Oct 9 Wonder

AndieB

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
50
We got back Thursday from the 4-night cruise on the Wonder, me, DH, DS4 and my mom. I have to say it wasn't my favorite cruise (been on 4), but of course it was our first with a small child. I'll share a few impressions and lessons learned:

First, and probably the main reason this wasn't my favorite cruise, was that I don't think DS was quite ready for it. Much of cruise life is on a schedule - games, meals, etc., and DS didn't do that well. He did great at WDW for 3 days prior, but we could pop back to the Poly whenever he got tired. I felt like we spent way too much time in the cabin. He didn't want to be left at the kids club for long at a time, although it looked very nice and well-run.

I found it strange that the adults-only pool was larger than the family and kids pools (at least it seemed that way). Except for the day in port, we couldn't spend much time in the Mickey pool for being run over by older kids. We also saw tons of little ones in diapers (why do some people think the rules don't apply to them?). Had a little better luck in the Goofy pool, but DS4 can't play on his own in that one.

Early seating at dinner just didn't work for us, even with a small child. I wouldn't do it again. I will say that we were very happy with all 3 restaurants (we had TAAP rotation) and our servers.

Sunday when we boarded our cabin wasn't ready so we went to Beach Blanket Buffet. While eating there a crew member offered us the pre-paid wine option. Since we knew we'd have wine each night, it seemed like a good deal ($89 for 4 nights). We were happy with it; the selection was limited to 6 or 7 each white and red wines, but all the wines we chose were very good.

Room service coffee and toast each morning was great - a reason to get up, and we didn't have to rush down to breakfast just to get our morning cup.

Best memories on the ship:

Vista Spa - Tropical Rain Forest - I did that twice, and loved it!

Walking through the ship on Pirate Party night with my Mom (kid at heart!) who was dressed to the hilt as a pirate - half the people we saw thought she was a Cast Member; she posed for pictures with many!

Last night on the ship, sneaking off to the hot tub at the Quiet Cove pool with DH while everyone else was packing (maybe there was one benefit to the early dining!). It was like we had the whole ship to ourselves.

Please feel free to ask questions. I didn't mean to paint a negative picture of the cruise as a whole, just wanted to be honest about what we thought we did and didn't do well - hope it helps.
 
Welcome Back! I was just wondering what your nighttime show schedule was. Trying to plan for Palo and I would rather miss the comedian. Also, what did you dislike about early seating? We're currently waitlisted for early but the more I think about it we may just stay with late. I think it will be less rushed. Can you give more details about the Rain Forest? I'm thinking of treating myself to this and am not really sure what to expect. Thanks.
 
Hi. I was on the 10/9 wonder as well. We had 2 boys (4 and 6) and thank goodness they loved the clubs. Gave us some great time away. We had the late seating (early was full) and at first I was worried about this but I would do it this way again. First, the kids were able to go to the shows with us and we didn't miss any shows for our Palo night (and comedian was actually really funny too!). Then after the shows, we grab them some dinner (Plutso's doghouse or room service so they could eat while we got ready) and then it was back to the kids club for them and a NICE dinner without children. Now, I don't want anyone to get upset that I was thrilled to not eat with my kids, but we rarely go out and have no family near us so a dinner without children is a huge treat and they loved the kids club. One night they wanted to come with us but when they got to dinner and realized it was not that much fun they asked to go back to the club and play. So next time I will request the late seating. Another bonus they don't tell you is that you get off the ship later on the last day. Some of the early seating people had their breakfast time at 5:45. (I'm not kidding!) Our time was 8 am. And there is no room service option that day.

Our show schedule was Hercules, Comedian, Golden Mickeys, Dreams. The shows were my favorite part of the whole cruise. My kids loved them and I thought they did a great job.

Have a great time. I'm looking to book again and go for a week this time! :earsboy:
 
WiscMomof2 said:
Welcome Back! I was just wondering what your nighttime show schedule was. Trying to plan for Palo and I would rather miss the comedian. Also, what did you dislike about early seating? We're currently waitlisted for early but the more I think about it we may just stay with late. I think it will be less rushed. Can you give more details about the Rain Forest? I'm thinking of treating myself to this and am not really sure what to expect. Thanks.

We didn't do the shows (DH and I are more the piano bar types!). Early seating was, like I said, just too early -see ktpbell's comments - and I've seen plenty of other posts saying people liked the late seating.

Now to my favorite thing - the spa! The Tropical Rain Forest is like a little oasis of quiet and relaxation. I went twice, once on Nassau day and once on the day at Sea, and it wasn't crowded either time.

When you go in, there's a large room with a fountain in front of you; all the "treatment" rooms are in a circle around this fountain. To the left are 4 stone loungers, contoured so they're extremely comfortable. From there as you look around the big room (slighly steamy in there) are: Mild Steam Room (mild or not depending on when you walk in - I caught it one day when it was steaming back up, and it was pretty intense), Aromatherapy Steam Room (smaller room than the Mild Steam room, with pretty intense steam, I thought, but it was wonderful), a couple of Fog Showers (I didn't sample them), and the Sauna (my favorite - pretty big room with contoured hot stone benches - heaven!). There is some quiet background music and rain forest noises - birds, etc. They also have cups, water fountains and crushed ice. Towels are to the right as you enter the room. Bathing suits are required (we called ahead to ask, not knowing what the rule would be).

Again, my preference is to find the less crowded spots on the ship, so this place was perfect for me. The price was $15 for one session (I got it for $8 on Nassau day, because I had a massage booked - it was a nice way to get pre-relaxed for the massage). For that $15 you get a robe and slippers and a locker key. They keep your room card until you turn them in. You could get a 4-day pass, but I forget the price for that. If I went back again, I would do the Rain Forest every day! Hope you enjoy!
 


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