Disney Wonder - December 4th to 11th

[iggy's mom]

DH and I were on the December 4th sailing of the Disney Wonder. We had a fabulous cruise!! I usually try to do a trip report after our cruises, and start off with the best of intentions but then get side tracked with work and other such events and rarely finish. This time I thought I would try just a summary.

 

If anyone has any questions, I'll try my best to answer them.

 

On this trip it was DH & myself. We are both 47, with no kids. This is our 4th Disney cruise together, and all of those have been on the classic ship.

 

The ship: While someday we would like to sail on the two newer ships, we both love the two classic ships. Both are big ships, but not so big that we feel overwhelemed. While there were a few areas where her age was showing, overall the Disney Wonder was in great shape.

 

Stateroom: Our Christmas present to ourselves this year was to book a one-bedroom suite. We loved it!!! The space extra space was amazing! Plus all of the little perks that come with the concierge level made us feel very spoiled. Glenn was our Concerige and we both thought he did a great job.

 

Embarkation: Embarkation was easy-peasy. We arrived at the port around 10:30. Parked the car, took the shuttle over, and we were checked in by 11:00. I don't remember the exact time we boarded, but it was before noon.

 

Gym/Spa: Our normal morning routine is to hit the gym around 6am when it opens. It didn't start to get busy until around 8'sh, so it worked out great for us.

 

DH & I purchased the Rainforest pass for each of us for the week. We used this at least once a day, sometimes twice, and we definitely felt like we got our moneys worth.

 

DH had two massages, and he thought they were very good.

 

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Clair

[bmwgirl]

Thank you! Can't wait for more. We are sailing on the Wonder without kids on 12/24 and again on 1/24.

[tinybiny]

What were some of the benefits of sailing concierge? I know about the in room sodas and daily snacks, but how about the rest of the ship? Is there a special lounge open all day? Do you get priority seating in the theaters? etc

[Shmoo here]

What were some of the benefits of sailing concierge? I know about the in room sodas and daily snacks, but how about the rest of the ship? Is there a special lounge open all day? Do you get priority seating in the theaters? etc

 

On the Dream/Fantasy/& Magic there is a Concierge Lounge. No priority seating in the theaters.

[iggy's mom]

What were some of the benefits of sailing concierge? I know about the in room sodas and daily snacks, but how about the rest of the ship? Is there a special lounge open all day? Do you get priority seating in the theaters? etc

 

After the family of the day, we were the first group to board the ship. Prior to sailing (I forget how many days...90 I think), we were able to contact the shoreside concierge team with any special requests. We confirmed a table for 2 in the dining room, requested a dining rotation that did not have us in Parrot Cay for formal night, and requested gingerbread making tickets.

 

On the two classic ships there isn't a dedicated lounge, however twice nightly there was a cocktail hour where you could order complimentary cocktails, both adult and kiddo versions. This was held in the Outlook Bar. Also, there was a receiption that included a cocktail time with a character appearance. We didn't go to this, so I'm not sure which one it was.

 

We also received a litho on the last day as a "thank you."

[iggy's mom]

Ports:

Key West - Key West is one of our favorite ports. We've always had the best time when visiting. We don't do anything special, just walk and explore. Prior to leaving, we had picked out our lunch spot which was a restaurant called Havana. It was excellent!

 

We were docked at the naval shipyard which meant a trolly ride to and from the dock. During the day, the temps were pleasant but it did rain which then made the humidity go up.

 

We had one other ship in port with us.

 

 

Castaway Cay - I have loved Castaway Cay since I was a Cast Member brining travel agents on board the ships. It is truly my "happiest place on earth." This was our first visit during Christmas time and the island was decorated for the holidays.

 

It was raining during the morning, and it made me a little pouty. :( On the plus side though for the first couple of hours, there was only about 10 of us at Serenity Bay! The rain did stop by mid morning. The BBQ lunch was good as usual. Around lunch time is when we noticed it started to get busy with people getting off of ship and coming to play on the island.

 

Around 2:30/3:00 it started to rain again and we decided to go back to the ship. By the time we set sail, it was pouring!

 

Even on a raining day, I love this place. :)

 

Nassau: We booked a shore excursion which included partially submerged submarine to see the fish and then a tour of the city. It was not a great shore excursion and we were glad it was a cheap-y one.

 

It rained just about all day, and it was chilly on top of that.

 

There were 5 other ships in port with us, and we were docked next to the Disney Dream. That ship is huge! The Disney geek in my loved the little horn battle the two Captains put on as we were leaving.

[iggy's mom]

Shows: On this cruise, I didn't attend as many of the main production shows as I usually do, while DH attended more than he usually sees. He saw the "Welcome Aboard" show, which he liked. He also saw the Golden Mickeys and Toy Story, which he hasn't liked in the past, so I was surprised he went to that one. We both saw the last show, which was "Dreams". Love this one!

 

We also attended several of the shows in the adult club. Most were acts we had seen before, but enjoyed none the less.

 

Other Performances: Okay, not sure what to call this category....

Pirate night fireworks on our cruise was delayed due to weather.

Anna and Elsa Freezing the Night Away deck party was also delayed due to weather.

 

The 2nd to the last night they combined the two. At the end of the Anna and Elsa deck party they sent off the fireworks. It worked really well into the production!

 

On the last night of the cruise, they had the "See You Real Soon" song. This is a must attend for me. It's a good way to end the cruise.

[iggy's mom]

Food: I know food is subjective, so I'll just say that we enjoyed our meals this time more than we did on our last Disney cruise 3 years ago. The "Frozen" menu wasn't our favorite, but we also didn't starve! We ate lunch one time in the dining room, which is something we usually don't do, and the rest were up pool side at one of the quick service places.

 

Cast Members: We thought the Cast Members on this cruise were fantastic! The only exception were the CMs working the pizza place, but since I only went there to get my Mickey pretzel fix, I didn't let it bother me too much.

 

Some standouts were:

Lewin our Stateroom Host - He was personable and learned that we were early risers and usually had our room spic and span by the time we got back from the gym.

 

Dwight: Server at the Cove. He was funny and great to talk with.

 

Glenn: Our Concierge. Really seemed to enjoy what he does!

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Clair