Wonder/Alaska - so many ??s

[kmgt]

We are going on our first cruise (first cruise ever!) on the Wonder to Alaska. I have so many questions and feel so overwhelmed.

1) Can someone clearly tell me what the dress code is for dinners for both adults and children. Are there "formal" nights? What does formal mean? Do men need ties? Do kids need dresses/dress pants/shirts? Women dresses?

2) How does dinner rotation work? I assumed you just got put where they decide, but I saw a thread on here where they could choose their rotation?

3) How do other meals work? Do you just pick a restaurant and go?

4) Are there activities that you need tickets for? I hope it's not like DW where you have to book months in advance to be able to do some of the things.

5) Children can eat in OC/OL? How does that work? Do you let the staff know ahead of time? Do you pre-order their food?

6) How late is OC open? Is it late enough parents can go out for a drink in the evenings?

Thank you so much!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

1) Can someone clearly tell me what the dress code is for dinners for both adults and children. Are there "formal" nights? What does formal mean? Do men need ties? Do kids need dresses/dress pants/shirts? Women dresses?

One formal night, men in suits or tux and ladies dress up, kids up to them some girls in princess outfits but for kids up to teenagers anything goes.

2) How does dinner rotation work? I assumed you just got put where they decide, but I saw a thread on here where they could choose their rotation?

You can request a rotation the ship has three restaurants (MDRs) and you will start in one and rotate around the three on a plan. You can request one but its a request, via TA if booked by one or direct of DCL if you booked direct.

3) How do other meals work? Do you just pick a restaurant and go?

Breakfast and lunch is turn up within the opening times quoted in the Navigator, this includes the buffett Beach Blanket, you can go to whatever is open and when you want.

4) Are there activities that you need tickets for? I hope it's not like DW where you have to book months in advance to be able to do some of the things.

Mixology, which is drink classes mixing drinks, and some popular character meets its not like WDW. you also need to book Palo in advance online if you want to go, thats adults only.

5) Children can eat in OC/OL? How does that work? Do you let the staff know ahead of time? Do you pre-order their food?

The navigator will show the kids timetable /schedule if the child is in the club at the advertised time they break to eat, they will take them. You do not order in advance the children choose there from child friendly food. If something they like isnt there they often ask what they like and try ot make it if they can.

6) How late is OC open? Is it late enough parents can go out for a drink in the evenings?

Midnight.

 

[richmo]

I'll try some of these:
1. There are formal nights. You'll see everything from no ties to tuxedos. It is not strictly formal and as long as you are reasonably cleaned up, you can go in any way you like. I'd recommend at least a nice collared shirt and pants.
2. You are given a dining rotation on your card. If you don't like it, you can try to change it once onboard. There's usually someone from dining in one of the clubs early afternoon of the first day if you have dining changes. You should at least set up which seating you want before you board though.
3. Except for one morning when there was a character breakfast (not sure if they still do that), you can pick where to eat breakfast and lunch
4. Onboard, generally no, unless you're looking to do spa visits. Onshore excursions, if you're doing thru Disney, you should probably set up ahead. There may be some availability for private (non-Disney) excursions when you get to the ports.

 

[AquaDame]

We are going on our first cruise (first cruise ever!) on the Wonder to Alaska. I have so many questions and feel so overwhelmed.

1) Can someone clearly tell me what the dress code is for dinners for both adults and children. Are there "formal" nights? What does formal mean? Do men need ties? Do kids need dresses/dress pants/shirts? Women dresses?

Most nights will be cruise casual - no swimwear, torn clothing or offensive prints allowed. Pants recommended but not required as of late. There will be semi formal (sun dresses/tea length/skirts/pant suits for the ladies and khakis/dressy shirts for the guys) and formal (you'll see everything there, but the idea is for the sky to be the limit!)

2) How does dinner rotation work? I assumed you just got put where they decide, but I saw a thread on here where they could choose their rotation?

You can request a rotation but it will not be guaranteed. You will move through the three main dining rooms but will keep your servers with you.

3) How do other meals work? Do you just pick a restaurant and go?

Yes, just pay attention to the opening hours. The buffet also becomes a more casual sit down in the evenings as well if you'd prefer to just drop in during evening hours for dinner. Most of the food is the same as the dining rooms, with some differences. You can check the menu when they open (I wish they would post it earlier!!) Generally every day the buffet will be open for breakfast and lunch, and one sit down restaurant will also take walk ups for a sit down meal at breakfast and lunch. Check the navigator the night before for location and hours.

4) Are there activities that you need tickets for? I hope it's not like DW where you have to book months in advance to be able to do some of the things.

Yes - for the tastings and some character interactions you will need tickets - you get them after you board. Some go fast! For spa visits, up charge dining and some other activities you can book them when your window for excursions happen or wait until you get on board since they do hold some back.

5) Children can eat in OC/OL? How does that work? Do you let the staff know ahead of time? Do you pre-order their food?

I don't have kids so I am not sure...

6) How late is OC open? Is it late enough parents can go out for a drink in the evenings?

I would hope so, but again not sure!

Thank you so much!

 

[kmgt]

Thank you both. Yes we have Palo, spa, and port adventure reservations already. I was wondering about any Princess themed things. Character Breakfasts etc. Are the shows open to anyone?

 

[jtba]

you will need to get tix (free) for Elsa and Anna meet and greet as soon as you get on board that first day. check your navigator for location. first come first serve.

 

[AquaDame]

Thank you both. Yes we have Palo, spa, and port adventure reservations already. I was wondering about any Princess themed things. Character Breakfasts etc. Are the shows open to anyone?

Yes shows open to everyone, first come first served for seating! You will get tickets telling you where and when to go for the character breakfast. It will be during a sea day. For princesses you can stop by guest services to get tickets when you board, or just check your navigator for times to see them otherwise. Last time I cruised only the Anna/Elsa meet and the huge princess gathering needed a ticket - you could see one or two princesses at a time at other points during the cruise without a ticket. Anna and Elsa did not do any other meets during our cruise though - they were purely a ticket event.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Thank you both. Yes we have Palo, spa, and port adventure reservations already. I was wondering about any Princess themed things. Character Breakfasts etc. Are the shows open to anyone?

I know you can obtain tickets to see the Princess Gathering and Anna and Elsa. Anything else will be specified in your Navigator. You do not need to pay for these, only need a return time (kind of like a FASTPASS). They are currently doing Disney Junior character breakfasts and you will need to sign up for this as well. It will most likely be on a sea day. Shows are shown twice a night to accommodate Main and Second seatings. They are open to everyone. Some Adult only cabaret style shows are shown after 9:00 in the adult club area of the ship. Again, these are open to all adults (18+) onboard.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

There has been a recent change to the Character breakfast (at least on the Magic). It's now a Disney Jr character breakfast and you pick up tickets at Guest Services. You are no assigned to one as in the past.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

It's the Wonder that goes to Alaska and not the magic and it has a standard character breakfast assigned.

 

[KristiMc]

The

It's the Wonder that goes to Alaska and not the magic and it has a standard character breakfast assigned.

Until someone from an Alaskan cruise comes back we do not know if the character breakfast is standard and assigned like in the past.

 

[Pooh2]

Also doing our first cruise to Alaska next May.
My husband would prefer not to lug along his suitcoat, could he get along with just a dress shirt and dress pants the whole week?? Would that be okay for Palo as well?

 

[Ljbadfan]

Yes for palo the last time we went I wore a white collared dress shirt and dress pants with black dr martins. I also had a tie but you don't need one, but they require a collared shirt if I believe. No blue jeans palo.

 

[MelSpees]

I understand the Alaska cruises are more relaxed than most of the others. The West Coast in general is more laid back.

 

[Aby]

We are going on our first cruise (first cruise ever!) on the Wonder to Alaska. I have so many questions and feel so overwhelmed.

1) Can someone clearly tell me what the dress code is for dinners for both adults and children. Are there "formal" nights? What does formal mean? Do men need ties? Do kids need dresses/dress pants/shirts? Women dresses?

Most nights are cruise casual for dress. Meaning almost anything goes except swimwear and tank tops. There will be one formal and one semi formal night in the dining rooms, but they are completely optional. If you feel like dressing up you can, but don't feel obligated. You will see some people dressed very casual on those nights, and others dressed up to the nines. You can read Disney's recommendations here.

2) How does dinner rotation work? I assumed you just got put where they decide, but I saw a thread on here where they could choose their rotation?

With Disney's rotational dining, you will rotate through each of the main dining rooms MDR's each night. You will find out your exact rotation when you board the ship and get your key card - it will be printed there. Some people do like to request a certain rotation so that they will be in certain reataurants on certain nights just due to personal preferences. You can do this by calling DCL, but it's only a request.

3) How do other meals work? Do you just pick a restaurant and go?

For breakfast and lunch, usually the buffet is open, as well as one of the main dining rooms. The hours that all the restaurants are open will be posted in the Navigator each day but you are free to come and go as you please during those hours. The exception would be on the final morning of the cruise, you will be assigned a specific time and MDR for breakfast before you debark (although you can also go to the buffet if you like instead).

4) Are there activities that you need tickets for? I hope it's not like DW where you have to book months in advance to be able to do some of the things.

If you would like to partake in any excursions or adult dining (Palo), you will want to sign up for those as soon as your booking window opens (for first time cruisers this is 75 days prior to your cruise). You can also book spa sessions this early, but you don't have to as there is usually lots of availability on board. If you need nursery time you can also book this online once your booking window opens. If you would like to partake in the adult beverage tasting seminars, you can't book those in advance - you can book once on board.

5) Children can eat in OC/OL? How does that work? Do you let the staff know ahead of time? Do you pre-order their food?

Sorry, I don't know anything about the clubs.

6) How late is OC open? Is it late enough parents can go out for a drink in the evenings?

Sorry, I don't know anything about the clubs.

Thank you so much!

Answers above in blue - hope this helps!

 

[Ofinn]

Formal night is completely optional. I agree with MelSpees. I don't know about Oregon and Washington, but Californians and Arizonians dress pretty casual. We are pretty laid back about everything out here.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

5) Children can eat in OC/OL? How does that work? Do you let the staff know ahead of time? Do you pre-order their food?

6) How late is OC open? Is it late enough parents can go out for a drink in the evenings?

5) Lunch and dinner are served in Oceaneer's. BUT, it's at a set time (usually a fairly basic meal). If your child is in there at the time they will announce "Lunch/Dinner is here", but they won't make any one stop doing whatever they're doing and eat, it's up to the child.

6) Hours in Oceaneers are roughly 9:00 am to midnight, but can vary a bit daily.

 

[MelSpees]

Formal night is completely optional. I agree with MelSpees. I don't know about Oregon and Washington, but Californians and Arizonians dress pretty casual. We are pretty laid back about everything out here.

Oregon and most certainly Washington too.

 

[xlxo]

1) Can someone clearly tell me what the dress code is for dinners for both adults and children. Are there "formal" nights? What does formal mean? Do men need ties? Do kids need dresses/dress pants/shirts? Women dresses?

One formal night, men in suits or tux and ladies dress up, kids up to them some girls in princess outfits but for kids up to teenagers anything goes.

In addition to the formal night (Day 2?).... wasn't there also a semi formal night on Day 5 or Day 6?

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

OP, I hope you don't mind me asking a couple questions on your thread. I didn't want to create a new thread just to ask an Alaska cruise question.

1) When is the best time to go on an Alaskan cruise (the cheapest month)?

2) Is it still cold on the Alaska cruises during the summer months? August is the last month to cruise to Alaska, right? How cold is it in August?

3) is the attire sweatshirts, jackets, coats? Sorry, I've never been on a cruise that required more than a sundress and a swimsuit (clothing material wise). So, I have no idea how to dress on an Alaskan cruise. I see Minnie in her big fur coat, so I'm wondering if I will have to pack similar to when I pack for a ski trip.