Wonder - January 21, 2011 The Cruise To Nowhere In Particular..

[cmwade77]

Ok, we got our nap in and I am shocked by some of the comments that I am seeing, here are our thoughts on the cruise:
First, we had a great time and all of the staff was terrific. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to eat at Animator's Palette, but given that no matter how they would have done it, one group of people wouldn't have been able to see it, which wouldn't have been fair, so I think they did the right thing to not have the rotation.

All of the staff that we had made it abundantly clear that if there was anything they could do to make anything more enjoyable, just let them know.

As far as no fresh fruit, I wonder if we were on the same cruise? There was always fresh fruit available from: Room Service (the hold time was a little long, but I think that was because everyone was ordering at the same time as it was late Saturday), Goofy's Galley, at the buffets and a few other places.

So, overall, a great time for these first time cruisers. Unfortunately we didn't have the money do do the deposit for another cruise while we were on board, but we will definitely do another one.

We loved the breakfast buffet at Beach Blanket. The buffet when we boarded at Parrot's Cay was great and we finished just as our room was ready (we were boarded in Group 2).

The shows were incredible. I did enjoy The Golden Mickeys a bit more, but I think that was mostly because everyone (including Ensemble) actually sang in that one, yes they filled in with extra recorded voices, but all really sang. In Disney Dreams many of the ensemble didn't do their own singing, I know this simply because I sat in the front row for both shows and could hear them. I know this may seem minor, but we live by Disneyland and get the entire cast singing all the time, which is one of the reasons that I don't think the shows at Disney World are as good as the ones at Disneyland either. To me, this can make or break a show. Don't get me wrong, I thought Disney Dreams was good, but that Golden Mickeys was better.

We really enjoyed all of the other activities, we did:

• The walking tour of the ship (there were a lot of people, but it was still fun).
• Who wants to be a mouseketeer (twice), we never got in the hot seat, unfortunately.
• Karaoke
• The shows
• One of the other trivia games
• The Animation Class
• We were going to do the Art of Entertaining, but Tuna Tartare didn't sound appealing (I don't go for seafood and DW doesn't do raw fish, but that is a personal choice).
• We also played Bingo with our free bingo card from our gift shop purchase (unfortunately we didn't win).

I know there was more that we did, but I honestly can't remember every single activity at the moment. (not long enough of a nap I guess...LOL)

We also did all of our FEs and had a little bit left over, so randomly placed stuff in other FEs not from this board at in front of one room that had a ribbon that was placed on their door by DCL that looked like it was for an Anniversary, Honeymoon or Wedding.

Oh, and on Saturday, we also had lunch at Triton's, which was great as well.

 

[dsnydaddy]

We ended up missing everyone from here thanks to meeting up with another set of friends. Yep, my problem too!

We loved our cabin but have to honestly say that in comparison to the other Disney cruise we took the food was just awful everyplace but the buffets. (WEIRD). funny, I had just the opposite impression, I wasn't thrilled with the buffets, but really enjoyed the sit down meals (with the exception of this mornings breakfast it was so/so.

We didn't get the usual Disney magic but I really felt it was because the crew had just came off a really long cruise and didn't have the energy to invest in people who were just staying for 2 nights.
They DID seem tired. Used to 3-4 night cruises and the 14 threw them for a loop perhaps? I also noted a number of newer hires (with the addition of the new ship, that's understandable.)


Very disappointed that Animators Palette didn't have the whole show (even if they just changed the colors). It felt like they were trying to cut corners.
I think that they may have been wanting to avoid the compaints from the other 2/3's of the ship that would not see the show.


I met a few crew members who were just wonderful but just as many who I would never have expected to see on a Disney cruise (acting like they didn't really want to put out an effort). Yep, one of the castmembers even told some friends of mine that he really wasn't happy working on the cruise line. While I applaud his honesty and don't necessarily have a problem with it, it was a surprising comment.

Again, we loved our cabin and enjoyed some quiet time together and the kids LOVED the kids club. This wont put us off Disney but it wasn't as magical as the last time we went.

We had the sideways 11b and it was awesome. (always had verandahs before. Booked the same cabin for our MR cruise in February 2012. My kids couldn't stay out of the kids clubs this time. Surprising, since grandma and grandpa were onboard and I figured they would be stuck to them like glue!

Have to agree with the previous poster. It just wasn't as great as our previous cruises. The crew was definitely worn out from the Panama cruise. The lack of dinner rotation really was disappointing (we were in Parrot Cay both nights and for this mornings breakfast).
We got Tritons, which I was happy with, but I thought that those withe the other dining rooms may not be as happy.

It seemed that there were just lots of lines to wait in which I don't remember at all on our previous cruises. The check in at the port was frustrating- all the CMs were new and learning how to check in. Which I totally understand but again not the Disney experience we are used to. We didn't try to see any characters in the lobby-just too many people.
I was avoiding the lines like the plague. I did wait patiently to book our MR cruise, but other than that, if it was a line, I simply walked away. Cruise was too short for that! Check in was confusing, but I was very happy with a few of the CM's who saw the puzzled look on my face and gently guided me to where I needed to be.


we had first time cruisers (my parents, and sis and her kids) with us. It turns out that my mom and sis can't handle the motion. They won't be cruising again. They took their motion sickness meds around the clock and wore the sea bands but it still did a number on their stomachs. I felt really bad about the whole thing. They did think that Disney did a great job with customer service and attention to detail. they thought the ship was beautiful and everyone was so helpful and friendly.

I thought it was odd this time that the Ship seemed to rock MUCH more than I ever remembered. I've been on 2 Magic cruises and never felt the motion like I did on this cruise. Pacific vs Atlantic? or were they conserving fuel by not putting the stabilizers out? Not sure but it was definitely weird!

Hello all!

We're back from the sailing - and enjoyed meeting a few at the cruise meet and around the ship. Thanks to everyone with the FE gifts! I hope you enjoy mine - they were unlabeled (I messed up and left half my stuff at home in my mad dash out the door - namely the bags and labels). At any rate - we had a good time... and for any who missed it - my spouse and I won the "WHo Knows thier Spouse better" game! As for my embarassing responses in the game I'll leave it to your imagination as to all that!!! < chuckles >

At any rate - we rebooked two sailings - with the Alaska one for 2011 being an UNLIKELY one to go through with. It was more of a "Dummy Date" for use in the future - or in helping my BIL or SIL join us with the OBC discount on one of thier cabins. Or we might end up using it to book another sailing that appears to our taste.

I hope everyone had a wonderful sailing! It was ENTIRELY TOO SHORT... two nights... sigh. \

​

Hey! Capt. Crash! I saw your performance. It was either the Vodka or the funniest thing I had seen in a long time, but I laughed like there was no tomorrow! Glad you won it. As a fellow Trekker, I have to say you two were my favorite couple.

Our wait staff were above and beyond excellent!!! And both nights our dinner in Tritons was excellent!
Our too. Those guys were pretty good to us.

Our Palo brunch was also awesome as always and our waiter was GREAT!
Yep, the high point of the entire cruise. My party couldn't stop talking about it!

The night before the cruise we also went to rush $25.00 HAIR tickets at the Pantages theatre and danced on the stage. If you're in Southern California, I recommend you get to Hollywood this week.

We had a great time on the Wonder.. We wandered by the Goofy pool a few times at 3 PM, but didn't see anyone. We did drop by Pixie Dust's Cat 1. Thank you for opening it up for all of us. VERY NICE. Lucky you!

We had Tritons. We enjoyed the food. (With the exceptions of the mini scallops in the main dining room appetizers) Palo Brunch was fantastic. (Palo had good scallops, along with everything else as good as always.) I agree!

We rebooked for a April 2012 Mexican Riviera cruise. The savings and OBC for booking on board made the 2 night cruise virtual free.

For the two night we were booked in an 11-C, which was a bit small for 7 days, and we had found a free secret porthole room on the cruise we wanted, which sealed our decision on booking the 7 night. We put Dreams Unlimited as our Travel Agent of record, which we've never done before, but we figured for $75.00, we had already done the homework, why pass up free $$. I should have done that! I totally dropped the ball!

Disney Dreams, final dinner with our friends and far too soon, it was all over.

Is a two night cruise too short. Yes, but two nights on the Wonder is better than not being on the Wonder. Plus it is a great cruise that we spent 15 minutes tops packing. At $200.00 total per person it was cheaper than a weekend hotel in Vegas, with food, entertainment and shows thrown in. Sign us up for the next one!

Final comment, that must be a sign. One year to the day of us getting off the Wonder. January 23, 2012, we can book Palo reservations for the next cruise.

It was too Short. But I completely agree, better than to have not gone at all!

 

[debdreamsofdis]

whoa. Am I the only one who still feels the boat rocking back and forth?? I'm not seasick, but it sure feels weird.

I didn't do the fish extenders, but I just wanted to say thanks to whoever put a Mad Hatter magnet on our door. That was a cute surprise.

I'm also wondering if some of us were on the same cruise because I thought everything was kept very clean and I thought all the cast members were very kind. My mom commented more than once on how hard they all seemed to be working. The food was fine for me, except maybe the crispy ravioli in AP, it was cold, rubbery and too spicy for me. The buffets weren't outstanding, but everything was fresh. We did get a reservation at Palo for dinner, which was very nice, but I think I'd enjoy the brunch more. I splurged on the Alone Time spa treatment and I think I got my money's worth. It was so relaxing!

Granted, this was my first cruise, but I had a wonderful time.

I actually rebooked onboard for a 7 night Mexican Riviera in April 2012 (this time I'm bringing my kids and husband!) I got a little teary eyed at the sailaway party just thinking of how much fun they would be having if they were there.

My only complaint would be that the rebooking process needs to be made easier. We put in a comment card and waited for the agent to get in touch with us. He never did. We went to the desk and had to wait a good 45 minutes to speak with him. He told us he would put a Friends and Family offer in our room and never did. We had to go to guest services and request it. They needed to have more than one person working that, especially on such a short cruise.

 

[dsnydaddy]

whoa. Am I the only one who still feels the boat rocking back and forth?? I'm not seasick, but it sure feels weird.

I didn't do the fish extenders, but I just wanted to say thanks to whoever put a Mad Hatter magnet on our door. That was a cute surprise.

I'm also wondering if some of us were on the same cruise because I thought everything was kept very clean and I thought all the cast members were very kind. My mom commented more than once on how hard they all seemed to be working. The food was fine for me, except maybe the crispy ravioli in AP, it was cold, rubbery and too spicy for me. The buffets weren't outstanding, but everything was fresh. We did get a reservation at Palo for dinner, which was very nice, but I think I'd enjoy the brunch more. I splurged on the Alone Time spa treatment and I think I got my money's worth. It was so relaxing!

Granted, this was my first cruise, but I had a wonderful time.

I actually rebooked onboard for a 7 night Mexican Riviera in April 2012 (this time I'm bringing my kids and husband!) I got a little teary eyed at the sailaway party just thinking of how much fun they would be having if they were there.

My only complaint would be that the rebooking process needs to be made easier. We put in a comment card and waited for the agent to get in touch with us. He never did. We went to the desk and had to wait a good 45 minutes to speak with him. He told us he would put a Friends and Family offer in our room and never did. We had to go to guest services and request it. They needed to have more than one person working that, especially on such a short cruise.

Every once in a while my computer chair tips. It's an odd feeling. My son's been compaining all day about the world rocking!

I opted out of the FE exchange and felt blessed by all those who dropped stuff by my place as well. DIS people rock!

I agree about those Raviloli. Crazy spicy! I just thought I was being whiney, because I think anything hotter than black pepper is too hot!

You are so right about that rebooking desk. they should have realized that it was going to be so busy and had two people doing it. the DVC guy was doing nothing!

 

[cmwade77]

I am confused about the Ravioli, I didn't think they had enough spice.

They were good, just could have been a bit spicier.......maybe it's because I live in L.A. and get real mexican food frequently.

Oh, and yes we felt the boat rocking, but just thought it was normal.

 

[ClubDis]

I agree with the other posters that as our first Disney cruise ever, we were really disappointed. The ship was really run down (very loud hallways, rediculously crowded and tiny elevators) and a nonexistent buffet. Does Disney really not have a buffet after 2pm? My children don't like sit down dinners and the only other option for them was the deep fried junk they had by the pool (hot dogs, brots, deep fried fish sandwitches and chicken strips and FF). BLECH. No salad bar except 12-2. Room service never picked up the phone (we called them 3x)! Good grief. We are probably going to cancel our Christmas 8n cruise unless someone tells me that it was totally not the norm to only have the (tiny) Beach Blanket Buffet only open for 2-3h a day! Never on a ship have I seen such a small buffet with such rediculous hours. Not that we are huge eaters but there was no fresh fruit to be found on the whole ship!

And Parrot's Kay as a restaurant was just crazy. It was so loud in there and so warm. It has the ambiance of my college cafeteria. The food was ok but like I said, kids didn't want to do sitdown and there were essentially no alternatives for them except the fast food fried stuff. After 2 nights, I literally couldn't wait to come home and eat a big salad. We made grilled fish tonight to detox from all the fried stuff we ate for the last 3 days.

So bummed! I am such a big Disney nut (own 900 DVC points, etc) but the Wonder was just a HUGE disappointment for us. DH and I are still in shock after all the build up on the boards. We've been on Princess and RCCL and we really can't imagine sailing on the Wonder again. Sadly, we have an 8n Xmas cruise to MX booked that will will likely cancel this week. I can't imagine being on that ship for 8 nights. Wish the Dream was here instead...

On the bright side, we LOVED the shows and the kids enjoyed the kids club. And we though the service was fine. Not exceptional but also not unfriendly.

Wow, really? It was our first Disney cruise as well, but we didn't run into any of those problems. Goofy's Galley had wonderful sandwiches, salads and if I recall fresh fruit as well. Also had no problems getting room service, even on the last evening at 1:20am when we were already docked at port. The only thing I was disappointed with was the no dinning rotation and the fact that the showtimes for Tangled conflicted with Golden Mickeys and dinner. We really wanted to see that.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Wow, really? It was our first Disney cruise as well, but we didn't run into any of those problems. Goofy's Galley had wonderful sandwiches, salads and if I recall fresh fruit as well. Also had no problems getting room service, even on the last evening at 1:20am when we were already docked at port. The only thing I was disappointed with was the no dinning rotation and the fact that the showtimes for Tangled conflicted with Golden Mickeys and dinner. We really wanted to see that.

Yep, we were always able to get fresh fruit too. Didn't try room service. And I was in the same boat, wanted to see Tangled but there was always something conflicting.

 

[kkmcan]

Wanted to say a couple more things. We did do room service for morning coffee and juice and cereal for the kids. That was fabulous! We loved having our coffee while we sat in bed and watched a little tv. Will definitely be doing this again on our Mex Riv in March.

We spent a very short time in Diversions and think thats our favorite place to be! So quiet and relaxing there. Had to leave for dinner as they were putting out appetizers so we didn't get to enjoy those but will for sure next trip.

The tequila and margarita tastings looked like fun! Also will do that in March!

Huge thanks to ALittlePixieDust! We loved the magnet calendar you left on our door! We didn't participate in the FE but loved the gift. Very thoughtful of you.

 

[sunshine1259]

Hi, Everyone, and Welcome Home!!! I am so sorry that we didn't get to meet any of you. I was so looking forward to meeting my follow DISers. Thank you Joy, for the wrist bands. I sent you a PM, too.

We had a bit of a problem right before the cruise which cause us to miss the meet 'n greet.

My DH and I live in Oxnard and my mom and niece live in Lompoc. Lompoc's about 1 1/2 drive north of Oxnard. DH and I went Thursday night to pick up my mom and niece and brought them back to stay at our house so that we could get and early start Friday. Before we left my mom's, I asked if she had her birth certificate. She said yes. Asked the niece if she had her passport. She showed it to me to confirm that she did. Well, away we go, back to Oxnard.

I told everyone we were going to be leaving at 9:00 am, figuring we would get to the terminal about 10:30 to get and early boarding pass. Well, just before 9:00, I ask for everyone's documents. My DH and DN gave me there passports and I put them with mine. I ask my mom for her birth certificate, and she pulls out the passport application. She totally misunderstood what I had asked and what I was looking for.

Yep, you got it; we ended up going back to Lompoc, immediately to get my mom's birth certificate. She felt so bad. I told her not to feel bad, that it was my fault. I should have verified that she indeed had the right thing before we left Lompoc the night before. I am just glad that I checked before we headed to the terminal. All that took us until about almost 2:00 pm. So, we didn't make it on the ship until just before 3:00 pm.

Now, we are on the ship and of course we are hungry by now. We head up to the buffet with just minutes to spare. I don't undersand what folks are talking about regarding the fresh fruit. My niece was able to get fresh watermelon and my DH had other fresh fruit as well. I chose to eat very lightly because I knew we had Palo reservations in just a few hours.

I think that I was a different cruise than some of the rest of the folks, as well. I found that everyone staff member that we had contact with seem very cheery and ready to help out in any way that the could. Until I saw it mentioned here, I totally forgot that this crew had been out to sea for over 2 weeks. Everyone just seemed so lively and eager to please.

The food was good, and anyone who had Palo really had a treat. My mom, who was a first time cruiser, thoroghly enjoyed herself. In fact, one of the things that she kept committing on was how nice and friendly everyone was.

We enjoyed all of the activities that we did; the Sail Away party, which was a blast, the shows, Karaoke both nights. My niece sang both nights. We did Who Wants To Be A Mouseketeer, the Generation game, which I thought was actually a tie. My mom and I played Bingo, I watched Tangled with my DH and I actually had time to catch a nap Saturday afternoon.

And as far as room service goes, my niece had no problem. She must have ordered room service 3 times. The second time she said it took awhile for them to come; she ordered something at about 12:40 am Friday night/Saturday morning. Didn't arrive until about 1:30.

For only having been a 2 day cruise, this was actually one of my most enjoyable cruises. And I am a Gold Member!!! I love the document holder and the luggage strap that I received as a Gold Member. Cruise number 7 is Alaskan cruise August 30, 2011!!! Hope to see some of you on that one.

 

[sunshine1259]

Wow, really? It was our first Disney cruise as well, but we didn't run into any of those problems. Goofy's Galley had wonderful sandwiches, salads and if I recall fresh fruit as well. Also had no problems getting room service, even on the last evening at 1:20am when we were already docked at port. The only thing I was disappointed with was the no dinning rotation and the fact that the showtimes for Tangled conflicted with Golden Mickeys and dinner. We really wanted to see that.

My DH actually skipped the Golden Mickeys to watch Tangled. We had seen it before but he wanted to see it in 3D. I did too, but I wanted my mom to see the Golden Mickeys. I checked the next day's Navigator to see if it was playing the next day but I didn't see it. My DH tells me Saturday morning that Tangled was playing at 9:00 am. I'm like, WHAT??!! I checked to see specifically if that was playing. Sure enough, I had missed seeing it. Well, it was 8:30 am and I was still in bed. DH went and got me some breakfast while I showered and got dressed. We made it to Tangled just as the show was beginning.

The other thing that I did was to see Dreams in the afternoon instead of the evening. That really helped alot. We were able to do more of the other activities that is usually scheduled during the shows.

 

[boiseflyfisher]

I have been stalking your cruise meet thread for quite some time and it is nice to read about your experiences. This will be our first Disney cruise and since your group is the only one so far with embarkation and disembarkation experience, I thought I would go to the experts. What time would you suggest that we arrive at the port? We are staying at Paradise Pier Hotel before the cruise and I'm ready to book our transportation to/from DL. On our itinerary it says that disembarkation begins at 9:30. What time would you suggest that our shuttle be there to pick us up? I'm not sure how long it takes for the disembarkation process. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Cupcaker]

I agree that this cruise was a hit or miss. Our wait staff were excellent. The food was just ok this time. Overall though, our group of 13 had a good time hanging out with eachother. Even though it was two days, we did so much that it felt a little longer. I definitely convinced them to book another cruise. My only real complaint is the rebooking desk! There was always a huge line and since it was a short cruise, I didnt want to spend my time there. The last day I just ended up filling one of those quote requests, so hopefully they will get back to us with an onboard booking offer.

Count me in as being land sick as well

 

[mickeyfan1]

Going into this cruise I had no expectations. My husband, who is a Disney and Cruise hater came with. We drove over on Friday morning, forgot there is an hour time difference. Got to the port and checked in at 1:40. Walked right on, was told to go to either place for lunch. We went to the room and unpacked. Then to BBB for lunch. Nothing exciting, but it was fine. We had dinner at Palo and it was more than wonderful. Nickola, my waiter in May has been promoted to Palo and he was perfect. We were assigned Triton's but did not go either night, DH does not like to eat with people he does not know. Saturday we walked around a bit, had Cove Cafe coffee and then brunch at Palo, again with Nickola. I was very unimpressed with the brunch, the food was nothing fab, and I really think the whole get your own plates filled resembled the last meal on earth for many people there. I also had a severe migraine, maybe that didn't help. DH thought the food was OK, but didn't like the whoe buffet layout at all. We sat in on the DVC presentation, then I went to the room and took a nap. 3 hours later and 4 Aleves, my headache had subsided. We did nothing else the rest of the day, DH was feeling very bad, has a head cold that seemed to have been gone on Friday night came back Saturday and has whipped him. And he flies to San Fran tomorrow for a week long business conference. We did get room service for dinner at about 8 pm. We skipped breakfast and left the ship as soon as they cleared so we could get home ASAP.

This being my 4th DCL cruise, and 4th in the Pacific, I can tell you the Pacific is much rougher than the Atlantic. Heading away from the inland passage in AK, many diners were ill that evening. Heading from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera, again the seas were rougher, of course the hurricane didn't help during that cruise. So yes, the seas are different.

Every cast member on the ship that I saw always said hello and they did not seem tired at all. My cabin attenant was nice, but very slow to make up the room on Saturday, It was 1:30 before she got to us. We just hung the privacy sign on the door after that.

I did not rebook, but for the person who dropped a card, you can do that and not hear back for up to 2 weeks, but DCL shoreside will contact you. You will get all the perks.

Check in, when we went upstairs, the CC line was short, the other was very long. We had everything in order, handed it to the CM, she typed in a few bits of data, handed me my lanyard (1st DCL cruise for DH) and off we went. WHen we left the ship, we were greeted by many many officers and CMS, everyone asking if we had a good time. WHich DH lied and said yes. We did not have to do anything except hand our form to the customs agent, I suppose since we didn't step off the ship, there was no need for immigration. We also lost all power in our room at about 6:38 am Sunday, I think the whole ship did, but that was only a 3 minute hit.

The Wonder is showing her age, I noticed that the wall paper on the tub facing was peeling from the floor, the tub was chipped, some of the railings seem to be rusting badly, but I imagine after dry dock she will be all spiffy. And when I turned the tub/shower on Sunday morning, the water was Broewn! It took at least 5 minutes to run clear. Had it been any longer, I would have called, but it was fine.

Now waiting to board her in April for a really rough ride to Vancouver. Maybe it will be calm.

 

[True Romance]

My children don't like sit down dinners and the only other option for them was the deep fried junk they had by the pool (hot dogs, brots, deep fried fish sandwitches and chicken strips and FF). BLECH. No salad bar except 12-2. Not that we are huge eaters but there was no fresh fruit to be found on the whole ship!

On the bright side, we LOVED the shows and the kids enjoyed the kids club. And we though the service was fine. Not exceptional but also not unfriendly.

I think maybe you guys missed Goofy's Galley. That sounds like exactly what your family was looking for. Goofys does not have any fried food, but healthier choices. Wraps, paninis, fresh salads and fruits. Goofys is located by the buffet on deck 9 and next to the soft serve station. I believe it is open from early morning until 10pm or so.

I would give DCL another chance and keep your 8 night MR. I definitely notice a difference between the 2 night and a 7+ night cruise.

I didn't do the fish extenders, but I just wanted to say thanks to whoever put a Mad Hatter magnet on our door. That was a cute surprise.

I agree, thank you to whoever gave us the 2 magnets. It was very sweet and I love them.

We enjoyed our couples weekend and it was nice and relaxing. We ate in Tritons 2nd seating next to a very large group, 20+ people. Our server and Asst. server were nice but were preoccupied with the large group. They apologized several times, but it really did not bother us. The last morning they were not able to assist us at all and had another server come by.

I was really surprised to be able to get Palo brunch when we boarded. we were maybe 10-15 people back in line and was able to get 11am brunch. We were in line with some DISers who were very nice and I enjoyed chatting with. We enjoyed Palo and our server Alex. He told us a funny story about Russia and iced tea. Excited to go back in April.

Met Joy and her family in the terminal when boarding. I loved wearing my wrist band, but did not see many other people with them. I definitely noticed a difference in the passengers with this 2 night compared to a longer cruise. After speaking to many different cast members, I got the impression that they did not care for Californians or being on this coast very much. The girls in the Cove Cafe said they will miss all of their repeat guests from FL that they have grown to love. They made it sound like it would be harder for them now that most passengers coming on the Wonder will be newbies or not as frequent of cruisers as they have been use to.

I found it funny that some of you thought the ship was really rocking. I totally felt the opposite. I barely could feel the ship move at all. I get terribly sea sick, I took my Dramamine and felt like I would have been fine without it. I thought the waters were so calm. We really lucked out with the weather.

Nice meeting some of you and can't wait to sail DCL again.

 

[captaincrash]

Well...

... I just had to chime in with my observations - confirming and in counterpoint to what others have shared in thier experiences.

First off - my spouse and I have sailed now 7x with DCL, and now 36x collectively on all lines. And DCL continues to be our favorite voyage, bar none.

So let me address some of the things I've read or noticed in the past few postings.

Fresh fruit - as many have cited it is available in many places by various methods: The goofy sandwich station next to the ice cream bar - I personally had no problem pickup up some and there was no wait. Although I imagine there were lines. Also, in the buffet line there is ALWAYS tons of fruit as well as through room service?

As for cast courtesy - I had countless interactions with cast members and in EVERY instance I encountered the unusual standard of conduct I've come to expect from DCL cast members. Nothing negative or questionable? Wearing a gold lanyard may have influrenced it a bit - as I'm sure a platinum lanyard (like Lauras') would caution some I'm sure? However - as it stands I have NOTHING negative to say about service conduct or performance with us where we were in direct contact with a crew member.

As for the quality of cuisine - or size of the buffet - yes, I have sailed many other lines and I have seen a greater variety - and a wider ranging rotation of variety on some - while upon other cruise lines I have seen a disappointing variety that PALES in comparison to DCL. For me - I can only say the fare was great. In the deck 9 area the variety may seem smaller - true. But in Parrot Caye the size of the buffet stations was more than adaquate in competing with most other lines.

Consider - on some lines they repeat a station (as in some Carnival ships which come to mind)... so it may seem larger - and technically it IS - however it is a repeat of the identical fare in a seperate location to deal with the huge crowds they squeeze aboard! When you have ONE station on other cruise ships the lines can be insulting in length and speed. A recent example was a southern carribean Carnival cruise we took last August... the sandwich station was open late and the line was long and tedius.

As for entertainment - I really enjoied both shows with a preference for Disney DREAMS. Having live reditions of all or most matters a bit less to me if I can't detect the difference. I did SUSPECT how they lined up so many great sounding performers once or twice ... but in the end I just sat back and enjoied the show AGAIN for what must be something like the 10th time for DREAMS. At least twice we've seen it twice on the same sailing.

Everything above - the setiment was shared by most of the folks in my direct book group of 14 cabins. When aboard ship we met with a 2nd group we litterially instigated as my spouse had mentioned this sailing to nice folks with whom she works - and they had a snow ball effect of thier co-workers and friends forming a group number another dozen cabins. AND - when aboard we discoverd another slightly smaller group that had formed more or less as a result of our alerting them to this cruise! SO - in effect we had 3 seperate groups with a total of about 33+ cabins ... and in our conversations with them they all said thier experiences were WONDERFUL and PERFECT ... with one glaring exception ~ and one lesser misstep from the ship:

At saturdays' lunch in Tritons' my group had about 18 people going in for thier meal. I dined in the parrot caye without incident - and my lunch was SUPERB ... delicious ribs, ham, pasta, and crab claws with the yummy fried clams! Not to mention the sumptious desserts!!!.. AND the attentive service from our wait staff.

OK... back to the problem in Tritons'. My friends numbered 18 and were 2nd in the door. Split among several tables they ordered normally - and if I can believe thier remarks - they waited near 90 minutes to receive thier main entrees! That seemed incredible to me given my 7 voyage record encountering near perfection. SO I asked my dining manager about this and she CONFIRMED that she herself was one of the managers in Tritons' that afternoon and YES, they had an unusually long wait for entrees to be prepared from the kitchen. There was nothing SHE could do and that it was unfortunate. Also - the slow preparation of entrees effected all three sit down venues at the lunch hour.

To be candid - I can't help but think Disney management is going to take this technical failure quite seriously. I have never before seen a cruise line take it's comment cards so seriously. I remember leaving the ship at the ened of my FIRST DCL voyage - and I was asked as I was leaving IF I had enjoied my cruise and IF I had seen the comment card in my cabin... (or something to that effect). I replied I had no comment card - and the crew member IMMEDIATELY responded with polite urgency to ask if (again) all was well for my voyage? And she beckoned me to the adjacent guest relations desk. I had a spare moment since I was in such good cheer over having just had the best cruise EVER with them... and with curiosity I let them question me politely how my voyage was (all because I mentioned I had no guest feedback card). After a minute or two of this - and after they heard my replies that my voyage had been EXTRAORDINARY.... I asked them in turn why they were SO CONCERNED that I did not know where my comment card was. And with visible hesitation they then admitted that management is deadly serious about what any guest offers on those cards - and that they were concerned that an underperforming cast member (in particular - the cabin stewards)... might discard the comment cards to conceal thier underperformance!!! Silently I mused.... "Wow"... this is management that takes a DEAD SERIOUS APPROACH to the guests having a superb experience!!!

I have been at the guest relations or pursers desk countless times in my 36 cruises - and encountered lack luster or even disrespectful conduct from the very staff charged with being the last line of defence in correcting any guest issues! AND HERE was an expert and professional guest relations staff (with DCL) exhibiting the most extraordinary level of care and concern I had ever encountered aboard a ship!

So - with this in mind I can't begin to imagin how heads will roll when DCL figures out how and WHY the lunches were so seriously late for so many in THREE restuarants!!! I am going to speculate - that with the new ships coming on line - that DCL has stripped thier BEST staff for the new ships. That is common practice in the trade. And with a number of new crew members on the original ships - we have folks who may still be LEARNING thier jobs. I suspect this may carry more truth then not.

Aside from the slow meals - the other incident was a wait staff-member dropped a soiled knife off a plate he was retreiving and it got one of the folks in my party. And NO... the knife did not draw blood - it did get her jacket dirty. Oh well... one slipped utensil among 33 cabins in my collective group after two meals with many dishes being passed for each patron... I'd say a single accident has got to happen sometime?!

At any rate - I will add - one instance of superb service came from two dining managers who together escorted one of our children to the restroom and both held her hands to escort her back!!!! She was kind of respectfully impressed and gushed from their escort and attention! Her parents glanced silently with approval at the unusual level of attention from management in Parrot Caye.

I think DCL did a decent job FOR A DCL VOYAGE given we only had ... really... ONE FULL DAY on the ship! Embarkation was like a 2/3rds day ... and debarkation was like a 1/4 day if that. I missed the character breakfast - I missed the other shows. I missed having TIME to catch more movies in the theater. I missed having comfortable opportunities to WAIT in line for a photo with a few characters. I MISSED having spare time to just sit and do next to nothing somewhere aboard ship day AND night. There was not enough time and with the time we had we wanted to get a few important things done!

I saw tangled on the saturday at 9AM. Then after the superb Parrot Caye lunch buffet we caught the matinee of Dreams. And again... me and especially my kids were ... like... WOW! This show crushes anything else we've experienced on other cruise ships. I asked a few others at random how thier cruise was going and ALL said it was impressive. One couple were TAs on thier first DCL voyage - and another couple had other cruises with this being thier first DCL voyage. Thier first remarks were that the stage performances were OBVIOUSLY superior to anything else they had experienced aboard a cruise ship.

OK... I've written a mini-novella of sorts. WHich I am inclined to do sometimes. This being one of them. I rebooked two sailings because we found having only one OBR with the related discounts left us with insufficient planning flexability. ONE is probably a dummy date - the Alaska one for this August. The June 23rd western on the new ship is a near certainty. Although we still have some issues with pose a lingering threat to our taking it...!

We will sail with the Mouse again - and we remain quite enthusiastic about it!

Cordially, Tom - AKA Captain Crash

 

[jetskigrl]

I have been enjoying everyone's comments about the cruise. While we all agree it was too short, it is interesting to see the various opinions about things. This was our first cruise so we had no basis of comparison but I thought every aspect of the cruise was fantastic..well, except one. I am a huge Elton John fan and DH and I got the kids tucked in bed (with DD babysitting) and snuck down to the Cadillac Lounge to hear the music. I'm sorry to say this, but that singer should never have attempted Elton John, LOL. His piano playing was fine, but the singing...ugh, LOL. But it makes for a good story

Our servers in Triton's were outstanding. I am amazed at how after only meeting us for the first night, our server still remembered my kids names at breakfast the next morning. They both went out of their way to make the kids feel special. Our server even requested a grilled cheese sandwich from the kitchen for my DS when he didn't care for the mac and cheese at dinner (way above and beyond). We didn't even ask for it (I was going to get him some pizza or something after we finished) but she asked him what kinds of food that he did like and when he said grilled cheese, she said that she was going to ask to have one made for him (wow!)

Funny, but I really enjoyed the Crispy Cheese Ravioli (I loved how spicy it was).
It is also funny to hear people say that the ship rocked more than normal because I was surprised that I barely felt the movement (I mostly noticed after going to bed on Friday and a few times on Saturday). Most times, when I was inside, I completely forgot that we were on a ship. But again, that was my first cruise so I have no basis of camparison. So I guess it was a good thing for our April trip that my kids and I had no issues with motion sickness

Overall, we were very pleased with the cruise...so much so that my anti-cruising DH (who only agreed to go on this one because it was so short and he wanted to experience it with the kids) agreed to let me book a 7-day MR cruise when the kids and I are on the Dream in April.

I will say that the best thing we did was change our dining to second seating right when we got on board. That made it so much easier on Sunday morning. We were able to sleep in a bit, enjoy our sitdown breakfast (while the lobby was mobbed with people trying to get off) and then we just walked right off the ship at 9:30 with minimal wait and headed home.

I didn't participate in the FE with this group (we did participate with another message board group) but I was so excited to find one of the Cruise to Neverland magnets in our FE! We had a blast decorating our door and the kids loved delivering FE gifts and seeing what was in our FE everytime we came back to the room. It gave us great ideas for things we can do on our April cruise.

 

[captaincrash]

I have been stalking your cruise meet thread for quite some time and it is nice to read about your experiences. This will be our first Disney cruise and since your group is the only one so far with embarkation and disembarkation experience, I thought I would go to the experts. What time would you suggest that we arrive at the port? We are staying at Paradise Pier Hotel before the cruise and I'm ready to book our transportation to/from DL. On our itinerary it says that disembarkation begins at 9:30. What time would you suggest that our shuttle be there to pick us up? I'm not sure how long it takes for the disembarkation process. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Parking is a snap... and when we left at about 10AM we looked to be among the LAST off the ship. I overheard cast members saying that the customs people were about to leave - and when we got to customs they had already LEFT! Only a solitary customs guard was there who simply pointed us to the elevator!

Now ehen we hit the curbside I recall seeing a couple dozen who looked like they were ready to board - and at least TWO families who wer epushing thier luggage towards the ship from the parking lot.

I don't know WHEN they were allowed to board - however if you don't mind the unexpected - and if you bring a book and show up at I'd say 11AM ... I think you just might be among those few who are first aboard the ship.

WE ARRIVED at about 1:30 PM and thank our stars were were repeat patrons who had the shorted castaway club line to check in. It was easily 1/5th the length for those 1st time patrons.

May I recommend you be a bit devious and if no one is looking enter the castaway club line to check in IF it is significantly shorter? This is Disney and no one is going to deny you once you get up to the front. Play dumb. My party had 14 cabins - with 11 first timers! The few who checked in with us - we just told them to follow us into the short line CC.

Hope this helps!

 

[jetskigrl]

I don't know WHEN they were allowed to board - however if you don't mind the unexpected - and if you bring a book and show up at I'd say 11AM ... I think you just might be among those few who are first aboard the ship.

We arrived at the port at 11AM on Friday. We were first time cruisers so we used the regular line but at this time, the two lines (CC and first time) were about the same. I think the return cruisers know to come earlier so that is why that line was as long as the other one.

We had only about a 30 minutes wait from the time we checked in until they started boarding. Once onboard, we went right to Wavebands to change our dining time and then to BBB for lunch (kids wanted to eat outside). Then by the time we took a quick stroll around the deck, the rooms were open.
It all just worked out perfectly

Just FYI, even arriving at 11:00, we were still boarding group 7 so there was quite a few there before us.

 

[sunshine1259]

Well...

... I just had to chime in with my observations - confirming and in counterpoint to what others have shared in thier experiences.

First off - my spouse and I have sailed now 7x with DCL, and now 36x collectively on all lines. And DCL continues to be our favorite voyage, bar none.

So let me address some of the things I've read or noticed in the past few postings.

Fresh fruit - as many have cited it is available in many places by various methods: The goofy sandwich station next to the ice cream bar - I personally had no problem pickup up some and there was no wait. Although I imagine there were lines. Also, in the buffet line there is ALWAYS tons of fruit as well as through room service?

As for cast courtesy - I had countless interactions with cast members and in EVERY instance I encountered the unusual standard of conduct I've come to expect from DCL cast members. Nothing negative or questionable? Wearing a gold lanyard may have influrenced it a bit - as I'm sure a platinum lanyard (like Lauras') would caution some I'm sure? However - as it stands I have NOTHING negative to say about service conduct or performance with us where we were in direct contact with a crew member.

As for the quality of cuisine - or size of the buffet - yes, I have sailed many other lines and I have seen a greater variety - and a wider ranging rotation of variety on some - while upon other cruise lines I have seen a disappointing variety that PALES in comparison to DCL. For me - I can only say the fare was great. In the deck 9 area the variety may seem smaller - true. But in Parrot Caye the size of the buffet stations was more than adaquate in competing with most other lines.

Consider - on some lines they repeat a station (as in some Carnival ships which come to mind)... so it may seem larger - and technically it IS - however it is a repeat of the identical fare in a seperate location to deal with the huge crowds they squeeze aboard! When you have ONE station on other cruise ships the lines can be insulting in length and speed. A recent example was a southern carribean Carnival cruise we took last August... the sandwich station was open late and the line was long and tedius.

As for entertainment - I really enjoied both shows with a preference for Disney DREAMS. Having live reditions of all or most matters a bit less to me if I can't detect the difference. I did SUSPECT how they lined up so many great sounding performers once or twice ... but in the end I just sat back and enjoied the show AGAIN for what must be something like the 10th time for DREAMS. At least twice we've seen it twice on the same sailing.

Everything above - the setiment was shared by most of the folks in my direct book group of 14 cabins. When aboard ship we met with a 2nd group we litterially instigated as my spouse had mentioned this sailing to nice folks with whom she works - and they had a snow ball effect of thier co-workers and friends forming a group number another dozen cabins. AND - when aboard we discoverd another slightly smaller group that had formed more or less as a result of our alerting them to this cruise! SO - in effect we had 3 seperate groups with a total of about 33+ cabins ... and in our conversations with them they all said thier experiences were WONDERFUL and PERFECT ... with one glaring exception ~ and one lesser misstep from the ship:

At saturdays' lunch in Tritons' my group had about 18 people going in for thier meal. I dined in the parrot caye without incident - and my lunch was SUPERB ... delicious ribs, ham, pasta, and crab claws with the yummy fried clams! Not to mention the sumptious desserts!!!.. AND the attentive service from our wait staff.

OK... back to the problem in Tritons'. My friends numbered 18 and were 2nd in the door. Split among several tables they ordered normally - and if I can believe thier remarks - they waited near 90 minutes to receive thier main entrees! That seemed incredible to me given my 7 voyage record encountering near perfection. SO I asked my dining manager about this and she CONFIRMED that she herself was one of the managers in Tritons' that afternoon and YES, they had an unusually long wait for entrees to be prepared from the kitchen. There was nothing SHE could do and that it was unfortunate. Also - the slow preparation of entrees effected all three sit down venues at the lunch hour.

To be candid - I can't help but think Disney management is going to take this technical failure quite seriously. I have never before seen a cruise line take it's comment cards so seriously. I remember leaving the ship at the ened of my FIRST DCL voyage - and I was asked as I was leaving IF I had enjoied my cruise and IF I had seen the comment card in my cabin... (or something to that effect). I replied I had no comment card - and the crew member IMMEDIATELY responded with polite urgency to ask if (again) all was well for my voyage? And she beckoned me to the adjacent guest relations desk. I had a spare moment since I was in such good cheer over having just had the best cruise EVER with them... and with curiosity I let them question me politely how my voyage was (all because I mentioned I had no guest feedback card). After a minute or two of this - and after they heard my replies that my voyage had been EXTRAORDINARY.... I asked them in turn why they were SO CONCERNED that I did not know where my comment card was. And with visible hesitation they then admitted that management is deadly serious about what any guest offers on those cards - and that they were concerned that an underperforming cast member (in particular - the cabin stewards)... might discard the comment cards to conceal thier underperformance!!! Silently I mused.... "Wow"... this is management that takes a DEAD SERIOUS APPROACH to the guests having a superb experience!!!

I have been at the guest relations or pursers desk countless times in my 36 cruises - and encountered lack luster or even disrespectful conduct from the very staff charged with being the last line of defence in correcting any guest issues! AND HERE was an expert and professional guest relations staff (with DCL) exhibiting the most extraordinary level of care and concern I had ever encountered aboard a ship!

So - with this in mind I can't begin to imagin how heads will roll when DCL figures out how and WHY the lunches were so seriously late for so many in THREE restuarants!!! I am going to speculate - that with the new ships coming on line - that DCL has stripped thier BEST staff for the new ships. That is common practice in the trade. And with a number of new crew members on the original ships - we have folks who may still be LEARNING thier jobs. I suspect this may carry more truth then not.

Aside from the slow meals - the other incident was a wait staff-member dropped a soiled knife off a plate he was retreiving and it got one of the folks in my party. And NO... the knife did not draw blood - it did get her jacket dirty. Oh well... one slipped utensil among 33 cabins in my collective group after two meals with many dishes being passed for each patron... I'd say a single accident has got to happen sometime?!

At any rate - I will add - one instance of superb service came from two dining managers who together escorted one of our children to the restroom and both held her hands to escort her back!!!! She was kind of respectfully impressed and gushed from their escort and attention! Her parents glanced silently with approval at the unusual level of attention from management in Parrot Caye.

I think DCL did a decent job FOR A DCL VOYAGE given we only had ... really... ONE FULL DAY on the ship! Embarkation was like a 2/3rds day ... and debarkation was like a 1/4 day if that. I missed the character breakfast - I missed the other shows. I missed having TIME to catch more movies in the theater. I missed having comfortable opportunities to WAIT in line for a photo with a few characters. I MISSED having spare time to just sit and do next to nothing somewhere aboard ship day AND night. There was not enough time and with the time we had we wanted to get a few important things done!

I saw tangled on the saturday at 9AM. Then after the superb Parrot Caye lunch buffet we caught the matinee of Dreams. And again... me and especially my kids were ... like... WOW! This show crushes anything else we've experienced on other cruise ships. I asked a few others at random how thier cruise was going and ALL said it was impressive. One couple were TAs on thier first DCL voyage - and another couple had other cruises with this being thier first DCL voyage. Thier first remarks were that the stage performances were OBVIOUSLY superior to anything else they had experienced aboard a cruise ship.

OK... I've written a mini-novella of sorts. WHich I am inclined to do sometimes. This being one of them. I rebooked two sailings because we found having only one OBR with the related discounts left us with insufficient planning flexability. ONE is probably a dummy date - the Alaska one for this August. The June 23rd western on the new ship is a near certainty. Although we still have some issues with pose a lingering threat to our taking it...!

We will sail with the Mouse again - and we remain quite enthusiastic about it!

Cordially, Tom - AKA Captain Crash

Tom, as I am reading this, I realize that we had the same schedule for Saturday. Went to Tangled that morning with my DH. I went to play Bingo with my mother. The went to Parrot Cay for lunch with both my DH and mom.
After that we went to see Dreams. Imagine we in the same place at the same time most of Saturday and we didn't even get to meet !!

 

[dsnydaddy]

Huge thanks to ALittlePixieDust! We loved the magnet calendar you left on our door! We didn't participate in the FE but loved the gift. Very thoughtful of you.

Ah Crud! You're right, that was Des' calendar that I attributed to Zoom! Thanks Des, it rocked. Like I said my wife loved it!