HAD A "WONDER" FUL TIME! SIGN ME UP FOR THE NEXT ONE!
Written: Jan 20 '03 (Updated Jan 20 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: BEAUTIFUL SHIP, ATTENTIVE SERVICE, & MORE
Cons: NOT-SO-HOT NASSAU
The Bottom Line: I am glad I researched the boat and activities before setting sail, since 3 days goes by too quickly. Definitely for families with smaller children. The best family vacation ever!
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| sunny176's Full Review: Disney Wonder |
THE PLAN
First off, you have to know we were reluctant first-time cruisers with a husband who would rather stay home with the dog before setting foot on any boat. My two daughters (10 & 12) were hot and cold about the whole trip. However, after a long, hard two years of battling cancer, I was ready for an adventure and a new beginning in 2003. My expectations were fairly low, I expected cramped, dank rooms with mediocre food, lots of people and tourist trap ports of call; I guess I was only going on a cruise just to say I’d been there and done that and so I could cross it off my list of things I’ve never done before. I began planning our cruise around August 02 after surfing the internet for cruises. I was traveling in January 03, along with a friend and her family from work, and I talked another friend (who is my travel agent) into coming along with her 8-yr old son. In the end we had 11 people. I felt I needed to have the reservations made no later than three months prior to departure. Royal Caribbean had a deal on Sovereign of the Seas to the Bahamas for $329 per person. I called my friend and she booked the rooms. All we had to do now was wait…
THE PLANS CHANGE
The bad thing about waiting is you have too much time on your hands. Immediately, my colleague and I started reading the “epinion” reviews on the Sovereign. I think it was the epinion about “RETIRE THIS TUB” and the 26-bullets that followed about why not to cruise on Sovereign that changed our minds. Off we went looking for another cruise line with better reviews. Within the week Disney announced deals on their upcoming Wonder cruise to the Bahamas and we rebooked immediately. Disney had great reviews and with the lower price, it was a match! Now all we had to do was wait…
THE WEBSITES
So, we spent the next 3 months reading and reading and reading the reviews on epinions, cruise critic and discovered the Magical Disney Cruise Guide. We knew everything about the cruise, including the menu items from all four restaurants, and previous cruises’ daily “navigator” of events months prior to the cruise. The anticipation nearly killed us, even though my kids and husband remained lukewarm. Looking back, I recommend you read up on your cruise; they have some invaluable information.
CRUISE DAY
Most of us were traveling from the Florida Panhandle by car to Pt. Canaveral. My colleague and I decided we’d drive half-way after work on Wednesday and arrive fresh on Thursday around noon just in time to board early. The plan worked, and we arrived at the terminal before noon. The terminal is beautiful, and the check-in process went smoothly. I never stopped grinning from this point on. I felt like a kid again. I almost got the nerve to have my picture with Captain Mickey, but subdued myself when I noticed the crowd was gathering to around 200. One thing about Disney lines though, you never quite feel like your wait is long, and before long, I was having my embarkation picture taken and was walking onto the ship. It was so surreal; the ship was beautiful and I was finally here, and there was so little time…
THE CRUISE
Rather than take it day by day, I’ll hit the key parts here.
THE ROOM
Our room was an inside stateroom for 4. The rooms are very nice and if I cruise again though (and I’m already planning the next cruise), I’d reserve two inside staterooms (one for us and one for the kids). It was a bit small with four of us showering and dressing for the day and evening. We loved the towel origami!
THE RESTAURANTS
Once you get over the fact that you don’t have a bill to pay at the end of each meal, you get a little crazy and eat a lot of food. We ate 2 appetizers, salad, soup, entrée and dessert at all the evening meals. I felt like I was going to pop afterwards, so a walk around the deck was a must for me! Our favorite restaurant was Triton’s. It was our first restaurant on the dining rotation. We enjoyed the food there so much, we made a point to eat breakfast and lunch there when we could. Our least favorite was Animator’s Palate. The “show” at Animator’s was ok (my favorite part was when the servers change vests), and the food was just ok, not great. I’m sorry to say we missed eating at Parrot Cay, since we opted to go to Palo the last night. Since my husband is a chef and we own a fine dining restaurant, we enjoyed eating at Palo. The restaurant is beautiful. Our waiter, although personable, tended to forget a few things though, but he recovered quickly with some humor. Although it is an Italian restaurant, I suggest staying away from the pasta dishes. I ate seafood dishes throughout the cruise and was not disappointed. Must haves are the Portobella mushroom and Polenta dish and the tiramisu dessert at Palo. Overall, Disney does a great job with the food on this cruise. Don’t miss Cookie’s BBQ on Castaway Cay, the ribs are great!
THE ENTERTAINMENT
Since eating was most of our entertainment, we tended to take more time in the dining rooms than most (many times we were the last ones out). However, I did manage to catch all the main shows each night, a late-night movie, a game show and two deck parties, all of which were great. Most memorable was an 11 p.m. showing of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nearly all in our group was there and I laughed continuously for nearly 2 hours! The stadium seat theatre is very nice. Also nice is the fact that they serve drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) in all the theatres. Don’t miss the main shows; particularly good was the Hercules show and Disney Dreams.
THE PORTS OF CALL/SHORE EXCURSIONS
My first trip to the Bahamas will probably be my last. Not much to see there. We visited two t-shirt shops and the Straw Market, then walked back to the ship to catch lunch. Not much to write about here. I chose not to sign up for the shore excursions before the cruise. I was glad I waited, since we only spent an hour in Nassau and I ended up only renting bicycles on Castaway Cay (but I really enjoyed it)! I purchased snorkeling masks for my girls at Walmart before the cruise; but the water at Castaway Cay was so cold only one went in and then for only about 30 minutes.
THE SERVICE
Attentive, personable, friendly; you can’t say enough here. When it comes time to leave your gratuities at the end of the cruise, I felt like they really earned their share! In fact, we left a bit more to our stateroom steward. With two pre-teen girls’ mess to clean up after, he did a remarkable job! Our dining room servers were excellent. I missed seeing them the last night of the cruise, but got a chance to thank them at breakfast on the last day. They really go the extra mile here.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
I registered both my children in the Oceaneers Lab, although they only stayed for a couple hours during the whole cruise. They don’t get along most of the time, but this time they someone tolerated each other. If I bring them along next time, having a friend might help. My colleague brought along a friend of her 16-yr old and they seemed to have a great time.
LOOKING BACK
I’d go on another Disney cruise if the price was right. We paid $379 per adult, and $258 per child on the 3-day Wonder cruise to the Bahamas. I felt like we got a lot for our money. We did spend more on the cruise and the bill was more than expected. (No money is exchanged, you just present your room key to charge and it’s easy to forget how much you’ve spent.) Remember, gratuities eat up about $30 per person for a 3-day cruise, and although I did buy the drink mugs to save some money on soda, I should have only bought 2 drink mugs instead of 4 @ $15 each. I also purchased the 10-picture photographer package for $85 (I’m glad I did, since I’m never in any pictures I take), and I purchased the premium wine package, which gives you a total of 3 bottles of wine during the cruise. (I’ve read where you can bring your own wine to dinner and pay a $15 corkage fee, so I’ll bring my own on the next cruise, including my own bottled water.) And then there is all that great Disney merchandise…
NEXT CRUISE
At $899 for the Disney 7-night cruise, my next one probably won’t be Disney unless they announce a great deal. But, it will be for 7 nights to the Western Caribbean. Until then…
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
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Epinions.com ID:
sunny176
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Location: Seagrove Beach, FL USA
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Mom of 2, wife of hopeless romantic chef and master of Annie, my lab
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