Disney Wonder Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The staff on the Disney Wonder where amazing! They helped me with almost anything I needed! Glenn in the lounge went above and beyond! The food was great as always and the entertainment was top notch as usual. This wasn't my first OR last time sailing aboard the Disney Wonder!

As Usual Disney exceeds expectations! Our family loved every minute of this cruise and they took every precaution to make sure my daughters food allergies where taken care of in a proper manner

We took 3 four year olds, a 6 year old and a 8 year old on this cruise. Our only complaint was the lifeboat/lifejacket. activity at the beginning of the cruise. 45 minutes of standing in line was too much for our little angels, they sat down after 35 minutes and some guy in a white uniform who by his actions on the cruise thought he was all that and a bag of chips, scampered down to demand these 3 4 year olds who by the way had stood in one line or another for over 3 hours, get to their feet in order, not a pleasant way to start the cruise, but all other workers on this cruise were exceptional and made this a most pleasant experience.

Awesome entertainment Great for a little ones, nice for adults to get away for a little the pools and splash zone were amazing!! Best to go in the winter

Family of 6. Travelled with grandparents (total 8). Two kids in a stateroom with grandparents and two kids in our stateroom.

Accomodations: Deluxe Ocean view room- ample space for 2 adults and 2 kids. Plenty of storage space. Includes a safe for valuables.  Loved the bathtub for our 3yo and the separate rooms for sink/toilet/shower.  Two sinks was a huge benefit. Fridge was handy. Mostly very clean. We found someone's left behind luggage under our bed and dust/hair behind one bathroom door. Otherwise pristine.  Beds were comfy. Alarm clock worked for the two mornings we had to be up early. Only gripe- if the closet door isn't closed correctly it will slide open as the boat rocks overnight which turns on an automatic closet light.

Room service: Sometimes took more than an hour, but was always a generous portion and exactly what we asked for.

Stateroom attendant: Provided twice daily service and turn down service. Very friendly and accomodating.

Tuxedo rental- flawless and handy, nice suit, good value, would recommend.

Self service laundry- only cost $3 to wash and dry a load. Was a lifesaver as we had one seasick kiddo and one wait too long for the bathroom.  So very thankful for reasonably priced laundry availability!

Meals and dining service:  Readily available and reasonably fast at all restaurants.  Triton's was Mom's favorite with Animator's Palate a close second. Husband and Kids both reported Parrot Cay as the favorite and cited larger portions and more selection. Animator's Palate was the most entertaining.  Servers were always willing to accomodate special requests. One night they made a custom ice cream sundae for our daughter and ice cream wasn't even on the menu.  They learned our preferences and names quickly and entertained the antsy kids with magic tricks and games.

Complimentary beverages, ice cream and meals on deck 9 at all hours was handy.  The sweet pretzels were only "ok" but all other food was great.

Pirate night buffet should not be missed.

Spa services were top class. Had a hot stone massage, facial and mini foot treatment.  Take advantage of booking specials on the first day.

5K was famiy friendly.  Dropped 3-yo off at Scuttle's Cove on the Island during the run. Even the kids and walkers were awarded medallions- would recommend.

Our kids age 3,6,7, and 11 all really enjoyed the Oceaneer Lab. They said the Oceaneer Club was just OK.  11 yo didn't really care for the Edge, mostly because the Legos were off limits.

Two of our kids were selected to appear in the Golden Mickey's show as guests.  They received certificates for their participation, it was nicely done.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos, I expected the ship photographer to capture that moment for us, but they didn't.

Overall photography was superb. We had gorgeous family photos with our party of 24 extended family members.  Dozens of character photos and fantastic family portraits on the white background. Don't miss the professional photography spots on Castaway Cay- they are exquisite. 

Lines are much shorter to see the characters after 9 pm.

The gameshow "Who wants to be a Mouseketeer" in Studio Sea was delightful. The host gave hints to kiddos under age 7 to help them along- well done.

Family games in the Promenade lounge were just ok- better for older kids. Animation class was fun but fast for young kids.

Could have been better:

Shutters Photography- created a madhouse on the last day.  Guests should be able to view and order photos from their rooms.  Guests were literally pushing and shoving others off the photo viewing screens to meet the deadline. Poorly done. Should offer incentivised pricing to purchase photo packages on the first day and allow guests to design photo books in their rooms.

Too many Oceaneer Club/Lab open house hours during mid-day.  We were among the first to debark onto Castaway Cay due to the 5K.  By 2pm our young kids needed to come in and get out of the sun.  Our oldest wanted to watch the Star Wars movie that was playing on the ship at 2.  It is PG-13. We would have liked to let the younger kids go to the Oceaneer Lab as we watched the movie with our oldest son.  Since there was no place for the younger kids, only one parent could go. This sort of thing happened multiple times throughout our stay.  Our bigger kid too frequently had to forego participation in things that interested him because of open house/no place for his younger siblings at the time his activity was offered.

Any movie that is playing on the ship should be able to be ordered to your room tv to be watched at your convenience. That would solve movie scheduling conflicts.

There are secret ticketed events. These are not advertised. If you don't go to guest services and specifically ask if there are any secret ticketed events you'll never know about the Frozen characters, the Princesses appearance times, or that you need a ticket for the 5K. 

Most of the activities happen in the afternoon and evening-  exactly when young kids are napping or eating or when the big show is scheduled. It would be better if the activities were more spread out throughout the day.  We still found plenty to do, but there were many things we missed due to dinner and the nightly show and many lulls with nothing to do for the age of our kids earlier in the day.

Overally a most memorable and pleasant family vacation. 

The Disney experience is amazing!

We do not like Cozumel.  Suggest a different stop for the 5 day cruise

The service on board is excellent!

The quality of the food could be a step up.

Good Ports, Good Ship, The Ship was showing its age (this was before they refurbished it but it was cool looking into the past of Disney Cruise Line and how Disney Cruise Line was in the early 2000’s but it was a good Ship!

Nuestro viaje fue para celebrar mi cumpleanos numero 70,..lo pasamos al maximo la atencion de todo el personal fue excelente, este es el segundo viaje que hacemos en familia,la habitacion la numero 7509 estuvo bien cerca del elevador como lo solicitamos, y el muchacho que nis atendio fue muy amable y presto a ayudarnos siempre,la comida en la mesa 56 atendida por Jorge fue excelente e igual de atento a nuestros gustos.Es el mejor en atencion personal, y en la variedad de comidas tanto en el desayuno como en las comidas de los restaurantes..vamos a volver de seguro!!

Nuestro viaje fue para celebrar mi cumpleanos numero 70,..lo pasamos al maximo la atencion de todo el personal fue excelente, este es el segundo viaje que hacemos en familia,la habitacion la numero 7509 estuvo bien cerca del elevador como lo solicitamos, y el muchacho que nis atendio fue muy amable y presto a ayudarnos siempre,la comida en la mesa 56 atendida por Jorge fue excelente e igual de atento a nuestros gustos.Es el mejor en atencion personal, y en la variedad de comidas tanto en el desayuno como en las comidas de los restaurantes..vamos a volver de seguro!!

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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! 

Entertainment: extremely high quality 

Little kids:  It is Disney they do it incredibly well.  I think there is a lot of low hanging fruit to make it better.  In particular, while there are many character meets each day, I was surprised at how few characters we saw.  As a result, you can meet characters, but you will waste half of your cruise standing in line.  This is no better than being at the theme park.  The dinners are a captive audience, why not have some stop by each evening?

Adults:  There is plenty to do--although most of it is around little kids.  Having kids I enjoyed the cruise watching them.  I don't understand why adults would go on this cruise without kids.  

Food: It was quite good, but given other reviews I was rather disappointed.  Banquet food is tough and the fish selections generally were dry by the time they arrived at the table.  Beef and lamb were generally well handled.  The Beef Wellington--mushroom was tasteless and the pastry was damp and lifeless.  

Service;  Outstanding.  

Bottom line:  For the mediocre destinations, kids everywhere, it was fine.  But very expensive to just be "fine".

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Weather was not great on this cruise, but you really can't blame Disney for that.  

Ship is in need of major overhaul, but it was in good shape given the age. Some things rattle a bit more, some things are loose, some areas show signs of rust and age.  However, most areas are still kept clean and regularly painted, varnished, dusted, etc.

Disney cruises are great for multigenerational cruising and for family cruises, particularly with elementary school age children. However, if you like Disney, you can have fun no matter your age.

Children's activities are great, but the number of adult activities could be bumped up a bit. The family shows were good and kept to an hour or less. There were other variety acts during the cruise and they had the new Star Wars movie as well. Pirate night was great for the kids, particularly the fireworks at sea.

Food was hit or miss, with decent quality and great service in the dining halls. However, the temperature could be off, usually cooler than expected. Palo, the extra charge adults only venue was worth it.

A Disney cruise is premium priced to many other cruise lines, just like their theme parks are priced higher than others. Disney may not have the largest ships, or the most activities for adults, but there is something for all age groups.If you want to gamble, dance or drink the night away, then this is not the best choice. If you want to spend time with your family, or want an adults area that you will have mostly to yourself, this could work.

We will do another Disney cruise again, but try another ship, or wait until the Wonder is re-imagined like its older twin the Magic.

It was a lot of fun and I got to play shuffleboard with goofy! Enough Said! A lot of fun! !

So glad to booked Disney Cruise! Best memory ever. Great for kids. There are a kids place for a fee $24/day but worth it for the memory. There is also a place for teens. The shows are just over the top great performance as if you are in an opera. The productions were great, everythinggg was just awesome! Food were spectacularly delicious and organized. The ocean view suite  for 5 is just right w/ the kids. Got 2 sectioned bathroom. Toilet and shower rooms are separate. The master bed is a queen size but so comfortable, the bunk beds for the 3 kids (8, 13, 16 yrs old) were perfect for their young minds. The balcony /ocean view was a great feature...although you're mostly out of your stateroom the whole day. Private phones ( cell use will cost you international fee and won't work anyway when you're sailing). Just fun, fun. Photoshoot with Mickey Mouse & friends; also with the ship's Captain. Really, just for a first time and a trial cruise for us ( to see if we get sea sick which we did not), this Disney Cruise was the BEST choice! Oh, they did have pirates night so have your costumes ready ( October - November sailings) and awesome fireworks too! This cruise ship is a bit older though and did not have the Cayman Cove tour ( weekend get-away), it does not have the updated water pool tube slide BUT you won't even miss it, the kids will still love it! Movie night, disco night! Just awesome fun! I had co-workers join me (separate booking) but were all able to dine together and enjoy Mickeys performance. The main & asst servers in all our dining were Superb! Houskeepers really made sure your  room is well kept and will undo the bunkbeds at night! Just Great fun! Disney give-aways and chocolates were  great souvenirs.

Tips:

*wine bottle free to bring in this cruise ( I heard only Disney Cruise doed this)

*bring a good wine opener not sure if allowed; take a chance ;) ( we had trouble opening ours using their opener, lol)

* gratuity envelopes are given on your last night laid on your bed BUT we tip extra at the table with superb service!

*pack light and buy souvenirs on board ( a bit more costly but still worth it!)

*start your fun once you board ( yes on first hour!), they'll hand you the programs for the day for kids and adult! The theater performance is a must see! No cameras allowed though in the theater and is understandable bec only Disney can have the quality show!!!

5 Stars*****

Overall, the staff  was terrific on this sailing.  Clayton and Anthony were two of the best and really made the cruise fun for everyone.  The activities were definitely better and abundant compared to the Eastbound Transatlantic in May 2015.  I never felt bored. I traveled with two children ages 10 and 13. I always book cruises based on itinerary, but in the future I will also look at cruise staff for last minute bookings.  I have been on another cruise with Clayton and Anthony, Halloween on the High Seas, on the Disney Fantasy 2014.  Again, an abundance of activities and fun throughout the entire cruise.  That was my son's favorite cruise of all times and I am convinced it is because Clayton was the cruise director for that one as well.  This team was incredible.

Had an excellent cruise.

Disney Wonder is a nice smaller ship compared with the Dream and Fantasy.  She's starting to show some wear around the edges, but the excellent Disney cast members make up for anything that you can see getting old.

Alaska is the perfect cruising destination in the summer.  Great weather (a bit of rain, but packed for this) and plenty to do in the 3 ports.  I wouldn't want to spend more than 12 hours in any of these cities, so a cruise is the best way to visit the northern most state.

Disney wonder suits a niche group quite well.  Activities for adults are very limited and somewhat limited for kids.  Ship is excellently maintained.  Meals are very good except for desserts.

The Disney characters are featured but waits to interact with them usually have to be scheduled and can be very long for the youngest.

Overall it was a fun trip and very beautiful scenery.  The ship was quite nice and they kept it in very clean shape.  The service was excellent from meals to our cabin.  There were plenty of activities for all ages on board the ship and the choices of excursions was quite good.  I highly recommend at least one excursion be visiting a glacier ideally landing on it via helicopter.  That was quite wonderful.  The buffets range for adequate to good depending on what is being served.  The sit down dinners were for the most part good, with excellent service.

I have traveled on other cruise lines, but none compare to the Disney experience.  Whether you are traveling with or without children, Disney treats each person with more respect and gratitude than you can imagine.  I LOVED this adventure and nothing beats the majestic beauty of Alaska.  I've already booked my next Disney cruise.