Last week, my family experienced our very first Disney Cruise on the Disney Wonder. In fact, it was our very first cruise ever and our first Disney experience. When you wish upon a star…Makes no difference who you are…You will love it! 

Castaway Cay is Disney's private island in the Bahamas! Make sure your ship stops here!
Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas! Make sure your ship stops here!

 

I do want to mention that this post was in no way sponsored by Disney Cruise Line or any other Disney affiliate. 

Because I have so much to share, I will be publishing multiple posts- planning and days at sea, ports, what to wear what to bring, fashion trends on the cruise…and more!

Let’s talk planning…

When I began researching our usual Feb/March week in Paradise Island, Bahamas, I had sticker shock!  The prices were nearly double what they were the previous three years.  I googled- family vacations, vacations great for kids- and stumbled upon Disney Cruise information.  I immediately thought of a high school friend of mine who I knew, through our Facebook connection, has a wonderful reputation as a Disney travel planning expert! After contacting her, I found out that her services are 100% free of charge and she will plan everything from transportation, to specific activities and adventures!

https://www.facebook.com/MickeyTravelsHeather
heather@mickeytravels.com
Mickey Travels- Heather Goldstein
Mickey Travels- Heather Goldstein

Because we have never cruised, I had no idea about stateroom location, stateroom type, dinner seatings, boarding time etc. After reading some reviews, I knew we wanted to go to Disney’s private island in the Bahamas Castaway Cay.  Heather quizzed me about our preferences and took care of all of the details!  Being our first cruise, and being worried about nausea, we decided on a 5-night Caribbean cruise which included one day in Cozumel, Mexico and one day in Castaway Cay.

I am happy to report that none of us experienced even the slightest bit of motion sickness! I have a terrible time with motion sickness when riding as a passenger in a car or airplane and I was terrified!  Heather booked us a room mid-ship and we had no issues!

Although Disney will take care of everything , we took care of our own flights to Miami and took a taxi to the port! It was waaaaaay cheaper!

A day at sea? Disney has your activities ready! We saw Frozen in 3D , attended a princess gathering, swam in the kids pools, and ate as much ice cream as we wanted!!
A day at sea? Disney has your activities ready! We saw Frozen in 3D , attended a princess gathering, swam in the kids pools, and ate as much ice cream as we wanted!!

Days at Sea
The ship’s Daily Navigator gave us all of the options! We just had to pick what we wanted to do-kids club activities, appearances, shows, movies, party times!

Daily Navigator! Do as much or as little as you want! Princess obsessed little girl? Be at the lobby at 11 to meet Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Tiana!
Daily Navigator! Do as much or as little as you want! Princess obsessed little girl? Be at the lobby at 11 to meet Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Tiana!
Of course we brought our Rapunzel dress for the occasion!
Of course we brought our Rapunzel dress for the occasion!

Disney Cruise Lines provides 2 OnBoard Phones to use between guests! Most importantly, the kids club would text us and let us know if the kids were moving on to the next activity, wanted picked up, or we could call them to check in! Our kids enjoyed both the Oceaneers Club and the Oceaneers Lab’s various activities. Story time with Belle and the Luau with Stitch were a huge hit!

Be prepared to disconnect! The OnBoard ship cellphone rates and wifi rates were astronomical!! Unless you take baths with $100 bills, turn off roaming and wifi and just use your camera.

Spend time with your spouse poolside while the kids enjoy the adventures and learning of the Oceaneeers Club and Lab!
Spend time with your spouse poolside while the kids enjoy the adventures and learning of the Oceaneeers Club and Lab!

 

Disney Wonder's Oceaneer Club contains a giant pirate ship play area!
Disney Wonder’s Oceaneer Club contains a giant pirate ship play area!

 

You never know who you might run into on the ship!!

Bump into your favorite Disney characters all day on the ship!
Bump into your favorite Disney characters all day on the ship!

Ok last thing for today’s post…Can we discuss the food? Order room service 24 hours/day. Sit down for breakfast and lunch, do a quick run through a buffet, or grab pizza, hot dogs, chicken fingers, wraps, fruit and other snacks at outdoor fast food spots! Dine at one of 4 different 5 star restaurants every night for dinner with special surprises for the kids around every corner! Everything was delicious!!!

Here were my favorites!
We will be trying these at home!!

Seafood Pasta in a cream sauce...yes! Amazing!
Seafood Pasta in a cream sauce…yes! Amazing!
Beef tenderloin steak, bacon wrapped sausage, grilled shrimp, asparagus in a roasted tomato and mushroom sauce!
Beef tenderloin steak, bacon wrapped sausage, grilled shrimp, asparagus in a roasted tomato and mushroom sauce!

Up next….ports of call! Where we stopped on our cruise and what we did!!

Ciao!

4 Comments on Once Upon a Time, To Infinity and Beyond…Our Magical Cruise on the Disney Wonder! Planning and Days at Sea!

  1. You look amazing doing your thing! Your site, especially the recipes, is very interesting. I just did a cursory review of everything, but, eventually, I go through all.

    Good Luck, and I am sure will be a success at anything you choose. xo

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