We put the DYS in Functional, Completing our ABC’s

[Lesley Wake]

I put my bag on the seat between us and dug in it for a while. I really was looking for something, but I had found out that the plane was not completely full and I had hoped we could keep that extra seat open and have more space. If someone did want to sit in our row, I would move to the middle.

We lucked out and the seat remained vacant and we had plenty of room.

Yay! That is always the best!

 

[jenseib]

Yay! That is always the best!

It sure is

 

[jenseib]

We decided to head outside and check the area out and scout for a dinner location. J was tired and just wanted us to find something and PT and family were having a crisis as Z left his backpack in the taxi. It was an expensive backpack and had his expensive headphones in it. They called several taxi companies and had no luck and I don’t believe it was ever found.


sju12 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We walked down the road and found several restaurants to choose from and sent off suggestions to the others. We stopped at a Walgreens (or some pharmacy as there were 2 right down the road) and I bought a pack of water to bring on the ship, though we did get into them ahead of time as well.


We headed back to the apartment and left the water and relaxed a bit and messaged back and forth about dining options. Since Hard Rock Café is a known name and place, we finally settled on that. It would be an easy landmark to find and should have food we all like.


We set off that way and put our name in and soon PT and family arrived and we were seated. J and MK arrived a little later. We then found out that we all were actually pretty close to each other. PT said they walked only a few blocks from the opposite direction and J said they took an Uber, but it was walkable as well and just a few blocks away too.


I will start by saying this was the worst experience at a Hard Rock Café I have ever personally had. The service was not bad, but not good either. The choices of food were very limited and it just had an odd vibe and took a really long time to get our food.


We had M take a group shot of us.


pr36 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Claire went with the Margarita Flat bread.



pr18 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This was good and I should have gone with that choice, or we should have shared. Claire is picky and wasn’t finding anything to her liking so I suggested this to her and told her to take the tomatoes off. She said “What about the margarita part?” I explained that that just meant it had tomatoes on it. She told me later that she always that that meant it had alcohol in it. Hahaha…..Now she knows it’s a safe option.


I got the club sandwich.


pr19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was odd. Usually clubs have sliced meat but this had a big slab of chicken on each side. It was just ok, but I wasn’t a fan of the thick chicken….then I went to my second half and took a bite and it was DISGUSTING!!!! I don’t know what was wrong with the chicken, but I could not eat it. It had a gross taste and it lingered. I ate a piece of Claire’s pizza to get rid of the taste.


It took forever to get our bill.


sju13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sju14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


pr20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We all look tired.


sju15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


The bill was a bit high for the quality of the food, but it is what it is. We did take the rest of Claire’s pizza with us.

The company was great, though MK didn’t speak too much and I wondered if he was shy with all of us loud mouths. J assured me he could be just as loud and we would get to know him and like him.


J and MK went off to get some gelato and we walked off with PT and family for a bit.


We did want to see the beach, so we headed towards the water.


pr21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


When we had been looking at hotel options, one kept popping up. I can’t remember the name off hand, but it was something like Sunset Beach hotel….and it was really cheap and we had wondered if it was any good. We walked by it and it was very small and I am glad we didn’t go with it. I don’t know what the inside looked like, but the outside wasn’t impressive.


pr22 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I believe this is the beach behind the Marriott.


pr23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I had sandals on, so I walked out a bit, but the rest has regular shoes and stayed back.


sju16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It had cooled down quite a bit and actually chilly out, so I was surprised to see people swimming.


sju17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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I loved the crashing waves.


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It was very pretty!


pr31 by Jenseib, on Flickr


pr32 by Jenseib, on Flickr


The garbage can was overflowing though….someone needs to come empty that bugger.


pr33 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We stopped at the Tollhouse Cookie store, but oddly the cookies didn’t look appealing to me. And it didn’t smell of cookies. If they had brought out some fresh ones I would have been all over it.


sju20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We made a few other stops and then spotted this store and just totally laughed….and we did NOT stop here.


sju21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We split up from PT’s family and walked around some more.


This is in front of our apartment. I think someone ran up to use the bathroom.


pr34 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We walked the other way for a bit and then back towards the pharmacy as M wanted to get something, passing the Hard Rock again.


pr35 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We all had been up since like 3 or 4 in the morning our time and it was taking its toll so we decided to settle down and get some sleep.


As we were getting ready I was also out on the balcony and notice a colorful bus blaring music….a party bus. Wow it was loud. Up until then we never really heard too much. Well that bus must have parked nearby and the Music never stopped. It was loud and banging through most of the night.


I took a video of the bus as I spotted it (it’s flashing) but it didn’t capture the music because the AC unit was loud right there.

We then discovered that the beds and bedding were not the greatest and I had to just put that all in the back of my head or I would never sleep. Also the curtains did not cover the whole window, with each end piping light in….and of course we had the pumping music outside.


It was like 8 PM now and we just wanted to get some sleep so we could start the next day and be ready.

I thought how funny it was that I was in bed at 8, when my original flight would not have even landed in San Juan yet. I was glad we changed to the early flight as we had a nice time with our friends.

 

[dizneeat]

All caught up again.

I did remember Skip "skipping" out of the trip, but hadn't realized it was on such short notice! So happy it still worked out for you. How lucky you even got the points back for his flight! That is something that would not happen here in Europe.

Your room looks nice in the photos, sorry it was not as clean as one would expect. I have never done airbnb, I use bookings . com and so far we have always been pleasantly surprised with our accommodations. We just returned from Disneyland Paris and had rented a house and it was squeeky clean - even had water and juice in the fridge and condiments in a drawer. Loved it. (Sorry for being side tracked)

Sorry your dinner did not turn out to be what you expected it to be, but the Margarita Pizza comments made us both laugh.

No fun wanting to sleep and having non closing curtains and the party bus out front. Hope you got at least a little sleep. Can't wait for more!

 

[WDW Fan]

I can't believe how crazy your plans got the day you were to leave as I would have been totally freaking out. So sorry that Skip had to back out like that but how nice that you were able to get a replacement for him at the last minute! I am a crazed person when it comes to cleanliness at hotels so I know I would not have slept at all at your Airbnb apartment! We had a stop in San Juan during our RCCL a few years back and I was not impressed at all with the city. It's not a place that I have any desire to travel to again. I'm so excited to hear about the cruise!!! I noticed your banner for tentative fall 2020 travel...where are you planning on going?

 

[lklgoodman]

Your dd's comment about the pizza was hilarious and so cute! This summer we're spending a week with my dh's parents and his siblings and their families. His sister found a lake house on the Airbnb site that we're ALL(20 people!!) staying at for a week. I plan on bringing lots of cleaning supplies and my own towels/sheets!! Looking forward to reading about how you liked the Wonder. Love seeing all your pics, you always take such great ones!! It inspires me to take ones around the ship that I probably wouldn't have thought about taking if I hadn't seen some of yours. We're suppose to get more snow tomorrow and all next week, this has been the lonnnnngest winter!!! Last week we had a 30 ft pine tree fall over in our yard from the 60mph winds!​

 

[jenseib]

I did remember Skip "skipping" out of the trip, but hadn't realized it was on such short notice! So happy it still worked out for you. How lucky you even got the points back for his flight! That is something that would not happen here in Europe.

Lucky we had booked with Southwest. And I really had been smart to begin with. I guess I just had that thought in the back of my head....when I booked the flights, I booked Claire and I and then I booked Skip separately. So when I had to cancel his portion it was done easily and didn't mess with our bookings at all. I think I would have had to call to cancel him if I hadn't done it that way.

Your room looks nice in the photos, sorry it was not as clean as one would expect. I have never done airbnb, I use bookings . com and so far we have always been pleasantly surprised with our accommodations. We just returned from Disneyland Paris and had rented a house and it was squeeky clean - even had water and juice in the fridge and condiments in a drawer. Loved it. (Sorry for being side tracked)

Now that sounds nice! I also wonder if San Juans standards just aren't the same? I don't know, but its sad that this cleaning company doesn't do a better job as it is a nice little place for the most part.

Sorry your dinner did not turn out to be what you expected it to be, but the Margarita Pizza comments made us both laugh.

I totally laughed when she told me that about the pizza.

No fun wanting to sleep and having non closing curtains and the party bus out front. Hope you got at least a little sleep. Can't wait for more!

We did actually sleep pretty well, but we were all so tired. M works nights, so she was out of whack for a few days, but she decided to not take a naps or she would mess herself up later.

I can't believe how crazy your plans got the day you were to leave as I would have been totally freaking out. So sorry that Skip had to back out like that but how nice that you were able to get a replacement for him at the last minute!

I was! But I guess being married to this crazy guy I have learned to roll with it too. I knew what to do about him, but I was just more worried about replacing him. LOL.

I am a crazed person when it comes to cleanliness at hotels so I know I would not have slept at all at your Airbnb apartment!

Yeah you would have not liked this place. Thankfully it was just one night.

We had a stop in San Juan during our RCCL a few years back and I was not impressed at all with the city. It's not a place that I have any desire to travel to again.

We actually enjoyed San Juan. We spent a day after the cruise too. Now I don't think I would want to stay many more days there and if I did, I would want a beach hotel with activities right there.
It was pretty hot there though.

I'm so excited to hear about the cruise!!

Coming up!!!!

I noticed your banner for tentative fall 2020 travel...where are you planning on going?

That's Karin's banner. LOL. I wish I had something planned, but right now I just have to get through March. hahaha.

Your dd's comment about the pizza was hilarious and so cute!

Wasn't that cute? I wondered why she would never get it in the past when it was one of the few options I knew she would eat.

This summer we're spending a week with my dh's parents and his siblings and their families. His sister found a lake house on the Airbnb site that we're ALL(20 people!!) staying at for a week. I plan on bringing lots of cleaning supplies and my own towels/sheets!!

Good idea! At one time I took a wet tissue and ran it along the baseboards. haha.

Looking forward to reading about how you liked the Wonder.

We really enjoyed it. I will tell you now, I think Tiana's is my favorite DCL restaurant.

Love seeing all your pics, you always take such great ones!! It inspires me to take ones around the ship that I probably wouldn't have thought about taking if I hadn't seen some of yours.

Thanks. I am mainly using my point and shoot and my phone these days. I just can't carry the big DSLR around any more. I have some shoulder issues and neck pain, so I decided comfort is better. Sadly I think my point and shoot might need to be replaced soon, but I just don't want to spend the money on a new one yet.

We're suppose to get more snow tomorrow and all next week, this has been the lonnnnngest winter!!!

Ick. I have not looked at the weather lately. I know Skip keeps telling me daily that we are below average in temps. I am ready for Spring.

Last week we had a 30 ft pine tree fall over in our yard from the 60mph winds!

Oh gosh. Yeah we had winds like that too. Luckily nothing major blew over then. We had a lot of broken tree branches from the ice storm the week or so before though.

 

[jenseib]

Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, Embarking the Disney Wonder


With an early night, I woke up pretty early. Luckily I got much better sleep than I thought I would. M said she woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and the music was still pumping outside. I don’t know if this is a nightly thing, or if it was because it was a Saturday night.


M and I decided to brave the shower, which once we gave it a look over, was not so desirable. She went first and said it wasn’t so bad, but the bathroom floor will flood and that the water temperature had basically its own mind. I debated and decided I would shower now. Claire on the other hand said she would rather die than use the shower here …and she has to wash her hair daily or it gets greasy….and she hadn’t washed it yesterday…so you know she was disgusted with the shower if she was letting it go another day.


While Emily showered, I had walked downstairs. I took this pic of the lobby. We totally cracked up as their tree was still up….and it was a LIVE tree….that was completely dead. It was so dry and just had to be the biggest fire hazard.


sju22 by Jenseib, on Flickr


After I headed back up and showered, we gathered our stuff, but still had a ton of time before we had to leave….so we went for a walk. We decided to go a little further one way today and also possibly go to the beach again too.


sju23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sju24 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was pretty and we had a nice time checking everything out. We saw this waffle place and I had to take a picture because Claire used to be obsessed with waffles. She’s kind of passed the waffle obsession now. She was not nearly as excited about the place as I was.


sju25 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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The beach was so pretty this morning.


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I have no clue what this guy was doing.


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Selfie time.


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There were a couple of crabs walking on the rocks. You can’t see them very well in my picture.


sju38 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Video

Video

We took some pictures of ourselves.


sju114 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sju116 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We had a nice time but decided it was time to head back.


sju39 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sju40 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We stopped at the CVS and did a little shopping around and then back to our apartment.


sju41 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We fidgeted around but were restless and wanted to get to the ship. We were all excited. I messaged PT and J and then we decided we were just going to head to the port now. PT said they were ready too and heading out. J was not quite ready, but soon would be.


We dragged our bags downstairs and went out front and got an Uber. I wasn’t sure what the port address was, so I just put in cruise port. The guy came, but pulled up further than the address and on the other side of the road. It was just kind of odd how he made no attempt to look for us and I should have taken it as a sign.


We literally lugged our suitcases over to his car and he loaded and we got in. I started talking to him and he had a surprised look on his face. It soon became clear he did not speak English or understand it. Now I did notice later with future Uber uses that it states if they speak English. I never noticed it for this one, so I am not sure if it popped up or not.

Well Disney is the same in all languages and I told him we are going to the Disney ship. He never acknowledged us. Soon we saw the ship and we seemed to be passing it by. Again I said Disney ship and pointed, but he kept driving. Ok, the way the port is, I thought well maybe we have to circle around and come in on the other side. We pass the NCL ship, which was at a different pier and kept going and he was mad about people stopping to turn into that port. And then he starts to pull into the Carnival terminal. NO!!!! Disney!

He is confused and we say Disney over and over. M is trying to convey it to him with the little Spanish she knows.

He turns around and heads back and then goes to turn into the NCL terminal. NO!!!! Disney!!! We keep pointing at the ship across the way. There were 2 ships over there and I think he finally realized we wanted one of those.

We head that way and with some gestures lets me know I have to change the location on the Uber app. We fiddle around and try to figure out what to do so and it says it will charge me an additional $1 and some change for the change of address. That’s fine. He still is not sure which ship and we have to urge him to Disney’s ship.


Finally we are in line and close to our home for the next week.


wonder1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


wonder2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Video

Claire is annoyed with the driver…..that being said, she never smiles for my pictures anyways.


wonder3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Finally we arrive and are directed where to be dropped off. We gave him a tip for the troubles and off we went. Later I get a receipt with the cost…which is more than double what was quoted. I have no idea what happened but I was NOT happy. I sent an email in later asking for a refund of the overage. It took me a while with some arguing but finally I found another email dept. to talk to and they immediately gave me a refund.


We dragged our bags to the line and waited. The terminal doors weren’t open yet. We saw that PT and family were not too far ahead of us. J was late and they were quite a ways back behind us. We let her know that it looked long, but that was because they hadn’t opened the doors yet.


sju42 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Unlike Port Canaveral, you carry your bags into line and then the porters were standing at one point in the line and take them from you when you passed by.


sju43 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Not a great pic, but that is one of the porters carts.


sju44 by Jenseib, on Flickr


wonder4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[bcwife76]

Oh my gosh, what a frustrating ride to the port!!!! And then to be charged double the original quote?! I'd be seething!! Glad you were able to get a refund for the overage.

But now you are in line and the beautiful Wonder is there, waiting for you. Phew!

 

[dizneeat]

At least you MADE it to the ship! Your ride to the ship ........... priceless! Well, it seemed you even got overpriced. Sorry.
This is exactly what I am always afraid of and we stick to rentals. I don't trust to be able to make it clear to someone where I want to go in another foreign language than English.

Line looks long, but I hope you got on the ship fast once the doors opened. Can't wait to see and read more.

 

[Woth2982]

So sorry your AirB&B was less than stellar. Glad you were at least able to get a good nights sleep. The beach looks so pretty and quiet! Was it cold the day the cruise left? I cant tell with the way the kids are dressed . I probably would have been in Claire's camp and waited until I could get into my room on the cruise to take a shower! You and M are very brave! I don't blame you for being antsy. Getting on the ship is always so exciting! Cannot wait to see your Wonder pics! I have not been on her in 19 years, it will be almost 20 by the time I get on! I can't wait!

 

[jenseib]

Oh my gosh, what a frustrating ride to the port!!!! And then to be charged double the original quote?! I'd be seething!! Glad you were able to get a refund for the overage.

I just had to laugh. We said Disney over and over and this guy was in his own little world.

But now you are in line and the beautiful Wonder is there, waiting for you. Phew!

At least we made it!

At least you MADE it to the ship! Your ride to the ship ........... priceless! Well, it seemed you even got overpriced. Sorry.

I think it's just me. I attract chaos!

This is exactly what I am always afraid of and we stick to rentals. I don't trust to be able to make it clear to someone where I want to go in another foreign language than English.

I never even really thought of someone not understanding English, which is my fault. I thought in San Juan it would be pretty much understood by all. Especially if you were in the business of driving travelers around.

Line looks long, but I hope you got on the ship fast once the doors opened. Can't wait to see and read more.

It really wasn't bad at all once we started moving.

So sorry your AirB&B was less than stellar. Glad you were at least able to get a good nights sleep. The beach looks so pretty and quiet!

The Beach really was pretty. If I were able to find a place on the beach next time I go, I will do that.

Was it cold the day the cruise left? I cant tell with the way the kids are dressed .

It was beautiful out. Warm! The night before cooled down in the evening, but still comfortable. I had a tank top on.
Claire is anti skin, so she wears jeans and long sleeves all the time.

I probably would have been in Claire's camp and waited until I could get into my room on the cruise to take a shower! You and M are very brave! I don't blame you for being antsy.

Getting on the ship is always so exciting! Cannot wait to see your Wonder pics! I have not been on her in 19 years, it will be almost 20 by the time I get on! I can't wait!

Yeah, She probably was smart. Her hair was so greasy though by the time she showered. We kind of joked about it.

I loved the Wonder. Very fun ship!

 

[jenseib]

Finally the doors opened and we were moving! We passed this nice CM who was very friendly to everyone.


wonder5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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And we made it!


wonder7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We went through security and then headed in to check in. I took a lot of snapshots as we walked in and some are pretty blurry.


sju46 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Now I had read a few times that the San Juan terminal was pretty miserable and hot and did not have drinks or bathroom. I have no clue what these people were talking about. We walked in and there were lots of drinks being sold and they had a duty free shop too. It wasn’t hot and it was actually pretty nice.


sju47 by Jenseib, on Flickr


wonder8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We bypassed all the lines……M is platinum, so for the first time, Claire and I got to check in the platinum line.



wonder9 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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The duty free shop.


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Yes, I know this picture is upside down. I wanted to get a clear shot of the platinum rug so I had to take it from the top and then I flipped it over so we can read it!


wonder10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We got all checked in and our lanyards and then went off to the side to wait for PT and family while they finished up.


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We got boarding 1 being Platinum!


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My next DCL cruise will be my 10th, which will make me Platinum. After that we can always check in in the Platinum line and get boarding 1. Claire is really excited about that and keeps pushing me to get 2 more cruises in this year so we can have that perk! Little things make her happy!


Once PT and family joined us we walked through some halls and found a warehouse area that had lots of seats for us to wait.


sju55 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Just an FYI, there were bathrooms in here and in the check in area.


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Mickey was out visiting.


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J texted that she was checking in and then they were running to see about upgrading. Now when we booked our rate, only ocean view or insides were available. J and I got ocean view rooms and PT got an inside. PT wanted an ocean view, but F said inside would be perfectly fine for them this time. J and I had our rooms assigned right next to each other and PT’s room was a little ways down the hall on the same deck. J really wanted a verandah.


She then texted that there was 1 verandah left and they were in the process of upgrading to it. PT and F decided they wanted an ocean view now and J told them to come quick and join them in line and they would be able to take her now vacant ocean view room.


They all came back laughing and excited. J said the couple in line behind them wanted to upgrade as well and were not too happy that J got the last room. J wasn’t sure about her room location though. It was on deck 5, port side, aftish, the first room after the movie theatre. OMG! I have had that same room on the Magic. I loved it. I told her she would be fine. J now had 2 boarding 1 passes from both rooms and gave the extra to PT.


We all sat and chatted a bit and F told us that their Uber charged them twice as much too. He later sent in an email and was refunded immediately. He ended up directing me what to do later since I was having issues getting a refund.


We could see people gathering so we knew boarding would start soon. Now this is where they need some organization. We went up near the roped area and people were crowded around. We kept asking if they started boarding…..not sure…are you in boarding group 1. …. No, we are just waiting. UGH! Get out of the way then. We kept pushing through people to get closer. The majority of people in the way were not in boarding group 1 nor were they even group 2 or 3!


Finally we made our way up at just about the same time they let everyone in the queued area for boarding and then it was a mass cluster muffin! People were shoving and pushing and cutting people off. We got separated from M quickly. Claire just held on to me so she wouldn’t get lost. PT and family were not too far behind us, but J, MK and M were way ahead of us now and getting further and further. As they passed around the corner and turned back and were now next to us in the next row, M lifted the rope and said “Come on and get back with me”….so Claire and I dipped under and joined her….and people were grumbling and griping. Sorry people, but many of you cut me off and separated me from my roommate. I sort of felt guilty, but I shouldn’t have. It was these crazy pushy people that made us get separated in the first place.


We headed up and out to board!


wonder13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We boarded on deck 4, a first for me with Disney.


wonder66 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I believe we scanned in once we got on deck 4 and then went down and inside.


wonder14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Our first look at the Wonder! Claire and I now have officially just Grand Slammed!


Video

We all gathered off to the side. M was going to go put us on the waitlist for Palo. Like I said before, I really didn’t care if we had it, but now that M was in my room, that qualified us for a free Palo meal, so what the heck. We stood and debated for a bit on where to eat. Tritons? Or Cabanas? Cabanas always wins for me but I didn’t want to be pushy. J and MK decided Tritons as he has never done a welcome aboard meal there I guess. I didn’t care, but the rest still were not making up their mind. I remembered M saying her favorite thing is Cabanas when boarding and eating shrimp, so after no one deciding I just said Cabanas. I am pretty sure that is what everyone wanted, but no one wanted to upset anyone else. We told M we would meet her there and headed off.


wonder68 by Jenseib, on Flickr


wonder69 by Jenseib, on Flickr


When we arrived, we waited to wash our hands and there was an older couple in front of us and the wife looked at me and then nudged her husband and says “There they are. They didn’t get much further ahead. We beat them here”.

OMG! I can HEAR you first of all. And I am sure she was referring to us going under the rope earlier. And no, you did not “beat” us. We have been standing in the atrium for about 15 minutes. That just annoyed the heck out of me, but I pushed it aside and we washed up and found a table and set our stuff down and then went in search of food.


wonder70 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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wonder16 by Jenseib, on Flickr



As I was sitting at our table eating I saw a server walk by and only got a glimpse of him…but boy he looked familiar. I started shuffling through my brain memories to place him. OH! I think he was our head server on the Fantasy last summer. Krash! He kept walking by, but I could only see his back side. Finally he turned around and I got a good look at him. Yep! It was him! A little later he was talking to the table behind us and they told him he was their last head server too and I turned around and said, yes we had you too! He was very nice and chatted a bit…and later we found out he was again our head server.

As we chatted, I noticed the one gal from the other table looked familiar too. Yes! She’s a friend of my friend Brook. She also had been on the 10 night sailing on the Fantasy…AND she was at Cruise World when I attended. One night we had dinner with a bunch of gals and she was one of them. Such a small world!


We had a nice meal and it wasn’t long before M came back to join us. She said we were all #3 on the Palo list. She said there was a huge line behind her and I was soon reading on our Facebook group that there were over 60 names waitlisted. And just an FYI, we NEVER were notified of a reservation available. Now we had a big group listed, so not sure if that made a difference or not.

 

[jenseib]

After we were done eating we chatted a bit but then decided to walk around and explore. Claire, M and Z went off together, PT and F went off and I went on my own for a bit.


wonder17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Since I had never been on this ship I wanted to take a few pictures.


wonder18 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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I decided I wanted to check out the kids club.


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The kids had the same idea and I found them here too. Claire, somehow conned Z into dragging her carryon bag around.


wonder79 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We took the “secret passageway” to the other side.


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https://youtu.be/eypc65Ohagk


wonder23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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[jenseib]

Continuing in the kids club.


wonder96 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We then separated again and I went off to take some more pictures.


wonder25 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I kept on thinking I would get back to the atrium many times and would take a really nice picture of the light fixture, but honestly, I don’t think I did ever get any real nice pictures of it.


wonder26 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We would be having dinner in Tiana’s tonight and I was excited about that. I have been dying to eat here and the menus looked good!


wonder27 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was now about 1:30, so I headed to our home for the next week to see what our room looked like.


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We were on deck 2, not my favorite location, but surely doable and I couldn’t complain. The girls arrived at the same time I did.


wonder104 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We had our Castaway Club bag on the bed. Usually they have something inside….at least luggage tags. Nothing! Since PT took over J’s original room, her bag was in there. She got nothing as well. PT’s bag was delivered later and hers too had nothing.


wonder107 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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wonder108 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Our room door was actually still open from cleaning when we arrived. Our stateroom host popped in to say hi and that she had just finished up. She was nice, but we never meshed. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t overly good either. Sometimes you get one that is just so friendly and you totally click and then sometimes you don’t.


wonder109 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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So as you can see, the room is pretty much just like any other room on DCL and it would suffice our needs for the next week.


We didn’t have our bags yet, but we dedicated who would get what area to unpack to once they did arrive. It worked out great, as M said she usually takes the middle set of drawers/storage. I typically take the one closest to the bathroom and Claire takes the drawers closet to window/balcony, so that was going to work out perfectly.


I headed out a bit and I think M went to look for a CM who is a friend of hers.


wonder28 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I stopped in the Quiet Cove for a snack and pictures.


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And then outside for a few.


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This is the adult area.


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[lklgoodman]

Great pics of the kid's club, I've never seen so few kids in the club. We usually don't get on the ships until after open boarding and then go to lunch. We usually don't go to the clubs until close to 2-3pm, so by then it's always a madhouse! I think it's hard to get good pics of the atrium light because it doesn't hang down as much as the ones on the other ships. I took a ton of pics of it from different angles and decks and they're all just ok. I love the storage area that is across the bed. I wish the Fantasy had this!! My dd is in what I hope is just a stage in which she sticks her tongue out in EVERY pic we take. I don't buy any of shutters, so at least I'm not having money wasted. When I got home from our cruise last year, I looked at the pics I had taken with my camera and she had her tongue out in every single pic. When we went on our cruise this year, I told her she wouldn't get to stay late at the club if I saw her tongue out in any pics,lol!! We were on the Wonder this time last year, looking at all your pics makes me wish we were on her now!!

 

[TestingH2O]

Usually they have something inside….at least luggage tags. Nothing!

Bummer. Our first cruise as Gold is next, and I kind of want to extra goody even if it's not that exciting.

 

[Lesley Wake]

You're making me so nostalgic for the Wonder, and I only got off less than a month ago! I didn't do a good job at all of exploring it! Something to rectify for next cruise, which could end up sooner than I ever expected, if I get my way!

 

[jenseib]

Great pics of the kid's club, I've never seen so few kids in the club. We usually don't get on the ships until after open boarding and then go to lunch. We usually don't go to the clubs until close to 2-3pm, so by then it's always a madhouse!

We were there pretty early, so I guess we lucked out. I didn't even think about it not being crowded at the time. I honestly didn't notice a lot of kids this cruise. Maybe because of the time of year, but I also didn't look or hang out in spots where kids would be, so that could be why I didn't notice many.

I think it's hard to get good pics of the atrium light because it doesn't hang down as much as the ones on the other ships. I took a ton of pics of it from different angles and decks and they're all just ok.

I agree. I do think it is pretty, but it seemed hard to photograph and I only had my point and shoot, which I think is on it's last leg, and my phone.

I love the storage area that is across the bed.

It is so nice. I totally laughed one day when M had the cupboard open and her clothes were all in there in a pile. No folding or organization. I used to be that way. Now everything is in a packing cube for the most part.

My dd is in what I hope is just a stage in which she sticks her tongue out in EVERY pic we take. I don't buy any of shutters, so at least I'm not having money wasted. When I got home from our cruise last year, I looked at the pics I had taken with my camera and she had her tongue out in every single pic. When we went on our cruise this year, I told her she wouldn't get to stay late at the club if I saw her tongue out in any pics,lol!!

Claire is in a stage of giving me nasty looks and has been in this stage for years! hahaha.
I stopped buying pictures too. The first couple we got them for the most part, but they are all for the most part still sitting in their folders, so really, I don't need them. She won't visit characters anymore, so it's a total waste for us. I wish she would go to the clubs to at least make some new friends, but she is so stubborn.

We were on the Wonder this time last year, looking at all your pics makes me wish we were on her now!!

I hear you! I want to be back too!

Bummer. Our first cruise as Gold is next, and I kind of want to extra goody even if it's not that exciting.

You probably will. I heard sailings after us got luggage tags. I am not sure why ours didn't.

You're making me so nostalgic for the Wonder, and I only got off less than a month ago! I didn't do a good job at all of exploring it! Something to rectify for next cruise, which could end up sooner than I ever expected, if I get my way!

hahaha. I hope you get your way.
I actually have looked at the Easter Sailing on the Wonder, but Skip said he couldn't go then because he could be farming at that point since Easter is so late this year. We have a March trip planned now, so now I am too poor to think about my next cruise.

 

[Lesley Wake]

hahaha. I hope you get your way.
I actually have looked at the Easter Sailing on the Wonder, but Skip said he couldn't go then because he could be farming at that point since Easter is so late this year. We have a March trip planned now, so now I am too poor to think about my next cruise.

Unfortunately I didn't get my way . At first we (my parents and I) were considering the final Alaskan sailing this year and I had a hold on it. But my mom decided it was just too hard to figure it all out and it would mean my sister couldn't come because her school had started again (she's in law school). Despite my sister saying over and over and over she doesn't ever want to cruise, once we started to seriously consider things, she had serious FOMO... So instead we are doing the first Alaskan sailing next year. It worked into our schedules best, despite the September sailings being soooo much cheaper! Mom did throw out the idea of doing one of the Mexico Riveria cruises this fall, but once she saw costs of the Alaskan for 2 rooms, she decided against that too.

At least I will be on the Fantasy by myself for SWDAS in a year!

Where are you planning for March?