Disney Wonder Cruise
by Marilyn Kowalchuk
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Boarding
We chose to have Disney transport us to and from the port. One of the advantages with this is that the Disney folks retrieved our luggage at the airport and took it directly to our cabin. All we had to do was go to the Disney Welcome Center at the Orlando airport and check-in for our bus to the port.
Once at the port check-in was quick and easy. We were given a number for boarding, so we had a short wait while others who had arrived ahead of us boarded first. While we waited Kim was able to register Luke for the Oceaneers’ Club (more about that later). As we entered the ship on deck 3 at the atrium, a Disney employee asked our name and then announce our arrival over a microphone. Other employees applauded and then one of them greeted us and told us where lunch was being served as our cabin would not be ready until 1:30 p.m.
Our cabin
We shared a family veranda cabin on deck 8 with daughter Kim and grandson, Luke. The room came with a king-size bed, a day bed, and a pull-down wall bed. We chose to not use the pull-down bed, and asked for a pack n’ play for Luke since he still uses one at home. This was provided free of charge. There was a curtain divider that we could close at night separating the two sleeping areas. The bath was also divided into two separate rooms: one with a shower/tub and sink and the other had a sink and toilet. The shower had plenty of hot water and very good water pressure. Closet and drawer space was plentiful. Our veranda was smaller than what we’ve enjoyed on the Carnival ships, but it was still nice to have. We were on the starboard side of the ship near the aft and had excellent views of the Atlantis resort while in Nassau, and of Castaway Cay while docked there. Another bonus to our cabin location was that we were right under the 24-hour drink station.
The Ship
The Disney Wonder is a well-designed ship which includes specific adult-only areas at the forward end of the ship. Deck 9 hosts separate pools for little kids, families, and adults only. There are two hot tubs near the adult pool and we found them to be at a decent temperature. Often ship hot tubs are tepid at best; we like them hotter. Lounge chairs are cushioned at the adult pool, but are at a premium. There is also a bar near the adult pool.
Around the corner from the adult pool is Café Cove which sells specialty coffee and tea drinks similar to those found at Starbucks and other specialty coffee places. The couple I tried were quite delicious. There are table and chair groupings outside Café Cove as well as inside.
The family pool area also had a couple of hot tubs, a bar, and a large outdoor movie screen which showed family type films and programs, such as Baby Einstein and High School Musical. The kiddie pool area was divided by a neat slide for kids ages 4 to 14. Our three-year old is big for his age and had no trouble with it at all. He absolutely loved it. On one side of the slide was a small splashing pool for kids not yet potty trained. On the other side was a larger pool for the rest of the little kids. Along the pool deck area were several fountains that periodically spurted water up, much to the delight of these tots and the amusement of their parents.
Adult bars and nightclubs are located on deck 3 and may be found by following a carpeted path laid out to the theme of the old Route 66. Wavebands is the dance area and was really hopping when I walked by one night around midnight. Next along the route is Cadillac’s which had a piano player and I think served as the karaoke venue. Our favorite bar was Diversions which was all the way at the end of Route 66. It was a classy sports bar and one where Steve made friends with the bar staff and could check the sports scores. We also enjoyed two martini tastings (extra charge) in Diversions. These were great fun and we tasted a total of ten different martinis. One was even made with tequila. The host asked for volunteers from the audience to come up and create their own martini. Daughter Kim participated in this and concocted her specialty. Although children were allowed in the venues along Route 66 until 9 p.m., Steve noted that no kids ever came into Diversions while he was there during the day or early evenings. We suspect that this was because there was just so much for kids of all ages to do throughout the rest of the ship. Outside Diversion was the store where one could purchase bottles of booze, but I never saw anyone in there.
There was another nice looking bar area with lots of tables and chairs midship on deck 3. It had a small dance floor and occasionally had a duet performing. It looked very nice, but didn’t seem to have many patrons.
The ship sports a nice atrium area and was already decked out for the Christmas holiday, including a very tall Christmas tree. The atrium served as the major location for the scheduled photo opportunities with the Disney characters. Guest services and the shore excursion desk were near the atrium. The photo gallery was on deck 4.
The Disney ships sport separate play areas for children as follows: Oceaneers Club for 3-7 year olds, Oceaneers Lab for 8-12 year olds, and then a separate club for teens ages 13-17. Our grandson totally enjoyed the Oceaneers Club. Counselors had different activities for kids aged 3-4 and for those aged 5-7. Luke often asked to go back to the club and was always happily playing whenever we came to pick him up. The checking in and out of the kids club was very well-organized, and parents are given a pager in case of a problem. These kids’ areas are free; however, there is also a nursery for kids under age 3 which charges by the hour. One nice feature of the clubs is that they will take the kids for lunch or dinner if the kids are there during certain times. We let Luke eat with other kids in the club during formal night, so we had a “grown up” meal that night.
Speaking of formal night, I found it much less dressy than on any other cruise line. We like to dress up so was a little surprised at the casual clothes most people wore. Nobody was in tuxes or sequins.
Dining
The buffet area is on the aft end of deck 9 and we enjoyed breakfast there three mornings as well as a couple of lunches. Food was fine and on par with that found on similar buffets on other ships. There were plenty of tables inside and out. Other food venues on deck 9 served hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizzas, salads, and one of them also opened before the breakfast buffet to serve pastries, cereal, and fresh fruit. This was a boon to our little guy who always wakes up hungry. The 24-hour drink station provides coffee, hot water for teas, and sodas.
Dinner dining times are 5:30, 5:15, 6:00, 8:00, 8:15, and 8:30 p.m. Our assigned dining time was originally scheduled for 8 p.m., but with a three-year old, we requested a change as soon as we boarded ship and was able to get 6 p.m. There are three regular dining rooms on the Disney Wonder, and you get to dine in each of them at least once. Parrot Cay had a Caribbean style décor and was very noisy. It was our least favorite dining venue. Triton’s was more formal and had a Little Mermaid/Under the Sea theme. We ate in this room twice. The third venue was Animator’s Palate for which we had high expectations as we had heard that the room starts out in black and white and gradually changes to all color. The room was all in black and white when we entered, but we felt that the coloring of the cartoon characters were uneven and just not what we expected. Our wait staff rotated through the dining rooms with us and were very competent. Our only complaint with them was that they had to tell us at the end of each meal what was going on that evening and the next day. I suppose that is part of their task, but we read the Navigator (ship paper delivered to our cabin every night) religiously and were quite aware of the events and activities. By the time we are finished with eating, we just want to move on. Food was quite good and on a par with other cruise line offerings. There was no lobster offered on this four-night cruise.
There is also an extra charge, adult-only dining venue called Palos which we did not use.
Castaway Cay
This is a private island in the Bahamas owned by the Disney people. It is an absolutely wonderful place for enjoying a day at the beach. There are separate beaches for families, teens, and adults. We spent most of our time at the family beach and found plenty of chairs and umbrellas. There wasn’t much of a breeze, so it became quite warm even under an umbrella. Snorkeling and a variety of other water and beach sports are available. Floats may be rented for $6 per day. A nice BBQ-style lunch is included on the island so there is no need to return to the ship. A tram is available to take folks part of the way to the family beach, but one can also easily walk to it. A separate tram goes to the adults’ only beach. I went to see what the adult beach was like and found it to be just a lovely, normal beach with drinks and lunch also available. There were far fewer chairs and it was quite breezy on this side of the island. I decided I prefer the family beach and all the activities and amenities. An extension of the kids’ clubs is located in a secured area. Luke enjoyed a couple of hours there as well as having a lot of fun with us on the family beach and in the beautiful blue water. Pina coladas and other drinks are available from beach bars or from roaming waiters. There is also a nice store to purchase Castaway Cay-themed items not available on board. Disney characters may also be found on the island for photo opportunities. There is a Bahamian-run post office which sells Disney-themed stamps and will postmark your postcards from Castaway Cay. It is supposedly open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., but when I tried to go in at 9:15 a.m. it was not yet open. One of the Disney staff said that the post office apparently runs on “Bahamas Time.”
Miscellaneous
The lifeboat drill was one of the quickest and easiest we’ve ever experienced. This is probably due to the large number of kids on board and kids generally do not have long attention spans.
I like purchasing photos taken by ship photographers but was disappointed that most of these photos were offered as the more expensive 8” x 10” size ($20). I did buy several and a couple of 6” x 9” ones. They do have several packages available and I was able to purchase five of the larger photos at a savings of $3.00 each. Big deal. However, I think of the photos as souvenirs.
The entertainment productions included a comedian the first night and a Hercules show the second night. We did not attend either of these. Kim, Steve, and I went to the Golden Mickeys show on the third night. This was sort of an academy award type show and was cute, but not memorable. I, alone, went to the show on the final night. It was called Disney Dreams, and I thought it was much better than the Golden Mickeys. Kim had heard that it was rated (don’t know by whom) as the best production show of all the cruise lines. I thought it was good, but wouldn’t say it was the best. We had a really terrific show on the Carnival Freedom last spring that was probably the best I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship.
Our first port was Nassau, which is not a particular favorite of Steve’s and mine as we have been there several times. Steve took a cab to a casino while Kim, Luke, and I opted for a Carnival tour called Discover Atlantis. After a short ride around the town of Nassau we were taken on a tour of the Atlantis casino, shopping venues, and a nice aquarium. Then we had time on our own to explore the gorgeous pool and beach areas and a shark exhibit. Buses returned to the ship every half hour so we could stay at Atlantis as long as we wanted up until the last bus. We returned to the ship around 2:30 to put Luke down for his nap. It was a nice tour.
For breakfast the last morning we were directed to go to the same dining venue where we ate the previous night. We were supposed to go there by 6:30 a.m. and had to take our carry-ons with us. After breakfast we went directly off the ship and located the rest of our luggage. After going through customs we located a US Airways representative who processed our checked luggage. We would not see these pieces again until our arrival in Philadelphia. This was great and is a service offered by five major airlines. We then boarded our Disney transport back to the Orlando airport. Very smooth.
All in all we thought the Disney cruise was on a par with other cruise lines. We enjoyed ourselves but cannot say that it was any better than some of our other cruises.
