Day 1 Embarkation and our first view of something WONDERful……..
We wake up around 8 or so, and were anxious to get on the road to Port Canaveral. We left the Boardwalk around 9:30 and the drive to the port took about an hour and was a very easy drive but lots of tolls on 528 (at least 3 toll booths, I think). Fork out the change honey!!
We crossed the bridge going over the Indian River and “OMG, there She is”. The ship looked beautiful from the road, and we got more and more excited as we continued to approach. I WAS SOOO GIDDY!! I have never seen a cruise ship up close like that!!! I know…I’m sheltered.
The entire embarkation process was very easy. Port Canaveral is well laid out and very organized…and very well decorated for Xmas!! Before entering the dock area, they check your documents and identification and then you drop off your luggage, before heading across the street to park—4 night cruise is $60.
Check in was very smooth. We arrived about 10:30 and the entire process took about 15 minutes. We used Disney’s “on line” check in before we left home so they had everything already in system. They checked our passports, scanned a credit card, and we were done. We received boarding pass group number 6. We thought we were there early so wasn’t sure why we got 6…when did groups 1-5 arrive?
Boarding began about 11:45. THE SHIP IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Due to some damage that occurred to the main gangway the week before during a strong storm, we boarded using an alternate gangway rather than entering through the main lobby. Some people complained about this, but since this was our first cruise, we didn’t even seem to notice.
Upon boarding, you are directed to one of two places for a lunch buffet; either Parrot Cay or Beach Blanket Buffet. Parrot Cay was full so they directed us to BBB. No biggie!! We overheard one guy throwing a FIT because he wanted to eat at Parrot Cay!! Dude, the food is the same at both places. The food was good, and the service was great! However, we were too excited to really enjoy the meal!!
After lunch, we wandered around the ship until 1:30, when our room was ready. When we finally got to the room we immediately fell in love with it. This was our first cruise, and while the room was a bit small, it was laid out very well.
Upon entering, you have two “split bathrooms” on the left with a big closet on the right. The split bathroom is pretty cool with one room housing a sink and commode and the other housing a sink and tub/shower. After the bathrooms and closet, you enter the bedroom part which is a full bed with two nightstands. Beyond that is the sitting area with a loveseat, table, storage unit with a 9” tv, a mini fridge and a dressing table with big mirror, bright lights and a stool(very nice for the ladies!).
The end of the room is a wall of windows with a sliding glass door leading out to a good-sized verandah with a table and two chairs. The verandah was sooo worth it!! We got the most beautiful views!! All in all, we were very impressed.
Two or our bags were in the hallway waiting for us, and the other two arrived within 15 minutes. We spent some time unpacking and getting organized in our room.
TIP: You can easily slide a few luggage bags underneath the bed for extra storage.
At 4:00 pm there was a mandatory lifeboat drill “muster drill” which was quick and very organized. After the lifeboat drill, there was the Sail Away party on the top two decks. This was fun, but was definitely geared towards children, complete with lots of silly dancing and visits from everyone’s favorites (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale). I had this streamer waving it around going crazy with it as we were “sailing away”…..I think this guy next to me was going to strangle me, I kept hitting him with the darn thing….on accident….OOPS!!
Afterwards, we went back to room to dress for the nightly show and dinner. The shows were all very good and tonight’s was “The Golden Mickey’s”. It was a lot of fun.
TIP: Get there early and try to sit more towards the front of the theater….it is just so much more neater when you can see everything up close!!
Upon check in you receive your dinner rotation. Ours was APPT, which equates to Animator’s Palate, Parrot Cay, Parrott Cay, Tritons. Your serving staff rotates with you throughout the restaurants so you get the same team each evening. We asked for and received the second seating, which was for 8:15. We also requested a table by ourselves, and were thrilled when we received our request!! Actually, we were quite relieved. We are not the most social couple. Besides, we wanted an “intimate” dinner. The dress code at dinner is quite casual. There is one night that they deem to be “dress up night”, but not everybody follows this guideline. We ended up dressing up each night, and loved it!
Prior to our cruise, we were both a bit worried about getting seasick. While we did feel the movement on a few occasions, we NEVER once got sick or anything close to it. In fact, we loved the feeling of the ship moving as we were drifting off to sleep.
Tonight’s dinner (as were all dinners) was great! Animator’s Palate (AP) is a cute restaurant. The restaurant is all black and white with cartoon character’s adorning the walls. Throughout the meal, the room becomes “colorful” as the walls start changing color and the servers change into colored vests.
Now, you know I would LOVE to post what we had for dinner here….BUT regretfully we did not take any pics of our appetizers or main meals. I don’t know what we were thinking!! Maybe we were REALLY hungry that night and just forgot???? We DID take pictures of our dessert though!! I had the chocolate cake and hubby had the chocolate peanut butter pie. Both were very good…but the PB pie was better!!
We finished dinner around 9:30 and wobbled around the ship a bit before retiring to our cabin. FYI: You never go hungry on a
Disney Cruise!!!
Next up…Nassau!! Honey, I REALLY want one of those Oprah watches!!!!
Approaching Port Canaveral....
Almost there.....
I think I see something!!!!
WOW....THERE SHE IS!!!!!!!
Inside Port Canaveral
We EXPLORE the WONDER.......
Here we are waiting for our cabin to open up
Lunch at the Beach Blanket Buffet
My salad....... my husband thinks I am gross because I put beets on my salad..lol
Here is his plain O'LE salad...
The buffet food....
My plate
hubby's plate
Our Bahama Mamas...
hubby's...
My "virgin" version... I know...NO FUN huh??
It was a good lunch!!
Our Stateroom.... 7568 We were on the 7th deck.
Verandah
Sink/Shower
DAY 1 on THE WONDER pictures CONTINUED ON NEXT POST........
(your not allowed to smile in a passport photo)
)
No thank you, we’ll simply take your bus back to the airport and rent from Enterprise. She soon changed her tune but it left a very bad taste in my mouth. 
