a lot of time just swimming and snorkeling. The view of the ship from the water was perfect-we took lots of pictures. Our girls did not go to Scuttles Cove because they mainly wanted to swim. I had my first Konk Kooler-DELICIOUS!!!!! The lunch at Cookies BBQ was nice- our favorites were the BBQ chicken, the lobster burgers and the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
We went back to the ship and the pools were pretty empty so we swam a bit more and had more ice cream at Scoops and French fries from Plutos. We had another short nap and then it was time for dinner at Animators Palate. The light show was very enjoyable. Our favorite food items were the lobster/shrimp wrapper, Caesar salad, and the strawberry shortcake. DD6 left dinner early to go to the club for Dancing with Snow White. They let her move down to the 3-4 age group so she could attend this event. She ended up staying in the 3-4 group for the rest of the cruise as did several other 5 and 6 year old girls. They seemed very flexible about moving kids to a lower age group. The show tonight was the Golden Mickeys which was very good. We also attended karaoke and it was hilarious. Room service tonight consisted of the wonderful Mickey ice cream bars. We do love our ice cream!!!!
Wednesday May 26
Once again, we had absolutely gorgeous weather with very calm seas. Our head server told us it had been quite a while since he had seen the seas as calm and glassy as they were this day. Today was our day at sea and it was great to just stay onboard and enjoy the ship.
We had breakfast at Tritons- it was nice to be served instead of a buffet. Our favorite items were the Eggs Benedict and the Mickey waffles. The waffles are not on the menu but our waiter went up to Beach Blanket to get some for DD8. The girls hung out in the clubs a lot today and last night. They enjoyed the clubs but there is so much to do that they did not spend as much time in them as I had expected. They also love to swim and they do not take them swimming while they are in the club.
I went to the culinary demonstration given by the head chef of Parrot Cay. He made southwestern seared scallops on a bed of greens with a mango/tomato relish. It was fantastic and they served it to us with a tiny glass of wine. I also attended the debarkation talk- it was very informative as this was our first Disney cruise. It also was shown many times on the stateroom TV.
DD6 wanted to swim a little bit so we had lunch at Plutos (cheeseburgers were a favorite) and ice cream at Scoops. DD8 had lunch at Animators Palate with the Lab. The pools were EXTREMELY crowded today!!! DD8 joined us at the pools. My girls absolutely loved the pools and didnt seem to be bothered by the crowds today (although I was!).
The "Discover the Magic" show by all the kids was so cute. We enjoyed the slide show also. All the kids who participated in this show received a t-shirt.
We ate dinner at Parrot Cay again for the Best Of menu. Our favorites were the artichoke dip, pork tenderloin and the baked Alaska. The lobster bisque was gross in my opinion- way too salty. We visited the gift shops to buy a few items and went to Shutters to purchase a few photos. The show tonight was the wonderful Disney Dreams. It was a beautiful night so we strolled on the decks until it was time for Til We Meet Again. Dont miss this as it is a great photo opportunity. We went up to Deck 4 to take our pictures. The characters turned to every side to make sure everyone got a good shot. After they threw the pixie dust, the kids went down to collect some to take home.
We ran up to our room to put out our luggage before 11pm. We ordered room service one last time. The tuna sandwich, oatmeal cookies, fresh fruit and chicken tenders are good. The tomato soup and choc chip cookies were not.
Thursday May 27
The time to leave came much too quickly!!! We packed up our carry-ons and left the room at 8am. We ate at Beach Blanket. We saw quite a few DIS boarders and bid them farewell. We left the ship at 8:45am and it only took us about 5 minutes to get our bags and clear customs.
The Radisson shuttle arrived in a few minutes and we got back to our car and headed home with many special memories of our time on the Disney Wonder.
Highlights of the cruise:
· The beauty and elegance of the Wonder.
· Spending so much time with my family.
· The awesome shows.
· Beautiful Castaway Cay.
· Meeting so many great people from DIS boards and seeing them throughout the cruise.
· Parrot Cay.
· The Princess Gathering.
· Our server Manuel and our stateroom host Albert.
· The friendly and polite cast members.
· Reading in the cushioned chairs on Deck 4.
· The gorgeous weather.
· Til We Meet Again.
Things that could have been better:
· The coffee- it was HORRIBLE!!
· The kids jumping like maniacs into the pools.
· All the smoking on Deck 4. Maybe they could make one side non-smoking.
· The chocolate desserts were way too sweet and rich. The birthday cake served in the dining room was this disgusting strawberry mousse concoction. Most of the other food was good, some of it was excellent,some of it was average and few things were downright bad in our opinion.
All in all, it was a FABULOUS cruise. We did not rebook onboard because we have other vacations planned for the next few years. We have already decided to book the seven night cruise for our next Disney cruise. Things we will do next time are eat brunch and dinner at Palo, work out in the fitness center, take an excursion, go dancing in the night clubs, eat lunch at Tritons and play bingo. We just ran out of time on the 4-night cruise.
If anyone has questions, feel free to ask!
Which princesses attended the princess gathering?
