To all the Cruise Critic Members who have written reviews...I thank you.  I have now joined Cruise Critic because I so appreciate the information I have obtained from this website.  I am a single female; no kids, late 30's and I cruise/travel with my widowed 76 year old mother.  We have been on 15 cruises; Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America, Celebrity and Princess.  My mom saw the show on the Travel Channel highlighting Disney Cruise lines and insisted we try it out.  My stomach was in knots until I boarded...I had nightmares of a ship destroyed by children, overrun by children, and I believed that I would be fed chicken nuggets and pizza everyday since I thought they catered only to children.  I believed the show on the Travel Channel was a lie to entice adults into coming onboard with their young, only to be tortured with all things "kiddy".  Folks...I was WRONG.First, Disney impressed me while still on land.  They called 3 days before the cruise and upgraded us to a Balcony Room, Category 6 (from the ocean view, Cat. 9 that I had booked) for FREE and without me asking for it!  Since my mother's birthday was the next day after we set sail, I wondered if they were being nice and did it for her.  Either way, I was impressed.  Disney employees I spoke with after told me this free upgrade was NOT the norm.I live in Florida, so we drove to Cape Canaveral the Saturday before our 4-night cruise on the Disney Wonder.  We stayed at Marriott's Residence Inn, which I highly recommend.  I always stay at Residence Inn's because I can count on them to be consistently clean, beautifully furnished, and accommodating.  There was also a free hot buffet breakfast in the morning with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fresh made waffles, fruit, yogurt...excellent.  The staff there also allowed us and other families to leave our vehicles in their parking lot for FREE and take a shuttle from the hotel to the Port.  Cost was $6 per person, round-trip.  This was a much cheaper alternative than paying the $15 per day to park my vehicle at the open parking lot at Port Canaveral.  Also, the shuttle was waiting for us when we returned from the cruise, and the Residence Inn allowed me to use the computer in their business center to MapQuest directions AND provided me with ice for my cooler without a fuss or charge.  Excellent service at this Residence Inn.Since I had already completed my online check-in on Disney's website (a MUST if you want this to be easy for you), embarkation was a breeze.  There are happy, friendly polite Disney workers to greet you at the port, a short security check, and an even shorter check-in.  We were picked up by the shuttle at 10:10am, arrived at the Port at 10:15am, and had our room keys at 10:30am.  However, boarding does not begin until 11:45am (they say noon, but started early), and Disney is strict on that time.  The terminal is clean, with lots of windows, a beautiful mini replica of a Disney ship to study in the middle of the terminal, Disney cartoons playing continually on multiple TV's for kids, a place where you can register your child for onboard kid activities, a little shop with snacks and Disney products for sale...and Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy all show up IN the terminal for pictures and hugs.  Folks, I am not a big Disney character fan because I didn't grow up with them in my life, but even I got excited when I saw Mickey!  Hand it to Disney to know how to keep little kids from getting grumpy.When you check in they give you a card with a boarding number.  We were group number 2, so we were boarded quickly.  That is the only benefit of getting to the terminal early...getting the lower number on your boarding card means early boarding for you.  Only those whose numbers on their boarding cards match the number announced will be allowed to board...don't try to sneak thru!Upon entering the ship, a uniformed officer smilingly greeted us, asked our names and where we were from, and then announced it loudly on a microphone when we walked into the atrium/main lobby.  Other uniformed officers were there to clap, smile and greet us.  Folks, I have NEVER experienced this kind of welcome on ANY OTHER CRUISELINE!  It does make you feel special.  A uniformed officer walked with us and told us that we could either go to the Parrot Cay Dining room right there on Deck 3 Aft for lunch, or up to the Beach Blanket Buffet on Deck 9 Aft.  Thanks to other Cruise Critic Member reviews (THANK YOU) which reported the Beach Blanket Buffet to be a crowded mess, Mom and I went to the Parrot Cay Dining room instead.The dining room was beautifully decorated, the servers kind, friendly and willing to do anything.  The food was fabulous!  There was something to please everyone's palate. It was served buffet style, but the servers brought you whatever beverage you wanted and cleared away your dirty plates. Most impressive was the large pile of seasoned, shell-on, cold shrimp on the buffet table.  In the past 14 cruises, I have NEVER seen shrimp placed on a buffet where the cruiser could eat to their hearts content.Even better...SODA is included with your cruise!  No one standing in the hall trying to sell you a "soda card".  The only place you have to pay for soda is if you order it from room service or get it from a bar/bar waiter.  Coke and Coke products are FREE in the dining rooms, in the buffet and at the special "Beverage Center" located on Deck 9 Aft, on the Port (Left) side of the ship.  This was a first for me!As with every meal I would eat after this first one, the food always tasted even BETTER than it looked.  After 15 cruises, I know many cruise lines make their food LOOK good, but once you taste it, you realize it was cheaply made.  Not with Disney.  They do everything excellently.  They have a special section of the buffet (both at Parrot Cay and upstairs at the Beach Blanket Buffet) set aside for kids with things they like, like macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, Jell-O.  Fellow cruisers, please be aware that your stateroom WILL NOT be ready until 1:30pm, and that time is SET IN STONE!  So if you plan on hitting the pool or sports deck after eating, carry your swim suit and some extra clothes in a bag with you, don't pack everything into your suitcase (which will not arrive to your room until after 2pm).  Disney sets up barriers at the entrances to the staterooms so that you cannot go to your room until exactly 1:30pm.  The cabin stewards do a really good job of cleaning, so they need that extra time.  I recommend you don't carry too many things onboard with you because lugging heavy bags around is not fun (at least the parents who I saw with multiple bags didn't look happy...just sweaty).  Medications, swim suits and flip-flops, baby food/bottles...only things which are a necessity.  Pool towels are provided at all pools, in any amount you want, for free.  They don't put them in your room and penalize you if you don't return them to your room like other cruise lines.  Speaking of pools, there are three.  I strongly suggest going online if you can and study the deck layout of the Wonder so you know your way around before getting onboard.  Disney provides you with a detailed map at check-in and there are A LOT of signs and helpful crew to help you get your bearings, but it's still good to know where the food is (most dining areas are in the AFT or back of the ship) and where the pools are (all are on Deck 9).  The burgers/fries/hotdogs/pizza/sandwiches/wraps/soft serve ice creams are all located around the kid's pool on Deck 9 AFT.  You will eat at a different dining room each night, and on the 4-night cruise, there is a Pirate Night where all the crew dresses up as pirates, and they encourage the passengers to do the same.  On this night there was a Pirates Party on Deck 9 with fireworks.  Unfortunately Mom and I were too pooped to party, but did enjoy the fireworks from our balcony (hint:  pick a room on the STARBOARD or RIGHT side of the ship for best view of fireworks and Castaway Cay).  Disney focuses on the little details, which really impressed me...the dinner menu for Pirates Night was rolled up and designed to look AND SMELL like an old pirates map from a ship.  I kept mine for a souvenir.  Our rotation was Tritons on Sunday night, Animators Palate on Monday AND Tuesday night, and Parrots Cay on Wednesday night.  Be aware that Animators Palate will not change color inside on the Pirate night because the staff must remain dressed as pirates and cannot change the color of their vests with the colors of the walls.  The following night, you will see the colors change in Animators Palate, or "The Show" as the crew calls it.  The entertainment is of course, Disney based.  We saw three shows, "The Golden Mickey's", "Toy Story the Musical" and "Disney Dreams".  I was very impressed with the talent that Disney employs.  Most cruise lines have two female singers, two male singers, and a bunch of dancers.  With Disney, EVERYONE sings, and dances and I could not find one single flaw in any performance.  Disney spends a lot of effort and money on costumes, props, and special effects where many other cruise lines don't.  My mother had never seen the movie Toy Story, so she didn't enjoy the Toy Story Musical show because she couldn't understand what was going on.  However, even though my mom is "Disney uneducated", she said The Gold Mickey's and Disney Dreams were the BEST she had ever seen in cruise entertainment.  Unfortunately, we didn't experience the adult only Palo's because my Mom doesn't like Italian food.  Other cruisers told me it was DELICIOUS and well worth the $15 (many other cruise lines charge $20-$30 per person for their specialty restaurants, so Disney is a great deal).The stateroom was the LARGEST I'VE EVER SEEN IN ANY CRUISESHIP!!  I have stayed in the Penthouse suite on a Princess ship and I was not as impressed with that room as I was with the verandah room I was upgraded to on Disney Wonder.  Disney focuses on details that other ships don't...tiled walls in the divided bathrooms, chrome fixtures, hooks that actually hold your clothes, tons of storage space, large bottles of shampoo/conditioner/body butter.  An actual BATHTUB instead of a tiny shower stall.  An enormous couch that turns into a comfortable bed.  A refrigerator (that was empty, but was still nice to store snacks). 

Disney is the ONLY ship I know that ALLOWS YOU TO BRING YOUR OWN ALCOHOL ON BOARD!  You can even purchase alcohol in a port and bring it to your room.  HOWEVER, if you purchase alcohol at Disney's duty-free shop onboard, they will deliver it to your room on the LAST night of the cruise.  It's better to BUY YOUR BOOZE IN DUTY-FREE NASSAU!  You can make your mixed drinks in your room.

Okay...as with EVERY cruise line, there is the good and the bad.  Here's what I DIDN'T LIKE: Read more