We just returned from the March 23 sailing on the Wonder and had a great time. I learned so much from these boards that I wanted to let everyone know my thoughts and tips, in case I can help someone else.
1. Stayed at the Radisson night before for $99 king suite. Awsome room and pool. We loved it! Reminded us a little of Dixie Landings as we were sitting around the pool. Shuttle was prompt and easy both coming and going. My husband asked me how I heard about this place and of course I said "The Dis!"
2. Had dinner the night before at Grills and watched the Magic sail out of port. Very exciting! What can I say about Grills, other than it is an experience all in itself! We had a great time and a great meal. You can get a 10% off coupon at their website.
3. Embarking was so so so easy. Loved the terminal. Some people started getting in line to board at 10:30, but we just relaxed, had pictures made with the characters, and watched TV. We got in line about 12:00, when it started to wind around the terminal. They began boarding about 12:15 and the line flew. My son commented that he wished the lines at the parks moved this fast. Disembarking was even easier. We could hardly believe it. We ate breakfast at Beach Blanket since we didn't want to eat at 6:45, and left through the Atrium. The captain was there to shake our hands and see us off. When we got to the luggage area, a porter immediately asked our room number, Got our bags and took us right through customs. My husband bought extra liquor that he had to declare. The customs officer took one look at our form and waved us through. Then the porter lead us to the Radisson Shuttle area. Those porters really do earn their tips! We were surprised to find a Disney representative at the shuttle area making sure people got on in the order they arrived.
4. Shutters Advice: Don't buy your pictures until the end or at least wait a few days. As long as you keep them together, they told me they will not separate them. Just remember which photo is on top, so you won't have to search every day. I bought the 10 picture package, but could only find seven 6 X 8's that I wanted. A lot of the pictures are 8 X 10's. All of the ones on the screen backgrounds and all of the ones with Mickey and Minnie in formal wear. That is what I was told. So a lot of the ones I wanted were 8 X 10's. So I got a refund and just purchased the ones I wanted. They will let you swap pictures if you want to, just be sure and save all of your receipts.
5. Hercules was on the 3rd night during our cruise. We had a comedian the first night, Who wants to be a Mousketeer, Hercules and Disney Dreams last. Did not go to the game show, saw a movie instead, but the other shows were Great!
6. Sailaway drinks are good, with or without acohol. They come in a glass you can keep, but if you give it back to them, you pay $2.00 less. Didn't know this until we had 7 glasses to take home. Four would have been enough. 2 for 1 margaritas were not good.
7. Don't miss any of the sail-away parties. They are lots of fun. Can't help but feel sorry for the passengers on other cruise ships though.
8. Coffee is horrible. That is all I can say. I ordered a pitcher of hot water every morning with room service just to water it down to make it drinkable. My husband drinks his coffee strong, but he even had to add water. By the way room service is not available on the last morning.
9. If you want T-shirts, wait to see what is on Castaway Cay. We liked the ones there much better.
10. Bring extra batteries for your camera. Mine went and we had almost a whole day not being able to take pictures, while we waited for the shops to open. They don't open while you are in port.
11. Had heard about people having problems with their bill at the end. No errors on ours. A couple of things I couldn't remember what they were, and I asked at guest services. They can tell you exactly. Mine were little things I had forgot.
12. We brought our own snorkel equipment for Castaway Cay and cheap blow up rafts I picked up for $1.50. We used them and then trashed them at the end of the day. I saw a lot of the mats just laying around not being used. We didn't use ours that much either. Might save you some money to do what we did.
13. Went to the Pirate Museum in Nassau. My boys 12 and 6 enjoyed it. Went to the Tourist Info center first and they gave us coupons for $2.00 off admission and a free rum punch. It was free admission for the boys. A very short walk from the ship too.
We didn't find the vendors there too pushy. Just a polite "No Thank you" is all you need to say.
14. Almost every little girl and teenager had their hair braided, plus many adults and some little boys. I walked over to one of the braiders who was not busy to get mine done, but she was waiting for her 2:00 to show up. I told her I only wanted 3 braids, so she did it right then before her appointment even showed up. So if you can't get an appointment and want just a few braids, this might work for you too.
Well, that's it, didn't mean to make it so long. The cruise was wonderful. I think our cruise was nearly sold out, but Disney handles the crowds amazingly well. We never had problems getting deck chairs right by the pool, never waited more than 5 minutes to have a picture taken, and got 2 deck chairs under an umbrella right beside a hammock on Castaway Cay. We didn't go to Palo's or the spa, and our kids didn't go to the kids club. We signed them up, but they never wanted to go. We just enjoyed being together as a family. They did love Quarter Masters, watch out you can spend lots of money there.
We booked a 7 day Eastern while on board for next year.
Thanks again everyone for helping to make our cruise extra magical! If I can answer any questions, let me know.
Mollie Jo
1. Stayed at the Radisson night before for $99 king suite. Awsome room and pool. We loved it! Reminded us a little of Dixie Landings as we were sitting around the pool. Shuttle was prompt and easy both coming and going. My husband asked me how I heard about this place and of course I said "The Dis!"
2. Had dinner the night before at Grills and watched the Magic sail out of port. Very exciting! What can I say about Grills, other than it is an experience all in itself! We had a great time and a great meal. You can get a 10% off coupon at their website.
3. Embarking was so so so easy. Loved the terminal. Some people started getting in line to board at 10:30, but we just relaxed, had pictures made with the characters, and watched TV. We got in line about 12:00, when it started to wind around the terminal. They began boarding about 12:15 and the line flew. My son commented that he wished the lines at the parks moved this fast. Disembarking was even easier. We could hardly believe it. We ate breakfast at Beach Blanket since we didn't want to eat at 6:45, and left through the Atrium. The captain was there to shake our hands and see us off. When we got to the luggage area, a porter immediately asked our room number, Got our bags and took us right through customs. My husband bought extra liquor that he had to declare. The customs officer took one look at our form and waved us through. Then the porter lead us to the Radisson Shuttle area. Those porters really do earn their tips! We were surprised to find a Disney representative at the shuttle area making sure people got on in the order they arrived.
4. Shutters Advice: Don't buy your pictures until the end or at least wait a few days. As long as you keep them together, they told me they will not separate them. Just remember which photo is on top, so you won't have to search every day. I bought the 10 picture package, but could only find seven 6 X 8's that I wanted. A lot of the pictures are 8 X 10's. All of the ones on the screen backgrounds and all of the ones with Mickey and Minnie in formal wear. That is what I was told. So a lot of the ones I wanted were 8 X 10's. So I got a refund and just purchased the ones I wanted. They will let you swap pictures if you want to, just be sure and save all of your receipts.
5. Hercules was on the 3rd night during our cruise. We had a comedian the first night, Who wants to be a Mousketeer, Hercules and Disney Dreams last. Did not go to the game show, saw a movie instead, but the other shows were Great!
6. Sailaway drinks are good, with or without acohol. They come in a glass you can keep, but if you give it back to them, you pay $2.00 less. Didn't know this until we had 7 glasses to take home. Four would have been enough. 2 for 1 margaritas were not good.
7. Don't miss any of the sail-away parties. They are lots of fun. Can't help but feel sorry for the passengers on other cruise ships though.
8. Coffee is horrible. That is all I can say. I ordered a pitcher of hot water every morning with room service just to water it down to make it drinkable. My husband drinks his coffee strong, but he even had to add water. By the way room service is not available on the last morning.
9. If you want T-shirts, wait to see what is on Castaway Cay. We liked the ones there much better.
10. Bring extra batteries for your camera. Mine went and we had almost a whole day not being able to take pictures, while we waited for the shops to open. They don't open while you are in port.
11. Had heard about people having problems with their bill at the end. No errors on ours. A couple of things I couldn't remember what they were, and I asked at guest services. They can tell you exactly. Mine were little things I had forgot.
12. We brought our own snorkel equipment for Castaway Cay and cheap blow up rafts I picked up for $1.50. We used them and then trashed them at the end of the day. I saw a lot of the mats just laying around not being used. We didn't use ours that much either. Might save you some money to do what we did.
13. Went to the Pirate Museum in Nassau. My boys 12 and 6 enjoyed it. Went to the Tourist Info center first and they gave us coupons for $2.00 off admission and a free rum punch. It was free admission for the boys. A very short walk from the ship too.
We didn't find the vendors there too pushy. Just a polite "No Thank you" is all you need to say.
14. Almost every little girl and teenager had their hair braided, plus many adults and some little boys. I walked over to one of the braiders who was not busy to get mine done, but she was waiting for her 2:00 to show up. I told her I only wanted 3 braids, so she did it right then before her appointment even showed up. So if you can't get an appointment and want just a few braids, this might work for you too.
Well, that's it, didn't mean to make it so long. The cruise was wonderful. I think our cruise was nearly sold out, but Disney handles the crowds amazingly well. We never had problems getting deck chairs right by the pool, never waited more than 5 minutes to have a picture taken, and got 2 deck chairs under an umbrella right beside a hammock on Castaway Cay. We didn't go to Palo's or the spa, and our kids didn't go to the kids club. We signed them up, but they never wanted to go. We just enjoyed being together as a family. They did love Quarter Masters, watch out you can spend lots of money there.
We booked a 7 day Eastern while on board for next year.
Thanks again everyone for helping to make our cruise extra magical! If I can answer any questions, let me know.
Mollie Jo
