The cabin, ship and activities:
We were in a cat 6 cabin, 6624, located starboard near the aft elevators. The sound insulation between the cabins is excellent. Our balcony had a solid wall on one side and a normal partial partition on the other. Having the one solid wall really added a sense of extra privacy. I loved the balcony!! Sometimes the pools and other public areas of the ship can get a little too overstimulating for both adults and kids and having your own private place to go and enjoy the sight, sound and smell of the ocean is perfect. There was no significant noise from being near the elevators or significant additional movement of the ship form being aft. Deck 6 is great as it is only a few floors away from everything. We used the stairs alot. The elevators are pretty quick but small.
Our stateroom host did a good job. He figured out our schedule pretty quickly and was in and out without being seen much at all the entire week. He made a few cute towel animals but not nearly as many or as intricate as others seemed to get. He did keep us stocked with ice several times a day which was welcome.
The bathrooms are good and functional. The only thing I didn't like about them was the supplied shampoo/conditioner. It does not work well at all. I'd highly suggest bringing your own. Also a small nightlight which can be plugged into the hairdryer is helpful for those late night potty visits.
The public areas of the ship are beautiful and incredibly well maintained. It's an easy ship to get around in. The map supplied in your room is well layed out and helpful.
We found there were lots of activities to keep everyone busy and happy. My DD wasn't a huge fan of the Oceaneer Club, it seemed the slightly older kids had a better time. She loved the Mickey pool and the chance to see all of the characters. I was really impressed how you would just bump into them here and there. I ran into a whole bunch of them on deck 10 by the midship elevators just before the sailaway party. Me, my DD and about 8 characters!! It was too cool. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Capatin Hook, Snow White, Cinderella, Alice, Wendy, Donald Pinocchio and Dopey. Never go anywhere without your camera!!! She did go to Pumba's PJ party while we ate at Palo's and got to color and keep a cute travel size pillow. She fell asleep Friday before the show all of the kids put on but I found out that you can still get a "discover the Magic" t-shirt if you just ask afterwards at the kid's club. She wears it all of the time now! They did a really good job with the character appearances. The characters spent a good amount of time with each child and it made for great photo opportunities.
I went to some of the Art of Entertaining series. They were interesting and fun. Not only did you get to see the chef make the dish but you got to taste it as well as taste the wine the sommelier suggested. Napkin folding was fun!
The only activity I was a bit dissapointed in was the Tea with Wendy. Really not much to it. You get a cup of cold tea, a cookie and hear Wendy tell a very short story. Then there is a huge line for a photo opp. If you can't get tickets or forget to get them, don't worry, you're not missing much.
The evening shows were excellent (Disney Dreams), very good (the farewell show, Hercules), good (Morty the Magnificent) and OK (the welcome show). The theater is comfortable and you can see well from just about everywhere. There was never a problem getting a good seat. Booster seats are available so little ones don't "jack-knife" in their seats and can see better.
One thing I got a big kick out of was that they were showing "Shrek" on the movie channel in the room. Pretty funny considering it was made by a former Disney executive and pokes more than a little fun at Disney!
My DH took my DD to see the Island Magic show one afternoon and she really enjoyed it. She also liked getting the trading cards they hand out at each show.
Hairbraiding was available every sea day and most other evenings between 5 and 7 pm by the Goofy pool. There was a line which dwindled down after the first day. The prices were the same as on Castaway Cay. So nice not to have to wait until St. Martin or Castaway Cay to have it done.
I had one spa treatment, the spa taster, where you have a back of the body massage then a facial. It was probably the best massage I've ever had! Yes, they do try to sell you a bunch of stuff afterwards while you're limp and squishy, but if you say no, they leave it at that. The spa is beautiful.
A great thing happened on our cruise...no more having to go through immigration in St. Thomas!! We found out the night before when we came back from dinner. What a relief!
Next up...ports and final thoughts
We were in a cat 6 cabin, 6624, located starboard near the aft elevators. The sound insulation between the cabins is excellent. Our balcony had a solid wall on one side and a normal partial partition on the other. Having the one solid wall really added a sense of extra privacy. I loved the balcony!! Sometimes the pools and other public areas of the ship can get a little too overstimulating for both adults and kids and having your own private place to go and enjoy the sight, sound and smell of the ocean is perfect. There was no significant noise from being near the elevators or significant additional movement of the ship form being aft. Deck 6 is great as it is only a few floors away from everything. We used the stairs alot. The elevators are pretty quick but small.
Our stateroom host did a good job. He figured out our schedule pretty quickly and was in and out without being seen much at all the entire week. He made a few cute towel animals but not nearly as many or as intricate as others seemed to get. He did keep us stocked with ice several times a day which was welcome.
The bathrooms are good and functional. The only thing I didn't like about them was the supplied shampoo/conditioner. It does not work well at all. I'd highly suggest bringing your own. Also a small nightlight which can be plugged into the hairdryer is helpful for those late night potty visits.
The public areas of the ship are beautiful and incredibly well maintained. It's an easy ship to get around in. The map supplied in your room is well layed out and helpful.
We found there were lots of activities to keep everyone busy and happy. My DD wasn't a huge fan of the Oceaneer Club, it seemed the slightly older kids had a better time. She loved the Mickey pool and the chance to see all of the characters. I was really impressed how you would just bump into them here and there. I ran into a whole bunch of them on deck 10 by the midship elevators just before the sailaway party. Me, my DD and about 8 characters!! It was too cool. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Capatin Hook, Snow White, Cinderella, Alice, Wendy, Donald Pinocchio and Dopey. Never go anywhere without your camera!!! She did go to Pumba's PJ party while we ate at Palo's and got to color and keep a cute travel size pillow. She fell asleep Friday before the show all of the kids put on but I found out that you can still get a "discover the Magic" t-shirt if you just ask afterwards at the kid's club. She wears it all of the time now! They did a really good job with the character appearances. The characters spent a good amount of time with each child and it made for great photo opportunities.
I went to some of the Art of Entertaining series. They were interesting and fun. Not only did you get to see the chef make the dish but you got to taste it as well as taste the wine the sommelier suggested. Napkin folding was fun!
The only activity I was a bit dissapointed in was the Tea with Wendy. Really not much to it. You get a cup of cold tea, a cookie and hear Wendy tell a very short story. Then there is a huge line for a photo opp. If you can't get tickets or forget to get them, don't worry, you're not missing much.
The evening shows were excellent (Disney Dreams), very good (the farewell show, Hercules), good (Morty the Magnificent) and OK (the welcome show). The theater is comfortable and you can see well from just about everywhere. There was never a problem getting a good seat. Booster seats are available so little ones don't "jack-knife" in their seats and can see better.
One thing I got a big kick out of was that they were showing "Shrek" on the movie channel in the room. Pretty funny considering it was made by a former Disney executive and pokes more than a little fun at Disney!
My DH took my DD to see the Island Magic show one afternoon and she really enjoyed it. She also liked getting the trading cards they hand out at each show.
Hairbraiding was available every sea day and most other evenings between 5 and 7 pm by the Goofy pool. There was a line which dwindled down after the first day. The prices were the same as on Castaway Cay. So nice not to have to wait until St. Martin or Castaway Cay to have it done.
I had one spa treatment, the spa taster, where you have a back of the body massage then a facial. It was probably the best massage I've ever had! Yes, they do try to sell you a bunch of stuff afterwards while you're limp and squishy, but if you say no, they leave it at that. The spa is beautiful.
A great thing happened on our cruise...no more having to go through immigration in St. Thomas!! We found out the night before when we came back from dinner. What a relief!
Next up...ports and final thoughts
DH and I were in 6624 on the Wonder in Jan. and I agree, it's a great location and no noise! I also liked that the veranda right side was solid.
