Our First Disney Cruise - Wonder 12/2 Finished 1/22

[missj1975]

Waiting for the rest of your report! We were on your cruise too - it's fun to hear a different perspective - we'll have to try the Bingo next time!

And, DD LOVED the silly bands! Thanks!

Yeah I am so glad to hear the silly bandz were a hit with your daughter!

Are you writing a report? Cause I would love to read your perspective.

 

[missj1975]

I got off the Wonder the day you got on so I know that it CrazyboutDisney's door - they were awesome! We were shocked at the cold when we got off the boat - we had shorts, flip flops, etc. thankfully, I didn't pack my two year old's sweatshirt so I was at least able to put that on him. I did laugh at the floridians though who had ear muffs, winter coats, mittens and still shivering - it was 50 people, not 15! enjoying your report!

I do agree it is funny to see everyone's reaction to the different temps. It is cold in St. Louis so we were prepared for the cold but it was fun to see everyone at the MVMCP Sunday night go crazy over sweatshirts, hats and gloves. Disney sure makes a killing on the unprepared.

 

[Petraman]

I got off the Wonder the day you got on so I know that it CrazyboutDisney's door - they were awesome! We were shocked at the cold when we got off the boat - we had shorts, flip flops, etc. thankfully, I didn't pack my two year old's sweatshirt so I was at least able to put that on him. I did laugh at the floridians though who had ear muffs, winter coats, mittens and still shivering - it was 50 people, not 15! enjoying your report!

Amazing trip report... we are headed out on our 2nd cruise right after Thanksgiving 2011, so have been interested to see how a "holiday" cruise works out.

Radio... you mentioned how cold it was when you got off the boat. Was it a lot warmer down in the Caribbean while it was cold in Florida?

 

[missj1975]

Amazing trip report... we are headed out on our 2nd cruise right after Thanksgiving 2011, so have been interested to see how a "holiday" cruise works out.

Radio... you mentioned how cold it was when you got off the boat. Was it a lot warmer down in the Caribbean while it was cold in Florida?

Thanks for reading. It was very cold when we were docked in Florida but once we about an hour away from the port, it warmed up considerably. At Nassau and Castaway Cay we were perfectly comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt.

 

[missj1975]

1st tip of the day - don't bother packing an alarm clock. Disney has wake-up calls...they even have an automated system so you never even have to talk to a cast member. Save space and leave the clock at home.

So we got up at seven to get dressed and ready for breakfast at Triton's at 8 am. We were seated with no wait, loved it!

A waitress walked around and offered treats from her danish tray. I tried this pineapple danish.

The decor in Triton's is amazing.

Breakfast was delicious. I had eggs benedict and DH had a scrambled egg platter.

So after breakfast, we walked out to the deck to watch the ship dock in Nassau.

It was fun to watch us entering the port...seeing all the other huge cruise ships...and looking at the town from the ship.

This is the pier that the ship backs into.

A view of the shopping district. The white tent is the Straw Market. Behind the tent (which you can't really see) is a the main street that all the nice shops are on. It took less then five minutes to walk to the shopping area from the ship.

We headed back to our room to watch docking from our balcony. I do love heading back to our room cause we were always great surprises.

One of my favorite gifts from the exchange. It is now hanging on my fridge at home.

So as soon as the Captain announces we are free to leave the ship, we head down to disembarkment level, which I think was level two. On the way down, we passed this sign. Yeah I was impressed because we are from St. Louis.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great update! Again, wierd that we will be cruising together in Feb.!

 

[PizzieDuster]

Oh my... I would LOVE to receive a magnet like that in my fish extender.

 

[RadioFanatic]

Amazing trip report... we are headed out on our 2nd cruise right after Thanksgiving 2011, so have been interested to see how a "holiday" cruise works out.

Radio... you mentioned how cold it was when you got off the boat. Was it a lot warmer down in the Caribbean while it was cold in Florida?

We had 80 degree weather and swam both at Atlantis and Castaway Cay - out for hours in the water.

 

[SmithFamily2003]

Great pics! Keep them coming!

 

[missj1975]

Tip of the Day - Give Nassau a Chance!!!

Sometimes I call my DH - The Google King. He can find anything and everything on the internet, which is not necessarily a good thing. He also loves to read reviews...apparently reviews that painted Nassau as a dirty little town full of scam artists, muggers, and vicious hair braiders.

Well since none of the shore excursions appealed to us at the time, I insisted we at least walk around Nassau for a little bit. I reminded him that the ship would be very close and if we didn't like Nassau we could hop back on the ship. He agreed...as long as I leave my jewelry at home. I bit my tongue and agreed to leave my watch and necklace (that I usually wear everyday) at home. He then mumbled something about my engagement and wedding rings. I gave him the look that said "Kiss my a@@", I mumbled something about "paranoid *#@$" and he wisely didn't mention my rings again. I also resisted the urge to remind DH we live in one of the top crime cities in the world but yet he is worried about a popular tourist area.

So as soon as the Captain said we could disembark, we joined the small group of people braving Nassau.

A view of the ship as we walk to the shopping district.

The shopping area is really close to the ship...I am pretty sure it took us less then five minutes...but that might be a fast estimate for normal walkers cause I was dragging Mr. Crabby pants past the hair braiders, the tour guides, the taxi drivers, and other peddlers before he could find any reason to return to the ship.

With our handy map and freebie coupons that we got at the shopping talk the day before, we made our way to the shopping district.

Guess what is one of the first things we see?

A car being towed!!! I was amused. I know so terrible of me to laugh at someone's problem...shame on me...but "Parking Wars" is one of my favorite reality shows.

Plus I have eagle eyes cause look at the nice sidewalk with all the shops on the right. I see a beacon...it is calling to me.

Here is a better shot of my weakness and talent...a Coach store. Why do I say talent? Cause I can always find the Coach store when we are on vacation See I am very talented...much to my husband's dismay. He was safe this trip...no Coach purse called my name.

But secretly I resisted my Coach addiction cause I had my eyes on something else. At Tiffany's talk yesterday, she had several pastel colored bags on display. The brand was Parazul, a brand that can only be found in the Bahamas...blah blah blah...Tiffany is a great saleslady...blah blah blah...I was hooked. Unfortunately the handbags were pastel. Pastel might be good for the Bahamas all year round but personally I only carry pastel in the spring and summer and wasn't about to buy a bag that would collect dust in my closet for six months. But perhaps the line had other colors, darker colors.

So as we walk the shopping area, we come across the straw market.

We had originally planned to avoid the straw market cause DH won't barter and I didn't want to either but the straw bags were calling my name so we started to walk the aisles.

The straw markets consists of straw bags, beachwear, counterfeit Coach bags, and various knick knacks. I was shocked by how many cruisers were snapping up the fake Coach purses. I resisted the urge to run thru the aisles screaming "Fake...Fake...Soylent Green is People". For one I believe everyone has the right to choose whether or not to buy a counterfeit good (that is essentially stealing from the original designer and supporting terrorism) and two, the aisle were just too darn skinny to fit my screaming butt .

I found the cutest little coconut shells turned into walking turtles for my nieces. 2nd Lesson of the Day: double check the spelling if you get anything personalized. So the vendor offered to add my nieces names to the toy turtles...I spelled out Haley and Abby. She wrote Haley and Addy. Yeah I didn't notice till we got home. Good thing Abby can't read ;-).

I also bought this for myself. And I had fun bartering. At that point, DH wisely dragged me away from the Straw Market before I became the bartering queen.

I started redeeming the freebie coupons at the various stores...got a couple of necklaces, a charm bracelet, and a sapphire. It was fun and no one every tried to pressure me into an additional sale when I turned in my coupon.

At one of the jewelry stores, we were browsing the Tanzanite selection when I spotted their Parazul display. Oh my, they had a black handbag. I was in love. As I looked at the price tag, DH asked me if I liked the bag. I said of course it is wonderful and he said "You can buy it...as a belated birthday present." Before he can remember that my birthday was three months ago and technically he already bought me a watch, Dooney & Burke Disney bag, and this cruise for my birthday...I whipped out the credit card and handed it to the salesgirl.

See my new favorite bag. Seriously I am in love...with my hubby..cause he really is the best!!!

As I gleefully toted around my new bag, I decided DH needed to buy something too. He never buys anything for himself...he much prefers to buy me stuff...I know...seriously I pinch myself everyday.

So we stopped by the Del Sol store and got him a very cool Polo shirt made out of bamboo. It is the softest material ever. We also stopped by the Rum Cake store.

We picked up a sample pack of cakes for DH's mom and the sample pack of rums for DH. I resisted the urge to talk him out of the rum cause all I could think about is having to check glass bottles in our luggage and them breaking during travel. I worried for nothing. Rum made it home safe and sound.

I think we spent around 2 hours walking around the shopping district. We were ready for lunch so we headed back to the ship. We walked along the water and found these tables full of goodies. I made one more purchase, a necklace with a pendant made out of conch shell (love it)!!!

So Nassau was way better then expected. We had a great time...everyone we encountered was super nice...the buildings were interesting...the ocean was beautiful...and I would definitely recommend Nassau to anyone who likes to browse or shop.

 

[BethC1952]

We enjoy Nassau too. I think it helps that we're from a major metropolitan area like you are. Maybe we'll see you when we do OUR shopping in Nassau!

Beth

 

[missj1975]

We enjoy Nassau too. I think it helps that we're from a major metropolitan area like you are. Maybe we'll see you when we do OUR shopping in Nassau!

Beth

I can't wait to go back to Nassau. We did decide to visit the Atlantis Aquarium in the morning but I think we will still have time to visit Nassau after the excursion. Am I thinking right? that the shops are open till 5?

 

[iloverags2]

Loving your report! So glad you enjoyed your visit to Nassau. We really always have a nice time there also. I agree about being from a larger metropolitan area...it might just not be anything too different for us (I'm from Chicago originally, and live in Jacksonville now, with a four year stint in Miami in between).

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[BethC1952]

I can't wait to go back to Nassau. We did decide to visit the Atlantis Aquarium in the morning but I think we will still have time to visit Nassau after the excursion. Am I thinking right? that the shops are open till 5?

I'm pretty sure they are. We've been shopping as late as 4 PM and the shops weren't closing yet. We're going to Ardastra Gardens in the afternoon. We've been there before and we really enjoyed it. I think we'll probably shop in the morning.

Beth

 

[missj1975]

So after boarding the ship we headed back to our room to drop off our shopping bags.

Oh look more gift exchange goodies!!!

Did I mention our room steward asked why we kept getting goodies? He was so impressed with the gift exchange. He mentioned something about the internet but at that point my tummy was growling so all I heard was "blah blah blah." Yeah when I am hungry I am pretty much useless until I am fed.

So we headed for lunch with a couple of choices. Hmmm what to do, what to do? We aren't buffet people, much prefer sit down restaurants but I thought Nelson our server said today's lunch buffet was a seafood buffet. So we opted for Beach Blanket Buffet. We got to the restaurant around 11:50 so we stood in line for ten minutes until it opened.

I thought the horse sculpture was appropriate because people were rearing to go. A cast member handed out trays and silverware in the beginning of the line. I didn't take pictures of the buffet because 1) I didn't see anything I wanted to take a picture of and 2) the lady next to me was totally crowding my space and pushing me a long. Uggg, another reason I don't like buffets.

So DH was having a field day picking out items and I was like "what the heck?" Apparently I had misheard Nelson our server cause there was no seafood on this buffet...it was more like a Tuscan theme....a theme I didn't care for. *Sigh* I'm not blaming Nelson...either I misheard him cause he was a "low talker" or it was just wishful thinking on my part. I do love seafood.

So as DH enjoyed his plate of goodies, I picked at my salad and bowl of rosotto.

I did manage to find some desserts I liked

Occasionally my DH has perceptive moments and he noticed I wasn't thrilled about the food. I was like "Hmmm, you know Tritons is open until 1:30. I bet we could still go there and maybe just order something small." DH thought about it for like...two seconds...and was like ok let's go.

So we head to Tritons and are seated immediately. All is right in the world as soon as our waiter brings us a raspberry margarita. I say "us" cause whenever we ordered an alcoholic beverage, we always ordered one to share cause neither of us are big drinkers, we just like to taste different stuff. The sharing the drinks worked out perfectly for us even though the waitstaff always gave us a look. What? Don't people share anymore?

It might have been the whole "germ" thing because The Wonder was very germaphobic. Cast members were handing out disinfectant wipes left and right. So much so that I became very annoyed by it by the end of the cruise because seriously people, a wet wipe ain't saving you from the flu. I tried to avoid the wet wipe toting employees but they chased me down...tripped me...and sat on me until I relented. Ok maybe not but they probably wanted to.

Tritons was perfect. They satisfied my seafood craving with this.

Yeah I know the cocktail was only three shrimp...but they were jumbo and delicious. DH loved the tangy sauce and wolfed everything down (including the greens) in a matter of seconds. The waiter was shocked enough to make a comment. Apparently the greens were just for show (actually they were quite bitter) but DH loved it.

Next up; soup...it had an official name but it escapes me. I think consomme.

DH's first time tasting a cold soup - mango and papaya soup. He loved it.

I had the rosotto again, this one was much better then BBB's rosotto.

DH had the pulled pork sandwich. Good thing this is our second lunch cause his sandwich was small, very small.

So yep, we had two lunches. But in all fairness I hardly ate anything at the first lunch. Yep that is my story and I am sticking to it .

 

[missj1975]

So after we rolled ourselves out of Tritons, we headed to deck nine to see Ice Carving.

This was one of the main entertainment directors. DH loved him...their tastes in jokes were very similar. For example, the entertainment guy said "What's a henway?" Seriously! I just rolled my eyes while everyone scratched their heads. The entertainment guy chuckled and said "About three pounds." So pretty much the crowd continued scratching their heads while my DH roared in laughter. I just rolled my eyes cause my DH had already tried that joke on me while we were dating...and yet I still married him.

As the ice sculptor continues to work his magic, Pluto appears near by so we say quick hello's.

As the crowd played the guessing game on what was obviously going to be a swan, I snapped tons of pictures.

It was neat and only melted in about two seconds. Ok maybe it took more then two seconds but the swan definitely seemed to be crying to me.

As after walked around the ship for a little bit...

and headed to the Promenade Lounge for the Art Auction.

The Art Auction....hmmm...what should I say?...I wish my Google King would have researched cruise art auctions before we came...cause we wouldn't have wasted our time.

We did get free champagne and a "Free piece of art" which was a lousy 8X10 print of some lame country scene (wasn't even Disney themed).

So the art pieces were displayed in the lounge. Potential bidders are suppose to put purple cards on the pieces they are interested in. That way the auctioneer will only auction the pieces people are interested in. We found one piece we wanted.

I think about ten people attended the auction. One particularly annoying couple grabbed a stack of the purple cards and started putting them on pretty much every picture. Why was I annoyed by this? Cause they didn't bid on a single piece. OMG, the whole auction was embarrassing. I felt so bad for the auctioneer cause no one was bidding...everyone was just sitting around staring at each other. I was like what the heck. Apparently everyone was there for the free champagne and a chance to win a free piece of art.

The auctioneer did sell two pieces, to a really nice couple who also won one of the raffle prizes. Yeah I was so happy for them. The second raffle prize went to the annoying couple. Oh well, I consoled myself with the thought that the prize wasn't even a Disney piece.

So we ended up not bidding on our desired piece...because the starting bid was $1200. Seriously!!! If you are looking for a deal, Cruise auctions are not the way to go. All the pieces had an opening bid of $200 or more. DH was willing to pay $500 but not more than that. We aren't into art that much. Needless to say, the art auctions are put on by a third party company...a company that just doesn't have the Disney Magic.

Oh look more goodies!!! The goodies quickly got us out of the crappy auction funk.

Time to unpack our Nassau shopping goodies. Here is a pic of all the free goodies I collected with the coupons Tiffany gave us.

Me admiring our Fish Extender Exchange goodies. Am I annoying you yet with the gift exchange photos? We were just so amazed that a group of "internet strangers" could extend so much generosity. Only on a Disney cruise. Disney brings out the Magic in people.

 

[iloverags2]

Two lunches! I love it! We have always managed to steer clear of the art auctions...thank goodness. And it sounds like that has been a wise decision.

I have to agree about FE...really is something only Disneyphiles can really understand, how complete strangers on the Internet are so thoughtful and giving. Always a treat to participate!

 

[SmithFamily2003]

I am seriously going on a cruise just to get the fish extender!

 

[zerog]

I did laugh at the Floridians though who had ear muffs, winter coats, mittens and still shivering - it was 50 people, not 15!

Hey!! I resemble that remark..
I got off the ship that day too.

Anything below 70 is FREEEEZING! BRRRRRrrrrr.....

"AWESOME" trip report. Takes me right back!!

 

[Princess Bette]

Sounds wonderful! When were there in March, it came a monsoon!! But DH and I were determined to get out shop. So off we go in the pouring rain! The straw market wasn't open but we did visit several stores including the rum store - loved the rum cakes - brought several home with us! I am so hoping that when we return in July on the Dream, that the weather cooperates and we can venture off the ship once again. What was so great was that we had our 6 year old son with us on the cruise. Luckily, he chose to stay behind on the ship in the kids club. All were happy! Keep your reports coming - enjoying them greatly!