Disney Wonder Review
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We first took our oldest daughter to Disneyland for her 5th birthday and my husband hadn't been since he was 3 and I hadn't been since I was 15 (33 and 17 years respectively). We expected to hate it, and were seriously dreading the 2 Disney days of our 7 day beach trip. Instead, we had an absolutely amazing time, and returned the next year and spent more time at Disneyland. We came to agree with the old ads, "The Happiest Place On Earth." We've been back twice in the 6 years since then and we just did our first Disney Cruise in January, 2015.
We did the 5-night Western Caribbean on Disney Wonder. Disney exceeded our expectations again. And our expectations were high this go around! Customer service at every Disney venue I have ever been to has been unparalleled. Absolutely everyone is unfailingly nice and when we leave and go places (like all airports on the way home) with appalling customer service we say, "Toto, we're not in Disney anymore." The Disney Wonder was no different. Amazing staff, a dream vacation for the kids, and every place we went was gorgeous. The ship was clean, the staff was fantastic. I especially love that you have the same wait staff during your entire cruise. My only other wish is for a cruise itinerary that just docks at Castaway Cay for a week and we sleep on the ship and otherwise play at Castaway Cay every day for a week. Absolutely fantastic. C'mon Disney, it'd save you a ton in gas money! Dream vacation, dream-like customer service. Nothing could be better.
Only 2 negatives for us: crowded pools and Flounder's Reef Nursery--staff is absolutely AWESOME, so fun and so cute with the little kids. But the facility itself is disappointing. Kind of depressing, really. Needs a remodel with more light or something. But they had unscheduled spontaneous visits from Cinderella, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan (and our kids were only in there about 4 times total, for an hour or 2 each time, so this stuff is obviously going on constantly). Our 2 toddlers had a blast in there. In fact, they started off whining each time we dropped them off, and when on the last day we didn't take them up there at all, they were begging to go. The staff actually gave us free pictures of all the character visits that occurred when our kids were in there and they sent all their artwork to our room in an envelope the last day. Again--customer service above and beyond what you expect. And the staff was truly exceptional in a stressful environment.
Cabin Review
Good room. Large porthole window big enough to sit in and read. My 11 year old (who is as tall as the average 14 year old, loved sitting in the window to read). Great rooms for a good price. Might go for fresh air next time and pay for a verandah. And beware that I think the lower decks on the Wonder often have a drainage problem when too many people on board shower at the same time. Staff did not seem surprised that our bathroom floor drains seeped water upwards for a few minutes after Castaway Cay (everyone on board showering at the same time, tons of water in the drains, us at the back of the ship which was under full power pulling away from the pier... recipe for full pipes). Aft, lower decks, is probably a common problem. So if you can't deal with that, book a higher room, or at least closer to midship.