Should we avoid the Wonder until it goes into Dry Dock?

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Just got off the Wonder on Monday in Vancouver. My stateroom looked not much different or in any worse shape than the first time I was on her 12 years ago.

Only thing I really noticed was the propeller clock had been replaced with a standard type alarm clock.

 

[jburge12000]

Been on the Dream, Fantasy and the Wonder. Going on the Magic next month. Our Wonder trip was after sailing twice on the Dream and once on the Fantasy and no one in my family missed any of the things that make those ships unique when we were on the Wonder. I think part of the charm of Wonder is that it is a little different from the other ships now. My kids had been in the kids club on the Dream and Fantasy, and loved them, but they really enjoyed the different things that were in the Wonder. The Wonder might be older, but being our first time on that ship, it was all new to us. The state rooms were in great condition, we did not notice any thing that was showing its age. The only time we made any reference to the other ships was when we first arrived at port and saw how much smaller it looked then the Dream class ships. Once we got on, never crossed our minds again. Enjoyed the smaller ship so much, we did not hesitate at all to book our next cruise on the Magic while on board.

 

[plutos1fan]

No she's a fine ship and staterooms are being upgraded. The rooms are not worn out, and it's going to be quite a while until it has a major refurbishment as that will not occur until the new Panama Canal opens in 2016 ish. Now whilst Magic was refurbished in fact some places were a little worn they didn't do everything.
All ships have frequent maintenance and as there as sea issues occur, there like floating hotels and therefore things get worn all the time.

Hi,

Like many people have said before (like the quoted message above), I would not skip a trip on the Wonder just because she has not been upgraded like the Magic. My family has been on 6 cruises 2 on the Magic and 4 on the wonder. With that being said you can see that our family has no problem going on the Wonder. We love it so much that we hope that when the Wonder goes into dry dock in 2016, she does not change too drastically because we love her the way she is now especially Parrot Cay, Pluto's Dog House, the double staircase in the lobby, and the mickey kid's pool.

 

[thumpie's mom]

The Wonder is a beautiful ship and has been very well maintained. Our last 4 cruises have been on her and our next two are booked on the Wonder as well. I agree with many of the other posters, I hope when she goes into dry dock they do NOT change her the way the Magic has been changed! We love Parrot Cay, the double staircase, the gorgeous chandelier in the atrium, Route 66 etc. All the ships in the fleet are beautiful and you can't go wrong going on any of them.

 

[WestFamily]

First time cruiser but not a first timer to many things Disney, we just got off the Wonder on Monday. It shows it's age but it does so gracefully. There may be scuffs and such here and there but unless you're looking for them, you don't notice it. I noticed small things because after reading this forum I was looking for the hubbub that people were making of it.

For even an above average cruiser, there is nothing wrong with the ship. There was maintenance being performed everyday. Fresh paint here. Another coat of varnish there. Even one of the pools got a fresh coat of paint one night.

Numerous people we talked to that had been on many cruises all still agreed, the Wonder is a beautiful ship and most said it's still their favorite thanks to it's size and constant upkeep.

 

[Ajojo]

I'd sail the Wonder right this minute. It's a beautiful ship! Don't wait. If you can do it, do it!

I totally agree! Any DCL vacations are great and we will sail from Galveston this winter

 

[LJC1861]

We were in Stateroom 7600 on the 6/22 sailing in Alaska. The stateroom was not up to the usual DCL standards in Lisa's and my opinion, and we have sailed on the Wonder, Magic and Fantasy, with the Wonder being our favorite ship. Our cabin had wood veneer peeling all over the front of the sink in the bathroom with the toilet. In the shower room there was mold in the tub. The veranda was in pretty bad shape as well with the wood trim peeling badly. The deck furniture was badly faded and worn looking. If I had been a first time cruiser, I would have been very disappointed, especially knowing that Disney charges top dollar and the rooms should be equivalent to a 4 star hotel. Even as a return cruiser, knowing DCL standards I was disappointed in the quality of the room. We did bring it to Guest Services attention, just to let them know that there were some issues, not that we expected any sort of compensation. They were extremely apologetic about everything, especially the mold in the bathroom and offered to move us to another cabin. Due to our FE, they realized that it might be difficult and we had already unpacked.....so, they made it right in many other ways with lots of unexpected little surprises throughout the cruise. They could not have been nicer about it, and totally agreed that the condition of the room was NOT up to the usual DCL standard. They cleaned the mold, but were not able to fix the other problems while we were in the room due to the varnish causing odors throughout the remainder of the cruise, so they stated that they would take the room out of service after we disembarked. I hope they did.

 

[KristiMc]

I am booked to sail on the Wonder for Christmas this year. I recently learned from a very reliable source that the Wonder will be going to dry dock for 3 weeks in October and will be having a major overhaul done then.

The rumor is that the Wonder is scheduled for a major drydock October 2016 not this October.

 

[Chrisey]

Our family has been on the Dream, Magic and Wonder. We are going on the Fantasy in August BUT we would all choose the Wonder over all the other ships.

While there are some activities missing, the staff more than makes up for it. The CM's are the warmest most welcoming, in our opinion.

 

[phinz]

The rumor is that the Wonder is scheduled for a major drydock October 2016 not this October.

I hope so, because we specifically booked our March, 2016, cruise specifically because we wanted to experience the Wonder before they remuddle her.

 

[oam]

We have 1 cruise under our belt, we did the Dream a few weeks ago. We are looking into going again but for a longer time. Thinking the Fantasy for 7 days or maybe the Wonder for 5 but since its the only 1 that has not had a dry dock to refurb and while they are doing the rooms over while its at sea. What are the chances that we are not going to get a old outdated/worn room. What about the other parts of the ship. Should we wait until its been through its dry dock?

Every one should avoid The Wonder on 2/12/16.( Keep the crowds down) That's called humor for a lot of people!

 

[SillyInventor]

I hope so, because we specifically booked our March, 2016, cruise specifically because we wanted to experience the Wonder before they remuddle her.

Well, at the moment there is a huuuuge gap between her arrival at Port Canaveral on Sep 8, 2016 (coming from a very early EBPC, which directly follows a shorter Vancouver to San Diego repo) and her next cruise that will embark Nov 10, 2016 out of Galveston. Current rumor is she will travel Trans Atlantic to Cadiz, without passengers, be refurbed and then return to Galveston without passengers, but nothing has been officially confirmed that this is the moment nor what work will be performed.

 

[phinz]

Well, at the moment there is a huuuuge gap between her arrival at Port Canaveral on Sep 8, 2016 (coming from a very early EBPC, which directly follows a shorter Vancouver to San Diego repo) and her next cruise that will embark Nov 10, 2016 out of Galveston. Current rumor is she will travel Trans Atlantic to Cadiz, without passengers, be refurbed and then return to Galveston without passengers, but nothing has been officially confirmed that this is the moment nor what work will be performed.

This is excellent news. We want to experience a Classic while they are still classic.

 

[southerngirl528]

I've been on the Magic several times as we have on the Wonder. I've done the Dream once. Still haven't done the Fantasy but will in the near future. I'm with many others here. I see the Wonder as a well-kept lady. She is classy from bow to stern and we also marvel at how there is someone cleaning, painting, scrubbing, polishing, etc, at all hours of the day and night. After doing a Dream class ship, we did of course love it, but found a few minor things lacking in our minds. For instance, the dining rooms our of necessity are much larger. But the closest bathrooms to the dining rooms seemed woefully small for the number of passengers. We had 2 tiny princesses with us, and I spent a LOT of time in line waiting for a bathroom. Or a lot of time walking, walking, walking to find another bathroom without such a line.

It may well be because our first cruise with DCL was in '99 and we have sailed the classics several times, but we love them. I'm on the Wonder 10 nt from Hawaii and cannot WAIT! And count me in with those that want Parrot Cay to REMAIN Parrot Cay!! The pix I've seen of Carioca's are just…..bleh.