Disney Wonder - 4 day cruise

[LindaDVC]

Hi -- we took a 4 day cruise on the wonder and life has been hectic so I don't even think I posted my comments! This was our 3rd disney cruise.

The ship is accessible and we didn't have any problems !
They have a new pirate show and they called the state room and suggested the best viewing spot for us which was nice. We were the first to board the ship which thrilled our son.

As usual the main problems are the ports!

Nassau was much better than when we were there in 98 (4th sailing of the magic). This time we found some curb cuts, people were friendly , and we did not see any drug sales. Disney does not offer any help finding excursions.
We found one company but when they didn't answer emails from there website we did not feel comfortable using them privately.

We did get off the ship and go to the straw market and a few other shops. Then we went to the public beach just beyond the straw market. Thanks for the suggestions that we found on these boards re: this beach. We had a few challenges getting there since they had some holes in the sidewalk but crossing the road and using the other sidewalk was successful. Once at the beach I swam while Dan sat in the sun. They have a paved area so he could sit and watch me without any problem. The bathhouse was ramped but I didn't go in to check out accessibility. We had a few people approach asking if we wanted braids or to buy jewelry BUT they were not pushy and it was fine. In fact quite a few locals said welcome to the bahamas and were friendly. We returned to the ship for lunch and then headed to a movie. This beach can be seen from the ship and not to far a walk. I was not successful inserting a picture so if anyone is heading to Nassau and wants to see it --email me and I can send one.

Castaway is lovely but we were disapointed that they still did not have an accessible path to the adult beach or the adult barbecue area. They were serving lobster there so I got two plates and carried it back to the runway area where Dan and I sat. I suggested to Jackie the cruise director and in comment cards to Disney that they need to have paved areas to these locations, a paved shade area with BIG umbrellas for the handicapped families to enjoy, and the ability to get to the adult barbecue. Even with those issues we LOVE castaway and it is the prettiest place I have ever been. Since we had a digital camera and laptop I snapped every angle of the place and my family says I over did the pictures! I enjoy seeing them though and enjoy changing my computer wallpaper with the various views of the island!

We stayed a few days before and after the cruise in Daytona so it stretched out the vacation. We will head back to Daytona in June and the countdown is on!

Linda

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had fun.

 

[LindaDVC]

We did!

We kept saying we wouldn't sail again until we could afford another 7 day but also had promised Chris we would sail while he was a teen.

He was 10 and 12.10 the first sailings!
Since he was 17.4 this trip we didn't have too much time left!

So we opted to rent some of our DVC points and took the 4 night cruise.

The first sailing we had an inside cabin and the next two we had ones with the verandah . Once you have one hard to sail without.

We might try another cruise line next sail -- but wanted Chris to sail with Disney as a teen and he had a blast!

Linda

 

[dclfun]

Linda- I'm glad you had a good time and hopefully they'll read your comments. If enough people make suggestions as to how to improve accessibility and to "lobby" for accessible transportation, perhaps the need will be seen as great enough to do the necessary work, esp. on Castaway Cay. For those of us who can't transfer, some sort of ramp down into the water with a covered platform for lounging nearby would be great. Not everyone can use the sand beach chairs and otherwise the beach/water is not accessible.
Kathy

 

[LindaDVC]

On the fourth sailing of the magic many things were not accessible.
They had entry ways that were not ramped , no companion seating at shows, STEEP exits off the ship, etc

We wrote a long letter pointing out the problems as an OT and quad and when we sailed 2 years later everything on the ship was fixed. Now it is just the islands that have trouble and Disney could certainly have transportation in the ports and paved areas on Castaway!

As you mention the more that advocate the sooner it will get done!
Dan won't use a beach chair because he wants to be able to move and not be dependent.

That is one reason he loves Daytona since he can ride on the hard packed sand in his power chair. We have a small condo there and we can drive the van right onto the beach bypassing the soft sand.

Linda

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank you for your trip report.

Does Disney Cruise Lines have any options, such scooters to rent when visiting Nassau?

I'm renting a scooter for the first time at WDW. But at the Disney Cruise, I really did not need a scooter on board. Although I would have liked to be able to walk around the ship several times. I didn't get off at Nausau because I didn't think that I could walk that long distance from the ship to a taxi.

I wonder what options DCL offers people with mobility issues.

I don't need a handicap room. But if I rented a scooter and brought it on board to use at Nassau, I don't think that it would fit in a regular room.

I have even intertained buying one of those scooters that can be taken apart and placed in the trunk of my car. This type of scooter could be taken apart into pieces and kept in a regular room...I suppose.

Any suggestions for DCL trip and Nassau?

 

[bushdianee]

My DM and I were on the April 3 Wonder and found the ship to be pretty good for getting around in a wheelchair. Hers is a bigger one and I did have some problems getting on and off the outer decks (9 & 10) as some of the doorways had pretty high "bumps" to go over. There was usually a CM or someone to help me if needed.I almost tipped her out a couple of times! We had a handicapped stateroom which, because it was in a cornor made it a little difficult to get the chair in and out of the room but again we managed to figure out ways to do it. Overall we were very happy with the ship. Nassau was a different story. We just shopped near the ship. There was quite a bit of construction gonig on on a couple of the streets which meant detours. Also many of the stores had a step up into the store and restrooms all seemed to be upstairs except for the Chinese restaurant. On CC, DM did not like the sand wheelchair and there was NO place to put her in the shade near the beach. I was in the water for less than 10 minutes and when I got back to her she had burned on one arm despite the heavy application of sunscreen. I ended up parking her under the tram shelter for the adult beach while I got my hair braided. She loved it there as it was very quiet, beautiful and she had a good view of the beach. I thought I remembered from my first cruise last June that the beach wheelchairs had umbrellas but they didn't in April. I agree that CC could be more wheelchair friendly.