Cass, Rob & Kira - Christmas on the Wonder - 2018. Third time's a charm!

[Timon]

December 22nd, Part 2

Tonight was the optional dress up night. Normally there's a formal night and then semi-formal night but because it was only a 6-night cruise, I guess they only went with one and it was optional! We were originally going to get some family photos done in the Atrium so we chose to dress up but honestly, I am soooo over the whole dressing up thing.

I know it's a nice look in the restaurants when the guests are all spiffy but you usually only get half the people all dressed up and then you get the people in shorts and a tank and then others with a t-shirt and jeans, so even when they do have formal night, it's not enforced so please don't think that you HAVE to wear a fancy dress and/or suit to dinner! I always say wear what you are comfortable in and what works for you. Don't worry about others

On these Christmas cruises, you will find a rather large portion of people wearing Christmas jammies, both all day long and at dinner as well, and NOT just on Christmas day either!

We had found a nice dress for Kira at Kohl's and she just got new boots, which had heels so she was super into dressing up for dinner.

While I dressed up to match my family, I was wishing I had worn shorts and a tee the entire time.

We found our table, which was in a fantastic location, super close to the front

We were all in a good mood, this is our favourite night, our favourite menu with the Mardi Gras parade.

They give you beads too

Shortly after we sat down, the Crawfish Crooners came out to play for us and I immediately recognized one of them from the hot tub last night.

This is fun night because they sing songs from Princess & The Frog, which is one of my fave Disney movies

And these were the same guys as last year and I recognize one of them from our first Christmas too They are super good and I was glad to be close to the stage this time

Tiana came by for a quick photo op.

And then out came our soups! Both Rob and I had the delicious tomato soup and I tried the kids corn chowder, which was not-so-great.

Mine..

Rob's...

I think Kira got another Caesar salad but I don't seem to have a pic

Then it was time for Louis to come on up and join the party.

And time for the Mardi Gras parade, where you can see Wayan on the right side with his hands up and Chani, on the left behind the male guest sitting down. This is such a fun night, I don't know how anyone can dine here and not have a blast!

Chani grabbed Kira and went up to dance around the room and go under the bar. I was shocked she went up but it was because Chani grabbed her and not from us encouraging her

I have video of Kira but no photos so you will just have to wait for the videos

Then it was time for beignets!!!

Everyone must order these!! Rob and Kira also shared the sundae.

I got what is usually my favourite dessert, the doberge gateau! It was good but not crazy good like it was the last two cruises. I still made a decent dent in it as well as having one beignet.

Wayan brought this out for us too...we didn't order it though. I tried it but it wasn't to my liking.

Back to the room where we found this cutie

Checked our location...

And then I went to check my email on my ipad but found out that if you use a second device, this happens.

Ugh! So I just used my phone to check everything. Kira ended up signing herself out of the app one day and this happened to her when she used it again. She lost all of her favourites, which she had spent a lot of time choosing on the first day of the cruise and she also lost her buddy's chat numbers and I had to give her permission to chat again.

I forgot to mention that she was supposed to meet another girl at the tween meet-up but she was very sick with a fever and was in her cabin for the first few days. I had chatted with the Mom though and they exchanged chat numbers so Kira was able to text her. She did end up meeting up with her later in the cruise but their schedules didn't match up well because they were on early dinner and she wanted to do stuff in the club and Kira didn't want to step foot in there. Her club band sat on our desk the entire trip.

I told her that this was her last cruise where she was actually allowed in the club but she didn't care and was only in there once during an Edge activity and only because it took place at midnight after all of the kiddos were kicked out

Here's the Navs for tomorrow

I went to the hot tub alone tonight and there were only a few people in there this time. The pool was still a little chilly but I got about 100 laps in and then lots of hot tub time

 

[lizzyb]

Joining in!

 

[jenseib]

I am loving that menu from Tiana's! I think I would have to order about 10 different things to try.

I love how nice you all look! Kira's dress is really pretty!

 

[Timon]

Just have to comment on your trip to Snooze....it's my favorite!!!!! It started in Denver and I'm happy to see they are expanding....they are so freaking good!!!!!!

Yay for the upgrade...but boo for the short pool hours.

Jill in CO

That's awesome! I didn't know anything about them until I Yelped my way around Webster

Kira seriously loved it and Rob and I enjoyed it very much. It would have been much better without the long wait and the loud music but we're old

Well I really wish you were coming too! It's been way to long since I have seen you.
I really am going to start saving after this one for Christmas and suggest it to Skip. So.....maybe next Dec????

Yes, way too long!

I won't know if we can afford it another Christmas cruise until November because we are SUPER hoping to do a kidless Alaskan cruise this summer, so I guess it all depends on that but I would be super excited for a four-peat, especially if you were there

I am so happy to see another Cass trip report! I love them...Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. We were on the Wonder 12/27-1/3 and it was one of the best cruises we have ever been on. I hope your crew had just as much fun. And, I can't believe how much older Kira looks since summer! She is growing up to be a beautiful young woman. Can't wait to keep reading!

We had a fabulous cruise! Apart from our kid's attitude, I don't think it could have been better

I'm glad you had a great cruise and yeah, sorry for taking so long getting her back to you

Glad to hear you had a great trip, sorry we had to eat your lunch, we couldn't get off the ship slow enough

Hahaha! At least they all got a $25 OBC for missing lunch, which is $25 more than we got in 2016 when we missed lunch

Awesome first day!

Very cute! And he's using the hat as a camouflage so we can't tell if his eyes are open or closed!


Very pretty! I love Christmas lights so much!

LOL! Exactly! When I looked out, I thought he was reading until I noticed the book on his chest. I slowly opened the verandah and quietly called him but then realized he was out!

I am totally laughing that you post it was too hot and sunny to sit out of the verandah....then the next picture is Rob in LAYERS of clothes. hahahaha.
I am betting it was hot!

And that is us in a nutshell He wore a serious jacket on embarkation day and I was in shorts and a tee.

This is the same man that wears his wool pullovers on Castaway Cay so I will let you be the judge

Although, on the flip side, I run warm and avoid the sun so it probably would have been a little warm for you on the verandah but more tolerable

Just got caught up on your latest TR! I've enjoyed reading them in the past and thoroughly enjoying this one also! I totally agree with the noisy neighbors. We had smokers on our last cruise all around us and had to complain as we couldnt even go outside most evenings because of the smoke smell. Previous cruise before that it was neighbors with screaming kids on the verandah every evening so we only got to enjoy our verandah early mornings before the neighbors would wake up

Glad you're here

UGH! Yeah, that's terrible since it's no longer allowed

We had screaming kids on both sides but I didn't go into detail about it because well, it's a Disney ship and I fully expect to see and hear kids on a Disney cruise so I try not to complain too much. There was one incident in Cabanas with screaming kids. Oh. My. Dog. It was bad but that's for a future post

It's definitely a roll of dice when it comes to your neighbours, we've had some doozies I tell ya! Then again, I've also had some cruises where I never saw or heard our neighbours.

Since I was the one who wanted to change rooms, every time we were annoyed by our neighbours, Rob kept saying something like "Maybe we shouldn't have changed rooms" but you never know, right? It was an enclosed verandah, so more privacy but they could have had kids screaming too

Haha Rob asleep on the verandah, all cozy. Bliss

A little tip for Palo, if I may be so bold: we always tell our server that we would like time with the menu and would like to enjoy a plate of food from the buffet before even ordering from the menu because they are usually quite quick to bring the food out from the kitchen. So by the time they bring out our dishes, we are already on our second plates from the buffet

Ugh, noisy people on their verandah are the worst. I'm sorry, I get it. We always try to carry on quiet conversations when we are out there so as not to disturb our neighbours.

Good tip for Palo but in all of my previous visits, our servers have been so good that we never had to request the extra time, it was just common sense that we want to enjoy the buffet first and then the main food after. I wasn't even back from the buffet and this guy had my pancakes ON the table.

But, as much as I pointed it out, I really didn't mind. I am soooo not a person to linger at a table for dinner. It is the worst aspect for the main dinners for me, I would much rather be in and out in 45 minutes than linger between all of those courses

If they offered a decent buffet at night, we would totally go for that every single night so we could spend less time in the dining rooms and more time swimming but Rob feels like we miss out on dinner when we do skip it. They only offer Cabanas Dinner for a few nights each cruise and we don't love the menu sometimes but when we have done it, it was great! I could wear shorts, get through dinner in about an hour or less and we always enjoyed the service there, even though they are all newbies. It's actually one of the reasons I want to try NCL this year and maybe give RCCL a second chance, they all have buffet dinners every night and late pool hours

Joining in!

Yay!

 

[Timon]

I am loving that menu from Tiana's! I think I would have to order about 10 different things to try.

I love how nice you all look! Kira's dress is really pretty!

You will LOVE Tiana's, everything is so good! Best menu!

I may look nice but deep down inside I am wishing for my shorts the entire time

 

[bcwife76]

I've said it before, Tiana's is the best new restaurant on all of the ships!!!! Beignets for days!!!

Now will I still feel this way after sailing the Magic later this year and trying out Rapunzel's Royal Table??? I know you're on the edge of your seat waiting for it.....

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Oh boy, a double update from Cass!
Enjoyed the Animator's Palette Dinner review! The portions do look pretty small.
Great idea substituting for the baked potato.

I can see how frustrating it would be to have the pools close so early on Disney ships,
yet the movies go late. I'm not a fan of the blaring glaring movies on deck. You used to
be able to relax up there, but with the movies going, those days, imo, are over. I guess I'm just an old
fogie.

Nice pic of you and Rob at Palo.
The selections from the buffet look delicious! That croissant does look yummy. The chicken parm
looks delicious too. I think I would have wanted to try all the pancakes. Yum.. that looks like a cannoli smack dab
in the middle of Rob's dessert plate.

Thanks for including the art work. Love those sand pails!
So that's how you got those magnets on the lights... you glued them to the battery box. Great idea!
The DCL Christmas trees are gorgeous.

Those sunset pictures are nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful!
It's too bad your neighbors were so inconsiderate.
When you pay a small fortune for a veranda and some people think they have
the right to act as though they are the only ones on the ship to the point that they did, it's really too much (the crying sounds especially fun, Cass).

Did you find much of a difference between the Cove Cafe on the Dream as opposed to the Wonder?... In size
or atmosphere, for example (besides the fact that your dear friend was not there with you)?

It looks like a really nice time!
Loving the updates!
Tink
edited to say that I posted this before your most recent Tiana update

 

[lorimay]

I hear you about going crazy with the dressing, I like to pack easy dresses that pop out of the suitcases and are not wrinkled and flat sandals for "dressier" nights and Palo, but I love throwing on a pair of capris and a top and being done with it.
We are doing the 14 night PC cruise next month and my husband does not want to bring his suit for formal night he is leaning toward shirts and ties for that and Palo dinner. I get him, he's on vacation.......

Can't wait to finally try Tiana's.

 

[belle0517]

Joining in. Great TR!

 

[Timon]

December 23rd, 2018 Part 1

Today was our first of only two port stops on this cruise, Cozumel, Mexico.

We've been here several times and other than walk around the mall and the touristy area and see the old Hard Rock Cafe, we haven't really done anything here in the past. It's normally SUPER hot out, which is one of the main reasons since I need to avoid the sun as much as I can in regards to my Lupus.

We did try to do a Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab on Kira's first cruise back in 2007 but it was too windy and it got canceled.

When I had found out that there was a newer place to swim with the Dolphins, Dolphinaris, which is much closer to the terminal, I looked into it. Kira is a HUGE animal lover like us and I know she would be THRILLED to swim with dolphins.

My issue, as always, is my illness. It definitely keeps me from doing a lot of things, especially in the hot weather so I debated over and over about doing this. I really hate booking DCL excursions, I don't travel well with a group, partially because I am crabby and just want to do stuff on my own when I want to do it and not be stuck in a huge super slow group and the other, bigger part of it is because I never know when I am going to feel ill and managing that with a group is almost impossible.

The last group excursion that I booked was on our summer 2017 10-night Fantasy cruise, doing the zipline in St. Kitt's and the only reason I booked it through DCL was because that was our only option as if you arrive on a ship, they only deal with ship excursions. That was a great excursion but I was this close to missing it because I was feeling ill during the meet-up time.

Dolphinaris was a similar situation in that it is normally closed on a Sunday because there are no ships in port, however, because of the Christmas holiday, they changed the schedule and we ended up being in port on the Sunday and I couldn't seem to book it online through Dolphinaris myself because the website showed it being closed on this day.

The other big concern here was the weather. I know the winds can cause a lot of delays and closures for things in the Caribbean during this time of year so if I booked it with DCL and it was canceled due to weather, they would just refund us the money.

So, with the desire to give this dolphin experience to my daughter, I put on my big girl panties and booked with DCL and hoped for the best

The next big decision was what kind of dolphin excursion to choose. They have so many options and honestly, even though I like doing research, even I was a little confused about all of the options. I took to my trusty TripAdvisor app and poured over all of the options, reading tons and tons of reviews.

I thought I had narrowed it down to the Regular Dolphin Swim but then I saw an option for a VIP Dolphin Swim at Blu, which is a separate part of Dolphinaris that caters only to ages 12 and up.

It was very similar in price to the regular swim and the only difference I could see between the two of them was that the regular swim was for all ages and Blu was for 12+.

The reviews on Blu seemed very positive so I booked that for the three of us for 11:30am.

We did not tell Kira what we were doing because I didn't want to get her hopes up high and then let her down if the weather didn't cooperate so she had no idea until we showed up at our meeting place


Waking up to find us already docked...

They were already doing their drills...

I skipped breakfast, which helps with the Lupus thing so Rob and Kira grabbed some breakfast on their own...

It was weird that the chocolate croissants now come on individual plates.

We got all ready for our excursion and then headed down to Promenade Lounge to check-in and get our wristbands and stickers.

It was at this point, when we were waiting and waiting and waiting more, when we told Kira what we were doing.

Now that we see the weather was in our favour, she was very happy to find out that she would soon be swimming with beautiful dolphins

Eventually we made our way down to the pier and then waited and waited. They group every single kind of Dolphin excursion in one huge group and then we follow the dude with the paddle so it takes forever

We followed him into the Punta Lagosta Mall...

We waited at the end of the pier for the group to catch up and I noticed bathrooms here, which are new to me from my last visit and good to know for those of you who have nervous tummies

Took a quick pic...

And then carried on, across to the mall...

All the way to the back of the mall, down the stairs and then waited for the group again. We stopped right in front of the theater where we found out that Ralph Breaks the Internet is called WiFi Ralph in Mexico

Then out the back to the taxi area where they grouped people and sent them off in taxis.

Those of us with the Blu wristbands were set aside and showed to a larger, private taxi.

Not even five minutes later, we arrived!

We arrived to the entrance and were met by Luis, our private VIP guide. It was just us and a group of 5 people. I think the group consisted of 2 or 3 CM's who worked on the ship along with their parents.

We were offered fancy fruity welcome drinks but oddly enough, none of us partook. They offered us some virgin drinks but we kindly turned him down. Poor Luis looked shocked and bewildered at the entire tray of drinks that would go untouched. I am guessing most people did not turn down this free welcome drink

This is the VIP area, with an infinity-edge pool (that none of us swam in), lounge area, restaurant area and bathrooms and lockers and the dolphin swim area in the back in between the pool and the ocean.

Luis then showed us to some comfy chairs and introduced himself, asked us our names and said he would make a great effort in remembering them but said that he wasn't very good with names.

When I told him my name, I told him that we would be quizzing him at the end, which made him chuckle and remember my name for the next few hours

He provided us with towels and keys to our locker and gave us a quick intro about the excursion and what we would be doing.

I liked Luis, he was easy to laugh and had a good sense of humour. I like people like that

Once we stuffed our belongings into our lockers, Luis took us down towards this wall...

And we stopped in front of each poster and talked about the importance of saving our oceans, not polluting and stop using plastics as much as we have been in order to save and protect our world. It was a welcome and educational experience and I was not expecting it at all. He asked each and every one of us when it was done, what is one way we are going to help in saving our oceans and most of us talked about reducing or recycling and refusing plastic straws and then it came to Rob and he went on this big speech about how we drive hybrid vehicles and have solar panels and recycle and compost weekly

We are very green but it's always good to find new ways of using those 3 R's we know, which we now call the 4 R's because of Luis, the fourth being Refuse

It was really smart of them to do that and I loved it. In fact, ever since then, when she's had the opportunity to do so, Kira has refused all straws for her drinks, which is big because she always uses straws. I don't use straws and I really hate it when they give me one, especially after I've already told them that I don't need one.

Once we were done with that, Luis then fitted us all into life jackets and then told us to proceed to the boat.

Boat?



Hmmm, in all of those reviews I read, not once did anyone ever mention a boat!

What the heck?

 

[bcwife76]

Yay, I'm glad the excursion wasn't cancelled! Also I'm glad it wasn't too hot for you! We were there on our Fantasy cruise end of October (I want to say the 29th?) and it was HUMID.....phew

Now....about this boat.....

 

[buteraa]

A boat? how mysterious!

 

[cntkg1]

If it makes you feel any better, my visits to the Cove Cafe in November felt a lot different too. Chuck just doesn’t have your sense of humor. You and I could’ve laughed for hours just looking at a stir stick!

Loved your Palo pic of you and Rob. I would’ve killed for that Tiramisu. It’s my favorite dessert ever. Glad you liked it. Next time you and I go to Palo, I’ll have some. It’ll be worth it’s consequences for me.

Are you sure it was your neighbors on the verandah making all that noise? Perhaps they had their own little Remy (and friends).

So funny about Rob on the verandah. Just like Jen, I thought to myself, Hmmmmmm, Cass said it was sunny and there’s our Rob bundled up. Hahahahahaha

 

[cntkg1]

Ahhhh, Cozumel. I think every excursion entails the same routine. You know, the “let’s drag our guests halfway through the city and the mall before they get to their excursion”, routine. When we were there for the Dune Buggy excursion I swear it took us an hour just to get to the cars! I guess it’s their sneaky way to get you to patronize their businesses though. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Y'all look so nice at Tianas.
The food looks great, too die for desserts! Beignets!
Can't wait to hear about your day in Cozumel.
But a boat, huh?
I know you won't leave us hanging too long, riiiiiiiiiiiight?
Tink

 

[jenseib]

Cliff Hanger....You devil!

So glad the excursion wasn't cancelled.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

I was so disappointed when I caught up on your report, I need more!
I always love your reports, thank you for sharing.

 

[iivye]

Following along and anxiously awaiting to find out about the boat. I always enjoy your trip reports and especially all the photos.

 

[Timon]

December 23rd, 2018 Part 2

We walked on over to this "boat" but as soon as I saw it, I realize we are not "boating" anywhere. It's high up off the water and there's another boat in front of ours. This is some sort of gimmick

Actually, you can see the boats I am referring to if you look at some of the pics in the Part 1 post for today.

It was the cheesiest and worst part of this experience.

They gave you these VR goggles and headsets, most of which were not working and they had someone coming around to fix them all.

For those of you who wear glasses, you will know how frustrating this was for Kira. At first we didn't think the goggles fit over her glasses so we tried it without but she couldn't see anything because, well, the poor kiddo is practically blind without them and also because hers weren't working but she didn't realize that because she couldn't see inside. Once we figured out that she could wear the glasses, it worked way better!

It was a terrribly cheesy video of you swimming with all of the dolphins in a very polluted ocean. It was basically what we just went over with Luis but in video format.

And then it was over and we took it all off and got off the boat and headed over to the dolphin lagoon.



Really??

While I appreciate the message, this could have easily been done by putting a TV up in the restaurant lounge later and have us watch the video on the TV.

With all of the problems with the goggles and stuff, it probably took about 15 minutes just to get this going and show the video, maybe even longer.

Thankfully, that was the only part of this excursion that I didn't care for.

Off to meet our dolphins...Moses and Bayou.

There were four dolphins in our lagoon and we got to swim with two of them, which was great because it allowed us way more dolphin time.

There were two other swim groups in that lagoon with us, both were trainer for the day programs, I believe and they each had one dolphin and we had two

I know that on the other side, at the regular Dolphinaris, they swim with one dolphin and they have up to 15 people in a group, so you definitely benefit by booking the VIP excursion, just with the amount of dolphin activity you get.

There was a wooden box where we could put our towels, keys, shoes and hats in before we got in with them. You could wear sunglasses or glasses for these standing parts but they asked you to remove them for the swims and the "petting" time.

Before I continue with the dolphin part, let me just say how PERFECT the weather was for me!!!

I could not have asked for a better day to finally do this excursion!! It was overcast all day and the high was only about 21C (70F) so it was warm enough for Kira and Rob not to freeze but it was cool enough for me not to feel sick. I asked Luis about the weather and he said they only get a handful of days like this so I was stoked that today was one of those days. Could not have planned it better

Okay, back to dolphins, Maria, our trainer told us about Moses and Bayou and showed us how they respond to hand signals and we did some ourselves.

After the intro, we got to go swim with them. We were given snorkel masks so we could see them under the water. My poor blind kiddo didn't enjoy this part too much since she couldn't see much but we had TONS of time with TWO dolphins and they would swim by all of us and we could touch them.

This was the best part for me, it was slow-paced and since there was only 8 of us, with two dolphins, we had tons of actual time with each dolphin. You would just float around and they would swim up to you and you could touch them everywhere except the eyes, the mouth and the blowhole.

Then we all swam back and each of us got a kiss with one of the dolphins,

And time to touch them, exactly like Kira is touching one below. For this one, and this one only, she was allowed to wear glasses which I was so happy about for her.

Actually Rob didn't get to do this one as his turn was kind of lost. They didn't do things in order, she just asked someone for a swim, then she did a kiss, then this touching encounter for each one of us but you kind of had to speak up if you hadn't gotten your turn and well, I guess he didn't speak up for this one.

Then the big experience was the actual swim part. You would swim out into the deeper part of the enclosure and put your left arm out and watch on your left side and one of the dolphins would swim behind you, go upside down and then "pick you up" so you when you saw the dolphin, you would grab his right fin and then his left and he would swim you back, tummy to tummy.

This was VERY cool! I only wish she could have worn her glasses for this! I didn't think to ask if she was allowed goggles because she has prescription goggles that would have been great for this. Crap.

Should have asked!

Anyway, she still had fun!

It gets a little splashy at the end

I love how she put her feet up

Here's my dolphin swim...

My dolphin went so fast I was starting to lose my swim shorts

Thankfully they stayed on and no one got mooned

Then I did the kiss...

And then after you get to touch their fins and everyone got something different to do with their dolphin...

I clapped for mine and they clapped back

And then here's my pose...

Rob's kiss...

And Rob's swim...

I told you it got very splashy at the end

Actually, there were many more pics of us but they didn't turn out great because we were being splashed. In fact, Rob looked downright miserable in most of his swim ones

We did a couple other things, Q & A session and then our time with Moses and Bayou was over.

We all showered or got changed in the bathroom area (behind Kira's head in pic below) and then we sat at the restaurant and Jorge came and got our drink order and gave us a menu.

Locker area, bathrooms are to the right and left and they had showers in them too.

Heading back to our table.

It felt a little weird because it was just us in this huge area and it was so quiet and peaceful.

I would guess on busier days, this would be much fuller and much less quiet.

I honestly forgot that the VIP experience included food! I wasn't sure about eating here because while I was hungry as I hadn't eaten yet today, I didn't want to start to feel ill before getting back to the ship. I was feeling great, the weather was perfect and I didn't want to jinx it

We laughed at the spelling on the menu while we mulled it over.

Just then, Luis showed up with some ipads and a price list for the photos for us. Thankfully I had done a lot of research and I was prepared for the outrageous prices.

Originally, before the excursion, I was thinking of just getting ONE photo of Kira, since Rob and I have swam with dolphins before at Discovery Cove but after seeing the photos and seeing the VIP prices, I decided to get the $204 USD package.

The VIP prices seem to be a little more reasonable than the regular prices and well, it's not often we get to swim with dolphins, right?

Another VIP perk was that we could and look at and choose our photos at our table on the ipads whereas the other side has kiosks set up in the gift shop.

So we looked at photos and decided on whether or not we would eat anything....

 

[Jess_S]

I love yours and Kira's formal night outfits. The detail on Kira's sleeves is especially fun.

And I am glad you were well enough to do your Cozumel excursion. Looking forward to the rest of the report.