Novice cruisers seeking information

[CMCTxMom]

Just booked my family of 4 on the Wonder for 4-nights this December. We have no idea what to expect. I've read all the DCL stuff, but would like any info all you Intercotters would be willing to give!

Because it's so late we had to book Guarantee status. Oceanview - cat 09. Thoughts?

Food - all inclusive? All the time? (Except the extra restaurants like Palo - I know about those). My 5 year old has food allergies - advice there?

Activities for the kids? It's Disney, so I'm assuming my 5 and 8 year-olds will have plenty to do all the time? Not sure about the weather that time of year, so wasn't sure how much the pools will be on our agenda.

Thanks all. I <3 Intercot! :mickey:

[Christine]

Ooooo I just sailed the Wonder in April- it's wonderful!! Congratulations! To be honest, I prefer the smaller ships, and for one main reason- sharing castaway cay with 1600 people is easier than with 4000 people!

I think you have a great room category. Food is all inclusive at the dining rooms (except Palo as you mentioned) and quick services on deck. Also it is complimentary for the room service menu , minus the tip. Packaged snacks delivered via room service are at cost.
If you order snacks from the coffee shop or from the theater concession stand, that is extra.
They will be VERY accommodating to your child's food allergy- make sure they know about that now.

Your kids will have a blast! The oceanear lab swallows kids up- generally parents have to pull them out of there kicking and screaming :)
Even on the island, they can go to their club so you can have some adult time.

Please be sure to come back and report on your cruise when you're done, and in the meantime, come here with any questions or just to share your countdown as it draws near!

You will really enjoy DCL!

[wildernesslady]

Be prepared to book another cruise on board. You will have a great time.

Enjoy the planning.

[BrerGnat]

You are going to have a wonderful time!

I took a cruise one year in December and the weather was very mild, but swimming was definitely on the agenda!

I will say, I have not been on the classic ships (only the Dream), but for my kids, at least, the pool deck was where it was AT! They were 6 and 8 last year on our first cruise, and the kids clubs were sort of a bust with them. They have some social issues (Autism Spectrum) and to be honest, the clubs really cater mostly to overly social kids who are the type to be excited about everything and ready to join in. My sons have very specific interests and none of the activities at the clubs were the type of thing they'd ever want to be involved in. In addition, there was really no toys or anything to play with at the club, so that was disappointing. Even just a Lego table or something would have been a much welcome thing. So, just want to prepare you that the kids club is not universally loved by all kids. We actually never really saw the kids club onboard very crowded.

Other than the kids clubs, though, there are all sorts of scheduled activities throughout the day. In addition, they will show movies onboard in the theater, there are character meet and greets, etc. It is a lot of fun practically every day from 9am-9pm (the ship mostly goes to sleep by 10pm) ;)

As for the Guarantee Status, it is what it is. You will have to be okay with whatever cabin is assigned to you, as you will have no choice in the matter. That does personally make me nervous because every ship, like every hotel, has some rooms that are more undesireable than others, due to noise, proximity to a service area, etc. So, you may end up in a cabin that is not ideally located but the tradeoff with that is the price savings on those GTY bookings.

[marlyn]

Because it's so late we had to book Guarantee status. Oceanview - cat 09.

Thanks all. I <3 Intercot! :mickey:

I booked a guarantee category 10 (deluxe inside cabin) on my cruise aboard the Fantasy in March. When I received my cruise documents, I had been upgraded to a category 5C (deluxe verandah stateroom)! I would definitely book guarantee again!

[TracyL]

Here's what you need to know about a DCL cruise: There's more to see than can ever be seen, and more to do than can ever be done!!! :D

The nice thing about DCL, especially on the classic ships, is that unlike WDW, you can have a fantastic time even if you don't do a lick of advance planning. You'll love the intimacy of the ship -- the amazingly short (or nonexistent) queue to meet a character, the exquisite feeling of looking out over Serenity Bay beach and hardly seeing another human.

You can be booked solid with fun activities from dawn until midnight, or you can kick back on the pool deck with a margarita and watch the world go by -- or anything in between.

December can be anywhere from high 80s to low 70s, so pack your swimsuit for sure, but know that it may not be ideal water weather. When we went a few years ago in December it was cool and windy, and we didn't have much enthusiasm for swimming -- but I've been at WDW at the same time of year and been too hot, so you just never know.

One of my favorite activities that you may not find out about in the literature ahead of time is the Castaway Cay 5K. If you like to run, or even just enjoy a good morning walk, and want to burn off some of those calories from all that great food, be sure to check out the 5K. It happens early in the morning on the island. Check your Navigator for details.

Yes, the food is all included with just a handful of exceptions -- generally if it comes "packaged" (like bottled water or a bag of popcorn at the theater), there's a charge.

On embarkation day, they will run a special where you can get a 12-pack of bottled water delivered to your stateroom for a slight discount over the per-bottle price. We did this and were very glad to have done it. It's nice to have cold water (there's a fridge in the stateroom) in the morning and evening, for taking meds if you have them, and for taking on your port adventures. Two of us had no trouble going through 12 bottles on a 3-night cruise.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Enjoy!!

[GoldenDreams]

I can comment a little bit on the allergies. I have a sensitivity to walnuts and asked that they tell me if there were walnuts in anything. Each night, they brought me the menu for the next night so that I could pre-order and the chef could make sure I didn't eat anything I shouldn't. At the pizza station and buffets, there are always people to ask about ingredients. If you have any allergy, they want to know about it and will work with you.

I hope you have a great time!!