Trying Disney for the first time !

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Hello, we are long time Royal cruisers and have finally booked a Disney cruise. We will be on the Wonder next year for a Bahamas cruise. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions to make it a great cruise ? We will be arriving a day early and going to Disney, and having them transport us to the ship then back to MCO. Thanks for any help !

[Ex techie]

Personally I wouldn't cruise on the Wonder in '14.

I would switch reservations to the Magic or Fantasy.

 

I've had a personal report from someone that was on the Magic recently and it really upset me to hear that she was in such a bad state awaiting her major dry dock and she wasn't up to the usual standards.

The Magic will be massively spruced up next month, so I would skip the Wonder until she has the same treatment personally.

 

I only say this as I wouldn't want you to see a rundown Wonder and think that was typical of DCL.

(unless anyone knows different?)

 

ex techie

[angelinaxox1]

Hope it is a great time. I find Disney cruises to be different than other cruises. There are a lot of unique activities that Disney offers. My last cruise was an eight day on the Magic last summer and we had a blast. I love that you can drop off two objects per stateroom down in guest services to be signed by characters. You place them in a clear bag with sharpies and fill out a sheet the first day. Some popular things are photo mats or pillow cases. My niece and I did the pillowcases. They came out so cute. We also put a bag of candy in the bags as a thank you. Prior to the cruise we printed out Disney designs and made magnets for the doors that coincided with our stops. There is another Disney board where there are designers who have lots of "disigns" to choose from to make magnets or shirts. We enjoyed attending the "Tea with Alice" which we signed up for the first day, but from what I have read it isn't always offered, especially on shorter cruises). I am not sure what length your cruise is. We enjoyed the first run Disney movies in the theater and the animation classes. Not sure if you are going to Castaway Cay or not, but it is probably my favorite of the private islands. We had fun on the slides which there was no charge for. My sister in law and I loved the 5k run/walk. There was no charge to do this, only a charge if you purchased a shirt at the end. We received Mickey medals and certificates on our cruise (although others report they didn't get both on their cruises so I guess it depends who is in charge on your ship). There are people who also participate in signing up on a Disney forum for exchanging gifts with others. They hang a holder with pockets outside their room from the fish hook so they call it a "fish extender" or "FE" for short. Although I didn't participate on my last Disney with others, I made my own fish extender and hung it up inside the cabin to fill with little gifts for my nieces and nephews. My nieces and nephew loved "Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?" and they received special pins for being in it. There are so many magical moments on a Disney ship, but these were just a few we really enjoyed and maybe they will give you a few ideas. I am sure there are many others who can give you plenty of more ideas. Btw, even though I could tell the Magic needed some updating, I thought it was still a great ship and hopefully, you will feel the same about the Wonder.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Thank you both for the input, we are on the 5 day Bahamas cruise with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. I guess we will have to see for ourselves how bad condition she is in as this cruise fits our schedule, and we have been on Royals Monarch and Majesty, so how bad can it be ?

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

We are also Loyal to Royal and also taking a Disney Wonder cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay. We were on the Magic in 2012. Which date are you going.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

We are also Loyal to Royal and also taking a Disney Wonder cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay. We were on the Magic in 2012. Which date are you going.

 

Sept. 26, '14

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

That is the same date as us. Without disclosing too much, the other forum is geared to the cruise line. There is also a meet set up that I started for the FE exchange. You can learn quite a bit. Definitely different than RCCL. There will be a pirate night (which we dress up for and many do). Some other differences that you can learn about as well.

[kicker]

You can see from my cruise history that we're mainly RCI fans, and Royal is still my favorite, but we did a 4 day Disney Dream and have a Wonder cruise booked for October, so we obviously were happy with Disney also. Sorry to disagree with a previous poster, but Disney is Disney, and I've never seen anything Disney that wasn't in great shape.

 

What you'll get with Dis: larger staterooms, great Dis entertainment that appeals to all ages, food that was a bit fancy for my tastes, free soda, crab legs and shrimp on the buffet each day.

 

What you'll miss: the casino (possibly), The Quest, better dressed fellow cruisers (Dis is quite relaxed).

 

We're doing Dis with our 4 yr old DGD; otherwise we'd probably be on Royal, but I would never dissuade anyone from taking a Disney cruise.

[near the beach]

Does Disney have a soda program for unlimited soda?

[awaywego0000]

Thank you both for the input, we are on the 5 day Bahamas cruise with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. I guess we will have to see for ourselves how bad condition she is in as this cruise fits our schedule, and we have been on Royals Monarch and Majesty, so how bad can it be ?

 

I wouldn't worry about the condition of the ship (Wonder). We were on Magic last year. I thought she looked beautiful even though she was about due to go into dry dock. IMHO she was not in bad shape at all. Disney takes very good care of their ships. I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise.

[kicker]

Does Disney have a soda program for unlimited soda?

 

Fountain sodas are free on Disney ships. You only pay for soda if you order room service or purchase it by the can.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

You can also take your own alcohol on board. It must go in a carry on. No limit. Like last poster said fountain soda is no charge. The cups are small so fill up than pour into your own container. For sanitary reasons they don't want you putting your own cup under the dispenser. Soda is only charged if you order from dining room or bar.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

You can see from my cruise history that we're mainly RCI fans, and Royal is still my favorite, but we did a 4 day Disney Dream and have a Wonder cruise booked for October, so we obviously were happy with Disney also. Sorry to disagree with a previous poster, but Disney is Disney, and I've never seen anything Disney that wasn't in great shape.

 

What you'll get with Dis: larger staterooms, great Dis entertainment that appeals to all ages, food that was a bit fancy for my tastes, free soda, crab legs and shrimp on the buffet each day.

 

What you'll miss: the casino (possibly), The Quest, better dressed fellow cruisers (Dis is quite relaxed).

 

We're doing Dis with our 4 yr old DGD; otherwise we'd probably be on Royal, but I would never dissuade anyone from taking a Disney cruise.

 

Thanks for the input ! I'm sure if it is Disney, it's in great shape. Please post a review when you get back from your Oct. cruise, it will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the cruise. We will be on Allure the first week of Oct. then Freedom in April but we loved this itinerary and didn't want to go on Majesty again to get to Key West ! I see you are from Auburn, we are about an hour south of Rochester !

[kshark1958]

You can also take your own alcohol on board. It must go in a carry on. No limit. Like last poster said fountain soda is no charge. The cups are small so fill up than pour into your own container. For sanitary reasons they don't want you putting your own cup under the dispenser. Soda is only charged if you order from dining room or bar.

Sodas ordered from bars/lounges, poolside servers, servers in the theatres, and room service have a cost.

 

Only sodas at meals and from the drink station are included in the cruisefare.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

That is the same date as us. Without disclosing too much, the other forum is geared to the cruise line. There is also a meet set up that I started for the FE exchange. You can learn quite a bit. Definitely different than RCCL. There will be a pirate night (which we dress up for and many do). Some other differences that you can learn about as well.

 

Thanks for the info, I just ordered their DVD today ! I'll do as much research as I can over the next year!

[Ex techie]

[sNIP] Thanks for the input ! I'm sure if it is Disney, it's in great shape.[sNIP

 

I hope it is too.

Remember that awaywego0000 cruised on the Magic July LAST year, and she isn't due to go to the big dry dock until September THIS year.

 

The Wonder will be in exactly the same condition as the Magic is right now.

All I will say is buyer beware, but hope you have an amazing cruise.

 

ex techie

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

kshark1958 is correct dining room soda is no cost.

[awaywego0000]

Personally I would take the opinion of a person who was actually on the ship rather than the opinion of a person who heard from friend. That being said please see the link below which shows recent pictures of the Wonder.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1890423&page=2

 

click on the http:/alaskawaltwhales.blogspot.co.uk in his signature to see pictures of the Wonder.

 

While it is difficult to know what she will look like next year, I am sure he will be happy to answer any questions you have on her current condition :)