Disney Cruise Line - Wonder Review

The Disney Cruise line has two sister ships: Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, both of which have 875 staterooms. It had been five years since we had last sailed on either of them when we got a chance to sail on the Disney Wonder again. We were going to be in the area and got a great last minute deal so we took just our youngest which was nice for the three of us. It was for three nights and hit two Ports: we had a really good time. All areas are rated 1-5 stars

Cabins *****

Disney's cabins are 25% larger than many of the other lines. They have a done a great job in the layout. For example, our cabin had a bathtub (and shower) as well as another ½ bath which helped avoid any back up when getting ready.

Dining ****

This is a bit hard for me to rate because I am not a fan of regulated dinning times. But, to Disney's credit they have made even that enjoyable! There are three different restaurants: Animators Palate, Beach Blanket Buffet and Parrot Cay Restaurant and you are rotated through them. As you change restaurants each night, your waiters move with you. This is nice as they know your children's names (actually they refer to you all by name the first time they approach your table) and what they like. For example, my daughter loves fruit and so, there would be a plate of fruit waiting for her.

There is an adult and children's menu available for each meal. The food was consistently fine, nothing great, but not bad either. One thing worth mentioning is all three of the restaurants are extremely loud and it is really hard to hold a "normal" conversation. Within a few minutes, we could see this wasn't going to happened and just enjoyed ourselves; it isn't like our house is any quieter! There is a fee required, adult only, restaurant available.

Toddlers ***** School Age **** Teens **

Disney has pulled out all the stops for the kids. They have an amazing kids club that is very secure: beepers, buzzing in and out parents and requiring a password. My daughter didn't use it much as there were so many kids and family activities going on throughout the ship. They did have this fun pirate ship with a rope ladder, slide etc. and a star lit (fiber optic lights) sky as well as a dress up room which was a big draw.

One thing to mention is that Disney is one of the only lines to services for younger children. Their Flounders Reef nursery is available for ages 12 weeks to three years.

Kids can also use either the family Goofy pool (with two hot tubs) or the younger ones can hit the go Mickey pool and slide. There is ice cream and pizza right by the pool which works well to get them out of the pool.

There are plenty of Disney characters on board with specific appearance times and locations. These were run very efficiently with plenty of time for everyone who showed up to get an autograph and photo.

Adults **

This is hard to rate as the night life is a joke but on the other hand, you are there to enjoy your family and that alone is worth 5 stars. There is no casino but there is an adult only pool. We just continued the routine we started back when we cruised with toddlers: after the kids are down, we would order wine and cheese to the room and enjoy "adult" time on the veranda.

Entertainment ***

As an adult, I'd rate the entertainment a two but, my daughter gave it a five! The shows are all family safe and fun but defiantly aiming at the kids. I asked Jolie what she liked the best and she said, "All the singing and dancing!" And then she quickly added, "Oh, oh, oh the fireworks, yea the fireworks!" So there you go.

Crew *****

The crew is amazing, starting from the minute you board and are announced upon arrival. We were aware of the arrival routine so my husband had a little fun. Which explains that  following Welcome to the Anderson Family was Welcome to Miss Jolie and her parents, much to my daughter's delight. We never saw an unhappy or non active, crew member.

The crew is tipped on the last night, using the envelope method. Disney breaks it down for you, averaging $10 per person, per day, which is average. If you use the kids club, they will need to be tipped as well.

Overall ****

Disney has done a wonderful job arranging a short, fun, activity paced family cruise. It is a great way to spend time with your family while someone else cooks and cleans.

The cruise is short (3 or 4 nights) so even small children will leave wanting more. There are only two Ports: Nassau and Castaway Cay. We have been to Nassau many times and so we stayed on board which turned out to be a good call.

We enjoyed Castaway Cay (Disney's private beach) where you start off with three character photo opts. The place is set up with a family beach, a kid's area and an adult beach. There were hammocks and lounge chairs to relax in or you could do a number of beach and/or water activities. We spent some time tubing in the water, rented bikes and then after the lunch buffet, took a sailboat out.

All in all, we had a wonderful time right up to when the Captain stands at the exits and says good-bye.