4:30am came about 2 hours earlier than expected. However we were able to get up and get going. Motel 6 was fine except for the idiots above us. The Shuttle left at 5:00am, and got us to SEATAC with plenty of time to get through check-in and security. By the way, I LOVE the family lane at Seatac! They are so accommodating of people traveling with small children, it definitely reduced the stress level for the early AM flight.
We made it into Vancouver and headed to customs. Vancouver's airport is very pretty, lots of wood, and native artwork. The que for customs, was huge, but only about 5 people in line ahead of us. Quick and painless entry into the country, and we even got our Canada Stamp! (Christin was very happy about that!)
Headed to bagage claim and our bags were waiting for us, right next to our baggage claim was the Disney check-in station.
Took us a minute to find the oversize bags area, to get the carseat, but the staff was very helpful. We then saw the Disney Cruise Cast Member, who directed us to the next area, where we dropped off our bags. We would not see them again until later that evening when they arrived at our stateroom. This is a great convenience, making it so much easier to get around without having to deal with all that stuff.
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| Cast Members directed us with Mickey Hands...Nice Touch. |
When the bus did arrive it was a typical tour bus, unfortunately no "disney-magic," however our driver helped to make it a very memorable trip, however only one of us remembers it! As I said, 4:30am comes early, thus Christin and our little princess fell asleep promptly as we got on the bus! As we began our journey the driver played a DVD that had Mickey & his friends getting ready for the Cruise, as an intro. The DVD player had a glitch and we only saw about half the video. But that was ok, because our driver then took over. Turns out he does bus tours of Vancouver when he is not driving for Disney. Thus he gave us a infomative, funny and interesting tour of "Hollywood North," as he called it. Various movies filming locations and historic buildings were pointed out, making the trip much more than a simple charter to the dock. As we arrived at the dock, the Wonder stood before us, but we quickly went into underground parking, before I could snap a pick.
The Cruise terminal was busy, but very well organized. American customs went smooth and quick. Tons of cast members around directing traffic and answering questions. We got up to the counter, and they checked us in, took our pictures and gave us our "Key to the world" cards.
These cards become your life on the boat. To get on or off, in or out of your room, to purchase anything, and for the photographers, these keys are essential. They give you one for each member of your group, and when scanned, your picture comes up. The princess was still asleep when they took her picture, so the entire trip when we used her card, a sleeping toddler came up on the screen.
You then move into the waiting area, not much more than a large room with rows of chairs, until they call your boarding group. They hand you the first Navigator of the trip. The Daily Navigators give you the rundown of events and activities for the day. They are delivered to you the night before, so you can plan out the fun you want to have. This was great for the waiting room, as it got you excited for your first day's activities.
We were boarding group 8, and they called Boarding group 1 when we sat down. We where a little worried about how long it was going to take, when we noticed a familiar face nearby!
Minnie Mouse! The best part, once we were done taking pictures, they called Boarding Group 8! (in all maybe 15min passed between checking in and our boarding group being called) It was time to Board!!!
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| Had my camera out, and was able to snag this quick one while walking to the boarding area. |
As you board the ship, Cast members are waiting for you in the atrium, lined up, They announce your families name, and then applaud as you come on board. Our stateroom wasn't going to be ready until 1:30, so we had some time to kill, fortunately they had a couple of the buffets open for everyone to get something to eat. They directed us toward Parrot Kay, but the line seamed a bit long, so we headed up to deck 9 and went to the Beach Blanket Buffet, where the line was much better. The other benefit of Deck 9, is outdoor seating that overlooked the city of Vancouver!
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| The Brick Building in the center of the picture was part of the Fantastic Four. |
Pretty standard buffet fare, tasty, the Freshness of everything was great. Cold crisp salad and shrimp. The Mac and Cheese was very good, and that is saying alot from me, I tend to be a mac-n-cheese snob. Desserts were great, there was a raspberry mouse cup that was delicious. One of my favorite things was that the ship had Sprite Zero! Trying to not drink regular soda anymore due to diet concerns, so having a diet that wasn't a cola was great for me!
By the time we finished eating, it was 1:30, and our stateroom was ready. We were in Stateroom 2639, a category 10c, deluxe inside stateroom. It was very clean and welcoming. We opted for no porthole, as it was a little cheaper, and Christin wasn't sure how it would effect us for sea-sickness. The room didn't ever feel too small, however I would still have liked something bigger. The bathroom was very small, and a little bit claustrophobic for my taste, but the split bath made for a nice size shower/bathtub.
Mom had bought Christin some Birthday Flowers before hand, and they were waiting for us in the room!
Christin was still feeling the effects of traveling so she needed to lay down a bit, The princess and I opted for some TV, multiple Disney channels, movies and cruise information filled the line-up. I was wanting a quick snack and the room service menu was sitting there, so of course I had to give it a try. I had heard the All Aboard cheese platter was a hit with others, so we got that, and of course I had to get a Mickey Ice-Cream bar. (The Ice-cream bar is not on the menu, but is always available)
Then it was time to set sail, so up to deck 9 we went for the Anchors Away Party! This energetic, loud, fun deck party consisted of plenty of pop-music, pom-poms, dancing and of course the characters!
It was then time for us to go get ready for dinner, so we headed out to Parrot Kay, our first dinner on board. While on a Disney Cruise, you have rotational dinning, and are assigned a different restaurant each night. The really cool thing about this is your wait-staff is the same every night, even in a different restaurant. This is just one of the unique touches that make Disney-cruises so special. Our Waiters were Miguel and Boris, and they were wonderful. They got to know us and greeted us personally every night. They showed our daughter lots of attention and even took care of our allergy needs. (They went a little overboard with this even. I am alergic to walnuts, but they made sure I had no nuts in anything I ordered, and even told me when to be concerned about cross-contamination. My allergy is mild, but they took it very seriously. Having friends with severe allergies, This was encouraging.) Here is the Menu: (borrowed from the http://disneycruiselineblog.com/ as my pictures of the menu did not come out clear enough)
The food was wonderful, the whole cruise, and our first dinner was no exception. This is full 4 course dinning. Appetizer, Soup or salad, entree and desert. There was also a special selection of bread every night.
Our apps for the first night were Jamaican Marinated Chicken tenders for me, and Baked Crab Martinique for Christin. The princess had pineapple and grapes.
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| Didn't get a pic, til I had eaten half. Jamaican Marinated chicken tenders. |
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| Christin's Baked Crab Martinique with tortilla and plantain chips. |
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| The Princesses Pineapple and grapes. |
I didn't get a picture of the salad course, but I had the West Indies Romaine and I am not sure what Christin had. But then it was time for Entrees. These were great! Christin had the Island Spiced Grilled Rib-eye, and I went for the Mixed grill.
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| Christin's rib-eye. I made her let me taste it, it was very good! |
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| The Mixed grill. This was awesome. I had never had lamb before, but enjoyed it thoroughly. |
And of course desserts. Christin went for the Smores cake, and I went for the Ice Cream Sundae. Both were wonderful.
After dinner it was time for the first show on board. However there was no photography in the theater. Not that it would have done much for us, as the Princess was not in the mood to sit through a show, especially one that began with the Cruise director just talking for about 15 minutes. We called it an early night and headed back to the state room. Upon entering we found the Navigator for the next day, some chocolates, and our first towel animal.
The beds had been turned down and were warm and inviting, so sleep came pretty early. Thus our first day on the Disney Wonder came to a close.
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| Dinosaur. |
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| Navigator, chocolates. |
The beds had been turned down and were warm and inviting, so sleep came pretty early. Thus our first day on the Disney Wonder came to a close.
Oh, one more thing about our stateroom. There was some mild noise from the engine as well as the restaurant above. However none of it ever bothered us or disturbed our sleep.
