Disney Wonder Cruise Review March 2022
From the Parent's perspective
Katy, the Trips with Angie concierge, shares her experience last week on the Disney Wonder.
Background : We previously cruised on the Disney Magic in 2019 on an epic two week Transatlantic Crossing followed by a one-week Mediterranean cruise. This was my first time cruising since the pandemic and since the Magic.
Day 1 - Embarkation Day
If you are looking to cruise Disney out of San Diego, a word of caution. If the Wonder is not the only ship departing San Diego on the same day that you depart, pre-cruise COVID testing is a very long and complicated process, unless something changes.
We opted for a later port arrival time (PAT) in the hopes of avoiding crowds. This strategy proved somewhat successful after speaking with other passengers. My parents live across the street from the cruise terminal so we had a bird’s eye view of the boarding process. We actually waited about 30 minutes after our assigned PAT to arrive when we could see the crowd had died down.
The process was you line up outside the gates of the cruise terminal. They then take you by PAT across the entry to wait in another line. After this line, you enter the cruise terminal area to wait in another line to go across the parking lot and drop off your bags. Once you drop off your bags you wait in line for a bus to take you one block to pre-cruise testing which is at the Broadstreet Pier. Upon arrival at the Broadstreet Pier, we waited just a few minutes for our pre-cruise COVID testing. You and your entire stateroom party head to a tent where you are directed and observed as you perform the COVID test. We were lucky in that by waiting until the crowds had died down, it took less than 30 minutes for us to have our test results. Once you have the all-clear, they give you a blue wrist band and you line up to get back on the bus to go back to the cruise terminal.
After we arrived back at the terminal, we waited in a short line to present our QR code from online check-in and our passports. My daughter was given a wrist band for the kids club at this time and then we were directed to the boarding area. After we had made it through all of this it was 3:30 and we walked right onto the ship.
Once we boarded the ship, we headed to our staterooms and found our luggage already outside the door waiting for us. We also got our cruise gift of lanyards to hold our Key to the World Cards and a Disney travel backpack.
If you are first time Disney cruisers, you do not get the lanyards or backpack. The next step that Disney would like you to complete is the modified lifeboat drill. You follow the instructions to complete it on the Disney App. Basically, you go to your assigned muster station, check-in with a crew member. Then, you take and upload a picture of your muster station sign to the app. Just before the ship sets sail all ship services are suspended and a virtual lifeboat drill takes place with instructions read over the ship’s loudspeaker. A life boat drill video plays in your stateroom.
Currently there is no Sail-Away Party onboard. After we set sail my daughter took off to explore the Tween Club, Edge. I enjoyed a glass of wine with my parents before dinner. One of my favorite things about the Disney cruise line is that guests 21+ can carry on 2 unopened bottles of wine/champagne or a 6-pack of beer.
Disney offers a rotational main room dining system where you are assigned a different dining room each evening, but your server rotates with you. On our first night we were assigned to eat at Tiana’s. We were greeted by our server Noel who was from the Philippines. Our appetizer and salad course were very good, but our main course selections left much to be desired. Noel could tell we were not happy and offered to get us anything else we wanted, which we declined.
There was no live show in the theater that evening so after dinner I returned to my cabin to watch my alma mater’s Men’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament.
My daughter went back to Edge after dinner and didn’t end up coming in until 11:45 pm!
Day 2 - Sea Day
I hit the gym at 6 am and was the second one in the fitness center. The gym equipment on the Wonder was upgraded from what the Magic had offered in 2019.
After my workout, I headed back to my room to shower and get ready to meet my parents at 8 am for breakfast. We enjoyed a nice breakfast in Triton’s.
After breakfast, my daughter asked me to meet her at Edge for the Open House at 9 am. Open House hours are times when parents can join their kids in the Youth Clubs and experience the activities with them. Unfortunately, the posted time was incorrect and the club was not opening until 10 am.
Instead my daughter and a new friend she met decided to do a Character Photo in the main Atrium. This takes place of the pre-COVID Character Meet & Greets. Pre-COVID you could pose right with the characters and have close contact with them. Today the interactions are socially distanced with space kept between the character and the guest.
Disney doesn’t indicate which character will appear on the schedule, just a time and location for Character Photos. I think this is to keep large crowds from forming for more popular characters. The photo occurs with the character in the background. You can also take your own photos. In the PRE-COVID world, Disney crew members would take a photo using your device but now they only take photos with their own ship cameras.
One of my favorite activities from our first Disney cruise was attending the Animation Classes. The cruise staff teaches the guests how to draw all of the classic and favorite Disney characters. These make for a wonderful souvenir to take home! I attended the session at Noon today and was so excited to find that Gus, who was on our Transatlantic and Mediterranean cruises, was now on the Disney Wonder and teaching the classes!
In addition to Animation Classes, Disney also offers other activities such as game shows, trivia, karaoke, bingo, craft classes, wine tasting, liquor tasting, napkin folding, towel folding, shuffleboard, ping pong, and much more.
At 4:30, I joined my parents outside Signals, a bar located on Deck 9 by the adult-only pool and hot tub. The bar was offering 30% off for Happy Hour until 5:30.
Dinner that evening was in Triton’s, a restaurant themed after the Little Mermaid. The menu was French-inspired and very good.
I went back to the cabin and watched the live show from the Walt Disney Theater on my cabin stateroom monitor. I wanted to get to bed early as we had an early excursion the next day.
Day 3 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Quick breakfast in Cabanas before we headed to the Walt Disney Theater to meet our tour group for a Harbor Cruise with Scenic Stop.
I booked excursions through the cruise line not knowing what the COVID protocols may be at the time of our cruise. When cruising restarted some cruise lines only allowed passengers to disembark in port if they were on a cruise line sponsored excursion. Disney’s policy currently is that families with children 4 and younger can only disembark if they are on a cruise line sponsored excursion, due to their inability to be vaccinated.
Cabo is a tender port so once the ship was cleared we were one of the first tours called to board the tender to head to the pier. From the pier, it was a short walk to the Catamaran waiting to take us on the boat part of our tour. We boarded quickly and were offered beverages before departing the dock. We sailed out and around Los Arcos, Lands End and the Arch of Poseidon. As we sailed several whales were spotted in the bay. So the captain sailed out towards the whales so we could get a better look. What a cool experience!
After the boat returned to the dock we boarded a bus to head to a glass-blowing factory. On the ride there we learned about the factory’s process of glass blowing and then watched a live demonstration before having an opportunity to make a purchase.
After the glass blowing factory, we headed to a scenic lookout point for a drink and view of the bay before returning to the ship.
In the afternoon I did another Animation Class with Gus before joining my parents for Happy Hour.
Dinner was once again in Triton’s for Pirate Night! The menu was pirate themed and many of the guests dressed up in Pirate Gear as well as the wait staff. There were some pirate-themed activities around the ship and the characters were posing for photos in the their pirate attire. At 10:15 there were fireworks off the ship.
Day 4 - At Sea
Started my day with a quick workout in the fitness center before joining my parents at Triton’s for breakfast.
The day before while having breakfast at Cabana’s I spotted our Assistant Server, Sweetson from our previous cruise on the Magic. He was serving breakfast at Triton’s and stopped by to talk to us. It was great to see him again and catch-up.
Spent the morning relaxing and playing cards with my dad. We headed to lunch at Cabanas. My dad loves the all-you-can-eat fresh shrimp and crab claws that they serve.
After lunch, we headed down for an adult Animation Class and drew two characters, Tinkerbell and Flounder from The Little Mermaid.
Afterwards, we played cards again before heading back to our stateroom for Happy Hour.
Dinner that evening was at Animator’s Palate and we got to watch the evolution of Animation over dinner. At the end of dinner, the black and white interior of the restaurant is transformed with color and Sorcerer Mickey makes an appearance.
After dinner, we enjoyed a live performance of Frozen, A Musical Spectacular in the Walt Disney Theater before heading to bed.
Day 5 - Ensenada
We docked early in Ensenada and saw that the Grand Princess had beat us into port. Following a quick breakfast at Cabanas, Audrey and I met our tour group in the Crown & Fin Pub. We were booked on A Mexican Halloween - Day of the Dead Celebration excursion.
After meeting up with the group we boarded buses for a short city and historical tour of Ensenada before arriving at the Cultural Center of Ensenada. We had a short tour of the Center before being led to a courtyard decorated for Halloween and Day of Dead celebrations. After learning a little bit of history on Day of the Dead we participated in activities and games centered around the holiday and Mexican culture. This tour is definitely more geared toward children.
After the tour, we headed back to the ship and had lunch. Audrey spent the rest of the day at Edge and I went to the last Animation Class of the cruise. We learned to draw Captain Minnie and Spiderman.
After Animation Class, I started packing before Happy Hour with my parents.
Dinner was at Tiana’s Place. When we walked into the restaurant it had a Mardi Gras vibe with Mardi Gras beads on the tables and Mardi Gras decorations throughout. Live Jazz Music played during dinner and at the end of the evening waiters paraded through the restaurant with the passengers. My dinner was prime rib with a twice-baked potato and veggies. For dessert, I had the beignets. Amazing! A great, final dinner onboard.
Our final show onboard in the Walt Disney Theater was Disney Dreams - An Enchanted Classic. We had seen this show on the Disney Magic as well.
Day 6 - Disembarkation Day
On the final morning of the cruise, we had the option to have breakfast at Tiana’s or head to Cabanas.
We opted to eat in Tiana’s to say our final goodbyes to our Server and Assistant Server. The menu is more limited than breakfast had been the previous mornings at Triton’s.
After breakfast, we waited in the French Quarter Lounge for our luggage tag color to be called to disembark. Once our color was called we headed for the gangway and had our Key to the World Card scanned for the final time. We then went through immigration at the port before collecting our luggage and heading home.
We’d love to book your next Disney cruise so Katy can share her first-hand tips and tricks for making the most of your Disney cruise. Email Angie@TripswithAngie.com to get started.