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Old 13 Apr 20, 11:10 AM  
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Stewboy
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Wonder on the West Coast: Day 8 - First Day at Sea

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Monday 28th October 2019

We awoke at 7:45am, somewhere on the Pacific Ocean between San Diego and Cabo San Lucas. At 8am a knock at the door signalled the arrival of our room service breakfast. I let the server in, he put the tray on the bed, and handed him a pre-prepared tip - no half-asleep scrabbling around in the dark for dollars this morning!

We’d had a decent night’s sleep but were in need of the coffee and croissants that had just been delivered to get us going for our first full day on the cruise; as it was a sea day we were planning on doing lots of activities to keep us busy.

In addition to the coffee and croissants, the tray of goodies also included fruit which we were saving for Isabella, who we let sleep for another hour.

By the way, this breakfast was more of a pre-breakfast, proper breakfast would be at Cabanas (of course!) once Isabella was awake; we become very Hobbit-like on the cruise, having multiple breakfasts and lunches to keep us going throughout the day!


Pre-breakfast

When I’d opened the door for the room service, I’d noticed some more gifts in our fish extender. Prior to the cruise, we’d signed up to a fish extender group, everyone that signs up (usually on a cruise specific Facebook group) is assigned a group with details of stateroom numbers, names, ages, genders and favourite characters. There were about 6 families/staterooms and about 24 people - a mixture of adults and children. We’d bought/made a number of gifts to distribute later in the cruise, and obviously some of the other people in our group had already delivered their gifts. In this case it was a lovely home crafted Halloween on the High Seas bag and Disney Wonder blanket - which currently lives in a drawer in our living room and was used frequently over the winter.


FE gifts

At about 9am we woke Isabella up for her pre-breakfast of fruit and milk. While she ate, Jo and I checked out the view from the veranda. It was a beautiful day at sea, warm but a little windy.


View

We all got ready, and at about 9:30am headed up to Cabanas on deck 9 for breakfast proper!

Being a sea day, there was lots going on around the ship, and it’s surprising how, despite the fact that everyone is on board, you can still wander around and it not feel too busy - unless you’re sitting around the kids pool area of course!

Cabanas wasn’t too busy, but by the looks of the character meet queues, a lot of people had already had their breakfast. Also, it’s probably worth mentioning that Tritons is also open for breakfast, but it’s not a buffet and can be quite slow - which is fine if you don’t have anywhere to be, but we had plans this morning...

After another delicious Cabanas buffet breakfast we wanted to check out one of the animation classes. As you probably know, we love an animation class - we loved doing the one in California Adventure and really miss the one at Hollywood Studios. The classes on the cruise aren’t quite to the same standard, but we still wanted to attend at least one. So while Isabella and I popped back to the room to pick up some stuff, Jo grabbed us some drinks from deck 9 and headed down to the French Quarter Lounge on deck 4 to get us seats.

The class was just about to begin as we arrived. Jo had got us paper and pencils and we were ready to draw today's character, one of my favourites: Goofy.

The class took about 20 minutes and was a lot of fun. We all did an acceptable job and signed them just in case they become worth something one day…


Ready to draw




My Goofy


Isabella's Goofy


Jo's Goofy

After animation class we wanted to see if we could join one of those long character meet lines we’d seen on the way up to breakfast in order to meet Minnie Mouse in the lobby atrium.

We joined the line. Some of those waiting were there for Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, who were just finishing up. After another 10 minutes of Hook and Smee they left to be replaced by Minnie in her cruise line outfit.

For these character meets there are onboard photographers - like the PhotoPass photographers at the parks. Having pre-purchased a photo package (you get a discount if you do) we wanted to get as many photos as we could on the cruise.


Line for the character meet


Bye bye Hook...


Hello Minnie

There weren't actually that many families in front of us, and it was soon our turn to meet Minnie. We handed over our ‘Key to the World’ card and went in for some photos. Isabella got a few on her own and then Jo and I joined in too - why not? It’s not every day you get to meet Minnie Mouse now is it?




Minnie meets the Sears


Halloween porthole decoration

Our next activity was the Princess Gathering and as we’d not bought anything with us for Isabella to get their autographs in, we decided to try and get one from the shops. We bid Minnie goodbye and headed further along deck 4 to Mickey’s Mainsail where we found an autograph book.

Our Princess Gathering ticket said to be in the lobby on deck 3 at 11:30am, the time was now 11:20am so we made our way down to deck 3 and joined the fairly short queue. A crew member checked our ticket when we arrived just to make sure we had arrived at the correct time. Giving guests a specific time to meet is a good idea as it keeps the lines down and ensures shorter waits.

The Princess Gathering on the cruise is always a good event as the character interactions are excellent. The princesses don’t rush and really engage with the guest, asking them lots of questions and doing a good job of portraying their characters' personalities - Ariel and Tiana in particular always do a good job of getting Isabella talking. According to Isabella, Tiana is the nicest and Ariel is the funniest.
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Old 13 Apr 20, 11:11 AM  
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Stewboy
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Today, she would be meeting Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Tiana. In the past she has met all these princesses before, both onboard and in the parks, and probably has multiple autographs from each, but as she gets older, she forgets all the things she did when she was little, so for her this felt like the first time - which is kind of nice because we get to see her experiencing it all over again.





















Once Isabella had met the princesses, got their autographs and posed for photos with them (you are allowed to take your own photos during these character meets too - so you don’t have to buy the photo packages) we headed up on deck for the next activity - I told you this would be a busy day!

Isabella is a big fan of the Descendants movies on DisneyLife (now Disney+ of course) and there was a Descendants Dance Party just about to start. We found ourselves a seat, and a towel blanket each - turns out the wind was making it pretty chilly up on deck - and waited for the party to start.

The party consisted of clips from the films on the funnel vision screen of characters dancing, and a crew member encouraging kids to get up and emulate the moves. Isabella wasn’t really up for that, so after watching for about 15 minutes we decided we may as well go and get some lunch.


Enjoying the dance party

Obviously there was only one serious option for us today, and that was to head back to Cabanas. There was another delicious selection on the buffet, and in addition to the usual food that they have every day, there is also a special section which today was asian food, including noodles, tofu, rice and tuna.




Cabanas decoration






Photos probably don't do it justice!


Thanos *snap*

Once we'd had our fill of the delicious food, we headed back down to the shop to do a little bit more shopping. Isabella found herself a Disney Cruise Line pin that she liked, and also a pouch to go on her lanyard - we also got one of the Disney Cruise Line reusable bags which they’ve now introduced in place of the plastic bags.

We all fancied something sweet so headed back up to deck 9 to get something from the ‘Eye Scream’ ice cream self service. For some reason we all got banana ice creams, they weren’t great to be honest, although Isabella loved hers!




Eye Scream


Don't let the smile fool you, she did not enjoy this!


I ended up with Jo's!


Isabella enjoyed hers though

Our next activity was to do some Disney Trivia in the D-Lounge on deck 4 - yes, it does appear that we spent most of the day yo-yoing between decks 9 and 4!

Our quiz master was the same crew member who’d done our animation class earlier - no rest for crew members on a sea day either!

Team Sear came joint first with 22 out of 25, which meant there was a tie breaker. I let Jo go up and challenge the teenage girl. The question was a hard one: “Which toy (in Toy Story) is known as One-Eyed Bart?”. After a 3 second delay the girl gave the answer first: Mr Potato Head. I don’t think any of us knew the answer to that one.




Trivia


Here are the answers, although I can't remember the questions!


Tie breaker!

Disappointed to have lost, but pleased to have come joint first, we left the D-Lounge. Isabella decided she’d like to go and spend some time in the Oceaneer Club as there was something involving Minnie Mouse happening soon. On the way there we had an alien encounter; it was Stitch, who gave us a wave as he wandered past either on his way to or from a character meet. I love that about the cruise, you often see random characters wandering around the ship and they’ll always give you a wave, or a high five, or say hello (if they can).


Stitch!


Club

We dropped her off and headed back to the room. In the past you needed to carry one of the two stateroom ‘wave phones’ with you (think early 2000s Nokia mobile phones!) but now the crew members can message you via the DCL app on your phone if they need to - much more convenient.

Jo decided that she wanted to go to the gym, so I thought I’d go for a run on the outside promenade/running track round deck 4. The track is 0.33 miles round the ship and at the bow goes through where the anchor and docking lines are stored.

My run took about 25 minutes, and according to my Apple Watch I did 4 miles. This works out to 6:19 minutes per mile - I have to assume that being on a moving ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no WiFi means that isn’t entirely accurate because there’s no way that I’m that fast! I did try to keep track of the laps as I went round but they all began to blur into each other.

I finished my run and headed back to the room to shower and get dressed. When Jo returned, she showered and then we sat out on the balcony with a glass of wine - it was idyllic.




Beautiful


Relaxing pre-gym


Post-exercise wine

After a little rest I popped back down to the Oceaneer Club to pick Isabella up. I asked her how the Minnie thing was and apparently she missed it because she was on the wrong side - it happened in the Oceaneer Lab rather than the Club! Oh well, she still had fun doing other things.

As well as being a sea day, it was also formal night and the Captain's Reception. This meant smart dress and free drinks in the lobby atrium, so we all got dressed up smartly and made our way downstairs and across to the lobby atrium area.

The formal night Captain's Reception is always fun. In addition to the free drinks, there’s also live music and a really nice atmosphere. The Captain and all the officers are out and about mingling with the guests, you can get photos with him and in front of other backdrops, and also with the lobby atrium statue - there’s one on every Disney Cruise Line ship and on the Wonder it’s Ariel.

The reception began at about 5:15pm and we arrived early. The deal with the drinks is that servers circulate around the lobby with a tray of drinks on - maybe 8 or 9, mostly alcoholic but a couple of non-alcoholic. It’s very much first come first serve, and many servers don’t get further than the bottom of the staircases that they come down before the trays are emptied! The trick is to hang about by the top or bottom of the stairs when you’re in need of a drink and get one as they come down - we’ve done this before remember - or as we later realised, wait outside the D-Lounge where the drinks are actually made and get the servers as soon as they exit!

As we were there early we got a couple of family photos before the lines got too long then we got ourselves our first free drink - cocktails for Jo and I; virgin cocktail for Isabella. We wandered about enjoying the atmosphere and the music and then got a couple more free drinks before it was time to head to our dinner seating at 5:45pm.




Formal Sears





Relaxed








The band


Love these two


Cutie


Yes, she's had a drink...



Music in the French Quarter Lounge
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Old 13 Apr 20, 11:11 AM  
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Tonight we were eating at Tiana's Place, a restaurant exclusive to the Disney Wonder - its equivalent on the Magic is Rapunzel’s Royal Table. Tiana’s Place first opened on the Wonder in 2016 and we were looking forward to experiencing it for the first time.

We’d heard that being closer to the stage enhanced the dining experience (there’s live music and an appearance from Tiana and Louis) and in fact having been seated far from the stage at Rapunzel’s Royal Table on board the Magic we knew that this would probably be the case, so Jo had requested a table close to the stage before we sailed.


Queue for dinner

As we were shown to our table we were pleased that our request had been met. As like last night we’d be seated with the same family and served by the same servers - the other family arrived about the same time as us tonight though.













The entertainment began with a set by the ‘Crawfish Crooners’ a three piece jazz band; our servers came to take our food orders, which were as follows:
  • Jo: Louisiana Hot Crab Dip with Toasted Croutons/Oven-Roasted Tom Turkey Breast with Green Beans, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Rosemary Stuffing, Giblet Gravy, and Cranberry Relish/Banoffee Cream Pie - Caramel Toffee base Topped with Bananas and an abundance of Whipped Cream
  • Me: Buttered Green and White Asparagus Spears with Tomato Bearnaise/Lime-Marinated Jumbo Shrimp with Jambalaya Rice, Chicken, Andouille Sausage, Celery, and Cajun Spices/Tiana’s Place Sundae - Rocky Road Ice Cream topped with Chocolate Fudge Bites, Chocolate Sauce, and Whipped Cream
  • Isabella: Lean Cut Side of Beef with Fresh Vegetables and a choice of Smashed Potatoes or Steak Fries/Tiana’s Place Sundae - Rocky Road Ice Cream topped with Chocolate Fudge Bites, Chocolate Sauce, and Whipped Cream








After we ordered we met Tiana, who came round each table to say hello and pose for photos. Tiana was followed by the food as the band continued playing, this time joined by a pianist. It was really enjoyable to have live music playing as we ate, and nice to be close enough to the stage to really appreciate it.


Hot Crab Dip


Asparagus Spears


Tom Turkey Breast


Jumbo Shrimp


Lean Cut Side of Beef


Banoffee Cream Pie


Tiana’s Place Sundae

After the entrees Tiana was encouraging kids (and parents) to get up and join her for a dance, Isabella got halfway to the dance floor, before returning to the comfort of her seat!

Isabella and the little girl from the other family had been playing during dinner and decided they wanted to go to the Oceaneer Club together, so after we finished our dessert we all left and headed that way.





Once she was in the club, Jo and I decided to go back to the lobby for the second Captain’s reception - there’s one before each dinner sitting. This time we decided to get a photo with Captain Daniele before getting a couple more free drinks and enjoying the atmosphere all over again.


It looks like me and the captain are meeting Jo!






Captain's Reception No. 2

We hadn’t forgotten about tonight’s show, which was the Golden Mickeys show in the Walt Disney Theatre. After a couple more free drinks, we picked Isabella up from the club and headed down to the theatre at about 8:10pm.

All the shows on board the Disney Cruise ships are excellent, as you would expect, and this was no exception - it’s always worth the effort to go and see them if you’re ever on a Disney Cruise.




Golden Mickeys

On the way back to the room after the show, we headed up to deck 9 for a coffee, and also decided to get a couple of slices of pizza for a night time snack!

Back at the room Isabella had a bath and went to bed. Jo and I had our coffee and pizza and by 10:30pm had called it a night.







Our first full day on board the Disney Wonder had more than lived up to our expectations - we had lots of fun, lots of nice food (and drinks!), and managed to cram in a lot of activities. Tomorrow we’d be arriving at Cabo San Lucas and would be heading off the ship at some point on to Mexican soil for the very first time.

TFR
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Old 19 Apr 20, 09:46 AM  
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Just catching up. Another brilliant day. Loving all your photos and being able to follow along on dry land!

Looking forward to reading more.

M x

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Old 20 Jun 20, 10:42 PM  
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You did have a busy sea day - good job you had that pre-breakfast! All the food and drinks look delicious- apart from the banana ice cream which is a definite no from me too.

You all look very smart this evening- very impressed with you going to the captains reception twice - you can tell you’re cruise experts now as you all know all the tricks 😉
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Old 2 Jul 22, 05:33 PM  
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Stewboy
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Originally Posted by Pumba75 View Post
Just catching up. Another brilliant day. Loving all your photos and being able to follow along on dry land!

Looking forward to reading more.

M x
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it


Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
You did have a busy sea day - good job you had that pre-breakfast! All the food and drinks look delicious- apart from the banana ice cream which is a definite no from me too.

You all look very smart this evening- very impressed with you going to the captains reception twice - you can tell you’re cruise experts now as you all know all the tricks 😉
Oh yes, we do like a cruise! Thanks for reading
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