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.
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.