Nov. 10-14 2002 Wonder

Shari with Cruise Director Rick

One week after returning from the Halloween Wonder 3-night, I set off on a 4-night Wonder cruise with my 80 year old mother. It was her birthday cruise and first ever (my 4th this year - Yaaaay!), but she vows it won't be her last. She absolutely 100% LOVED it, and says "Disney does it right!" The only even slightly unpleasant aspect for her was of course the safety drill. None of us enjoys the stiff neck we get from that life vest! But since we were aft in a Navigator Verandah stateroom (my favorite), we had the "relief" of doing the drill somewhat comfortably, sitting in the air conditioned Animator's Palate restaurant instead of standing on a hot deck packed together in tight lines. This advantage makes for a much happier start to any cruise!

Village People at WaveBands - Mom's favorite!

That first evening was a busy one. Mom and I attended the SailAway celebration, Hercules the Muse-ical (seems to have improved a bit but still has its boring moments), and 70s Disco Night at WaveBands. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy the John Travolta and Gloria Gaynor attempts by audience members. When we finally walked out to go check out Duelling Pianos at Barrel of Laughs, Lyle (a cast member from South Africa) grabbed my arm and said, "You can't leave now! The Village People are coming on!" Sure enough, I was face to face with the line of them. As I turned to ask my mother if she wanted to stay, I discovered she had already walked back in and was starting to sing "YMCA" to herself. So I joined her and we postponed our exit. When we finally made it to Barrel of Laughs, there were only a few people in the audience. We decided to sit in chairs by the door. It proved to be a good decision. We could still hear the beat and excitement at WaveBands nearby. Duelling Pianos was okay, but suddenly, just as they stopped playing, my mother announced, "This is dull. WaveBands is the place to be!" We made a quick departure!

This kid could DANCE!

The next day, since my mom couldn't handle the extensive walking required for Atlantis or other excursions, we decided to take a quick horse carriage ride around Nassau and then briefly peruse the shops in town. We didn't buy anything. I am not fond of Nassau, but don't mind it, as I cruise primarily to experience the ship, not the destination. We went back onboard and listened to Island Melodies by the Goofy Pool for awhile, and later stopped by Studio Sea to watch the Family Dance Party. I tell you - the boy pictured on this page CAN DANCE! Some kids get out there and jump around a lot but always seem to be out of sync with the music. This kid definitely had the rhythm and the moves. He was incredible.

Cookie's BBQ

Castaway Cay: I took into consideration that my mother can't walk long distances. She actually did quite well, we just took our time. But because of this, we did not venture any further than the area of Cookie's BBQ, the gazebo, and Conched Out Bar. The weather was far better than it had been the week before, but my mom got warm even sitting in the shade, so we headed back to the ship early.

The Castaway Club reception for return cruisers was held in Barrel of Laughs this time. The food and drinks were excellent and the ice sculpture superb. A woman at the table next to me volunteered to photograph me with Cruise Director Rick. A short time later, DCL's Vice President of Operations walked over to our table, introduced himself and talked to me for quite some time. My mother said I should have invited him to sit down. I figured he was trying to chat with everyone and would soon move on. I was wrong. He inquired about my DCL name tag (from DCL's Cruise College back in January), my occupation, my past and future cruises, and more. When I mentioned next year's Cruisetoberfest II with lots of people from the DISboard planning to cruise, he said he would need to look into it because if there are that many of us we may need a special meeting room, etc. I explained that although we have the DISboard in common, we are separate individuals and groups and are not all booked through the same travel agent. I think his concern was that we would take over the ship (western Magic 10-11-03) as a group. He said he visits the DIS occasionally to see what guests are saying, and that he would take a look at the 10-11-03 thread as it gets closer to our cruise.

My mother and I went from the reception to Who Wants To Be A Mouseketeer. Cruise Director Rick was practically giving contestants the answers outright, and they still usually got it wrong. Amazing!

Our next day, a day at sea, brought rain and wind. We were thankful it hadn't happened the day before. My big blunder was that I had ordered room service for breakfast on the verandah, only to have us end up eating in the room. Even with the partially enclosed Navigator Verandah, the wind was blowing the rain onto the table there. But we spent the day relaxing, eating, roaming the ship. Of course, the highlight of the day was Disney Dreams, which always leaves you ready to return to the Wonder or Magic! The humorous moment of the day was my mother wanting to see The Santa Clause II, then falling asleep 20 minutes into it! We left for a livelier environment.

Blurry, but arrow points to DCL's Senior VP of Operations Tom McAlpin

Oddly, on the last night of our cruise, DCL's VP of Operations ended up seated at the table behind us in Triton's, next to Captain Henry. A tablemate of mine wanted me to try to photograph the captain. Without looking, I held up my digital camera with the lens facing their table behind me and shot. The captain was hidden by the person across from him, but the VP of Operations was in the picture, albeit very blurry.

About Our Servers: I'm not going to name our servers. They worked very hard and did their best. The problem was that they came a week after Marijo and simply could not compete with his standard of service. They totally "forgot" to serve the appetizers of two people at our table one night. We never received our main course prior to 9:30 p.m. (for late seating at 8:30). Our assistant server was very nice, but only once in four days remembered that I always wanted iced tea with no lemon. The only time we were able to finish and leave by 10 p.m. was on the final night - and I wondered if that had anything to do with the Captain and VP sitting behind us. The worst thing was that on the first evening the server made a big deal out of asking what kind of cake my mother wanted for her birthday (to be celebrated the last evening), thereby spoiling the surprise. It was finally decided they would make a sugar-free chocolate mousse cake for her (since she is Type II diabetic). That would have been great, but when the cake was presented (at the last moment on the last evening, after everyone had finished their desserts), it was the same high-fat, sugar-loaded concoction that everyone receives. My mom couldn't touch it. This would not have been such a letdown if they had not already promised (their idea) an alternative. Minor complaints aside, I tipped them the standard gratuities and did not complain on the comment card. Two guests at our table "stiffed" them completely. I realize not everyone can be like Marijo! I spoke with him a few times on the ship and on Castaway Cay. He was sad that he was not our server - especially to give my mother the ultimate server experience.

Happier Notes: It's always nice to be remembered. At least 20 Cast Members let me know they remembered me from previous cruises, and not just from the week before. One morning as my mother and I were leaving breakfast at Triton's, one of the servers followed us out all the way past Promenade Lounge. He called out, "Miss . . . miss." I stopped. He asked if I remembered him. I said he looked familiar. He said he had been my server at lunch one day. I asked if that was last week. He grinned widely and said, "Oh, no - - 5 or 6 months ago! You were alone and Pluto and I escorted you in, and then you had shrimp cocktail and pasta and key lime pie!."

Now I am convinced. I need to start a database of Cast Members with digital photos and notes. If they have such photographic memories in spite of the thousands of guests that pass through, it's the least I can do!

NEXT UP:; 3-night Wonder WDW annual passholders cruise, 23 January 2003; 4-night Disney Wonder, 25 May 2003; back-to-back cruises 25 Sept. 03, Disney Wonder 3-day and 28 Sept. 03, Disney Wonder 4-day; 11 Oct. 03, Disney Magic 7-day Western Caribbean. Hopefully there will be even more!

80 year old Mom enjoying life vest!

Happier Mom with snack from Pluto's