Trip Report How did you ever get the kid to like cruising? Sea turtles, mate… sea turtles. Surf n’ Turf 2017

To quote the Jewish Elvis, “Hello Again”. For those interested in a back story leading up to this short and sweet journey towards a series of firsts you can have at it here:
Going for gold, a Disney trip full of firsts!
What turned into the most stressful and ridiculous two day work week, we slept hard and fast to a 04:00 wake up on Wednesday morning. I opted to make breakfast and coffee for the ladies this morning to reduce our number of stops on the way down. I even filled up the night before to make our drive smoother. We cruised through the ATL and soon were filling up in Tifton before 9, half way there! Another 3.5 hours and we were turning on to 192. Lunch was the first order of business and the ladies outvoted me and chose Cracker Barrel. I was hopeful we would hear about our room during lunch but we had not. After lunch we hoped for the best and made for The Grand Floridian and soon we were passing through the gate.

As we pulled into the parking lot we still had not heard if our room was ready so I ran in and checked with the DVC desk. Our room was ready! We parked and made our way to our room.

Up next: What a lobby!

 

[lostpro9het]

We slept well over the night. I gotta hand it to the VGF, every aspect of our stay was fantastic. We woke to a beautiful view which would be our theme for this trip of sunshine and no rain!

This would be our first cruise where our port arrival time was not when the port first opened which meant we could sleep in, take it slow, and have a later breakfast! We scheduled Kona, our pre-cruise tradition, a little later this go around at 8:15. The plan was to get our breakfast on, monorail back to the resort, then head out. Im happy to say things went as planned and it all started with a fantastic breakfast! We checked in and a minute later we were seated. We had a wonderful server who’s name I am sorry to say I forgot but he was excellent.

The kid went with some Stitch juice and Laura and I each got a cup of coffee. We broke tradition a little here by not doing a Kona press; at $9/press the price is getting a little too ridiculous for me. The kid went with the ham and cheese omelet with fried potatoes (blurry pic) the portion was HUGE and very good. Laura and I shared the Big Kahuna with wheat toast, plenty for two people. My one gripe with the BK is the size of the pancakes has shrunken significantly since our last visit, see below. It may be nitpicky but it’s a trend we’ve noticed at restaurants across the bubble.

Big Kahuna NOW

Big Kahuna THEN

Again, we had a fantastic meal and hopped on the monorail to head back to our room. After a quick pack and walk through we hit the road!

Up next: The Wonder!

 

[imahistorygeek]

As Sean mentioned, we opted to not order the press. The coffee was a kona blend and it was pretty good. It definitely had a kona-y flavor and I'd drink it again.

 

[Tiggerish]

Those sure are some skimpy pancakes!

 

[blreinsel]

I MUST HAVE THAT JOURNAL!!!!! Also, I need the monorail highlighters to go with it.

Trader Sams looks like a blast.. I would love to fit it in on our upcoming trip! What time did you get in line (sorry if you mentioned this and I overlooked it in my haste to get to the drink choices ).

 

[lostpro9het]

What time did you get in line (sorry if you mentioned this and I overlooked it in my haste to get to the drink choices ).

About 3:50, they open at 4.

 

[Ariel1986]

Sooo not that I need much of an excuse to plan a trip but... MONORAIL HIGHLIGHTERS??
How did I miss these a few months ago! I must go back- I'm sure that they wouldn't be available on the parks app & along with the food & drink that I need to revisit at Trader Sam's, it means I really should plan another trip...

Great report, now GF villas are added to my list also! Look forward to reading more!

 

[lostpro9het]

Again, we had a late arrival time so there was no need to rush but still, it seemed like we made it to the ship in no time! My main concern with a late arrival time was we would not have covered parking and we would have a high boarding group number. I’m happy to say that both of these concerns are unnecessary! As we pulled in I stopped at the curb to drop off our luggage before parking on level three of the parking deck which is where we normally park and the same level as the walkway to the alternate security checkpoint!

We got through security, wine and all , and were quickly greeted and directed to the check-in desk. We weer boarding group 4, hooray, and only had to wait a short time to be let in! Then it hit me….I left my Tervis in the car!!! How was I supposed to make all those wonderful Castaway Cocktails without it!?!? I looked a Laura and said “Ill be back” and sprint/walked back through security and to the car to grab my Tervis. I made it back just in time and a minute later they were calling boarding party one.

Now, what you may or may not know is that as you enter the ship you are asked your family name so they can announce it and applaud you as you enter. It’s a pretty cool thing but it also allows for some shenanigans. A few cruises ago we thought it would be hilarious to say we are the McGillicutties, I know, we’re juvenile, but the kid thinks it is funny still so we do it. Here we are being introduced:


Up next: Exploring, eating, and relaxing.

 

[mcstensrud]

Ha nice!
I think we might try a different name in May! I got a few but really can't say them here on this family friendly forum.

 

[lostpro9het]

So up to this point all of our boat trips have been on The Dream. The Wonder is a bit smaller than The Dream and things we are accustom to are in different places. But first things first, the main lobby chandelier. This is just a taste as I’m pretty sure I took 100 pictures of this from different angles throughout the trip.

Our first mission once on board is to check in at guest services to verify our on board credit and add our Disney gift card to cover the expenses of the trip. Based on the lack of crowd at the port I was really surprised to see the boat was fully booked.

Donald is to The Dream as Ariel is to The Wonder…

Getting our bearings

So we got our credit squared away and made for top deck to look around and grab some food.

Now, I made mention of the new shawarma bar on The Wonder in the PTR so I figured what better time than now!! You get to choose between the meats you want then about 12 different toppings to go on top of your choice. The kid, naturally went next door for chicken fingers. What we were really doing hear was just getting an appetizer until the Cabanas line went down.

We decided to try one more app before Cabanas so I went over to Pinocchio’s to grab a few slices.

Up next: Cabanas, securing Castaway Cocktail ingredients, and looking around.

 

[lostpro9het]

The line for Cabanas and we finally figured out why. It seems they installed hand washing stations as you enter and despite there being a station at each entrance it took folks a while to get through here. Historically we just get handed a hand wipe as we entered so this was new to us. Once inside it wasn’t that busy and the layout was pretty much spot on to The Dream’s layout with the exception of a few stations just overall a bit smaller.

I wasn’t terribly hungry after our tastings outside but I HAD to get my POG juice for the Castaway Cocktails; mission accomplished! Now all Im waiting on is our room to open so I can get to mixing…

Up next: more exploration!

 

[lostpro9het]

First up, The Buena Vista Theatre. The kid would visit here a few times during our trip and Laura and I would catch a Rouge One showing too.

We continued on and found the nursery where I felt like a creeper taking the one picture I took inside.

As promised…

Then we came upon the Oceaneer club. I’ve got to say, if I was a kid on a cruise I might not leave this place. I was a bit jealous. I’ll admit it wasn’t as cool as the Falcon setup on The Dream but still plenty cool.

Up next: After Hours

 

[Tiggerish]

That chandelier is way nicer than the new one on the Magic. But it's got nothing on the Dream's gorgeous centerpiece.

I'm even more stoked for the rest of this report, since I just booked us on the Wonder for Alaska 2018.

 

[lostpro9het]

Moving on, we made our way forward to the night life area of the ship. This was another change from The Dream where most all of the adult venues are aft. We continued wondering if we would just see the same adult venues as The Dream but were pleasantly surprised with what they did with this area.

As you move in you are greeted with one of two entrances to Azure, more to come on this venue in a bit.

A little further ahead is Cadillac Lounge. The theming in the place was phenomenal. The front grill bar was pretty awesome as were the wheel themed tables.

The current view from the lounge.

Up next: Crown & Fin and Azure

 

[lostpro9het]

We continued on and passed the forward elevators and turned left to fine Crown & Fin. My preconceived vision of C&F was simply a 687 with a different overlay. Once again, blown away! C&F is HUGE with so much more than what 687 has to offer. There is a ton of theming, a ton of seating, and a ton of games to play while just hanging out. Like 687, C&F has a custom brew that I’ll talk more about later. C&F also has a food bar that they open up during the evening, that too will come later.

Up next: Azure, more Wonder, and our room.

 

[LeighM]

Love the pictures of the Wonder and it makes me so excited for my trip next year! I had to rearrange my trip so we are now doing a 3 night instead a 4 night But a 3 night is better than no cruise at all LOL.

 

[coachwnh]

OK Sean, see if you can get this in GA!!! Good stuff.

 

[lostpro9het]

OK Sean, see if you can get this in GA!!! Good stuff.

View attachment 191233

Just messaged my growler guys so we'll see. That looks right up my ally too. Is it sold in 4 or 6 packs?

 

[lostpro9het]

So directly across the hall from Crown and Fin is the second entrance to Azure. This location would play host to most all the adult entertainment we took part in during the trip. The layout is more open and larger feeling than Evolution on the dream. The lighting and design was pretty cool.

Our room wasn’t ready yet so we made our way to the top deck to explore more but not before exploring the mid decks along the way.

Here is the corridor leading to the Walt Disney Theatre

As promised…

Up next: Exploring the adult pool and the room is ready!

 

[coachwnh]

Just messaged my growler guys so we'll see. That looks right up my ally too. Is it sold in 4 or 6 packs?

I got it as part of a mix your own six at my local distributor (liquor laws are odd in PA ) I thought it tasted like a stonger Golden Monkey Its listed at 10%, and it tasted like it. Some 10s are easy. This was more a sipper.

 

[coachwnh]

And PS, I love that you contacted your growler guy before 10 am! Good beer cant wait!!!!