Our "Wonder"ful 20th anniversary cruise 7/22-26, *pictures added* day 1, 2 & 3

[noahsmom]

The cast - myself (45), dh (43), ds (9). This was our 4th cruise, 3rd on the Wonder. First time with a category 9 cabin (2070), all previous cruises were category 6.

July 22nd (Day 1)
After two long, hot days at WDW, I was very happy to be packing for the cruise. We stayed at Saratoga Springs (we joined DVC last year on the Magic) which we enjoyed. Our location was great, the one bedroom villa very nice. DH took DS swimming while got our things packed for the cruise. Our towncar (FL Tours) was scheduled for 10:30 am.

At 9:30 everything seemed to be packed so I called bell services. They came right over. After the suitcases were on his cart I decided to do a final room check. Good thing because somehow I forgot all the clothes in the drawers! I had done laundry so a lot of the stuff was folded in piles. So everything from the drawers was quickly shoved in the top suitcase. I was a bit embarrassed as the bellman stood watching me.

After collecting DH & DS at the pool we went up to wait for our towncar. It was already waiting for us! Off to the ship! We did make a quick stop at the Publix by the port for more sunscreen and Mt. Dew for DH.

The ship looked as fantastic as ever. We quickly went through security and checkin. We received boarding number 7. I had already checked DS into the lab so very little needed to be done there. We waited about 20 minutes to board.

Once on board, I just love when they announce us, we were directed to Parrot Cay for lunch. Let the eating begin!! DH enjoyed the corn dogs, while DS enjoyed the shrimp - I know that's a little backwards, but that's my guys!

We went to our cabin after lunch. This was the 1st time for a category 9 so we were a little apprehensive about not having a veranda. We really didn't miss it. Without it we spent more time up on decks 9 & 10. Also DS had checkout privileges this time so we liked that he could go back to the cabin and we didn't have worry about the veranda.
DS had a basket waiting for him in the cabin. Shirley does great work!

The lifeboat drill was smooth and short. The new life jackets are an improvement but it was still hot! When we got back to our room our luggage had been delivered so I was able to unpack before we went up for the sailaway party. After watching a little of the party we headed to the bow on deck 10 to watch the ship leave port. The battle of the ships horns was fun, the Wonder won hands down over the RCCL ship.

Our dinner rotation was TAAP. We had Palo reservations for the last night because that was the day of our anniversary so I was disappointed that we'd miss Parrot Cay, but not so much that I wanted to switch Palo. Dinner was good, our table mates were friendly. Our server Sujas (not sure on the spelling) from Thialand, was good although difficult to understand. The assistant server was Greg seemed nervous, he told us often that he was new to dinning, he'd been a room service person before. Levi was our head server, very nice and handsome - more on him later.

DS left dinner before dessert because he was itching to get into the lab. DH and I wandered the ship. Made some purchases in Treasure Ketch. I also went to Pippa's shopping talk. This was very helpful for us. Pippa is very nice, she helped us a great deal in Nassau. We picked DS up about 9:20, got some pizza slices and went to our cabin to relax and go to sleep.

Tomorrow is Nassau. DH says I'm getting something sparkley for our anniversary!!

to be continued...

 

[anewmac]

aww very cute. sounds like fun. cant wait to hear what you got!!!

 

[ashleylovesthebeach]

I am subscribing.. We set sail in 10 days and these trip reports is what is making the waiting bearable!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[noahsmom]

July 23 - Day 2 Nassau

Dh got up early and went to work out. We had breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet. We all love the omelettes. DH and DS enjoy the cream filled donuts. After breakfast we watched the ship dock at Nassau. DS went to the Oceaneers Lab so DH and I could do a little shopping. July 25th is our 20th wedding anniversary, I've always wanted a 3 diamond anniversary ring. After talking with Pippa, we decided to try Diamonds International. Armed with our Savvy Shopper book and VIP card we went into Nassau. There are 2 DI stores in Nassau. We stopped at the smaller one first where we met Monique and Loshanda. They were terrific. I ended up finding a new engagement/wedding ring set. Not wanting to purchase the 1st thing we saw, we decided to check out the other store. This store has a bigger selection and as we were looking Pippa appeared. After finding another ring set at this store DH said it would be nice if we could see both sets. Pippa talked to the manager and the next thing we knew Monique appeared with the set from the other store. Everyone was very helpful and DH bought the ring set from the 1st store for me.

Since the rings needed to be sized and the diamond set, we decided to go back to the ship for lunch. After lunch we collected DS and took him back into Nassau with us. He had a great time at Del Sol. We picked up the rings and headed back to the Wonder. There was some rain in Nassau but we were either in a store or on the ship so we avoided getting wet!

Dinner at Animator's Palate was very good but I don't remember what any of us had. After dinner we went to Hercules the Musical. We really enjoy this show so we were glad it was still on the Wonder. After the show DH & DS picked up some pizza for their bedtime snack. We tried to get to bed a bit early since tomorrow is Castaway Cay!

 

[noahsmom]

We woke up bright and early for Castaway Cay! At Beach Blanket Buffet we watched the Wonder dock for the best day of the cruise! After breakfast we went back to our cabin (2070) to change for a day at the beach. We waited in line to debark for about 10 minutes then it was off to the beach. We took the tram and had no problem finding a great spot with a hammock. The location we chose was just past Cookies, across from the kids play area in the water. DS went right out to the play area with his sand bucket to collect hermit crabs. DH and I went to rent floaties. When we returned to out spot DS was yelling for us to come over. He had found an octopus (I don't think it was a squid but it might have been)! If you had stretched it's "legs" out it was probably about 8" wide. Very exciting! DS scopped it into his bucket and took it farther out and released it so no one would step on it.

We spent the morning floating and/or building a sand fort. There were storms around us but they seemed to be magically just missing us.

We had lunch at Cookies. I've never been very impressed with this meal. It's ok. I had a cheeseburger and a bag of chips. I tried the potato salad and cole slaw but didn't like it. The chocolate chip cookies are deceiving. They look hard and over baked but they are actually soft and chewy, very good.

After lunch we resumed the hard work we were doing before lunch . It's a lot of work floating about in the water. At about 1:30, as I was floating along, I heard a lot of rumbling. After turning my float to take a look as saw very dark skies stretching as far across the horizon as I could see. There was no avoiding this storm. After getting back to the beach I had to wake up DH (asleep in the hammock) and call DS in from the water. Time to head back to the ship before the storm came. We've been caught in storms before at Castaway Cay, I'd much rather be back on the ship. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare. I felt so bad for the kids we could see running back to the ship in the rain. The rain lasted about an hour. We decided to take showers and stay on the ship. We had early dinning so this worked out well for us.

Dinner was back in Animator's Palate for Pirate Night. The menu was same as we had last year on the Magic. That was ok because everything was very good. DS wore his "costume" and was excited about the Pirate party. I don't know what it is about pirate night but DS seems to pick that night to have his "too tired" melt down. Last year on the Magic we ended up leaving the party early because he had a melt down. This year we didn't even make it to the party. I don't even remember what he got so upset about but we took him back to the cabin and put him to bed. Both DH & DS were sound asleep when the fireworks started. Oh well, maybe next time. At least they will both be good and rested for our day at sea.

 

[chepic]

Thanks for sharing!!! We are going on the Magic in Jan for our 20th anniversary with our DS (6) and can't wait.

Che

 

[noahsmom]

Day 4 - Day at Sea and our 20th anniversary

We slept in (well that's sleeping until 7:30 for us). Because DH and I were going to Palo for brunch we took DS up to BBB and watched him eat. Then he went swimming for about an hour until we had take him to the Lab so we could go to Palo. Brunch at Palo is amazing. There is so much to choose from. Our server was Agnes and she was terrific! We tried hard not to eat too much because we were also going to have dinner here. Agnes saw to it that we were plenty full when we left! DH ordered the beef tenderloin, I had the tilapia and then we split the pasta dish. It was all very good but I think dh's beef was the best. The King Crab legs were also great!

After brunch dh and I decided to relax on deck 10. There were lots of activities in the lab that DS wanted to do so we didn't need to worry about him much today. It was so hot on deck 10 that I only lasted about 30 minutes. The ship was barely moving (I think so we didn't catch up to any storms) so there was no breeze. DH loves saunas so he was in heaven. I wandered about the ship, shopped a bit, went to Disney Dreams matinee (DS told me the night before that he didn't need to see it again). DH did go to Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End. It was the only daytime showing of the movie. I really didn't want to spend 3 hours watching a movie.

I did get DS out of the lab for a little bit before dinner. We went to play Bingo. DS didn't want to participate in the graduation because he had just done it last year. Later that night when I picked him up to see Dreams (yes he changed his mind) we saw that the graduation hats had changed. A very nice CM heard us and gave DS a shirt and hat even though he didn't do the ceremony.

Dinner at Palo was wonderful. Agnes was our server again and we had a great time. Here's a picture of the chocolate souffle with the white chocolate being poured into it with dark chocolate soon to follow (the pana cotta is very good too)!

After dinner I took DS to see Dreams, DH went to the hot tub. Then we had to pack. The last night is so sad.

This ends my trip report. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions let me know!

 

[squitty]

Thank you for writing your report.

We will be celebrating our 20th wdding anniversary on our first cruise in September. I don't think I will be getting anything sparkly though like you. I just got a new wedding set 2 years ago. Your rings do sound lovely though.

 

[WeatherbySwann]

Nice TR! We were on the same cruise!

 

[smeecanada]

July 23 - Day 2 Nassau

back to the ship for lunch. After lunch we collected DS and took him back into Nassau with us. He had a great time at Del Sol. We picked up the rings and headed back to the Wonder.

What is Del Sol? We are trying to decide what to do at Nassau for the day. We sail on the 26th and it's our first cruise. DS is 12 and DD is 11.

 

[TLANE30]

Does anyone know how to contact "Shirley" that did that great basket? I want to have one waiting for my son when we go - he's 5.
THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[noahsmom]

Smeecanada, Del Sol is a souvenior shop basically. They sell shirts, sun glasses, hats, makeup, frizbees, etc. Everything they sell changes color in the sun. If you goggle Del Sol you can find them.

Tlane30 you can find Shirley's store if you google The Perfect Gift (add Florida and you should get it with no problem). I don't think we are allowed to post links.

 

[smeecanada]

Smeecanada, Del Sol is a souvenior shop basically. They sell shirts, sun glasses, hats, makeup, frizbees, etc. Everything they sell changes color in the sun. If you goggle Del Sol you can find them.

Okay. I wasn't thinking store when I asked the query. My Dad brought back a cool shirt for my Son from Del Sol when he was in Key West about 3 yrs ago. It still fits DS and it's been washed many times. Need to have a look there when we go. Thanks.

 

[lillygator]

thanks for sharing!