wonderful time on the Wonder!

Please don't let the fact that this ship is older and smaller keep you from sailing on the Wonder - it really is a treat to be on a cruise where you really get to know the cast and crew better!   I had sailed on a four night inaugural cruise on the Disney Dream in Feb. 2011, and yes, it was very nice, but this sail was just as good or better.  

I did not have any children in the clubs or nursery, but I did try and take advantage of as many of the family/adult activities as I could, and i have an adult disabled son whose main ambition was to get autographs and meet characters wherever they were located on the ship that day.  So, I spent a lot of time with him in line doing that, but that's one of the reasons why I do Disney - so I'm okay with it.  It's fun for me to make him happy!  I did try to eat at all the possible venues - dining rooms, fast food, delis, cafes, Palo...all were fantastic, no complaints.  It was all good as it should be.  We did other activities; trivia, tours, movies, dance parties, etc., and had lots of fun participating in everything we tried.  Pretty much made fools of ourselves in some areas, but hey, we'll never see these people again, right?!

Grand Cayman was a beautiful day, but all water activities were cancelled due to high winds (seemed pretty calm to me, but whatever)  It was also Sunday, and many of the stores were closed.  So two cruise ships were in port that day with a ton of people walking around, and not much to do.  We went to Seven Mile Beach and hung out for a while and walked down to Governor Beach, cut through and had lunch by the pier and then hit a couple tshirt shops that were open and headed back to the ship.  Castaway Cay day was awesome; beautiful day, no problems docking, and we rented a cabana on serenity bay for the day and lounged most of the day, except for a bikeride down to the family beach where we snorkeled for about an hour and then headed back for BBQ at Serenity Bay. It was just perfect.  I couldn't have asked for a better day.  Especially when I found out there was a snowstorm back home that day!!  That night we dined at Palo and had a wonderful meal, followed by a warm chocolate souffle topped with chocolate and vanilla cream, and vanilla gelato on the side, at which point I deemed myself "man overboard".  It was soooo good...  We had a card waiting for at our stateroom inviting us to a reception after the show that evening to meet the theater characters, and please bring our camera.  We showed up promptly at 9:45 and sure enough, there were about a dozen of us waiting and all the Disney characters from the show came out and greeted us, took pictures, hung out and spent some special time with us before they did their farewell show from the balcony.  It was really a special treat for us, and we were truly blessed to be chosen as one of the families to participate. It was a "dream come true" for my son, no doubt!

For me, I had chosen Disney Cruise Line because I knew their service would be outstanding, because my son would be happiest surrounded by Disney characters, theater and music, and because nothing beats Castaway Cay for a Port stop.  All those things were made true once again well beyond my expectations, and I have to say the reception of the theater characters after the last evening's show was the absolute cherry on top.  Thanks to the cast and crew of Disney Wonder for a really great vacation experience, and I can't wait to see you again real soon!