our Wonder cruise

[Guest]

here's part 1 of my trip report as promised, hope it's not too long or boring

our cruise was a 3 night on the disney wonder 15-18th may

must introduce us first, we are

me - the planner
dh - the payer
dd age 14yrs aka the "tt" terrible teen
and ds age 11yrs

thursday 15th

our base prior to and after the cruise was a villa on windwood bay

we had told the kids to watch for the taxi that was coming to collect us at 9am, bit early i know but i wanted to get to the port as early as poss so i could make the cruise last longer

we had actually booked a limo to transfer us to the ship and back but kept it a suprise from the children

pulling up at port it's hard not to be a little bit in awe and the sheer size and beauty of the ship, we'd seen it last yr from a distance when we went parasailing at cocoa beach but i was blown away with the size of it close up, getting out of the limo i paid whilst dh dealt with the cases, we had a porter come to get the bags and dh had to practically run after him to tip as he was that fast, going into the terminal building we realised that we were one of the first to arrive and i was glad as i managed to take some lovely pics of the terminal and model ship without lots of strangers in the background

we were handed boarding number 2 at check in and we had late dinner sitting with P/T/AP rotation, check in was quick and easy, we then sat to have brekkie which was muffin and coffee for me and dh and the same with water for the kids

in what seemed like no time at all we were called to board and after a quick pose for pics we walked onto the ship, it's lovely how they welcome you onboard the ship by announcing your family it makes you feel very special and is a nice personal touch









we were directed to parrot cay for lunch and with me being a person who prefers air con to hot sun we opted to eat inside, the buffet at parrot cay was huge with something for everyone, except for my very fussy daughter of course but one of the waiters saved the saved the day and kindly went to get my daughter some tomato based spagetti sauce for her pasta because the one offered had meatballs and she's a veggie



after a few bahama mamas and eating far too much for lunch we walked around the ship taking some pics and then went to check out our staterooms, we were in rooms 6654 which is a accessible room with huge balcony at the rear of the ship and also we added a extra inside room 6647 for us girlies to have more privacy

after looking at both rooms we all went back into the balcony room to our welcome aboard goodies which consisted of petit fours and champers which we or should i say i greedily gorged on despite being full up from lunch (sorry this picture was taken after we had already had some)




it was a quick lifeboat drill and much easier than i thought it would be, our station was in the air conditioned haven of animators palate and was not as bad as i'd anticipated, no stressed out kids at all, i was begining to relax now



the kids not good with crowded spaces we gave the sail away party a miss and stayed on the balcony to wave goodbye to port canaveral and the disney cruise terminal staff

cleaned up and dressed for dinner we went to see the golden mickeys first which we all enjoyed, dinner that night was in parrot cay and our servers were nice but not overly friendly, we had requested a table for four and that's what we got which saved a lot of worry and hassle of me having to worry about the kids and how they would cope with eating with a table full of strangers, dinner was nice but ended rather abruptly with the little chap feeling rather sick

the head waiter was lovely and told me not to worry madam about your son throwing up along the entire entrance to the restaurant it happens all the time he then kindly arranged to have dh's main course and dessert sent to his room as he went back with the little chap, i quickly finished my meal but never really noticed what i ate as i just wanted to get back to check on the two men in my life, i was worried so much for the first time in years i refused a dessert !

back to dh and sons room to find little chap had been washed and was sleeping whilst dh was enjoying a beer and his meal on the balcony

sunset views from deck 4 i think just before dinner





it was an early night for all of us this first night, it's amazing how the ship just rocks you alseep i was out like a light in a matter of seconds which is most unlike me

day 2 to follow

[Michelle]

Marie, what a great start to your reports, not boring at all. I love reading about cruises

Aww what a shame your DS was sick.

I am looking forward to Day 2 and your photo's

[Tinkers]

Marie the report is not boring, in fact you are making me even more excited . Hope your son wakes feeling better. Can't wait for day 2.

Suzanne x

[sparrow]

Certainly getting me excited. Looking forward to your next days reading.

[Guest]

What fabulous pictures looking forward to seeing and reading more.

[ANGEL]

great report thanks Marie
Sorry your son wasn't well tho, not nice for him (or any of you!)

We got a limo when we went with our dd too (tho not cruisin) just love to see their faces trying to act cool don't you?

You're making me feel very envious!

[jdybnsn]

Fantastic report... and fantastic piccies too

[disneydreamer]

Fantastic a new trippie to read. I loved the bit where you walk onto the ship and they announce your family name. Don't know about you but I needed by kleenex a few times on board. Everything was just so magical. Can't wait to read the rest of your trippie
Jackie

[Guest]

part 2

woke up after a lovely sleep to find ourselves in Nassau and to these views from the balcony





with everyone feeling in tip top condition this morning we decided it would be a good idea to avoid the temptations of a buffet brekkie as no matter how good the intentions are to go easy it never quite happens that way so we opted for Tritons and it was lovely, it was also here we met a english server who was very new to the ship called Andrew, he was great with the kids and it was nice to talk to someone from back home

after a lovely light brekkie we headed off the ship to have a peek at nassau, now we had decided that we would go it alone at this port of call as none of the excursions appealed that much, my kids don't really go for waterparks so we didn't fancy atlantis and all the others we had different worries about on how the kids would cope

so armed with our "no thank you" heads on we made it past the various people offering hair braiding, water taxis, pony rides etc and found our way into market or bay street?

we didn't really like nassau, a heavy police presence made us uncomfortable as it seemed like they were expecting trouble and locals walking barefoot with paper wrapped bottles of alcohol wasn't our thing either, didn't give a good first impression that's for sure, at best you could describe them as colourful indivduals

visting a few shops we picked up a rum cake and a few small gifts for people and then stopped for ice cream in the air con haven of haagen dahs shop, after this dh suggested we head back to the ship to laze on the balcony and consider room service for a late afternoon snack

safely back on board it was room service for all and a spot of lounging on that huge balcony of ours to work up a appetite for dinner

this was our balcony and we certainly made the most of it



after a few lazy hours we decided to haul ourselves off the loungers and get ready for dinner but first there was a show to see and a few cocktails to drink

the show was toy story the musical and was ok but i think it didn't quite work as a musical as there were just not enough songs in the original film, the kids seemed to still enjoy it though, after this we browsed the shops onboard and had another drink in the promenade lounge just before our evening meal which was to be in tritons

now i've got to say this restaurant was beautiful and very elegant, the food was gorgeous, dd was very pleased in here as the veggie pasta was better than dads usual offerings back at home, in her own words " dad your pasta tastes like poop compared to this, i want to eat here from now on" were the mutterings on offer from the delightful and most eloquent teen of ours

here are some food pics
the beef

and the desserts






after dinner we had plans to all go up on deck 10 to see the pirates party and the fireworks but sadly for the little one it wasn't to be, he just wanted his bed, so dh took him back to the room which left just myself and dd to venture up there

now being a fusspot and not wanting to be on the smoking side of the ship i asked a crew member and made my way to the non smoking bit to view the party and fireworks only to find myself with the worst possible view of them, the party atmosphere and music was great but sadly i didn't get many good pics, not too worry though i found out later that dh got great video of them from the balcony

here are a few pics




finishing this installment with a sunset pic from that night and special room visitor too

[minijaffacake]

Loving the trip report. Is it just me, or do any of you new cruisers get all emotional when reading trip reports? DBF and I will be going on our first cruise in Oct and it will be like a dream come true for me. I just know I am going to end up in tears at some point and DBF will think I am just daft Lol.

Mazz, you mention having breakfast once you got the port, do they serve food there or was it something you took with you?