Disney Wonder Cruise Review Part One

We had a great time on our Disney Wonder cruise!

 

Pre-cruise:  We flew into Orlando the night before and stayed at Coronado Springs for one night.  We used the Magical Express bus.  I love using Magical Express.  You get off the plane, go down to the Magical Express area and before you know it you are on your way to your resort.  The Coronado Springs Resort is beautiful!  This was my third time staying at the resort.  First time since the rehab, love the new rooms!

We had dinner and breakfast at the Pepper Market.  I enjoyed both meals and thought the food was good.

Getting to the ship:  We used the Disney Cruise Line Transfers.  We had to have our luggage ready by 8 am.  Four women had to be ready by 8 am, no simple feat, but we did it!  We went to breakfast and went back to our room until the 11 am check out time.  We had to meet in the lobby at 12:15 pm  for our Disney Cruise Line bus.  The buses usually stop at more than one resort to pick up passengers.  Luckily we were the last resort pick up.  The bus arrived promptly and we were off by 12:30 pm.  It's about an hour and fifteen minute drive to the ship.  We arrived at the port about 1:45 pm.

Getting on the ship:  The process of getting on the ship was pretty quick.  We waited a little while, probably 20 minutes for people to go through security.  Once in the terminal, it was another 15 minutes to check in and get our pictures taken for our ID.  We did the on board check in for our return flights too.

We finally got onto the ship about 2:30 pm or so. They served lunch until 3 pm, so we went right to lunch.  

   Pros of using Disney Cruise Line Transfers:

• It's easy!  No worries, luggage is taken care of for you.

   Cons of using Disney Cruise Line Transfers:

• You get on the ship late.  Which has it's own sets of pros and cons.  Pro - no lines or waiting to get on the ship.  Con - You do not have any time to explore the ship after lunch.  You pretty much eat and then have to get ready for the muster drill.  I personally like to get on the ship early, so I was a little disappointed in how late we got there.

Ship: The ship is beautiful!  We did find it difficult to navigate around the ship.  Maps of the ship are located next to the elevators.  We would look at the map to find out how to get where we were going and every single time went the wrong way!  The way the maps face are backwards to the ship, at least to us.

Cabin:  Loved our cabin!  We booked deluxe inside cabins, 2573 and 2571.  They were connecting cabins and located mid-ship on Deck 2.  The location was great!  We never had far to go to get to anything.  This was the first time for two of the cruisers to have an inside cabin.  They both agreed that they did not miss the window at all.

A deluxe inside cabin means you have a split bathroom.  It was nice that one person could be showering, while the other used the "facilities".  The only drawback was having bathroom supplies in both bathrooms.  Sometimes it felt like I was going back and forth between the two bathrooms a lot.

I have to mention the hair dryer.  It was the weirdest hair dryer I have ever used!  It was like a vacuum hose and the end of it was unlike anything I have ever seen.  I should have taken a picture of it to show you, but didn't think of it.  The hose got kind of hot while drying my hair.

The cabin had plenty of storage.  We had more than enough room for our clothes for the 3 day cruise.  I would say you could easily fit enough clothes for four people for a longer cruise too.

The beds were comfortable, but I feel Disney could get better sheets/blankets.  By better, I mean more luxurious.  I have to say the bedding was more luxurious on my last Carnival cruise.  Disney cruises are at least twice the cost of Carnival.  Come on Disney, invest in some better bedding!

Cruise Casual Attire:  I saw the biggest mix of attire on this cruise.  Three day cruises tend to have less people dressed up on the formal night on any cruise line, but I would say it was even more so on the Disney Cruise.

The first night was casual.  I saw everything from t-shirts and jeans to people in khaki's/dress pants with a few people dressed up more.  Our first night was at Triton's, which is the dressier restaurant.

The formal night was the last night and our restaurant was Parrot Cay.  I saw some people dressed up, with men in suits/ties and women in dresses/pantsuits to t-shirts and jeans.

I have to say, it was a bit strange to be dressed formal and going to Parrot Cay, a restaurant that is very casual.  If I were going to this type of restaurant at home I wouldn't dress up.

I liked the rotational dining and going to a different restaurant every night, but think Disney should do away with the formal night.  The navigator did say formal attire optional.  I wouldn't bring anything formal for another three night Disney cruise or even a four night.  I probably would for a seven night cruise though.

Part two of my Disney Wonder Cruise Review coming soon!