WannaBeImagineer

59 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Wait...was there no late night buffet in Cabanas after the fireworks?  I have some recollection of reading that they stopped doing those...but they still did it in Feb 2017.  

We were told there was not one by multiple CMs so we didn't even check.

WBI

53 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

There is no zipline on the big ships, just Captain Jack rappelling down in front of the funnel vision screen. We have all come to the conclusion that we are over the Pirate Night show on the Dream. It's long, boring, and very sexist, which does not sit well with my "woke" daughters. I know the show on the Wonder and Magic was different, and more about Captain Mickey the last time we saw it, but I'm sure it has been updated since then. 

TCD 

I got ya, that's what I thought about Captain Jack.  I was happy to see he wasn't part of the Wonder's pirate show at all.  And yes Captain Mickey saves the day.  I don't remember it be sexist, I know Minnie was there a lot, and there was something with some rock music pirates? Honestly it was a little too long of a "show' for me, I just wanted to see the fireworks.

WBI

What's odd to me is this doesn't stop people from saying they are going to eat at a resort and then hopping a bus or monorail to a park, giving them free park parking.

I would have guessed they would try to stop that, but then again that takes effort, tacking on a fee to a room reservation is easy.

So if you're a passholder...do they do anything if you leave your vehicle in the theme park parking lots over night?  

WBI

15 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Yeah, that sea day instead of a Nassau stop was great.  It's hard to get excited about Nassau.  

Yes it is...

1 hour ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

 What a great way of doing a TR. Looks like a great time was had by all. I hope we get a chance to do another Disney cruise soon.

BTW  we Love Buck ees we stop there all the time when we’re heading to Galveston. 

 As a matter of fact will be heading down Saturday for our Galveston cruise and you know we will be stopping at Buc ees for some beef jerky and other snacks. 

Thanks!  I find that we and our family are more likely to watch the videos than look through a ton of pictures.  (if I keep them short enough)

Awesome enjoy the cruise and enjoy Buc-ee's!

1 hour ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

 On our last Carnival Cruise, I got up before my DW and went upstairs to get her some coffee.   She says I have to get her/make her coffee because it says so in the Bible.

(He-brews)  

There were a about four or five sets of chairs already being held with towels.  And I observed a mom placing towels on chairs as I passed by. After getting the coffee I passed by the pool again and saw an employee removing all the towels. I asked him about it And he informed me that saving chairs was not permitted. 

i hope they have kept this policy.   I guess I’ll find out this up coming week. 

That's a great policy!  We didn't really notice it around the pool, but we also found we preferred being up one deck from the pool anyway and never had a problem finding chairs up there.

33 minutes ago, Seals said:

I love the Wonder. I just liked the size and feel of the ship better than the Dream (my only other Disney cruise).

In December 2014, my husband and 2 sons  left to meet up with the 5K group. I did a couple of things and then left the ship to watch them finish. I left a little later than I'd planned and was worried I'd miss them so I power walked to the start/finish line instead of taking the tram. They weren't there yet and there was only a small crowd so I stood around for 5 minutes or so when  the race group walked up to start the race!   So, they definitely were letting non-runners off the ship before the 5K group that day. 

That's what happened on our first cruise!  I didn't rush at all, we walked off taking tons of pictures, we hopped the tram, got off and up walked my wife to start the 5k, I couldn't believe it.

WBI

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I'm all caught up with your videos, WBI. You did a great job with these. It looks like y'all had a blast. Mrs. WBI did a good job with her cartwheel- I give her a solid 9.0. When will we see yours?

Also, I like W's Captain America PJ's, and seeing your daughter in that Cinderella dress. Very cute.

Your videos are getting me pumped for my cruise- there are little things the do on the Wonder that they don't do on the big ships, like Mickey visiting Animator's Palette and zip lining on Pirate Night.

 TCD 

Thanks TCD!  I really like the videos too, when getting ready for our cruises we always watch peoples videos on YouTube so I thought I'd contribute also.

I'll let Mrs. WBI know about her cartwheel score, she insists on doing those on every cruise, going back to our first one that we got engaged on.  Sorry but I haven't done one yet.

W is a huge Captain American fan!  We were so lucky he got to meet him on the first day, he also got to see him in the Oceaneer's Club.  The funny part is he's never watched anything with Captain America that I know of, I think he learned about him from friends at school.

So on the big ships for Pirate night do they still have Jack Sparrow doing the zip line?  Or did he just propel down?  

We really liked Mickey visiting Animator's Palate, that's something we looked for on the Fantasy and were let down.

WBI

16 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

I may have mentioned this in my Wonder trip report, but that boudin at Tiana's wasn't right.  Just not very good.  But on the other hand, while I'm certainly no expert on beignets, I thought the ones they serve at Tiana's were quite good.  In any case, while the food there, overall, was just average, the atmosphere was awesome and we had a great time.  

Oh, and on the subject of the chair-saving Moms.....WTF.  If you are signing up for a 5k that you have no intention of actually participating in just so you can get a jump on other guests, run out to the beach, and save chairs well in advance of the time your family actually leaves the ship and goes to use those chairs....well, that seems kind of unnecessarily stressful.  You're on vacation.  Chill. 

I fully agree about both of these points!

The food in Tiana's was just fine, but the entertainment was great!  I really liked the music, and Tiana came to our table both nights and actually had a conversation, it was great.  I even have video of W playing his paper trumpet, we all really enjoyed it.

Those chair moms definitely need to chill, especially when on the classic ships.

WBI

17 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

That's weird about guests getting off the ship at Castaway Cay before the 5K runners- I know that on our most recent cruise they definitely weren't letting guests off before the runners. I'm not worried about getting beach chairs- our last three cruises have been on the Dream, and I expect the island to feel a lot less crowded. 

TCD 

Good point about the smaller ships.  This time we went all the way down the beach right next to the private Cabana area (where we went last time), but once everyone was off the ship we noticed everyone walked right by the large family beach and came to the smaller one by us and Pelican Plunge.  That beach was packed and the big one looked dead.  I know now not to worry about beach chairs when on the classic ships.

WBI

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Thank you for that tip!  I need to go back and re-read that part of your TR. I remember that you liked those chicken wings, but I didn't remember the details about when and where to get them. The Crown and Fin was something else the last time I was on the Wonder. 

Any other Wonder-specific tips would be appreciated.  We have cruised the Wonder three times, but the last time was in 2009!

TCD

I thought of another Wonder-tip.

The pizza at Pinocchio's pizzeria had two types of pizza regular and thin cruise.  The regular is identical to Cabanas, and I didn't care for it at all.  BUT the thin crust was great!  I had sausage thin crust pizza every time I passed that place without an ice cream cone or chicken wing in my hang!  Sometimes I would bring a plate of it back to the room or eat it on my way to get wings...lol

Ice Cream tip...CP loved to go get a empty cup from the soda station, fresh cookies from Daisy's De-Lites, and then top them off in the cup with soft serve at Eye Scream!

Did I mention we like food!

WBI

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

WBI- I watched the day two video. How did a Louisiana boy like Tiana's Place. Did any food item stand out?  

TCD 

That's a good question.  I can honestly say nothing stood out. lol

My boudin loving 4 year old would not even try the boudin balls, I tried them but something wasn't right.  

I honestly don't remember anything special looking at the menu I think we tried all the appetizers and they were all fine except the "Boudin Fritters"

Entree's I honestly can't remember what I had, maybe the Sea Bass?  I know at some point in the cruise I learned to trust my server and got his suggestions but obliviously nothing made much of an impression on me.  Sorry.

WBI

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Thank you for that tip!  I need to go back and re-read that part of your TR. I remember that you liked those chicken wings, but I didn't remember the details about when and where to get them. The Crown and Fin was something else the last time I was on the Wonder. 

Any other Wonder-specific tips would be appreciated.  We have cruised the Wonder three times, but the last time was in 2009!

TCD

I can think of one tip right now and that was the Cove Cafe, I think it's always been there but was made smaller with the recent refurb?  Either way we found it one night and enjoyed espresso type adult beverages there.  CP got the espresso martini and the bartender made me a custom espresso/bailey/latte thing that was awesome. There was never more than 4 or 5 ppl in there at night which was awesome!  We went every night that W went to the Oceaneers club.

Oh if you are at the back of the ship the secret staircase to Cabana's is still there.  We always got some funny looks when we popped up on that one.

I have a general tip for all ships.  Lots of people think that running the 5k on Castaway Cay gets you off the ship first but in my limited experience (two cruises) that has not been the case.  By not running the 5K we got off before the runners both times.  On this last cruise we were way ahead of the runners and they let opened up the the rear exit first.  I also so some moms who signed up for the 5k come running to save beach chairs and they never ran the 5k.  Which was silly considering half the island was empty and there was plenty of beach front space.

WBI

4 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

I cannot overstate this:  

Crown and Fin.  Wings.  Unlimited.  Every evening.  

With a giant bowl of bleu cheese.  

If I get a report after your cruise that you didn't partake in this delight every night, I'll be disappointed in you.  

I fully agree with this!

I partook in those wings every day at some point.  I have to say though my first taste I didn't think they were great, but by the fourth try I was hooked, lol.

They also serve them at certain times in the Promenade Lounge.

W and I even made late night trips there, he had to wait at the door but he would talk with a CM while I fixed us some plates.

Maybe this contributed to why I gained 10.7lbs while onboard.  

WBI

17 hours ago, slices said:

Thanks for posting this. Not sure if I'm brave enough to show the videos to my kids they keep asking to go on a cruise. How does the Disney Jr breakfast compare to the one at Hollywood and Vine?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

I say go for the cruse (but look for a discounted one)!

I've never done the one at Hollywood and Vine but it was a pretty typical character breakfast.  You order off a menu, and the characters come out and work their way from table to table.  We did seem to have plenty of time with each character but we didn't stand up and pose or anything, it was pretty relaxed.

15 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Okay...I was thinking the same as Dave, about your little man.  He's grown so much!  And your baby, mercy!  Didn't you just announce that your wife was pregnant?   She too is growing so fast.  Ugh...that's the tough part of parenting, no one really warns you, about:  just how fast they're going to grow (or maybe we just don't listen).  They're both beautiful.

Love how you took formal night seriously.  Anymore, it seems like formal means "the nice jeans" for so many people.  You guys looked lovely.

I know it's going way too fast!  People always say it but I think you said it we didn't listen, (or believe). 

Thank you! We both like formal night and since packing wasn't an issue we brought the tuxedos!  We don't have to dress up often at home so we like to do it on cruises.  Now if I had to fly to the cruise and check a bag I might not bring a tux.

15 hours ago, caveat lector said:

Holy cow! I've only watched the first one and am amazed at your mad post production skills. Thanks for sharing.

Coats on sail away day is crazy.

Your sons close inspection of broccoli......priceless 

haha thanks but I don't think I have much skill with this stuff.  I used to use Windows Movie Maker and was pretty good at it but Windows dropped it so I've struggled for a while and just discovered a new Windows Photo movie maker, it's limited but good enough for me.

Yes it was cool that day, I didn't want to believe it and wore a short sleeve shirt but I had to break down and wear a jacket.

lol he did better than me I won't broccoli anywhere close to my mouth!

WBI

3 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I have only watched the first video. So much awesomeness! Nice job planning in the stop at Buc-ee's. What really caught my eye was the List of Fun. I had to pause the video to read it. That's quite a list!  I will be looking to see how much you got done. 

Oh, and these videos are very timely. It just so happens that the TCD gang is fixing to sail again on the Wonder later this very month!

 TCD 

Thanks TCD!

We never miss a Buc-ee's!

This was our second cruise with a List of Fun, we did pretty good but did miss out on a few things.  Thanks for the idea of it by the way!  We actually print the LOF and put it on the back of the door so we can mark things off as we do them, but I just realized I didn't take a picture of the LOF at the end of the trip, I'll have to go find it.

Great news about the cruise!  I really liked the Wonder but with the warm weather you might miss the Aqua Duck, then again the Twist and Spout is fun.

Hope you have a great cruise!

WBI

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

You had me at Buc-ee's!

 

We're big fans of Buc-ee's!  We stop every time we pass one, lol

WBI

14 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Ok, I've started the 3rd video, and now I have to ask....how often and on what itineraries do they do the Disney Jr breakfast??  Anna would totally flip if she met Sophia.  I didn't know they did that.  

Thanks Dave!  I'm using a different free software and it's pretty easy but also doesn't allow a lot of customization, but oh well at least I'm finally getting them done.

I didn't know about the Disney Jr Breakfast either until we booked this cruise.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't it an option on my last cruise.

From the Disney Cruise website it says they offer them on cruises with 7 nights and at least two sea days.  

• The Disney Junior Character Breakfast is presented on 7-plus night cruises departing from U.S. domestic ports with a minimum of 2 days at sea. While appearances may vary per cruise, Jake, Sophia and Doc McStuffins are typically the featured Characters.

 https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/character-greetings/

WBI

15 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

I've watched the first 2 videos, but before I continue I have to comment on a couple of things.  First, how in the world is W walking around a ship and chatting it up like that?  I thought he was a baby.  Growing up WAY too fast.  And your daughter is beautiful!  And second, I really like the Wonder.  I'd love to cruise on it again.  Anyways, great videos!  

I know right!  You know all to well how fast it goes!  I feel like it was just the other day that he couldn't talk!

Thank you I think so to but I'm a little partial to her!

We loved the Wonder also, there were a couple spaces that felt smaller compared to the Fantasy but all in all it was great!  From the sounds of the Magic refurb I think its going to be pretty awesome too!  I want to try it next.

WBI

Day 4

Nassau

First Breakfast on the balcony

2nd breakfast in Cabanas with Cinderellas

Meeting Princesses

Walked a block in Nassau

Pirate Night!

Met Captain Hook 

Met Pirate Chip & Dale

Fireworks!!!!

WBI

Day 3

Second day at Sea

We did more relaxing today I think.

We had the Disney Junior Breakfast

Obstacle course for W in the Oceaneer's Club

Cartwheels in the atrium

man time on the balcony

pool

Santa's Winter Wonderland

Dancing with Mickey

Drinks in the Crown & Fin

Room service with Captain America.

WBI

Day 2

Sea day #1

We love sea days!  Always lots to do, and relaxing with no pressure to get off the ship.

Today we did brunch in Palo

The Pool

Met Anna & Elsa

Dressed up for formal night

Dinner at Tianna's Place

Golden Mickey's

and After Hours again

WBI

Hey it worked that time!

WBI

Day 1

Boarding in Galveston

Sail Away Part

Exploring the ship

Dinner

and adult time!

WBI Day 1 Video

Well technically eight videos...

That's right, I'm not going to write up a traditional trip report, but I have been creating some videos from each day of our December Disney Cruise so I thought I'd share them here in case ya'll want to check it out.

The details:

We went on a Disney Very Merrytime Christmas Cruise out of Galveston in mid December on the Disney Wonder.

This was our second Disney Cruise, our first was on the Fantasy in 2015.

Galveston Port was super easy, parking was slightly offsite but not too bad.

The drive was great for me!  Only 3 hours and we got to stop at Buc-ee's both directions.

I won't make you wait for the end but we loved this cruise!

The weather wasn't great on our first day, and the water in the Caribbean was a little cool but I'd do it again in a heart beat.  

Ok let me see if I can post the youtube link.

WBI

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

No kidding. My kids have graduated from high school and then college in the time this project has been kicked around. 

TCD 

Wait the twins have graduated college?  Congrats!

By the way I'm heading to Seaside aka Grayton Beach SP in 23 days.

WBI

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Four years? We started talking about this over 8 years ago on that old site when you unearthed the original leaked plans from the new pavilion. 

Here's a photo I took in October 2010 when Disney was truly planning to pull the trigger on building the new horse barn and pavilion:

TCD 

 

Good point, I was just referring to the previous thread when the detailed construction plans were found.

I've had two kids in that four year span, man a lot has changed. lol

WBI