barbara Bray
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 26, 2016
This is my first trip report, but as Kevin McAllister says of his toothbrush purchase in Home Alone, “I’ll give it a whirl!”
Three moms, three grown up daughters. One DD had married at Aulani over Memorial Day weekend four months earlier and the other two DD were bridesmaids. The bride is also a cast member at the Grand Californian and in August snagged us three oceanview staterooms at a wonderful price.
I’m Barbara, 60, and this was my first voyage as a platinum Castaway Cay member. My DD is 27 (as are all the girls) and the other DMs are 57 and 59. On this cruise, my daughter completed five cruises, so next time she will be gold. The DD who was a cast member had never been on a cruise and the other DD has been on several cruises, but never DCL. One DM and I had been on a previous DCL together with six of our lady friends but our other DM had never cruised before.
Our cruise left on a Sunday. We had PAT of 11:15 and 11:45 and had secured parking at the Bayview Wyndham across the street. I had looked into hotel rooms, but I wasn’t relishing spending $250 on a hotel plus food costs, even though that is usually what we do. It’s just that when you get such a good price on the cruise, it inspires you to stay with the theme of frugality. So, no hotel room. We live two hours away from San Diego, so we met at 8 am, packed up the Yukon and hit the road. We were in one of the first groups not to have to test at the port or a proctored online session, so we were delighted. We synchronized our watches, made sure everyone had gotten their Clear to Sail notifications, took the obligatory photo of our group and then hit the road! First stop, Starbucks for our driver and then Del Taco for some breakfast sustenance. On schedule!
We had plans to stop at Krispy Kreme for comical paper hats and donuts and a chance to use the facilities. Once at Krispy Kreme, our DM theorized that it was foolhardy to make single donut purchases when we could be cost conscientious and order a dozen for the best selection and price. We all concurred, passed around our booty and returned to the road in state of burgeoning sugar coma readiness.
We got to San Diego and made a lap so we could see the Disney Wonder in the harbor, in all her pristine beauty. My DD had been in the Bay Area for back to back weekends to attend two weddings so she flew in to San Diego from SJC at 7 am and arrived at 830 am, got an Uber to the port and checked in her luggage as she didn’t want to cart around her huge suitcase. We pulled into the Wyndham parking structure and had our mini reunion with DD. Here, the excitement started to build. At 10:45 am, I donned my Minnie ears, we posed for some group photos in front of the ship and then proceeded to cross the street, turn in our luggage and find our line. We were in the sun and it was very toasty. We were in two different PAT arrival groups, but we hoped that we could stay together and go in as one united group. Alas, we did have to separate, but by the time, we got onboard, completed the app tutorial in Azure and headed to lunch in Tiana’s, our later group was already at the Tiana podium, checking us in. I had predicted we would be sitting down to lunch at 12:30 pm and that is exactly what came to pass. Our DM who had the financial wisdom to buy a dozen donuts ordered a bottle of champagne to launch our trip and everyone was so thrilled to be onboard. We also got to do a boomerang with our glasses and we made a few toasts. DDs have been friends for years and years and the moms are also very close. The Disney wedding at Aulani had been an extremely fun and emotional bonding experience and we were all so glad to be together again. I was brimming with excitement because I had asked everyone what their favorite Disney character was and ordered Mickey head magnets for their stateroom doors. I also had Disney nightlights for the bathrooms, 12 ounce cups with lids for the drink stations and lanyards for our first-timers to distribute. Everyone was so appreciative, and one of the DMs also had a secret surprise, which we would find when we were settling into our rooms later. Four of us ordered the Pasta Pennette, which was super delicious and we discussed that we should really order multiple entrees, appetizers and dinners at all of our eating occasions, to make the most of our cruise. Our waiter at our welcome lunch was extremely friendly and nice and would show up periodically at our seatings to joke with the girls and make our regular waiters, Klebbar and Yesch, shoo him away. All in good fun, it did make me realize that traveling with pretty girls was an added benefit. We started our practice at that first lunch of staying very long at our meals, almost closing down the dining rooms, as we were having such a great time.
Our staterooms were on Deck 2 aft, all in a row, very close to the elevators, which proved to be very convenient. We had made a pact to try to not use the elevators to make up for all the eating we would be doing and we did a great job at that, but it was also advantageous to have the staircases so close to our front door. Our rooms were ready after our lunch. Once in our rooms, we had a knock at our door and DM next door brought over an armful of Halloween decorations for each of our staterooms. She had thoughtfully preattached magnets and magnetic tape to every item and it was so nice to have our rooms decorated!
Our luggage had already arrived. I had really been looking forward to having our lanyards and my platinum bag in our room, but there was nothing. Our room host was a little indifferent, he didn’t clean our room or turn it down one entire day, but that did not affect us in the least. I never make my bed anyway, it seems pompous to expect it to be made on vacation. Our friends had a different host and they raved about him. I would rather they had the positive experience. I stepped out in the hall and some cast members advised me to call Guest Services and the next time we were in our room, our lanyards and my platinum gift had been delivered.
We headed up to the pool and I went swimming and from there, we headed over to the Sail Away Celebration, which was a great way to officially start the cruise. DM treated us to sail away drinks in commemorative cups. Delicious! And we got to hear the horn sound as we sailed away to San Diego. I have been on the Wonder for eight of my cruises and it never disappoints. It is so clean and well-maintained and every cast member greets you with a smile and a friendly nod or greeting. We were at home for the next three nights.
After SailAway, there was mention of chicken fingers and I really wanted to try the Shawarma ever since it was mentioned in one of the last scenes of The Avengers. The shawarma was was really good and the cast member serving it was unbelievably nice and friendly.
Our first show was the Golden Mickeys and everyone loved it. On my last cruise, my husband and I skipped every show, feeling like we had seen them too many times. This time, we went to all the shows and we thought all of the shows were really good! Frozen had a few weak spots (the trolls were not too intent on their choreography) but Golden Mickeys were consistently good and Disney Dreams got rid of the divorced dad angle and turned out to be very heartfelt and emotional.
Our dining rotation was Tiana’s, Triton’s and Animator’s Palate, which turned out to be perfect. We had selected second seating so that we could sleep in as late as possible on disembarkation day. We met our serving staff and were pretty close to Tiana’s stage. The noise level was so improved! Before, the band sound levels were so high, it was impossible to have a conversation. This was modulated perfectly. I had been leery of promising the moms and daughters that the food would be consistently good, but the food on this trip was phenomenally and consistently superb. Every restaurant, every course, was fabulous. Most of us ordered prime rib the first night and it came on Tiana’s beautiful china. So I was mystified when I was served a sirloin steak on a red plate. I thought our waiter was messing with me, but he promptly replaced it and it was superb. I advised against ordering the beignets, those do not seem to have improved, but we ordered those and everything else off the dessert menu, so all was well.
The girls were admiring the light up Ray firefly toys that came in the children’s drinks, but decided against it. Soon after, Klebbar showed up with light up bugs for everyone. I’m usually the stick in the mud, I’m not a big dancer, but I decided to join the Marci Gras parade around the dining room. My daughter adamantly refused to join me but another DD took pity on me and we joined the parade. I was intent on making sure they had the full DCL experience and the music and dancing was so infectious, goal accomplished.
The after dinner activity was shopping, and more shopping.
We trolled the various nightclubs and were in bed by midnight.
Day at Sea
We had vowed to get up and walk Deck 4 and hit the gym and only some of us were successful at that. I was not. My daughter and I had stayed up talking until 2 am, so we were wiped out.
About 9:30 am, DMs made plans to meet at Cabanas. DM and newlywed DD had plans for massages later at about 2 pm, but we had the most wonderful breakfast discussing everything in the universe, partaking of all the joys of the Cabanas buffet, until it had basically shut down to roll over for lunch. The girls had gone up to the adult pools but ended up joining us briefly before Cabanas closed.
At that point, I was ready for a nap. Our room hadn’t been cleaned, but not a big deal. I decided to order the platinum gift of truffles from Room Service, as well as a cheese plate as the girls intended to do their hair and makeup in our room for the night’s revelries, Pirate Night/Halloween Night.
DD had ordered onesies for all of the girls, so we had a cow, a pig and the Red Panda. I was Cruella and the other DMs were pirate wenches.
Saw Frozen, no problem getting seats any nights for the shows. The very tallest people always seem to sit in front of us, but what can you do? There must be something about the orientation of the theater seats.
Triton’s is my favorite, it always reminds me of the very first night we cruised Disney in 2002, when DD was in first grade and DS was in middle school. That first night, the time had gotten away from us and we had minutes to spare to get to the dining room. I dunked my DD in a bath, got ready and she and I went on ahead to hold our table, so my husband and our son could follow behind a little later. We had a table in the row of tables right at the front. I was facing the door and saw my husband enter along with my son, fidgeting in a suit I had borrowed for him. He was just shy of six feet and it was the first time I had ever seen him in a suit (he avoided trying it on beforehand). I got a lump in my thought and tears in my eyes. He looked so handsome, even though he was ill at ease and he took to Disney dining like an expert. He ate everything, tried new dishes, found out he liked duck and was so enthusiastic about the entire experience. This is why I like Triton’s so much.
The DDs ordered two entrees each and multiple appetizers and braved trying escargot for the first time. Klebbar and Yesch were focused on pleasing the young ladies’ palates and brought out extra desserts to tempt them. We were among the last to leave but we had a pirate party to get to, more shopping and Halloween galas to attend. Again, we didn’t go to bed until midnight. We saw great fireworks, danced with costumed characters, peeked in on the pirate buffet for pictures of the displays and watched the costume contests in Azure.
Ensenada
On this day, four planned to go to walk to Ensenada to shop and eat. My DD and I planned to have lunch in Triton’s and since I had a telephone appointment with my doctor, we stayed behind.
I did get up early enough to walk the deck and ran into Moana. All of the princesses were up and about and it was so sweet to watch them and their little guests.
Then I got a text on the app that everyone was meeting in Cabanas for breakfast and we had the best time, once again staying and talking while all the tables emptied out around us. Then they got ready to head out to Ensenada and I went back to get ready for our sit down lunch. I was so happy that my daughter didn’t want to go into Ensenada, I don’t know if I would have gone to Triton’s by myself, and I loved our lunch. After lunch, I went off to nap, but just as I was about to drift off, my daughter called and said to come up to the top deck that she would swaddle me in towels and I could take a nap there. So, I did. Shortly, all the DMs and DDs returned from shopping and a delicious meal. At this point, a tiny bit of sadness started to set in, because this was our last night and we were having a wonderful time.
The DDs planned to dress up with full hair and makeup and one DM was going to wear her mother of the bride dress.
We made sure to pack our suitcases and put them out in the hall so we wouldn’t have to deal with them in the morning.
Our last night was in Animator’s Palate. I love this version of AP over the Dream and Fantasy. The screens are beautiful. I didn’t tell my table mates about the show and it was a beautiful, emotional surprise for everyone. We hugged our waiters and promised to see them in the morning, we had shopping to do!
We made sure to see the Till We Meet Again event, which was the perfect end to the evening. I confess to getting my photo with the Kristoff/Simba performer. Then we all filled up with drinks at the drink station and my daughter and I watched the tail end of Maleficent on the funnel TV screen. Midnight again.
The next morning we met in AP for breakfast. No chocolate croissants, but it was a great way to start the morning. Since we were driving, we had to wait to be practically the last ones off the ship. We walked across the street to get our vehicle and drove home.
A great trip, great friends, definitely one for the memory books. We made the important decision to do a Disney cruise together every year, some goals are easier to keep than others!
Three moms, three grown up daughters. One DD had married at Aulani over Memorial Day weekend four months earlier and the other two DD were bridesmaids. The bride is also a cast member at the Grand Californian and in August snagged us three oceanview staterooms at a wonderful price.
I’m Barbara, 60, and this was my first voyage as a platinum Castaway Cay member. My DD is 27 (as are all the girls) and the other DMs are 57 and 59. On this cruise, my daughter completed five cruises, so next time she will be gold. The DD who was a cast member had never been on a cruise and the other DD has been on several cruises, but never DCL. One DM and I had been on a previous DCL together with six of our lady friends but our other DM had never cruised before.
Our cruise left on a Sunday. We had PAT of 11:15 and 11:45 and had secured parking at the Bayview Wyndham across the street. I had looked into hotel rooms, but I wasn’t relishing spending $250 on a hotel plus food costs, even though that is usually what we do. It’s just that when you get such a good price on the cruise, it inspires you to stay with the theme of frugality. So, no hotel room. We live two hours away from San Diego, so we met at 8 am, packed up the Yukon and hit the road. We were in one of the first groups not to have to test at the port or a proctored online session, so we were delighted. We synchronized our watches, made sure everyone had gotten their Clear to Sail notifications, took the obligatory photo of our group and then hit the road! First stop, Starbucks for our driver and then Del Taco for some breakfast sustenance. On schedule!
We had plans to stop at Krispy Kreme for comical paper hats and donuts and a chance to use the facilities. Once at Krispy Kreme, our DM theorized that it was foolhardy to make single donut purchases when we could be cost conscientious and order a dozen for the best selection and price. We all concurred, passed around our booty and returned to the road in state of burgeoning sugar coma readiness.
We got to San Diego and made a lap so we could see the Disney Wonder in the harbor, in all her pristine beauty. My DD had been in the Bay Area for back to back weekends to attend two weddings so she flew in to San Diego from SJC at 7 am and arrived at 830 am, got an Uber to the port and checked in her luggage as she didn’t want to cart around her huge suitcase. We pulled into the Wyndham parking structure and had our mini reunion with DD. Here, the excitement started to build. At 10:45 am, I donned my Minnie ears, we posed for some group photos in front of the ship and then proceeded to cross the street, turn in our luggage and find our line. We were in the sun and it was very toasty. We were in two different PAT arrival groups, but we hoped that we could stay together and go in as one united group. Alas, we did have to separate, but by the time, we got onboard, completed the app tutorial in Azure and headed to lunch in Tiana’s, our later group was already at the Tiana podium, checking us in. I had predicted we would be sitting down to lunch at 12:30 pm and that is exactly what came to pass. Our DM who had the financial wisdom to buy a dozen donuts ordered a bottle of champagne to launch our trip and everyone was so thrilled to be onboard. We also got to do a boomerang with our glasses and we made a few toasts. DDs have been friends for years and years and the moms are also very close. The Disney wedding at Aulani had been an extremely fun and emotional bonding experience and we were all so glad to be together again. I was brimming with excitement because I had asked everyone what their favorite Disney character was and ordered Mickey head magnets for their stateroom doors. I also had Disney nightlights for the bathrooms, 12 ounce cups with lids for the drink stations and lanyards for our first-timers to distribute. Everyone was so appreciative, and one of the DMs also had a secret surprise, which we would find when we were settling into our rooms later. Four of us ordered the Pasta Pennette, which was super delicious and we discussed that we should really order multiple entrees, appetizers and dinners at all of our eating occasions, to make the most of our cruise. Our waiter at our welcome lunch was extremely friendly and nice and would show up periodically at our seatings to joke with the girls and make our regular waiters, Klebbar and Yesch, shoo him away. All in good fun, it did make me realize that traveling with pretty girls was an added benefit. We started our practice at that first lunch of staying very long at our meals, almost closing down the dining rooms, as we were having such a great time.
Our staterooms were on Deck 2 aft, all in a row, very close to the elevators, which proved to be very convenient. We had made a pact to try to not use the elevators to make up for all the eating we would be doing and we did a great job at that, but it was also advantageous to have the staircases so close to our front door. Our rooms were ready after our lunch. Once in our rooms, we had a knock at our door and DM next door brought over an armful of Halloween decorations for each of our staterooms. She had thoughtfully preattached magnets and magnetic tape to every item and it was so nice to have our rooms decorated!
Our luggage had already arrived. I had really been looking forward to having our lanyards and my platinum bag in our room, but there was nothing. Our room host was a little indifferent, he didn’t clean our room or turn it down one entire day, but that did not affect us in the least. I never make my bed anyway, it seems pompous to expect it to be made on vacation. Our friends had a different host and they raved about him. I would rather they had the positive experience. I stepped out in the hall and some cast members advised me to call Guest Services and the next time we were in our room, our lanyards and my platinum gift had been delivered.
We headed up to the pool and I went swimming and from there, we headed over to the Sail Away Celebration, which was a great way to officially start the cruise. DM treated us to sail away drinks in commemorative cups. Delicious! And we got to hear the horn sound as we sailed away to San Diego. I have been on the Wonder for eight of my cruises and it never disappoints. It is so clean and well-maintained and every cast member greets you with a smile and a friendly nod or greeting. We were at home for the next three nights.
After SailAway, there was mention of chicken fingers and I really wanted to try the Shawarma ever since it was mentioned in one of the last scenes of The Avengers. The shawarma was was really good and the cast member serving it was unbelievably nice and friendly.
Our first show was the Golden Mickeys and everyone loved it. On my last cruise, my husband and I skipped every show, feeling like we had seen them too many times. This time, we went to all the shows and we thought all of the shows were really good! Frozen had a few weak spots (the trolls were not too intent on their choreography) but Golden Mickeys were consistently good and Disney Dreams got rid of the divorced dad angle and turned out to be very heartfelt and emotional.
Our dining rotation was Tiana’s, Triton’s and Animator’s Palate, which turned out to be perfect. We had selected second seating so that we could sleep in as late as possible on disembarkation day. We met our serving staff and were pretty close to Tiana’s stage. The noise level was so improved! Before, the band sound levels were so high, it was impossible to have a conversation. This was modulated perfectly. I had been leery of promising the moms and daughters that the food would be consistently good, but the food on this trip was phenomenally and consistently superb. Every restaurant, every course, was fabulous. Most of us ordered prime rib the first night and it came on Tiana’s beautiful china. So I was mystified when I was served a sirloin steak on a red plate. I thought our waiter was messing with me, but he promptly replaced it and it was superb. I advised against ordering the beignets, those do not seem to have improved, but we ordered those and everything else off the dessert menu, so all was well.
The girls were admiring the light up Ray firefly toys that came in the children’s drinks, but decided against it. Soon after, Klebbar showed up with light up bugs for everyone. I’m usually the stick in the mud, I’m not a big dancer, but I decided to join the Marci Gras parade around the dining room. My daughter adamantly refused to join me but another DD took pity on me and we joined the parade. I was intent on making sure they had the full DCL experience and the music and dancing was so infectious, goal accomplished.
The after dinner activity was shopping, and more shopping.
We trolled the various nightclubs and were in bed by midnight.
Day at Sea
We had vowed to get up and walk Deck 4 and hit the gym and only some of us were successful at that. I was not. My daughter and I had stayed up talking until 2 am, so we were wiped out.
About 9:30 am, DMs made plans to meet at Cabanas. DM and newlywed DD had plans for massages later at about 2 pm, but we had the most wonderful breakfast discussing everything in the universe, partaking of all the joys of the Cabanas buffet, until it had basically shut down to roll over for lunch. The girls had gone up to the adult pools but ended up joining us briefly before Cabanas closed.
At that point, I was ready for a nap. Our room hadn’t been cleaned, but not a big deal. I decided to order the platinum gift of truffles from Room Service, as well as a cheese plate as the girls intended to do their hair and makeup in our room for the night’s revelries, Pirate Night/Halloween Night.
DD had ordered onesies for all of the girls, so we had a cow, a pig and the Red Panda. I was Cruella and the other DMs were pirate wenches.
Saw Frozen, no problem getting seats any nights for the shows. The very tallest people always seem to sit in front of us, but what can you do? There must be something about the orientation of the theater seats.
Triton’s is my favorite, it always reminds me of the very first night we cruised Disney in 2002, when DD was in first grade and DS was in middle school. That first night, the time had gotten away from us and we had minutes to spare to get to the dining room. I dunked my DD in a bath, got ready and she and I went on ahead to hold our table, so my husband and our son could follow behind a little later. We had a table in the row of tables right at the front. I was facing the door and saw my husband enter along with my son, fidgeting in a suit I had borrowed for him. He was just shy of six feet and it was the first time I had ever seen him in a suit (he avoided trying it on beforehand). I got a lump in my thought and tears in my eyes. He looked so handsome, even though he was ill at ease and he took to Disney dining like an expert. He ate everything, tried new dishes, found out he liked duck and was so enthusiastic about the entire experience. This is why I like Triton’s so much.
The DDs ordered two entrees each and multiple appetizers and braved trying escargot for the first time. Klebbar and Yesch were focused on pleasing the young ladies’ palates and brought out extra desserts to tempt them. We were among the last to leave but we had a pirate party to get to, more shopping and Halloween galas to attend. Again, we didn’t go to bed until midnight. We saw great fireworks, danced with costumed characters, peeked in on the pirate buffet for pictures of the displays and watched the costume contests in Azure.
Ensenada
On this day, four planned to go to walk to Ensenada to shop and eat. My DD and I planned to have lunch in Triton’s and since I had a telephone appointment with my doctor, we stayed behind.
I did get up early enough to walk the deck and ran into Moana. All of the princesses were up and about and it was so sweet to watch them and their little guests.
Then I got a text on the app that everyone was meeting in Cabanas for breakfast and we had the best time, once again staying and talking while all the tables emptied out around us. Then they got ready to head out to Ensenada and I went back to get ready for our sit down lunch. I was so happy that my daughter didn’t want to go into Ensenada, I don’t know if I would have gone to Triton’s by myself, and I loved our lunch. After lunch, I went off to nap, but just as I was about to drift off, my daughter called and said to come up to the top deck that she would swaddle me in towels and I could take a nap there. So, I did. Shortly, all the DMs and DDs returned from shopping and a delicious meal. At this point, a tiny bit of sadness started to set in, because this was our last night and we were having a wonderful time.
The DDs planned to dress up with full hair and makeup and one DM was going to wear her mother of the bride dress.
We made sure to pack our suitcases and put them out in the hall so we wouldn’t have to deal with them in the morning.
Our last night was in Animator’s Palate. I love this version of AP over the Dream and Fantasy. The screens are beautiful. I didn’t tell my table mates about the show and it was a beautiful, emotional surprise for everyone. We hugged our waiters and promised to see them in the morning, we had shopping to do!
We made sure to see the Till We Meet Again event, which was the perfect end to the evening. I confess to getting my photo with the Kristoff/Simba performer. Then we all filled up with drinks at the drink station and my daughter and I watched the tail end of Maleficent on the funnel TV screen. Midnight again.
The next morning we met in AP for breakfast. No chocolate croissants, but it was a great way to start the morning. Since we were driving, we had to wait to be practically the last ones off the ship. We walked across the street to get our vehicle and drove home.
A great trip, great friends, definitely one for the memory books. We made the important decision to do a Disney cruise together every year, some goals are easier to keep than others!
