4 Days on the Disney Cruise - Part 1

A number of my friends were interested in hearing about our experience on the Disney Cruise since they've been thinking of going with their kids.

We were on the 4 day cruise on the Disney Wonder with stops at Nassau and Disney's own island, Castaway Cay. The ship is definitely huge; carrying 2,500 passengers and around 900 employees. This is our first cruise so I can't rate it against other cruises but my in-laws have been on several so they had some good feedback.

Overall, I found the cruise well organized and great for kids. If you have young kids from 4 to 7, I think they'll have the most fun. I thought the 4 day was a good length cruise for us.

** Useless FYI #1: Jeff Bezos from Amazon was on the ship with his family. Credit goes to my wife for recognizing him.

Food:

1. Keeping to the cruise tradition, there's lots of it.
2. But on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate the taste of the food around 6. My in-laws agreed and they had much better meals on other cruise lines. After a few meals, everything dish started to taste the same. I found the dishes are pretty rich and/or salty.
3. Buffets had good variety but see #2
   
4. Stay away from their attempt to do "Asian" food with sushi and stir fry noodles. It looked so bad, I didn't even try it. My father-inlaw said the they were inedible.
   
5. Plenty of typical kids' food at meal time and throughout the day on Deck 9 where the pools are.
6. Very noisy during meal times. We had a family sitting at the next table at every dinner that had kids out of control.
   

*Tip: Play it safe and take some Dramamine before boarding the ship. Also, take some indigestion and diarrhea medication also. I got a serious case of indigestion and there were enough folks getting sick that they stopped allowing passengers from serving themselves at the buffets.

*Tip: Next time we might take some instant noodle packs and ask for hot water from room service. I really got tired of the food.

*Tip: There are 2 dinner seating schedules. If you have kids, you probably want to make sure to request the 1st seating which is 5:30pm. The next one is 8pm. The evening shows are scheduled 6:30pm for those in the 2nd seating and 8:30pm for the 1st seating.


Accommodation:

1. We stayed in Suite 5516 which is on the 5th level, forward side of the ship. The level and location worked out well since it's on the same level as the Oceaneer Club (for kids 3 to 6) and Oceaneer Lab (for kids 7 to 12). Plus the Disney Theater and restaurants are only a level or two away.
2. The rooms are definitely small but can sleep 4 comfortably. Our bathroom had a separate toilet room which made it convenient when multiple people are getting ready. 2 separate sinks. Water pressure in the shower was very good.
3. Power outlets are available in the bathrooms and on the desk. No problem charging up the digital camera or the iPod.
   
4. Lots of cabinet space but don't overpack. It is a small room so space is at a premium.

*Tip: Don't over-pack. There really doesn't seem to be a dress code during meal times. We saw folks coming to dinner wearing shorts, t-shirts as well as sport jackets and dress pants. The men in the family wore dress pants or khakis with a polo shirt or a button down.

*Tip: Arrive early as you can to board. Get to the port around 10am and get on the boat early. We got on around 1:30pm and it was pretty crowded. There were folks already on the ship and laying out by the pool.