Wonder February 14th, 2020 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from New Orleans

keodark

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Hey all! Noticed there wasn't a Meet thread for this cruise. I JUST booked our fare (a very tasty IGT rate that is still available, for now...). This will be our FIRST Disney cruise! It will also be our DS5's first cruise ever. My wife and I have done ~6 cruises on other lines. We're coming in from San Jose, CA.

I'm still trying to solve the mystery of why this particular cruise is discounted and seems unpopular. The city won't be busy for Mardi Gras (yet!), although airfare rates are baaad. It will be Presidents' Week which means a lot (not all) schools will be out for 1-5 days (we're out the whole week), and the other NOLA cruises in February appear to be humming along and even selling out. My only ideas are: airfare costs, lack of LA local school vacations that week, or lack of a Castaway Cay stop on the itinerary. None of those seem like big enough effects to warrant such early IGT fares (rare to have them show up before full deposit dates, or so I've heard).

It's worth noting that this will be Disney's second -ever- cruise out of the Port of New Orleans, which means we can probably expect some hiccups at embarkation. We are planning to fly in and stay near the port so we have the entire morning free to line up and wait to get on board. Anyone have any recommendations for places to stay that aren't too expensive? At disembarkation we're planning to risk it and book a mid-afternoon flight on that day (the 21st).

Can't wait for our first Disney cruise!!
 
Hey - thanks for starting the thread for this cruise!

We are staying pre-cruise at the Hampton Inn Convention Center. It offers free hot breakfast and free shuttle to the cruise terminal. We’re going in on Wednesday & plan to do some NOLA touring on Thursday.

Re the IGT fares, some of those have been offered for about a month now. I’ve been thinking it is not as popular because it’s not the inaugural, and follows the same itinerary as other Western Caribbean Cruises, plus as you noted no Castaway Cay. They are not offering this itinerary from NOLA in 2021 so we are on a one of a kind cruise!

We have a late afternoon flight back, as I wanted non-stop & there are not a lot of options to Los Angeles. So we’ve got a tour booked of the city and nearby plantation to fill the time between debarkation and our flight.
 
I'm from New Orleans and we are taking this cruise. The city will be busy because there are parades going on the day the cruise leaves. So they maybe more traffic around the city. The day we get back will be even worse since it is Mardi Gras weekend. I would definitely give extra time to get to the airport that day. The biggest parades happen the weekend before. I think it isn't a popular cruise because schools have off the next week. Happy cruising everyone!!
 
For what it's worth, the Facebook group for this cruise is fairly active (more than here). If anyone is looking for meetups or fish extenders, etc., that seems to be the best place to go.
 


For what it's worth, the Facebook group for this cruise is fairly active (more than here). If anyone is looking for meetups or fish extenders, etc., that seems to be the best place to go.
Thanks, but I’m not on Facebook.

Some cruises have activity on both FB and here on DIS, others seem to be more FB Only...
 
Thanks for starting this thread! We just booked this cruise last week -- first time we have booked with an IGT rate, so I was quite excited at the price. We used to live in NOLA, currently in Fla. We are driving over a few days ahead of time to visit friends and play tourist. We are staying at The Saint Hotel on Canal St. I need to see how parking works at the port. This will be our fifth Wonder cruise, and an early 30th anniversary celebration. We love the Wonder! Enjoy your first DCL cruise! :lovestruc
 


Hi all! This will be our family's first Disney Cruise and our children's first ever cruise. It will be myself and my husband along with our daughter who will be 8 and our son who will be 5! We are so excited! We fly into New Orleans late on the 12th so we have all day on the 13th to explore the city. I have been to NOLA on a girls trip before so needless to say this experience will be different with the kids in tow. I just requested to join the Facebook group as well.
 
I hope the folks who booked the *GT restricted rates will post when they get their stateroom assignments. This is the first time we've booked one, so anxious to see where we end up :goodvibes
 
Hello, fellow cruisers! My family and I are joining you all on this cruise in Feb. I will finally have Gold status and it will be our son’s first cruise (he will be six months old). I was wondering if anyone had any fish extender groups open or further information on that? We’ve never participated, but I would love to!
 
Hello, fellow cruisers! My family and I are joining you all on this cruise in Feb. I will finally have Gold status and it will be our son’s first cruise (he will be six months old). I was wondering if anyone had any fish extender groups open or further information on that? We’ve never participated, but I would love to!
Hi and welcome!

No one has started a fish extender group here on DIS. I’m not on Facebook so don’t know if one is started there, @keodark posted above about FE on the FB group. If you are on FB, you might want to check there. Or you can start one here & see if anyone wants to join one from here.
 
I'm from New Orleans and we are taking this cruise. The city will be busy because there are parades going on the day the cruise leaves. So they maybe more traffic around the city. The day we get back will be even worse since it is Mardi Gras weekend. I would definitely give extra time to get to the airport that day. The biggest parades happen the weekend before. I think it isn't a popular cruise because schools have off the next week. Happy cruising everyone!!
I have a question for someone from New Orleans...do you know of a drugstore near the ship terminal to pick up water and wine. We are flying in from Florida. TIA
 
Hello, fellow cruisers! My family and I are joining you all on this cruise in Feb. I will finally have Gold status and it will be our son’s first cruise (he will be six months old). I was wondering if anyone had any fish extender groups open or further information on that? We’ve never participated, but I would love to!
Welcome aboard! There is a FB group with fish extender groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2012506815454597/
 
I have a question for someone from New Orleans...do you know of a drugstore near the ship terminal to pick up water and wine. We are flying in from Florida. TIA
Not directly around the port I dont know of any. There is a walmart (but not a great area) about a 1/2 mile away. There is a local grocery chain (Rouses) prob a mile away (This would be my option just based on the location of the walmart its a little more $).
Walmart- 300 N Broad St.
Rouses- 701 Barrone St.
 
For anyone wanting to book the Frozen meet & greet, while it is “sold out” for both of the At Sea days, there is still space available on our Grand Cayman morning before the all-ashore time which is 10:39 a.m.
 
So since we are first timers we just had our booking window open on the 1st. While I was able to get the excursions and princess and frozen meets scheduled, most of the alcohol tastings were booked up. I was really hoping to do one of the Tequila/Margarita ones. What are my chances of being able to get them booked once on board?
 

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