some ? about the Wonder

[sln88]

Finally talked DH into trying a cruise(he is not too thrilled with the idea), so we are going to add a 3 dayer onto our Dis vacation in Oct. I can either go with DCL or RCI. It will be me, DH, 2 boys 8 and 11. Possibly a 17 yr old girl, but if she goes we will probably do RCI because it would cost too much on DCL.

so, my ? are
1- what is there to do in Nassau these days? The only thing I seem to read about is the Atlantis, which seems pretty pricey. I was there years ago, and think we did the fort and straw market, maybe a casino. I was not too impressed with the place- was hoping for some snorkeling???
2- can we leave the boys on ship for part of the day in Nassau? Are the kids clubs always open, or would we have to pay extra for it?
3- what are the hours of the kids club? Is there anywhere I can find copies of a typical schedule for the 3 day cruise?
4- is there an adult comedy club on board?
5- what will soda and drinks cost? Are there soda cards or can I bring my own?
6- is the food really that bad? I hate for it to be awful and turn hubby off of cruising. We are not very picky eaters, but this seems to be a big complaint on boards
7- so far, cheapest prices I have found are on the Disney website- which surprised me. anyone have any tips? I did check DU and they were higher than Disney
8- can I just book this now and cancel if need be(if the 17 yr old decides to come along?) any penalties?
9- can my 8 year old fall overboard? Not on accident, but if he was doing something dumb like climbing on rails? we had an "incident" at Universal once!

thanks!!

 

[Corryn]

1- what is there to do in Nassau these days?

You know, I was a little disappointed with Nassau. They tout Atlantis so much...We went to one of the public beaches next to RUI (next to Atlantis). We had to rent a lounge chair for $10 each. Ladies tried to sell us necklaces, etc. Men tried to sell us ganga and drinks. But I did notice they had banana boat rides and parasailing. We hung out on the beach, got a drink, took a cab ride through Nassau (we got a "private tour", I'm sure it was not intended) and he took us to Senor Frogs where we had a great lunch. My husband and our friend were involved in a drinking contest, he sang Karaoke, we did some shopping in the Straw Market, but that's about it. We had fun, but I don't know what else we would have done. That is not an island I would be interested in seeing again, just didn't know what to do.

2- can we leave the boys on ship for part of the day in Nassau? Are the kids clubs always open, or would we have to pay extra for it?
I'm looking at the Navigators and they have a full day planned for the kids while in Nassau from 9:00 am all the way to 1:00 am (for the Oceaneers Lab).
I am almost positive you can sign your kids in for the day. My girls are 11 & 12, but we wanted them to experience the island with us, and they wanted to see it as well. From 9:00 - 12:00 they take over the Teen Club, Aloft. They watch movies and play games and listen to the latest music. At 12:15 - 12:45 they have lunch at Animators Palate. Then they get ice cream at Scoops at 1:00. They take a Bridge Tour at 1:30 - 2:00. They then go into the lab from 2:15 - 3:45 and hang out and learn how to create an animation cell. At 4:00 they go to Studio Sea and discover the wonder of drama onstage - they perform a skit on stage. At 5:00 they have dinner at Beach Blanket Buffet and then play Bingo at 5:45, also at Beach Blanket Buffet.

3- what are the hours of the kids club? Is there anywhere I can find copies of a typical schedule for the 3 day cruise?

4- is there an adult comedy club on board? It wasn't a comedy club, but a comedian performed in WaveBands but in my honest opinion, it wasn't that funny.

5- what will soda and drinks cost? Are there soda cards or can I bring my own? All the kids we cruised with ran up to Deck 9 to grab a soda. They never once even thought about purchasing one from a bar. They had no problem with it either. It is Free up on Deck 9.

6- is the food really that bad? I hate for it to be awful and turn hubby off of cruising. We are not very picky eaters, but this seems to be a big complaint on boards
We're New Yorkers used to great food (especially Italian) and we thought the food was great. Now, if you're some sort of food critic, well, I don't know then......

7- so far, cheapest prices I have found are on the Disney website- which surprised me. anyone have any tips? I did check DU and they were higher than Disney
Check AAA. We got a Totally Awesome Rate from them, and then a travel agent beat it by $50, which was even better!

8- can I just book this now and cancel if need be(if the 17 yr old decides to come along?) any penalties? You are allowed to book and cancel up to 75 days before the ship sets sail with no penalties.