I am back with some final thoughts.
Am I actually just procrastinating working on my next assignment and prepping for going back to my day job. 😛 Yes.
Here are the things I enjoyed about the Disney Wonder and the things I didn’t.
What I loved on the Disney Wonder:
There is so much to love about this ship. For someone who never ever wanted to cruise, our 6 nights here were a very happy surprise.
- The biggest highlight was experiencing it all together. The kids are all adults now, so being with them all and hanging out like this for a full week was such a privilege. I wanted everyone to feel free to do their own thing during the day, my only request was that we all eat together for dinner, which was easy to do seeing as we had a table for 8 booked each evening. But everyone actually kept each other informed as to what they were doing on the app, so people could join in if they wanted to. So we hung out together a whole bunch. Yay!
- A smooth and streamlined embarkation. From the very first stage, being processed and going through customs, it was a smooth and joyous experience. We never felt confused about where to go next. Every few steps someone ushered us forward with big smiles and welcomes, some wearing Mickey hands! It was very easy and calm. No rushing or crowding. And these folks just stoked the fire of enthusiasm within us. We were onboarded in groups of 100. Bodie, who had been on his first cruise a couple months previous, had been expecting and preparing us for the bedlam he had found there. But, no. We sauntered easily onto the ship and it felt surreal to be whisked into the atrium and welcomed aboard as the ‘Taylors family!’
- The efficiency of our rooms being ready and our luggage arriving! Our group was processed at 12:15, and as soon as we had had our lunch, our rooms were ready.
4. The staff on board made the cruise what it was. Endless enthusiasm, always up for a chat. It was nice to get to know our servers on a deeper level too, to find out about their families and back-stories. By night 3, the delightful Deresta was bringing a first round of our favourite drinks straight to our table before we even had time to order them. And Noel, who knew the ever-changing menus of every restaurant inside out, would give us a rundown of the food for that night, and what to expect for our upcoming dining experience. He would also tell us where to go to best see that evening’s deck party. We met other fabulous staff too, Lawson and the South Africans Brad and Chad were stand-outs. And sweet Art our room attendant, who on more than one occassion, stood close by as I entered our room, waiting with a dancing eyes for me come out and exclaim about his latest towel creation.
5. No internet. We did not get any internet package, and not just because it cost about US $35 per person. It was just fabulous to turn off the demands of the everyday. We could still all message each other in the app and then just concentration on being present.
6. The activities: The daily itinerary on our ‘Navigator’ app allowed us to ‘heart’ the activities we were interested in doing. Then we would get a notification just before that activity began. This included character meet ups, trivia, movies, shows, deck parties, cooking and character drawing tutorials, silent discos, very inclusive karaoke,and relaxed gigs in ambiently-lit bars. There was so much variety, along with so many places to sit and watch the world go by. I would get up for breakfast and only pop back to the cabin momentarily to grab a charger or brush my teeth until late bedtimes, post deck parties. On my most sedentary cruise day, I still walked nearly 10 km.
And I cannot forget: The Disney magic:
The Disney Wonder was not a utopia, obviously, despite the fun. What I didn’t love on the Disney Wonder:
- Being dropped back to the ship after our tour in Noumea rather than to the terminal where we were only a walk away from doing our own sightseeing. It is a petty thing probably, but if we had been dropped at the terminal, we would have gone for a bit of a sightsee and found some French pastries. I had screenshots of Google maps walking routes where we were going to go saved on my phone, as we knew we wouldn’t have internet. We were prepared. Being dropped back at the ship unexpectedly, took valuable time off our already dwindling port day. We arrived back to the ship at 12:30pm, and we knew the last available shuttle left from the terminal to go back to the ship at 2:30pm. Two unknowns made making a decision hard, from my perspective. Two questions : How regularly were the shuttles going? How long did it take a shuttle to get back to the terminal? There were no Disney reps on our bus tour, so to get answers, we would have had to go back up the ramp, through the customs guys and then board the ship and get in line for guest services to get this information. I am disappointed in myself now, but at the time, it felt too hard and that our time left on the island would have the stress of the impending deadline hanging over it and sapping the joy out of it.
2. The lines for the characters. While characters were walking around and interacting all the time, Disney Wonder designated locations and time slots to meet and be photographed with certain characters. And Aussies, who are not close to the Disney parks and meeting these characters, were lining up for up to two hours to meet them. I had already purchased a photo package, so was motivated to get as many images by the official photographers as possible, but nothing could incentivise me to waste 2 hours of my cruise time in a queue. Not when I have Photoshop and know how to wield it. 😛
3. The lines for the theatre shows. Our cruise had three incredible Broadway style shows, and on each of those nights the theatre was PACKED. And keep in mind, there are two time slots each night for these shows, depending on your dinner time slot. People lined up at least an hour beforehand to get good seats. If you are planning your own Disney cruise, please note that, understandably, there is no saving seats allowed. First come, first served. On the first show night, we arrived about half an hour beforehand, and all managed to find seats all together. On the second night, we showed up a few minutes before it began, and Kara and I nearly had to stand. There were literally only 2 seats left, and they were standby seats for passengers with accessiblity needs who hadn’t already reserved a seat. These seats were right up in the front row. We sat there, knowing that we may have to give those seats up. So, on the final evening, I caved, and lined up for about an hour. We scored a seat up the back, and I got a crick in my neck trying to see past the head of the lovely, but thoughtless lady in front of me, wearing her Mickey ears. I am sure she would have removed them if I had asked, so it was a me-issue.
Have you been on a Disney cruise? Is thwre a different cruise you recommend.
Would I do it again? Yes, but I still think I prefer real-life travel. As anyone who has followed any of our other adventures ( which were often mis-adventures) the unpredicatability of land travel is unequaled.
But this was a brilliant experience and 6 nights was the perfect length of time. On our embarkation day, we chatted to people coming off of a 3 day cruise with Disney and they were all sad that they had booked such a short one. It wasn’t enough time to become familiar with the ship or experience everything.
Well, friends- that is sayonara from me. You will hear from me again in July when I head over to the States for my high school reunion. 🙂
I leave you with the Disney Wonder sounding her horn!
Dory the Explorer 