Rambling thoughts on Wonder cruise

[cplyons]

Rambling review of cruising on the Disney Wonder sailing 3/7/2014

 

This is meant to be a collection of random observations and comments from our recent cruise. My perspective is somewhat different from many of the folks on this board, so I thought hearing a different voice might be of interest for those trying to imagine the trip.

 

1. Background: We are older first time parents with a special needs 9-year-old (pretty far out there on the spectrum). We were fairly avid cruisers in the late 90’s but haven’t been on a cruise since then. We both work at an Ivy League University, think chain restaurant food is pretty lousy, and don’t drink that much. So much for who we are.

 

2. We recently experienced a death in the family, which combined with other challenges made 2013 a very tough year. As a reward to the family and a way to start off our next chapter, I decided to go all out for this, our first vacation in years. We booked a one bedroom suite with Concierge, bought a bunch of services from the Spa, Palo, wine package, you name it. The idea was generally to want for nothing during this cruise. Luckily, Disney gave us many opportunities to spend money to attain this vision. (and honestly delivered value for money spent, IMHO).

 

3. OK, bottom line comparison of Disney with other cruise companies: Maybe the whole industry has raised their game, but the experience on the Wonder was miles better than our other cruises (Carnival twice, Royal Caribbean three times, Norwegian once). From ship design to food to overall comfort and fun, this was a great experience.

 

4. One biggie for me: The staff seemed authentically OK with working on the boat. One reason we stopped cruising years ago is that it often seemed in the old days that conditions for the workers were terrible, so bad that it impacted our ability to enjoy the cruise. The exploitation behind the forced smiles was just too obvious. On this boat it seemed very different. Maybe it’s an effect of the International Labor Organization's Maritime Labor Convention of 2006, or maybe our sample size distorts the facts, but the Wonder staff overall seemed authentically upbeat, positive, yes working their a**es off but reasonably content. It was a big factor in our ability to feel good about our trip.

 

5. On a related point, “officers” (what appeared to be upper management) were everywhere, walking through every gathering we attended, every meal etc.These people seem very effective at ensuring a consistent, good experience throughout. If you wonder why Disney is more expensive than the rest, here is a good reason, and for me an excellent justification for spending more $$ here than elsewhere.

 

6. Visual design: Holy cow what a revelation. Instead of Vegas-style glitz and over the top gaudiness, the Disney design people created elegant, jaw-droppingly imaginative and flamboyant spaces everywhere on the boat. As I said in the beginning our POV may be different from many cruisers, but for me the balance between spectacle and beauty was nearly perfect. It comes down to something we used to call Good Taste. It was everywhere. The movie theater is a good example. It physically echoed great old movie houses but had state of the art 3-D and Dolby sound.

 

7. A couple of specifics on the boat before I say a few words about our room:

- Not enough pools. There were essentially two medium-sized pools and a toddler area for the whole ship. They were frequently so crowded that only the application of sunblock let all the voyagers squeeze in at once. (OK, an exaggeration, but still it was pretty amazing to see how many people tried to fit in there at once).

- Disney chose to employ many tiny elevators instead of fewer larger ones. (I guess there were 12? 16?)This meant you had a greater chance of not fitting on the first car that stops, but still ended up where you were going faster than if there were bigger elevators.

 

8. The shows: Great dancing, deafening music. Does anybody know how much is live and how much is lip synced in these spectacles? It looked as if each show is basically a pre-recorded tape that the dancers mouth to, with a couple of leads live-mic’d. This was a turn off for us. I would also have to say way, way overamplified. I understand this is the trend today, but it made the show much less effective for us. On the other hand, the specialty performers (ventriloquist/comedian fresh from America’s Got Talent finals and a stunt juggler) were terrific. Our son loved them, as did we.

 

9. The food: In all much better than we anticipated. We balanced buffet service with dining rooms and room service, and enjoyed them all. Recipes are mostly aimed at middle american tastes (which is fine with us), a bit bland and meat-heavy but overall delicious. Random observations:

- Disney has mastered the art of steam table scrambled eggs. I don’t how, but the buffet scrambled eggs were creamy, light, flavorful and never dried out. I just can’t figure out how they do it.

- Coffee not so good. You can order for additional $ lattes, cappucini etc., but it is not possible to get a decent cup of plain coffee on the boat. This is a rare instance of Disney not catching up to the rest of American dining, where now coffee is replacing soda as the drink of choice, and you can get a good cup not only at Starbucks but at McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts etc. They need to add a “dark roast” or “strong coffee” offering. As you can tell I am something of a coffee maniac so you might not care.

- We did Palo for brunch and had a great time. In addition to many buffet style offerings there was a cook-to-order station with about a half dozen choices. I had Oysters Rockefeller and Chicken Parm which if cooked in the dining rooms wouldn’t have been that great, but served seconds out of the skillet were fantastic.

 

10. The room: We booked the last suite available on the boat, Cabin 8602, a handicap accessible stateroom. It was huge, gorgeous, mind blowingly well designed and great fun to stay in. Amazing detail in the furnishings, including intricate wood inlay throughout. Add to that a dining table, wall sized bookshelves, a walk in closet the size of some cabins I’ve stayed in on other boats, two full bathrooms, a writing desk and the largest balcony on the boat and you get some idea. It was over the top luxury for us and we loved it. One complaint: The mattress in the bedroom was worn out, saggy and needing to be replaced. Nevertheless we slept OK.

 

11. Room host: Our guy, Rummel, was superb. Our son was knocked out by the towel-animal arrangements, and Rummel took the time (twice!) to teach him how to craft a few beasts. Our son then took the class on towel animals. Later when we participated in a game show and the host asked my son what he wanted to do when he grew up, he proudly said “The guy who makes towel animals on this boat.”

 

12. Concierge service: We hoped this would help make the trip special and it really did. Twice daily check-in’s, daily gifts (cheese plate one day, desserts from Palo the next, sodas and bottled water, nice lithograph keepsake, free play in the Arcade, free wi-fi, etc). Also total responsiveness. We were given the private cell phone number of Rodrigo, our Concierge, and he dropped everything when we or one of the other suite folks called. As you will see in the following part, this was much appreciated for our particular situation.

 

13. Illness aboard. After the second day on the boat my wife developed a lower gastro issue. We had packed a few Immodium tablets but not enough as it turned out. We tried to find a Pharmacy in Grand Cayman to resupply, but it was a Sunday and none were open. As a last resort my wife called the boat Health Services folks to try and get some Immodium, and sure enough they requested she report immediately to sick bay for an examination.

 

Despite the fact that the Doctor said my wife did not have the very specific indications of Norovirus, nevertheless she was restricted to cabin for 24 hours from the last “episode”. Not even supposed to go out on the balcony. We missed pirate night and my spouse missed Cozumel completely. She did however take a long and pleasant bubble bath, had some much needed peace and quiet, and took in some sun on the deck. Not too shabby.

 

Believe me we continued to be very grateful for the big stateroom and Concierge that night. Even though the kitchen had closed early (6;50 instead of 7:00), I dropped the name of our Concierge and it moved mountains. Our full order from that night’s menu was delivered by the manager of the dining room and chief server. They were in the room about one minute and it became a smaller version of the dining room, in a hurricane of tablecloths, wine glasses, china and beautifully arranged food. We dined well, watched the fireworks from our balcony and slept feeling very well taken care of.

 

There’s more to share but I have to dash, hope this has been of some interest.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thanks for the report, just want to say Rodrigo, is a great concierge host.

 

He supported us in the Baltic 2010

[Muushka]

Thank you for taking the time to write your impressions of your experience on the Wonder.

The last time we cruised on it was in 2005. We are hoping to upgrade at the port to the 1 BR, fingers crossed.

Reading your report makes me really cross those fingers!

Oh, and my worst fear, the coffee. It was bad in 2005, sorry to hear it still is.

I think I'll pick up some Starbuck's Via to add to their coffee. And some Immodium!

[iloverags2]

Thank you for your report!

[moki'smommy]

Thank you for taking the time to write your impressions of your experience on the Wonder.

The last time we cruised on it was in 2005. We are hoping to upgrade at the port to the 1 BR, fingers crossed.

Reading your report makes me really cross those fingers!

Oh, and my worst fear, the coffee. It was bad in 2005, sorry to hear it still is.

I think I'll pick up some Starbuck's Via to add to their coffee. And some Immodium!

 

The Cove Cafe has good coffee (Starbucks sort of stuff) for a fee. Get the cove card and have it stamped each time you get one--one free when full.

[CC Help Jenn]

Thanks for your thoughts :) Sailing on the Wonder later this year.

[lilchief27]

We will be on the Wonder in October. I have loved your report. AND I too will be taking some Starbucks VIA :D

[Muushka]

The Cove Cafe has good coffee (Starbucks sort of stuff) for a fee. Get the cove card and have it stamped each time you get one--one free when full.

 

I think I still have the card from 2005! Not full, of course.:D

 

Just because it is so easy to add the Via rather than going to Cove Cafe, I'll probably just do that.

But I will splurge on Cove once in a while!

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Thanks for the review! We are on this ship later this year in a one bedroom suite too. We have heard nothing but good reviews about Disney, and can't wait for our turn !

[Disneyatheartmommy]

Appreciated your POV on Wonder! This was our 1st cruise. When we got off the ship, I said, "This is the best vacation EVER!!!" we will go back next May! :)