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Old 27 Jan 20, 07:58 PM  
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Scruffette
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O Can-aska - Day 4 - Boarding the Disney Wonder

O Can-aska - Day 4

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Monday 2nd September 2019 - Boarding the Disney Wonder


It’s embarkation day



Despite only being on a cruise a year ago, I was so excited to get back on one of Disney’s beautiful ships. Sailing on the Wonder means that we’ve now been on all 4 Disney ships - that is, until the new boats start launching from 2021. But for now, I was pleased to have tried the whole set!

Being a relatively short walk away from the cruise terminal made for a fairly leisurely morning. We got up, showered and had our usual breakfast of pastries, yoghurt and waffles from downstairs.

After making myself Disney-cruise ready (ie putting on a Mickey tshirt and my new cruise hair bow), we found ourselves with time to spare.



We passed the time face-timing my parents while I finished off the rest of the Breka apple fritter from 2 days ago. Yes, it was so big it had taken me that long to eat it! It wasn’t as fresh as it had been but I still enjoyed it.

Our port arrival time for today was 11.30am-12pm. I was sad that during online checking (at 5am 105 days before the cruise) that I couldn’t get the earliest slot of 11am-11.30am. Despite this, we were planning on heading to the port nice and early, as I do like to try and get on the ship as soon as possible.

Ollie was a star and wheeled our cases over to Canada Place. At least it was mostly downhill this way!

We arrived at the cruise terminal about 10.30am and handed over our luggage. They were pretty organised at the Port of Vancouver, there were a few stages to get through, but all was signposted clearly. Lots of people were admiring the Wonder in port and taking photos.







I was delighted at the check in desk when we were issued with boarding group 7 – I wasn’t expecting such an early group! (Our best ever was in 2018 when we got boarding group 2). The lady at the check in desk did want to see a print out of our esta confirmation – I know it’s often said that you just need a record of the number, but it proved useful to have the print out.



As part of the check in process, we cleared US immigration, so that we didn’t have to do this when arriving in Alaska.

Our hand luggage also got a good search and we had to declare that we had two bottles of sparkling wine each.



The whole process was relatively painless and we were sat down in the waiting area by 11am. We picked up a navigator at check in to peruse. Also, being so close to the ship, we could pick up the wifi and look through the activities for the week in the navigator app. This made the time pass very quickly – we starred a lot of activities for the week!





Boarding group 7 was called just after 12pm and we were soon making our way onboard the ship. I must admit, I love the moment when they announce your family onto the ship – the last couple of times I’ve found myself getting a little emotional!



Part of the reason for wanting to board so early was to change our Palo reservation. At online check in, I was able to secure a 12pm reservation on our first sea day. However, my ideal choice was 10am on our last sea day – I find I can eat more by the end of the trip! Also, I find a 12pm reservation a bit awkward as you still need breakfast, but still need to turn up to brunch hungry!



They were taking reservations from 12.30pm in Azure so I was optimistic that our slot could be changed. We headed there straight away and the Palo cast member was already set up. He was able to change our reservation to 10.30am on the last sea day, which was great and really appreciated.







With reservations sorted, it was now time for lunch! I’m normally a fan of a sit down lunch, but the embarkation day menu was the same as last year and I didn’t find it that inspiring previously.

We settled on the buffet in Cabanas – it was fairly busy as expected but managed well. As it was a beautifully sunny day in Vancouver (we were so lucky with the weather here) all the outside tables were taken, so we went for an indoor table by the window.





My plate –



Ollie’s plate –



We then got a few desserts to share – and arranged them as close to a hidden Mickey as possible! The ice cream was rocky road, which was a hit with me.



It’s always a lovely feeling the first day of the cruise, knowing there is a whole week on this ship ahead of you.

The top deck was fairly empty at this point – everyone was still boarding or eating!









At 1.30pm, we heading down to our stateroom 6635 -this was a 11A standard inside stateroom.

The cost of the verandah rooms on the Alaskan cruises were more than double the cost of an inside room. As nice as it would have been, we just couldn’t justify it for this trip. We had an indoor stateroom before on the Magic in the Med and it was fine for us for the week. We did go for an 11A rather than an 11B, to be on a slightly higher deck. Our stateroom was aft, which we find quite handy for popping up to Cabanas and for getting drinks from the pool deck.







There is only one bathroom in this category of room rather than the split bathroom in the larger staterooms. However, as there are only 2 of us, this was just fine.







Of course we had to decorate our door!



This magnet was a new addition – I have a bit of a thing for DCL chicken tenders. I may have called them ‘life-changing’ before.



We were unpacking in the room and I heard a parent in the corridor telling their child that whoever was in our room must be their soul mate, as they also loved the chicken tenders!

We always make an effort on the first day to have a look around the kids clubs, as they always look great fun and this is the only day we can really get away with going!











The Marvel stuff is a bit lost on me, but I’m sure it’s great fun!





We watched one activity based on the Lion Guard – the kids were learning different dance moves and at the end Timon came out and danced with them. Kids must have the best time on a Disney cruise!



I attempted maneuvering the ship on the simulation and failed miserably. Bad things would happen if I had to captain a boat! Ollie fared much better.





A Goofy Movie was playing in this room – I don’t think I’ve seen this film in about 20 years but can still remember all the words.



No trip to the kid’s club is complete without using the hand wash machines – who knew washing hands could be so fun and efficient?

Checking out the chandelier –



Spotting sea planes out the port hole -



On one of our visits back to the room, we bumped into our stateroom host. Compared to other hosts on previous cruises, I felt that he came into the room at odd times. For example, the morning tidy would often be early afternoon, leaving not much time before turndown.

We did ask him about wine glasses, and were told we’d have to get these from the bar (on previous cruises our stateroom host has brought these up for us). We also asked about Navigators, which are no longer delivered to the room as standard. I hoped he could bring one up for us, but apparently this wasn’t possible. He did however say he would fill up our ice bucket for us each day – got to chill our prosecco properly!

We thought we’d try our luck in spa raffle at 3pm. I can happily report this is the only time we spent in the gym on this cruise! However, with the great views, I could maybe be persuaded…





Ollie got persuaded to do a footprint for analysis. I think they were trying to sell us something, but I’m not sure exactly what.





We were unsuccessful in the raffle, but did have a good look around the spa facilities. After getting a massage and using the rainforest room last cruise, this cruise was a spa free trip!



Our muster station for this trip was in Animator’s Palate, so we picked up some soft drinks from the pool deck and headed there for the 4pm drill. I think this may have been the quickest safety drill I’ve ever been to and was relatively painless.
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Old 27 Jan 20, 08:02 PM  
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It was then up to the top deck for the sailaway in the beautiful sunshine!







The Mickey’s Sail-a-wave party was fairly new and we hadn’t seen this one before. Complete with giant inflatable mouse gloves…







However, instead of watching the show, we positioned ourselves at the front of the ship to watch us sail out of Vancouver and under the Lion’s Gate Bridge. The ship had already started sailing away a fair bit before the sailaway party.













I really enjoyed the sail away – it was quite crowded at the front of the ship as lots of people had the same idea. It was also super windy – I had to hold on tightly to my ears (of the Minnie variety, not my actual ears)! Sailing under the bridge was really cool.

It had been at least 3 hours since our last meal, which I’m pretty sure is illegal on a cruise. I decided to have a few of my beloved chicken tenders. Ollie was excited for the shwarma station – he loved this on the Magic in 2016 and was heartbroken when he realised the Fantasy didn’t have one last year!









The main shops on deck 4 were due to open at 5.45pm and we wanted to head there for opening. As this was the penultimate Alaskan cruise, we thought that Alaska specific merchandise would be a bit limited. I’d already seen on facebook that the Alaskan Minnie plush was sold out for the season – I thought she was much cuter than the Mickey plush, so I wasn’t surprised.

They’d actually moved all the Alaskan merchandise to the Sea Treasures on deck 3, where a bit of a queue had formed.

I was sad to see they didn’t have a specific Alaska photo album (I’ve had one previously for a Med cruise). We had a quick browse but decided to pop back after the show for purchases.

Tonight’s show was a variety act – The Ventriloquism & Comedy of Michael Harrison. I have mixed feelings generally about the variety acts on Disney cruises and have found the standard of shows in the past to be quite varied, but we always make an effort to go to each show. Even if seeing the words ‘ventriloquism’ and ‘comedy’ generally fill me with fear!

In fairness to Michael Harrison, he was better than I expected! I quite enjoyed his show, it involved using both a tennis ball and a small child as puppets. (I actually preferred his adult show more a couple of nights later).

After the show, we popped back to the shops, but were relatively restrained and only bought two things (for now!). The first was this Alaska photo frame – even better, all Alaska merchandise had 30% off, making it $20.99. We also picked up this DCL photo album for $24.99.





Between the show and dinner we decided to do Disney Tunes Trivia in Azure. I was hoping the tunes would be played on a piano, as I’ve read about this on other trip reports. The songs were actually recordings, but we still enjoyed this.

We scored a respectable 42 out of 45, but two teams got a clean sweep! I’d managed to forget that Cinderella’s dog was Bruno, Pinocchio’s cat was Figaro and that Minnie Driver voiced Jane in Tarzan. The team marking our paper were nice and let us get away with one or two wrong words in a song title.



On our way to dinner we bumped into Ashley our Cruise Director. She was so lovely, took the time to have a chat with us and seemed genuinely interested.

Dinner tonight was in Triton’s. I was quite glad this was our first night restaurant - although it is probably considered the least exciting of the three restaurants, it’s easier to get to know your table mates and servers on the first night in a calmer atmosphere.

We were introduced to our server Yansen and assistant server Thiago. It was only Thiago’s second or third week on DCL, having previously been on a different cruise line. We also met our tablemates – again we got really lucky and had a great time with them at dinner each night.

The Triton’s menu was similar to Lumiere’s on the Magic or Royal Palace/Table on the Dream/Fantasy. There were a few regional inspirations of Alaskan inspired dishes on the menu – we tried a few of these where possible, to mixed reception!

To start, I had the Trio of Alaskan smoked salmon, gravalax and salmon canapés – with a sweet mustard and dill sauce.



Normally on this menu I choose the fried brie, but this wasn’t an option this time! Probably did me good to choose something different for a change. I’m a big smoked salmon fan so enjoyed this, but it did get a bit samey by the end.

Ollie went for the fried pierogi – with roasted onions and sour cream



He was really unimpressed with this and said it was flavourless.

We did find that sometimes our first and second courses would arrive in the opposite order. I didn’t mind this as it meant we were more likely to get the food fresher.

For the next course, we both had the French onion soup – with gruyere crouton



I order this every cruise without fail and always enjoy it.

For mains, we both had the Crispy Roasted duck breast – with cabbage, shallots, honey parsnip mash and a duck red wine jus.



The duck had a nice crispness and was cooked well. I hardly ever have duck, so always enjoy ordering this on the cruise.

For dessert, being a creature of habit, I ordered the Grand Marnier soufflé – served with grand Marnier crème anglais.



Whilst not as good as the Palo chocolate offering (which unfortunately I wouldn’t be having this cruise), I enjoyed this.

Ollie went for the Apple Tarte Tatin – caramelised baked apple served with vanilla ice cream



Deconstructed, but still nice.

I also seem to have a picture of a crème brulee – I'm assuming this was Ollie's second dessert.



After dinner, we popped into Azure where we caught the end of The Feud – a bit like Family Fortunes. I was pleased to see that Jo was our club host – we had her on the Magic a few years ago and she is hilarious. A very British sense of humour!

We joined in with helping our team by shouting answers enthusiastically. Although we did become frustrated when our team captain wouldn’t take our answer for the category - ‘Queen songs’ and we had the missing answer of Don’t Stop Me Now.

With it being the first night, we didn’t want to be up too late and headed back to our stateroom around 11pm.

Our first towel animal was waiting for us, along with Ghirardelli chocolates



Day 5 - Day at Sea

Edited at 09:03 PM.
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Old 28 Jan 20, 10:29 AM  
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Really enjoying your report. You've packed a lot into your first few days!
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Old 28 Jan 20, 04:29 PM  
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Fab first day on the cruise. We are first time Disney cruisers when we go so I am expecting to be last on board 🙈
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Old 2 Feb 20, 11:16 AM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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Originally Posted by smedley View Post
Fab first day on the cruise. We are first time Disney cruisers when we go so I am expecting to be last on board 🙈
I'm a first time cruiser too and from what I have researched this is not true. Your Boarding Time / Number is linked to your Port Arrival Time.

You get your Port Arrival Time when you do your online check in.

As a first time cruiser your online check in will open 75 days from your departure date. The time it opens is 12.01 am Orlando time.

If you are online at 12.01 am Orlando time which is 5 am UK time and do your check in process, you can choose the earliest Port Arrival Time available to you. You could get lucky and the early Port Arrival Time may still be available, as some repeat cruisers prefer a late Port Arrival Time. Also those who use Disney Cruise Line transport to the port don't choose a Port Arrival Time.
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Old 2 Feb 20, 06:07 PM  
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Scruffette
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Originally Posted by becky2203 View Post
Really enjoying your report. You've packed a lot into your first few days!
Thanks for reading We like to busy when we go away - I think that's why I fall asleep a lot in random places!

Originally Posted by smedley View Post
Fab first day on the cruise. We are first time Disney cruisers when we go so I am expecting to be last on board 🙈
Thanks for reading Don't worry about being first time cruisers. We were in a facebook group for this cruise and lots of first time cruisers reported that they managed to get the same arrival time as us. Some cruisers who only arrived in Vancouver the day before wanted to spend the morning exploring Vancouver, so opted for a later boarding time.
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Old 2 Feb 20, 06:08 PM  
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Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink View Post
I'm a first time cruiser too and from what I have researched this is not true. Your Boarding Time / Number is linked to your Port Arrival Time.

You get your Port Arrival Time when you do your online check in.

As a first time cruiser your online check in will open 75 days from your departure date. The time it opens is 12.01 am Orlando time.

If you are online at 12.01 am Orlando time which is 5 am UK time and do your check in process, you can choose the earliest Port Arrival Time available to you. You could get lucky and the early Port Arrival Time may still be available, as some repeat cruisers prefer a late Port Arrival Time. Also those who use Disney Cruise Line transport to the port don't choose a Port Arrival Time.
Great advice. We always opt to get up at 5am so we can chick in as soon as our slot opens
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Old 3 Feb 20, 10:03 AM  
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This looks amazing!
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Old 7 Feb 20, 04:24 PM  
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I can’t believe how much you’ve managed to fit into the first few days.
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Old 16 Feb 20, 05:42 PM  
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Originally Posted by caj View Post
This looks amazing!
The Wonder is a beautiful ship! Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by Tinkermom View Post
I can’t believe how much you’ve managed to fit into the first few days.
Thanks for reading We tend to pack a lot into ours days!
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