My Late May 8 -12th trip report Days 1 & 2!!

[dizprincess27]

Hi Everyone,

I got back early Monday morning at 1:00 a.m. and now am getting over being sick so I'm just getting around to doing the trip report.

Cast: Me - Mom 40
DD 12


Ok let's begin with arrival. Arrival at the Port went pretty smooth from the Poly and we arrived around 12:30 ish which wasn't too bad. We walked right on the ship since we had already checked in at our resort and there was no line or waiting. I went right to BBB to grab some lunch and had a Bahama Mama too. Lunch was good with lot's of choices. Caught up with some Dis Pals, Mickey and Judy and everyone just chatted up until we were done and then we went looking to see if our rooms were ready. I was in room 6134 and it was ready and the luggage was waiting right outside so that was nice. I've never cruised before so I felt even though we had a small verandah the room was small and narrow but still very pretty. We went to the Hercules show which me and my dd both loved and then went on to dinner at Tritons which was just beautiful. We both got the beef and it was tender and delicious.

Day 2 - Nassau - Got up around 8:30 ish and saw the ship dock which was awesome and we faced the dock too so that was cool. Went to BBB for breakfast and got off the ship around 10:15 or so. We went to the Festival House and grabbed a land taxi to Atlantis which took about 10 minutes and we had a nice new van type taxi which we shared with other cruisers from another line. We had a nice driver too who explained some of the areas down by Atlantis to us. We walked around Atlantis taking pictures and also going down the the restaurant with the aquarium which was free and saw all kinds of fish including a huge Manatee and a shark too. DD liked that alot and so did I. We then walked towards the Paradise Island Ferry and stopped in some of the shops along the way to look around. We booked the Dolphin Swim on our own and OMG what a beautiful, wonderful, exhilerating experience it was. We had a blast and it was the highlight of the whole trip I think. After we were done and bought the video and some t-shirts we took the ferry back over to the dock and went on a little shopping adventure on Bay Street specifically to Del Sol and my dd bought a shirt that changes colors and one for her friend. We missed the comedian that night but went to Dinner which was Animators which I was a bit dissapointed in not only because I wasn't as crazy for the food there but also the colors didn't change as I expected them too. Maybe like someone else said we already had another image in our mind which changed our expectations. After we walked around the ship some and went to bed. I should probably say that my dd who just turned 12 did not find the lab interesting to her at all although a few of the girls she met who were 10 (turning 11 in June) and 11 loved the lab. My dd just felt she would be more suited for the teen area although Mom isn't so sure about liking that too much.

I'll post CC and Day at Sea soon. Hope you enjoyed my report and feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[dizprincess27]

I didn't get any replies so I guess I'll skip the rest of the report but I do have to say while the ship was gorgeous and the servers a hoot, cruising for me didn't turn out to be much more than a floating hotel or rather a means to get to my destination which was in this case CC and Nassau. I loved the crystal clear blue waters and will probably cruise again in a few years and probably Disney but this time I will go for a 7 nighter to see if I can possibly get some type of relaxation and participate in some of the programs as I didn't do any of that this trip.

 

[newfamilyman]

I just wanted to let you know that even though you didn't get any replies, I wouldn't assume that people aren't reading your report. In fact, I was waiting for the whole report before starting to read your first part. Thanks for taking the trouble to write, though. I do enjoy reading trip reports.

 

[mecook]

I'm sorry you feel neglected, but I'm terribly guilty of reading and not commenting. I was going to ask you a question though. When I signed on tonight, there were 3 posts from the same sailing...all in a row. None of you mentioned meeting the other. Did you have a "meet" and get to see cyndilou01 and mbw12? You mentioned Judy and Mickey, I believe it was.
My DD just turned 11. I'm hoping she'll like the club for just a little bit of time one night anyway. I'd like a little couple-time.
Looking forward to the remainder of your trip report.
Melanie

 

[mimidedoodah]

I also enjoyed your first report. I hope you will finish. We are boarding on June 12th and I want as much info as possible.
Thanks!
Mimi

 

[mbw12]

Julie-
Please don't feel that way. I am very guilty of reading posts and never replying. And I also know what it is like to write posts and have no response at all. So, yes I was reading your review and waiting for the rest of it!
Still sorry that we didn't meet up at some point....the cruise went by so fast, didn't it????
Bobbi

 

[PizzieDuster]

OMG, I read EVERY report, I just never reply. But love all reports. Post more, go on and on and on. I love long detailed reports! I mean, I'm talking about where you sat at the pool and what you ordered What was it like going to you excursions, what kind of pizza you liked! Keep the information coming so all of us can live through you and soak up all the memories and experiences and may find that we may need to ask a question or two.



Oh, and I'm shy.

 

[dizprincess27]

I know that you guys are right because I used to read the reports and never comment either so okay here goes the rest of the report.

Bobbi - I'm sorry we didn't get to meet and to the person who asked about the Dis Meet well we were all supposed to meet at Studio Sea at 10:00 the first evening and I think we all got there at varying times but later than the 10:00 meet time and we missed each other which was sad I did get to meet 3 dis people though which were Micky, Judy and Dorraine which was fun and we hooked up for Palos (Micky, Dorraine and another single mom I met at the Poly) which was a blast. Read the rest of my report to find out.

Wednesday Sea Day - We got up and it seemed like the day was a blur. I woke up first while I let dd sleep in till around 10:00 and I ordered her room service because that was Palo day. She ate and I dropped her off at her friends room and they were supposed to be getting photo's with the characters which turned out to be autographs instead. Anyway, we went on to Palos and OMG that place is amazing. From the moment you enter, you feel like you are at a 5 star restaurant. They give you a tour of the food LOL and what you can order, etc., etc. You then get a choice of what champagne beverage you want which is fun and we all ordered the mimosa extreme which was yummy. Now onto the buffet. We had the best croissants ever and strawberries and homemade whipped cream that was sooo good. There were cheese and crackers and breads and danish to sample too. Then onto the cold salads and seafood which was crab legs and claws, shrimps, green salads, olives, etc. Then you could order eggs benedicts or 2 other egg concoctions but I ordered the benedict which I never had before and it was delicious. You could also order handmade pizzas and 3 or 4 hot dishes as well but after all that food where can you put it???? There is also a dessert tray with cheesecake, tiramisu, etc., etc. but I couldn't fit much more in although we all tried. After that wonderful morning in which the hour and half few by, I joined my dd and we went to the goofy pool and I ordered a pina colada or something and just chilled. It was pretty busy and they had some sort of singing and dancing going on for a while. I took a quick break to run down to Shutters to pick up my pictures. I only purchased 3 of them and one was so cute of her & Mickey on CC that I bought the blue frame and took it to Guest Services and told them it was my dd's birthday and could they get the signatures of the characters on the frame. Then my dd didn't feel so good so she went back to lay down and I went back to get ready for the last show. She wasn't interested in doing the whole graduating the lab thing unfortunately either and also wouldn't wake up for Disney Dreams so I had to go alone I left Disney Dreams a bit early worried about my dd but then she finally got up and got a shower to go to dinner that night. I stopped by Guest Services to pay my tips and there was no line at that time. We went to our last dinner at Parrot Cay which was good and the servers put on a show with the limbo and all so it was nice. We all took pictures with our servers and said we'd see them in the a.m. After dinner they had all the characters out for pics so we rushed down and got several pics including one of Herc, Pain and Panic which is great. We loved them in the show. We got Belle, Mulan, Minnie in her sailor dress and I think that's it. We then went to pick up the picture from earlier and it was sooooooo cute. All the characters signed in all different marker colors and Mickey Mouse signed Happy Birthday to my dd on the frame. It's my favorite of all the pictures. We then went and did our last minute shopping and that was of course fun with my shopaholic dd.

Dembarkation Day - We were all packed the night before and had our bags in the hall by 11:00 pm. so the next morning I woke up an hour early b/c I guess I was nervous we'd be late, I got a shower and then woke up my dd. We both dressed and made sure we hadn't forgotton anything and went to our last breakfast with our servers and that was that. We left the ship as easily as we came on and got on our bus to go back to the resorts and said goodbye to the Wonder.

To sum everything up:

I never used the over the door shoe holder or the ext. cord. I used the blowdryer they had occassionally b/c let's face it, my hair wasn't going to be highly coiffed for the trip anyway and most of the time it was up in a bun or ponytail. I don't have very thick hair and found it dried my hair fine. DD air dryed as usual. I plugged in my cell phone charger in the room and they had plenty of counter space for all of my makeup and stuff.

I would definitely cruise Disney again but I still feel like if I want the Disney feeling then I should go to Disney World even though there were some characters abound and the shows are Disney the rest of time it just didn't feel like the Disney I 'm used to. I would go on a 7 night cruise and not add any days afterward ever because we were soooo tired it was way too much. I might add a few before the cruise no problem but after NO WAY ever again!!! That's another story though. Hope you all got something from my report and please ask away if you have any more ????

 

[khoffman923]

Julie,

Thanks for finishing your trip report. I'm new to this site but am so fascinated by everyone's reports. My cruise isn't until next Summer but am getting more and more excited by the minute reading all the reviews.

We are taking the 7 Day Western Cruise in July and as part of next Summer's DCL vacation, we will have 2 days at the parks. Thanks for confirming my intuition that the parks are best done before the cruise and not after. I wasn't thinking so much about being tired, though, when I made that decision, as I was just thinking this would be a great way to get it started.

I have 14 months to get as educated as possible on every little detail about DCL and I appreciate everyone's comments on their cruise along with all the time they are spending to write them here.

Thanks! :thewave:

Karen

 

[jennat]

Guilty of reading and not posting (which is funny because I HATE when people do that to me ) So now I post .....Thank you for the great trip report. I very much enjoyed reading it. It is fun to live vicariously through others, especially since I have cruised before, I can feel and imagine it all almost like I am there.

We should all try and post thank yous more often as the trip report is alot of work and we appreciate it. (sounded like a mother there didn't I? Yuck!)

 

[dizprincess27]

Thank you Jen and to everyone. I'm glad I did my 2nd half of the report.

 

[mbw12]

Guilty of reading and not posting (which is funny because I HATE when people do that to me ) So now I post .....Thank you for the great trip report. I very much enjoyed reading it. It is fun to live vicariously through others, especially since I have cruised before, I can feel and imagine it all almost like I am there.
We should all try and post thank yous more often as the trip report is alot of work and we appreciate it. (sounded like a mother there didn't I? Yuck!)

Ok, will you all check out my review so that I don't feel neglected??? Thanks...Only 3 views have even showed up! I guess people are tired of hearing about the May 8th Wonder cruise!!!!
Bobbi

 

[Ker-Bear]

who did you book your dolphin swim with?


Thank you for posting your report!

 

[dizprincess27]

I booked directly with Dolphin Encounters and it was wonderful!!!!! We had a blast and don't regret doing the swim. Go for it!!!

 

[KAR3600]

Great Trip report! I'm taking the July 24th 4 day. I have a few questions... You had taken the ferry back from Atlantis, and past some shops. Were they "nice" shops or did they sell the "junkie" stuff ? How much was the ferry? Is it a long walk from Atlantis to the ferry? Thanks!!

 

[dizprincess27]

Well in answer to your questions as far as the walk to the ferry from Atlantis, it's only a 10 minute walk and there is a sort of strip of stores and they sell lot's of cool souveniors for reasonable prices. We only went in 2 stores before we got to the ferry which had a store of it's own. I liked the merchandise in the other stores better though. I don't know how much it cost because I paid for the transportation to and from the Dolphin Swim but I do know from the Blue Lagoon they stopped back at there and then continued onto the dock where the Wonder was docked and I didn't pay anything to stay on and go back to the dock. I imagine it would probably be inexpensive though. If you call DCL they will probably be able to quote a fee or give you a phone # in which to call and find out that information. Have a great cruise.