Did I Make a Big Mistake?

[shoppern]

My husband and I are seniors, and just booked a 5-day cruise on the Wonder out of Miami next spring. We have always cruised on HAL, and wanted a change. My research wasn't deep enough, I guess, because today everything that I read talks about the Wonder as though she is over the hill, to put it mildly. Is it that bad??? My room choice is already suspect, since I booked a navigator verandah without realizing that its balcony has only a big porthole. Does anybody out there have any good things to way about the Wonder??:confused:

[moki'smommy]

It has been too long since I've been on the Wonder for me to comment on upkeep. However, supposedly they are re-doing guest cabins while cruises are in progress.

 

As to the Navigator's verandah--do you know if you have one of the regular ones or one of the rooms that SELL at the Navigator's verandah price but are really regular verandahs with minimally obstructed view. We've stayed in one of the obstructed view ones, and the "obstruction" was so minimal that I might not have even noticed it if I didn't know to look for it.

 

Also, when you booked originally, you locked in a price tier--you can upgrade your cabin if desired and pay the rate that was in effect on the day you originally booked, even if the price has gone up since then.

 

A suggestion....since you are not planning to cruise till spring 2016 (if I read your post correctly) and you can cancel up to 75 days before cruising and get a full refund, why not wait to hear from people who cruise toward the end of 2015 and see what they are saying about her? DCL has been really good about the upkeep on the Magic--I have a hard time believing they have really allowed the Wonder to become as bad as some reports imply.

[ACoupleAtSea]

We ( Me, My Wife and our 9 month old Daughter )just returned from the Wonder on Feb 1st. After 40 + cruises, I must say that you will not be disappointed. Disney and the Wonder are both excellent. The adult only areas are outstanding and the service is top notch. If you have any specific questions, please feel free.

Edited February 10, 2015 by ACoupleAtSea

[Granana]

We, in our 60s, were on the Wonder twice last year and will board the Wonder again on May 1 for the Panama Canal cruise. The Wonder is in great shape. All staterooms are being upgraded and the upgrading should be complete by the end of April. The crew is fantastic as are the crew throughout the rest of the DCL fleet. If you prefer an "open" verandah, contact DCL or your TA to get the type of stateroom you prefer. Any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[Friend100]

Big mistake? Probably. But you can fix it by booking a B2B, because 5 days on Disney Wonder is just way too short!

[shoppern]

:DI new that CC people would come thru for me! Thanks to all of you for your quick and informative replies. We are looking forward to our cruise.

[xlxo]

My husband and I are seniors, and just booked a 5-day cruise on the Wonder out of Miami next spring. We have always cruised on HAL, and wanted a change. My research wasn't deep enough, I guess, because today everything that I read talks about the Wonder as though she is over the hill, to put it mildly. Is it that bad??? My room choice is already suspect, since I booked a navigator verandah without realizing that its balcony has only a big porthole. Does anybody out there have any good things to way about the Wonder??:confused:

Compared to the Zuiderdaam....

• Wonder has better internet
  
• Wonder has better movies
  
• Wonder has LCD screens in the cabin
  
• HAL would offer casinos and more adult activiites like computer courses
  

The only things that makes the Wonder over the hill to me....

• they haven't upgraded their cabin outlets to accept powerbars!
  
• they have a stupid metal cap across some decks that makes it tough for a wheelchair to cross.
  

[blondietink]

Yes, the Wonder has some real accessibility issues when it comes to wheelchairs/scooters. That darn metal lip to access outside decks, narrow hallways, extremely small elevators, and a difficult to navigate buffet area.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

They are currently renovating the cabins - queen sized bed, new furnishings, new carpets, etc.

 

As far as plugs, I don't know of any ship that accepts power strips - at least not ones with surge protectors because it is a safety issue with the wiring on the ships.

 

I haven't sailed on the Wonder yet, but I have her booked for next February, and I cannot wait!!

Edited February 12, 2015 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[OSU Buckeye Traveler]

We sailed on the Wonder last March, we are sailing again this March. She is a beautiful ship. They are constantly working on her to keep in tip top shape. We have little kids so Disney is ideal for us, but based on the service and quality of everything from food to entertainment, I would recommend DCL to anyone...as long as they don't mind kids.

[DaKa2002]

We are in our 60s and 70s and will be sailing the Wonder in November from Galveston, TX. Counting the days! Looking forward to another dinner in Palo. The itinerary doesn't matter to us that much - we need our "Disney fix" and it is so much more enjoyable than a trip to WDW.

[holula]

I love the Wonder, but in December the staterooms were definitely showing wear. She is slowly having all of her staterooms refurbished though and they should be done before May.

[Modern_Viking]

My husband and I are seniors, and just booked a 5-day cruise on the Wonder out of Miami next spring. We have always cruised on HAL, and wanted a change. My research wasn't deep enough, I guess, because today everything that I read talks about the Wonder as though she is over the hill, to put it mildly. Is it that bad??? My room choice is already suspect, since I booked a navigator verandah without realizing that its balcony has only a big porthole. Does anybody out there have any good things to way about the Wonder??:confused:

 

I have sailed HAL most, but also 3 times on Disney (including once on the Wonder in April 2014). I suspect that the people who might say the Disney Wonder is "over the hill" would also say that all HAL S-class, R-class, and the Prinsendam are over the hill based simply on age or interior decor. The Wonder first sailed in 1999, but was decorated to look like a classic ocean liner and as such does not meet "modern" design styles. Then again, most HAL ships are like that, too, which I like.

 

Of course, some parts of the Wonder probably are less than perfect or could be fixed up, but that tends to happen. Generally maintenance seemed good to me on the Wonder, especially care and painting of the exterior hull.

 

As for the navigator verandahs, most have solid metal walls below the railing. The "giant porthole" is actually nearly the full width of the room, and is much better than the corresponding rooms on the Disney Magic (so if you are looking at pictures on the web, make sure they are from the Wonder and not the Magic). In addition, as was previously said, some of the cabins in this category are partially obstructed on one side or the other of the balcony but otherwise are normal and nice.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Modern_Viking

[Granana]

Modern_Viking, what was your sail date on the Wonder in April 2014? We were on the 4/27/24 sailing.

 

Jan

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[chictravel227]

We were on the Wonder this past October and were fortunate/lucky enough to be a 2 bdrm concierge suite. This was a 5 day sailing out of Miami. There was some obvious wear and tear, although, Disney at its worst is still better than Princess at its best. The ship has been maintained beautifully. The wear and tear is mainly the carpet and some furniture, but that is being updated as we speak. It is not brand new. If you are wanting brand new, then the Fantasy or Dream are probably for you. We actually prefer the smaller ships Magic and Wonder over the Fantasy. That is us and our preference.

I have not been on HAL and unless/until they change the smoking policy, I won't go on another ship that allows any indoor smoking. I have been on Princess 2 times and Carnival once.

I don't really know how to describe this, but on the other ships I have been on, there has never been a sense of awe or wonder, they are pretty, but not spectacular. On the Disney ships, there really is just something magical about the ships, something special. They have amazing attention to detail. We still rave about the bathrooms on the Fantasy. Just gorgeous. The decor, the staff, the ambiance. It is all there. We always find this lacking on the other lines.

We travel as adults only, no kids, and have always enjoyed our time on Disney ships. We have done the Magic 2 times, Fantasy 1, and Wonder 1. We are booked on the PC October Wonder sailing this year. Counting down the days!

I don't think you made a mistake. I think you will find it a great experience and if you don't, well you tried something new and may just prefer HAL. Nothing wrong with that, that is what makes the world turn, ppl with different preferences! What a boring place if we all liked the same things!

[moki'smommy]

The PC cruise is amazing--enjoy!

[Modern_Viking]

Modern_Viking, what was your sail date on the Wonder in April 2014? We were on the 4/27/24 sailing.

 

Jan

 

April 27 - May 2. It seems it was the same time as you.

[Modern_Viking]

Other thoughts:

 

- The Disney crew members are friendly and helpful. Many officers and crew have previously worked for different cruise lines including HAL.

 

- The Wonder (and Magic) are about the same size as the HAL Vista class ships. The newer Disney ships are much bigger and might be far less comfortable. It seems like many experienced Disney cruisers (not all, but many) either prefer the size of the Magic/Wonder or the Dream/Fantasy.

 

- There are lots of subtle, and not so subtle things to find and look at around the ship. Just exploring the public rooms can be fun.

[Emperor Norton]

...

The only things that makes the Wonder over the hill to me....

• they haven't upgraded their cabin outlets to accept powerbars!
  
• ...
  

 

That is probably because they are prohibited items.

 

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/my-cruise-plans/faqs/prohibited-items/prohibited-items/

[xlxo]

Princess and HAL don't complain about power bars. Some say DCL does not want power bars because they haven't upgraded the ship cabins for the extra amperage for the "quantity" electronics modern travelers will pack. Would this be an example of age?

[moki'smommy]

Princess and HAL don't complain about power bars. Some say DCL does not want power bars because they haven't upgraded the ship cabins for the extra amperage for the "quantity" electronics modern travelers will pack. Would this be an example of age?

 

No, it is an example of safety. If by "power bar" you mean a multi-plug outlet attached to a cord, you can get one from Guest Services. There is a $50 charge to your KTTW card which is removed when you return the item. It has been inspected by the ship's engineering staff and is in good condition. If you need one for medical purposes, you can bring your own BUT it must be inspected to be sure there are no frayed wires, etc. DCL is strict about safety.

 

I've never heard the line about extra amperage. If that was the issue, why would they issue cords to people who request them?

 

OK, I think some DCL rules are a bit overboard--irons are only in the laundry rooms, no coffee makers in cabins, but you can bring a curling iron or your own hair dryer. Trust me, you could catch fabric on fire more easily with a curling iron than with some prohibited items.

 

They also don't allow the same items--multi-outlet cords, etc.--on the new ships. So not an age issue. At the risk of sounding gritchy, DCL doesn't care what Princess or HAL does unless it impacts DCL. They don't care what Carnival or RCI does (well, maybe they are starting to care about lines that can't lower their own lifeboats). They care about what DCL does, even when some of their safety rules seem a bit excessive.

Edited February 20, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Tonka's Skipper]

The WONDER has more then enough power.

 

The reason for the no power strips and certain electric items is there have been some problem with people causing small fires, shorting out with passengers bring on poor equipment

 

AKK

[cyclenut]

Princess and HAL don't complain about power bars. Some say DCL does not want power bars because they haven't upgraded the ship cabins for the extra amperage for the "quantity" electronics modern travelers will pack. Would this be an example of age?

 

Most new electronic devices are not drawing that many amps, so that isn't really the issue. As pointed out earlier, they are also not allowed on the newer ships. The Fantasy first sailed in 2012. It has nothing to do with upgrades.

 

I actually did bring a corded power strip on the Wonder a couple of times, not realizing they were not allowed, and nobody said a thing about it. Now that I know they are banned, I would look for other options.

 

On our recent Fantasy cruise, I found that there was plenty of power, but it was just my wife and I. I brought my iPad, phone and two digital cameras. My wife brought her phone, iPad and Kindle. There were enough outlets to keep these devices charged, but not enough to charge them all at the same time.

[Ex techie]

Compared to the Zuiderdaam....

• 
  

The only things that makes the Wonder over the hill to me....

• they haven't upgraded their cabin outlets to accept powerbars!
  
• they have a stupid metal cap across some decks that makes it tough for a wheelchair to cross.
  

 

xlxo,

I'm not sure what the Zuiderdaam have done since her launch in 2001 to "upgrade" her electrical to accommodate power bars that the Wonder or any of the DCL fleet could have done? If you know, please do tell!

 

I do not know your personal cruising situation but for example.

Father: Techie kind of guy, loves his gadgets

Wife: Average lady

Daughter: Average teen aged daughter

 

Now each Stateroom most likely has a 120v 20amp circuit for all electrical outlets.

So you have 1800w / 15a total per outlet, and 2200w TOTAL.

 

The family are getting ready for dinner/show after their excursion. Techie dad has his camera, laptop, downloading and iPad and phone on charge.

 

Mom is using her own 1800w hairdryer (the ones on the Wonder and Magic are useless I've heard) and Daughter is straightening her hair using a flat iron.

 

Mom and Daughter are using the outlet in front of the mirror. The TV is on.

 

All of a sudden you could have around 2500w load on that one Stateroom and the breaker trips. Call to GS, call to duty Electrical Eng to investigate and reset said breaker.

 

See where the problem is?

 

Hence why the Dream and Fantasy class came with a 220v hairdryer and outlet.

More expensive for DCL to have to import the hairdryers as and when needed, but A LOT cheaper to install the electrical cabling for 220v (thinner copper cable required) and remove that load from the rest of the 120v outlets.

 

Now if you are bringing 1800w+ of electrical gadgets, then that is a different discussion! lol!

But the policy isn't against low voltage transformer gadgets, it's against Guest's bringing cheap nasty $4 walmart power bars and these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Globe-Electric-3-Outlet-Single-Wall-Tap-Grounded-White-46505/205711775?N=5yc1vZc4o9#specifications

 

No protection against overload, and unfortunately most Guests are ignorant to overloading electrical outlets, and especially with they have their "vacation head" on and everything needs to be charged and used in a short period of time before dinner or the show.

 

OK' date=' I think some DCL rules are a bit overboard--irons are only in the laundry rooms, no coffee makers in cabins, but you can bring a curling iron or your own hair dryer. Trust me, you could catch fabric on fire more easily with a curling iron than with some prohibited items[/quote']

 

Yes a curling iron can set fabric on fire with a curling iron, but most have an auto shut off. Clothes irons not so. And I guess DCL are picking the battles they think they can win.

 

The WONDER has more then enough power.

 

The reason for the no power strips and certain electric items is there have been some problem with people causing small fires' date=' shorting out with passengers bring on poor equipment

 

AKK[/quote']

 

Skipper I disagree to a point.

 

The Wonder's gen sets have enough power to supply more then the maximum permissible amount of electricity per Stateroom.

The individual substations for each Stateroom zone may or may not have the additional capacity.

And the wiring to each Stateroom certainly does NOT have the capacity for more power(electrical plans from circa 1994?) as it would require rewiring each and every Stateroom with additional circuits, splitting up the load on the outlets.

 

If it were just the wiring of poor equipment (I agree a major risk), then all electrical items brought onboard would have to be inspected before being used as it only takes one transformer to cause a fire.

All Crew are required to have a current DCL electrical inspection sticker on any electrical's. A lot of nationalities of crew do not have very good electrical safety standards back in their home countries, and it DID result in at least one crew cabin being burnt down and gutted on the Magic and left as an open space Deck B stairwell 10 I think?

 

IMO, it's overloading the outlets with personal care products and gadgets that is the MAJOR problem.

 

ex techie

 

And xlxo,

 

The "stupid" metal caps are where the splash and fire zone doors are.

As much of an inconvenience to Guest's in a wheelchair as they are, should there be reason for the splash and or fire doors to close, I think everyone onboard would be grateful for them to aid in the spread of a fire, water ingress or whilst evacuating the vessel.

[moki'smommy]

Techie,

With 3 women in a Magic cabin this summer (2 20 somethings who are into electronics, cameras, etc and one mom who really likes her light up alarm clock so she can see the time in the middle of the night) we found that we had plenty of outlets for our purposes. We could charge everything that we needed--just not everything at once. True, the girls would sometimes ask if they could unplug my clock during the day in order to charge whatever. Not a problem for me.

 

Yes, there were times that we had every available outlet in use. But my point is that we had enough to make it work and we never blew a circuit. It isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

 

For anyone who doesn't know--there are 2 outlets behind the new TVs. You can easily place an electronic whatever on the desk and the cord will reach to these outlets.