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3 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

My responses are in red after your questions.  🙂 

Thanks so much for this. I did know about needing to reserve on board which seems like a penalty to those that purchased in advance. No real biggie. Good to know about getting points in the casino! Not sure how much my $40 will get me. 😂

3 hours ago, PWP-001 said:

Yes, the slot machines do take US Dollar Bills in all denominations.  Play with your card inserted to earn points for future casino offers/discounts on cruises.

 

You've picked a new ship that I haven't sailed on yet, but everyone's talking about. But since it's been five years, lower your expectations about food.

I never have high expectations for ship food. While it’s always been decent to good it’s never hot like fresh out the pot which is disappointing but I chalk it up to way too many people to have it flawless. 

Hi everyone! I will be sailing on Wonder this July 2. I'm all checked in, excursions reserved, flights purchased. Just waiting for entertainment to open to reserve shows. I have a few questions since it's been a bit since sailing last. 

I purchased the 3 night dining package and am interested in Hooked, Chops Grille and Giovanni. I may have confused myself with how this works. Is there an additional charge for Chops or any others I've mentioned?

I'm not a big gambler by any stretch of the imagination. Can cash be used on the slot machines or do you insert the Sea pass card?

Which nights are the formal/lobster night (dress your best)? I recently learned about the one lobster limit which is fine. I want to know for planning attire.

I'm on deck 8 forward. Are there any particular watch outs for that deck?

Is there a club with a DJ or current pop music playing in the evenings?

I will be traveling with an 18 year old. Due to age obviously the "teen activities" don't apply. Do young adults of similar age meet up anywhere specific?

Thanks in advance for the input and getting me up to speed!

PS I've sailed Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, Disney and Royal. Norwegian being the last cruise. Royal and Disney are my two memorable lines.

On 3/16/2023 at 10:34 AM, gavvy said:

Hi, I booked Godfrys tour, doing an island tour, and the price looked good.  The booking did not give me an opportunity to tell them what ship I was on so will probably need to contact them!

I just booked Godfrey for this upcoming July. I was able to add the specifics on the website in the notes field.  My ship ports later in the day (1pm) so I had to select the earlier time he offered and let him know. I confirmed this beforehand via email.  This will be my third time using him on island.

11 hours ago, broberts said:

 

There are two cruise terminals in Charlotte Amalie, Crown Bay and Havensight (West Indian Company Dock). They are on opposite sides of the town.

That’s right! It’s been years since I’ve been to STT. I opened the cruise planner and saw CA and responded with that. I’ll be on Wonder of the Seas on the July 2 sailing. In the past I’ve sailed Celebrity. 

On 4/18/2023 at 9:03 PM, BobbyD said:

I am going to St. Thomas on Wonder of the Seas in July.  Does anyone know which dock it uses?

Charlotte Amalie

On 4/18/2023 at 2:31 AM, jkloni said:

We are going to do St John on our own- this is what I’ve found the detailed cost will be-

$60  Taxi-cruise port to Red Hook- 10/$15pp ea way 

$33  Ferry - $16.30pp round trip 

$40  Taxi r/t to Trunk Bay - $9pp each way x 2 people

$10  Trunk Bay $5pp entrance fee for 2

$14  chair rentals (2)

$157 - not including food, drinks, other rentals or purchases. 
 

We think this is better than the cruise line excursion because we can get there earlier and enjoy the beach before the large group on excursions arrive..

 

it is costing more than the last time we went to St John. Just taxis are $100. 

 

Thank you. Royal is charging $125 pp

I’m sailing on Epic Saturday. Good luck. I hope someone honest helps you. If they do you should use PayPal to receive the money.

A few other notes and tidbits that have popped into my head since my original post:

 

 

• I couldn't get over how well maintained the ship was. There was always someone cleaning or wiping down something, and empty drink cups seemed to never stay on a table for more than 30 seconds. I saw workers wiping down the GARBAGE CANS on a regular basis. There was even the smell of fresh paint when we embarked. Everything was spotless.
  

• Demographics - there were virtually NO kids on this cruise. Whenever we saw one pass by it was like seeing an exotic bird - "Oh look, there's one!" It makes no difference to me, but I know some people have strong feelings about kids on cruises, so if you're one who wants to avoid them, mid-end January seems like a good time to cruise. (Which side of the "Which is worse, kids or drunk people?" debate do YOU fall on?) I'd say the average age on this cruise was probably about 55. There weren't a lot of people our age (mid mid-late 20's) on this sailing, but that's fine with me. We made plenty of friends anyway. (Hi Chris and Pat from the pool!)
  

• The "toilet bowl" water slide is SO much fun. I probably rode it ten times. That sucker really gets you flying! There was never any kind of wait on port days, and the lines never even seemed that bad on sea days. (Then again, not a lot of kids on our sailing.)
  

• I highly recommend bringing a breakaway lanyard (which just means it has the little buckle on the end). We got our cards hole punched at the front desk, and it was super convenient to just snap it off and hand it to the bartender and then pop it back on - easier, I think, than removing your whole lanyard, or sliding it out of a little sleeve. You can buy a Norwegian one on board for $8, but I thought the ones I brought from home were a little sturdier. This is the one I bought on Amazon for my husband for $4. Go Cavs!
  

• I also reccomend bringing some kind of "Yeti" cup if you think you're going to be having cocktails by the pool. I have an Ozark from Walmart, which cost $12 instead of $40 or whatever crazy price the Yetis are. Drinks melt fast in those little plastic cups, so having the metal cup kept our drinks from melting and getting watered down.
  

• I liked having a Brita filtered water bottle as well. I'm almost positive that the water from your bathroom sink is the exact same water you'd get at a bar anyway, but if you're a water weirdo like me, I liked having that extra layer of filtration for my own piece of mind.
  

• Outlets are pretty limited, and the only ones in the balcony cabin are located across from the bed inside a little cabinet. I had read to bring some kind of surge protector thing for some extra outlets, but unfortunately I couldn't use mine because of the orientation of the prongs. Because of how they were situated, it would have needed to be plugged in vertically, which there wasn't room for it to be flipped that way inside the little cabinet, so that's something to be aware of. This is the one I brought and couldn't use.
  

• Your hair straighteners and curling irons will not be taken away from you - pinky swear.
  

• Poo-Pourri is your friend!
  

• I've read a lot of people say that the water from the sink somehow blasts onto the bed. Maybe they adjusted the water pressure or something, but at full blast, it comes no where close to blasting out of the sink, and I thought there was plenty of room between the sink and the bed. Since the basin is a little shallow, it's easy to splash a little water onto the counter when you're brushing your teeth or whatever, but it's not excessive.
  

• The bin under your sink is for dirty towels. (Took me three days to figure that one out.)
  

I'm sure I'll think of 37 other things as soon as I post this, but that's all for now!

I bought a Belkin similar to yours but the back swivels. I think that may be the ticket.

Spa

This was the only borderline negative experience I had onboard the Epic, but it turned into a pretty funny story for the week.

 

Warning: this is long and rambling and probably not all that interesting, and doesn’t really contain any “revew” information that you need to know – I just want to rant about my experience for a few minutes, so feel free to skip if you’re not interested in anecdotes.

 

Off we go…

 

One of the spa specials listed in the freestyle was the Top to Toe special. For $149 (not including the 18% gratuity), you received a full body massage, scalp massage, and a facial massage, totaling 75 minutes. I thought this was a pretty good deal, and my husband encouraged me to go for it.

 

 

 

When I arrived, my therapist was named Hammad. As he lead me back to the room, he told me all about all the other cruise ships he’s worked on and that he was a skin expert. This was all fine, but kind of unusual based on my past spa experiences – the therapists usually aren’t so chatty. He sat me down in a chair first and wanted to talk and ask me questions. I sort of wanted to get on with it and didn’t want to waste time talking about my skin, especially when I was more excited about the massage and the facial was just kind of a bonus, but whaddaya gonna do?

He asked me when my last facial was, and I said I had never had one. He started telling (lecturing?) me on how important they are, how important skin is, everything they do for you, how important the products are, on and on for a good ten minutes. Okay dude, I get it!

 

He then began asking me if I had any concerns with my skin.

 

“Acne?”

“I get a zit or two every once in a while, but not bad.”

“Wrinkles?”

“Nah, not yet.” (I’m 26.)

“Under eye bags?”

“Not that I’ve noticed.”

“Oily skin?”

“Towards the end of the day, maybe, but not too bad.”

 

As you can see, I didn’t have too many concerns. I certainly don’t have an amazing complexion or anything, but all in all, my skin pretty much behaves itself. I was just soooo over talking about it. Again, wasn’t that concerned about the facial – I wanted that rub down!

 

We (finally) got started on my massage, and it was wonderful – no complaints there. I mentioned that my lower back was a problem area and he did a great job loosening it up. It felt like it lasted a good long time, too. The scalp massage was also amazing. (Is there anything better than someone scratching your head? Especially when you don’t have to beg your spouse to do it?)

 

Then came the facial. He started examining me under one of those really bright magnifying glass things.

 

You know how I said I didn’t have that many concerns, and that overall I thought my skin was pretty decent?

 

HOO boy, was I apparently wrong.

 

Hammad picked apart my face piece by piece. He told me how bad the blackheads on my forehead were. He told me about the horizontal lines on my forehead. He told me he can tell I don’t use eye cream because of ALL THE WRINKLES by my eyes. (Again, I’m 26.) He told me how oily my forehead was. That I have acne all over my jaw line (I had, like, ONE zit, so sue me). I should really get a facial once a month and come back later in the week so he could do a full facial with extractions. On and on and on.

 

I know I’m ranting a bit, but I can’t even remember everything he said. All I know is that it made me feel awful. I went to the spa for a calming, relaxing (and quiet) experience, and then basically got told, unprompted, how horrible I look. I’ve never had an experience like that before. Of course, I know he was saying all this to sell me products to solve all of my ‘skin issues,’ and to get me to come back and get a full facial later in the week, but I gotta tell you – even knowing that, it really didn’t feel great.

 

So he gets on with the actual mini-facial and it was nice and relaxing, although I could have done without having the products explained to me as we went. I just tuned it out.

 

At the end he handed me a mirror and said “See how much better you look? Imagine if you got a full facial! See how this blahblahblah cream really reduced the wrinkles around your eyes?” (I’m know I’m harping on the wrinkles, but, YOU GUYS, I have never seen a wrinkle by my eyes, before or since!!)

 

So after I get dressed, the sales pitch starts. Of course, I’m expecting this. I get that it’s part of the deal when you receive a spa service. I get it – it’s part of their job, they make commission, and that it’s probably how they make the bulk of their money. That’s all fine. I usually listen to the pitch, and then politely refuse. In the past, if I’ve turned the product down, say, two or three times, after one last “Are you sure?”, that’s the end of it.

 

Well, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, that wasn’t the case this time. I’ve never been pushed so hard by someone selling me a product. He essentially resorted to insulting me to try to get me to buy a $150 teeny tiny bottle of eye cream. Reiterating how bad my wrinkles are and how badly I need it. I just kept saying it’s not in my budget, it’s not in my budget, IT’S NOT IN MY BUDGET! He wouldn’t take no for an answer. After about 10 minutes I felt like I was being held hostage. I finally said “I’d want to talk to my husband before spending that kind of money.” (Not really true, I was just trying to get out of there.) His response: “I think it’s so silly when women say they have to ask permission from their husband to spend money. Don’t you work?” Um, excuse me?? I certainly did not say “ask permission,” and I don’t think it’s your place to tell me that communicating with my husband about finances is “silly.”

 

That was the last straw for me. I finally said “Look, I’m not interested, and I’d like to go now.” (Which is SO not like me, but I just didn’t know what else to do – politeness was getting me absolutely nowhere).

 

He lead me out the lobby and was certainly less sunny and chatty than he had been during my entire service. He handed me my bill to sign, and stood over my shoulder while I signed it. That made me extremely uncomfortable since there is a line to leave additional gratuity (on top of the 18%) – I feel like he was watching to see if I was going to leave anything. I didn’t, because I had been planning on tipping a little extra in cash, but I could just feel his annoyance as he saw that I didn’t write anything in the tip line.

 

I handed him an extra $15 in cash, and that seemed to cheer him up slightly. I’m still kind of mad at myself for doing that – I’m always a generous tipper, but after the experience I had just had, I don’t think I should have tipped extra on top of the 18%.

 

All that being said, I don’t think that’s the typical experience at the spa – I have an inkling that he is definitely just the really pushy type. He was also dressed differently than the other massage therapists I saw walking around, and seemed more like a salesman than a massage therapist. I wonder if the deals in the freestyle are more of a sales pitch than if you just signed up for a massage at full price? Or maybe he’s just too intense. Who knows.

 

Overall, I’m still glad I did it. The massage and facial themselves were wonderful. The pushiness was not.

 

Of course I told my husband all this, and he felt bad for me, but also thought it was kind of hilarious. The rest of the week, when I’d get ready for the night, he’d say “Babe you look great! Other than the fact that you need a whole new face!” Oh well. I got a good massage and a funny story to tell out of the whole thing.

 

One other thing I want to mention: every other time I’ve gotten a massage at a resort or on a cruise, I was given access to the thermal suite before and/or after my service. I had assumed I would this time, but that wasn’t the case – maybe you only have access to the thermal suite with the pass, not when you have a massage or spa service? Just wanted to point that out in case anyone was planning on booking a service to have access to the thermal suite.

I'm always amazed when people reward bad behavior. My next facial would have been free.

I love this community! I just reserved my shuttle transportations thank to the person that commented above recommending Cortrans.

Sounds like the same deal the ship offered which seems pretty inflated. I've bought them 2/$60 in Saint Maarten on Front Street.

I would never do a 3 hour tour that commences at 1p.

If you have time, check out the shops on Castaway Cay too. They have some unique items that can only be purchased there.

Will do! Thanks.

you can buy things ahead of time at the disney store or disney store.com or other venues for a lot less

Good to know but I think she'd like the feeling of shopping on board. I'm just happy to know I'm not priced out of the souvenir game. :D We leave on the 12th so I'm getting excited.

Thank you all for the input. Again not knowing their pricing scheme I thought $150 should leave her happy but wasn't sure. I didn't want sticker shock for the standard trinkets. I don't want her spending carelessly either just because it's vacation but I also didn't want her to buy basics and feel like I couldn't. I hadn't planned on divulging to her what her allowance is. If it were something of value/quality and priced within reason; sure. I'm not buying a Minnie Mouse crazy straw for $20. :rolleyes: I haven't spent $150 onboard a cruise either but I want her to have a nice and memorable experience which includes some short term keepsakes. I'm happy to know I may save $50 :)

That's a lot more money than I ever gave my kid. Adult t-shirts are $25-30' date=' kids a little less. Stuffed things are $10 or $12 and up depending on size. Pins $6-$20. Get an autograph book in advance if that is a consideration.

 

But/make your pirate night outfit at home. Target is a good source of stuff for that. A costume on the ship starts at about $75 for stuff that you/he are not likely to ever wear again![/quote']

 

She has parts of her Halloween costume from 2014 believe it or not. I found eye patches at Target. They also have swords but I've learned here replica weapons are a no no. I wouldn't want to pack one either. :D

Thanks those are good suggestions. We will be on the Wonder as well. She may want to take a photo with two or three but she's not as fanatical as she was 4 years ago. Who knows once she steps on board?! :) I will look into the photo packages.

I have never been to Disney anything other an an "On Ice" production eons ago. I will be sailing on a 5 day in February with one child and am trying to get a loose budget together. My question is solely for the gift shop, not about gratuities, spa or any other on board expense. I hate to ask about money because its such a personal and subjective topic but being clueless to the Disney experience and pricing I don't want to under prepare. Is $150 a decent amount that an 11 year old could get a few nice souvenirs? i.e. t-shirt, note pad, stuffed something or another or some trinkety item? If not what should I increase it to?

Wine coolers are generally in glass bottles and would probably not be allowed.

Wine is also in a glass bottle and it is allowed. Wine coolers are in glass bottles the size of glass beer bottles. Are you implying glass is not allowed?

Thanks for the info. If she can't get access she just won't get in. :)

How strict are they with allowing almost 11 years old into the tween club? my 10 year old will be 11, 10 days after the cruise. The cruise is her birthday gift.

Awesome! I will definitely be looking into this. Every little bit helps. Thanks for the information.

I used an independent travel agent to book my first Disney cruise. I've booked through online companies for cruises only. I will never again use one of these "I have my own agency" agents again. Like you the level of response was awful. I got an excuse as to why she shouldn't couldn't respond timely; my kids were this or that. Lady I don't care about your kids, this is business. It took her three days to actually put the payment on my credit card and then another three days to email my confirmation. I actually paid for the cruise in full the same day. I did not want to do that but I couldn't bear having to interact with her to make staggered payments until PIF date. Believe it or not she charged my card the day before the reservation was going to cancel. Seriously! She is giving us on board credit but I'm not holding my breath that this actually happens as she states. Lesson learned; stick with what I've been doing prior. I would love nothing more than to have Disney control my reservation but that would make things awkward as she is a friend of a friend. IMO she does not deserve commission based on service alone. She didn't shop for me. I gave her the dates, itinerary and cabin. I hope your level of service gets better.

Was the discount noted on the receipt? Maybe the other items had the 5% deducted but not the gift card. I didn't know Target sold Disney gc's. If there is a discount I will be purchasing for my trip.