Off on Disney Wonder Jan 30th

[KennyK]

Well to all our DIS friends,

We're off to the Wonder for a quick winter fix on a 3 dayer. Maybe the Northeast will warm up by the time we get back.

We missed the AP cruise and the DVC cruise so we did the next best thing, booked in between.

Looking for all those great posts when we return.

KennyK and Mary

 

[cathie]

We're going on the 3 Day Wonder in 26 Days (Feb. 27, 2003) Let us know how your cruise was & any info that would help! (This is our 1st Cruise) Thanks!

"A dream is a wish your heart makes" WDW & Tigger Lover

 

[KennyK]

Hi Cathie,

Got home around 4:00PM and read your posting.

3 Day cruise was great as usual, Some of the changes that I noticed from the last time I was on the Wonder in October 02 are:

Stickers are now being used for the soda program. Mugs can be purchased for an additional $5.00.

Beach Blanket Buffet is still serve yourself, they are giving sanitizing wipes out at the buffet lines.

If you have any questions you can ask away and I'll try to answer them for you.


KennyK

 

[cathie]

Hi Kenny Glad you had a great Cruise! How was the weather? My sister & I were wondering how you go about paying for the extras ( mugs, souvenirs, etc.)? We've stayed @ Disney Resorts before but have always prepaid & never used our resort ID's for charging. We just didn't want to have funds held on our checking accounts & wondered if it was better to use a credit card instead of the card on your checking acct. Also we heard that you can put a certain amount on the kids cruise ID's (especially teens). Can this be prepaid or is it tied to the parents acct? Thanks in advance for any info you can share. Oh & did you ever go snorkeling @ Castaway Cay?

 

[KennyK]

Hi Cathie,

To answer your questions so far:

When you check in at the port you will need to put down a charge card or Debit card against your room account. This card is not charged until approximately $200.00 in expenses are incurred against your room account. If both you and your sister want to have different accounts, you both can do this. As far as childrens charging priviledges they are automatically added to your room charge account. You can not set limits on their cards. What you need to do is go down to guest servicves on deck 3 and have the charge priviledges taken off their cards if you don't trust their charging habits. You can also put down Disney dollars or cash once on board to eliminate the amount that is charged against your card.

The ship is cash less. you use your KTTW card for all drink, shopping. escursions etc. chargers. The only place where real money is used is at Nassau and in the post office at Castaway Cay.

As far as the Weather, it was alittle chilly at Nassau with partly cloudy skies with temps in high 70's low eighties. The weather at Castaway Cay was great, clear skies, alittle wind and warm. Did not go in the water this trip but did use the warm pools on board. The pools are fresh water not salt as some cruise ships have.

On my cruise in Oct 02, we did snorkle at Castaway cay. It was ok, but wasn't great. I saw better at Aruba. Its good for first timers. Currents can get tuff though.

Any other questions, fire away.

kennyk

 

[cathie]

Thanks Kenny for the info about the credit cards. Are the pools & hot tubs usually crowded or does it depend on the time you go in?Are you a coffee drinker? My sister has received several responses about the coffee & it looks like it's the instant type like they have @ the resorts. Did you happen to try it? The kids are really excited ( so are the adults)! My 15 yr. old has already met someone to hang out with through one of the posts. Thanks for the answers!!

 

[KennyK]

Cathie,

This is turning into our private discussion board. Anyway, the pools can get crowded but with three pools on board and one dedicated for 18yrs and older its not too bad. I find that when we're in port or at Castaway Cay in afternoon, there is plenty of room and chairs.

As far as coffee, yes I drink coffee and it is the perked kind. Up on deck nine, outside of Topsiders near Mickey pool there is a help yourself drink station. There are big coffee urns running all the time.

In the dining rooms the coffee was quite good also.

The teen club on board (Common Grounds) is supposed to run a very good program and keep the teenage kids occupied. I really can't speak from first hand as all my kids are grown adults and my 10yr old grandson isn't old enough yet. He did use the kids clubs though and we really never saw him while on board.

 

[LindaBabe]

I'm reading avidly too! We sail thursday

 

[maude39918]

What times were the early and late seating for dinner. I have read on one website that it has been changed to 5:00 and 7:00, what time was it on your cruise?

 

[cathie]

Thanks Kenny for all your info. I may have more questions for you before we leave. Only 3 weeks to go!!

 

[KennyK]

Ok so we have other readers,

So to answer the next question on dining times. They are 6:00pm and 8:30pm. We had late seating and enjoyed it because we did not feel rushed. We ended usually leaving the dining rooms by 10-10:30pm.

I see we have someone from the Albany area, another New Yorker, yea.

If anyone has been on the Wonder before, Just to let you know the menus for Tritons and Parrot Cay have been changed. I feel they are much better than the old ones.

Any other questions. I'm here gto answer them.

kennyk

 

[maude39918]

kennyk, I know you said that they were using stickers instead of mugs. We bought our tickets through aaa so are getting their mugs for free. Do you know if they are giving aaa people stickers also? I hope so much easier to have a sticker than lug around a mug.

 

[KennyK]

Don't know for sure, but even with the mug, they were asking for your kttw card to verify that there was a sticker on it. The mugs were being sold as souvenirs for $5.00ea. Where the drink program was $15.00 for the 3 day cruise.

I would just check when you get on board.

KennyK

 

[cathie]

Hi Kenny I have another question for you. The mug situation..is it worth buying one for everyone in our party? And do you have to show your card with a sticker on it to get them refilled? I guess it doesn't work the same way as @ the resorts. Thanks for your advice. How's the weather in NY? I really,really hate snow!!!

 

[KennyK]

Good morning Cathie,

Well as far as snow, we had approximately 5 inches here, stopped at 4 pm, main roads are clear, side roads are snow covered and have turned to ice and its COLD outside.

Snow is pretty while it's falling but such a pain, and you up in NH are sure to get a lot more than we do on Long Island.

But let's get back to to ship, it's warm there. We did not use the drink program on our last cruise as it was only my DW and myself. On our cruise before, we did use the drink program for my grandson, but they were only using the mugs as indications of having the refill program purchased.

On this last trip, when you boarded they have tables set up outside the promenade lounge where you can purchase the refill program. I saw the CM placing stickers on the the KTTW cards. Some people were buying the mugs, some weren't and they are the same as we purchased on on our previous cruise. They were being offered as souvenirs only. I asked about the change and the CM said it was instituted because of the health concern problem.

I did notice at the bars on deck 9 by the pools, the CM's serving drinks were asking to see the KTTW cards to get refills, even if they had a mug. Is it in all cases, I can not answer that first hand.

As far as is it worth it. I guess it depends on how much SODA you actually drink. There is the free drink station on deck 9 outside the Breach Blanket Buffet, Aft part of ship on starboard side. There is fresh coffee, hot water for tea, ice tea and lemonade.

You can also get water for free at any bar, not the bottle type, just by the glass. It should be noted, the water served in the bars tasted a whole lot better than the water that came out of the tap in our stateroom bathroom.

I hope this helps alittle, it really comes down to a personal preference. If you drink a lot of carbonated beverages at home, buy the refill program. If you don't, then it's not worth it.

Good luck on your cruise, I wish I was back, Even though I have a cruise scheduled for April 04, I'm really thinking of another in October 03, can't take any VAC between May and Sept, baseball season which I work for a minor league team.

kennyK

 

[Susan Prescott]

Hi Kenny, I'm Sue, Cathie's sister. Your information has been very helpful to us. Cathie and I have a few more questions for you. First, having never taken a cruise before, the cruise documents are a little overwhelming. Do we present the entire book with our birth certificates to the CM or do we remove the required documents ahead of time?

We're spending a few days at WDW prior to the cruise and would like to know what to expect when we embark.

Did you use room service often? I just want to make sure I can get 2 carafes of coffee delivered every morning by 7:00 a.m. as I deliver the coffee to the gang (total of 5 adults - 3 rooms).

Cathie wants to know if you can see any fish when you snorkel at Castaway Cay. She bought an underwater camera and can't wait to use it.

What's your opinion on getting seasick? Did you use Bonine or anything else?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[taswira]

Sue - I am not Kenny, but . . . Do not take anything out of the document booklet yourself except the luggage tags for your luggage. Complete the necessary forms, then present the <I>entire</I> booklet at the check-in counter at the DCL terminal. They will take out what is needed. Since you are a first-timer, you might want to stop at the little podium "Help Desk" that will be at the top of the escalator after you enter the terminal. There should be someone there to check documents, to make sure you have completed them properly. That way, if there are any errors, you will not be holding up the line at the main counter.

As for room service - yes, you can have the coffee delivered in the morning, but probably not exactly at 7 a.m. You select a delivery time in half-hour blocks. The choice you would want is 7:00 - 7:30 a.m.

I don't take Bonine or Dramamine. I start on Ginger supplement a week before, all during, and a week after the cruise and have not had a problem. Perhaps Kenny can answer about Bonine.

Shari

 

[taswira]

Sue, I forgot to mention - If your few days at WDW before your cruise are part of Disney's <I>Land and Sea</I> program, you will <I>not</I> need to go through the big check-in process at the DCL terminal at all and will already have your KTTW card. But if your land and sea were booked separately, you will.

 

[Susan Prescott]

Shari, we're not doing a land and sea vacation. We're driving to Florida from NH and will be staying off property in Kissimmee for 5 nights. Thanks for your info though, especially about the cruise documents.

 

[KennyK]

Thanks Shari, How was your AP cruise?

Anyway, some additional comments from what Shari mentioned. If you are using Disney transfers and not doing the land/sea program they will have you pull out the required documents on the bus and insert them in blue envelopes which they will hand out. Part of the video they show on the bus explains the documents. As Shari had said, don't seperate the documents until told to. Also she mentioned about the people at the top of the stairs at the terminal that will check your documents for completeness before you get on line.

If you have a question on a particular document you can ask and I'm sure we can probably tell you what to put on that spot/space.

As far as snorkling, yes you can see fish while swimming, but just a caution, don't be disappointed if the water is too cold at this time of year. Also, There are fish out there in the snorkling area I really never saw that many. When i went snorkling in Aruba off the south reef, the fish were very plentiful. The later on in the day you decide to snorkle the cloudier the water will become so if you are trying to take pictures, the earlier the better.

As far as seasickness. I really don't get seasick, the only time you really feel anything is when the ship crosses the Gulf Stream, leaving and returning to Port Canaveral, both times at night. Then again if the seas are heavy, the ship will roll/rock alittle. They do use stablizers on the ship to minimize the effects of the seas.

I hope this helps alittle,

kennyk