When we say family vacations what springs to mind? Usually a lot of work for a lot of (tiring) fun and you come home ready to take another holiday. All by yourself. So when we got a chance to cruise on the Disney Wonder* from LA to Mexico – this is the same ship (not boat!) that will soon by plying the waters from Vancouver to Alaska – we weren’t about to say no.
The Disney Wonder, decorated in elegant Art Nouveau style, has everything you need to keep you, and your kids, entertained for a week at sea. There are restaurants – including Triton’s themed after the Little Mermaid, Animator’s Palate where the walls showcasing the art of Disney storytelling come alive at dinner, and the adult only Palo; pools for everyone from toddlers to adults; nightly live shows; a spa and salon; character appearances; a running track with a view that can’t be beat; clubs for kids; and lots, lots more. Plus you’re kept apprised of all the each day’s events by your Daily Navigator, a newsletter that’s like having a well-organized mother keeping you posted on everything that’s happening that day.
We were a little worried we might be a little bit bored of shipboard life by week’s end. But between all the fun to be had on the ship and putting in to port a few times, a week was just perfect. Our favourite thing? The kids loved the Oceaneer Club so much that they wanted to spend part of their day there – which we took advantage of to do adult things…like nap, or hit up the fitness centre – and then we’d spend the rest of the day as a family. There were different shows each evening, all with incredible production values, and you could also catch first run Disney flicks and on pirate night there were spectacular fireworks at sea. The best part was you could do as much, or as little, joining in as you wanted, well that and the fact that you couldn’t cook, or clean, or grocery shop…
While the cruise included meals, access to all the shows, the kids clubs and lots more, we did find the extras added up – things like wine with dinner, your shore excursions or a virgin Pina Colada by the pool. So be sure to budget for those when you’re planning your trip. And we were surprised by how small the pools were, they were more for splashing than swimming, though as our seven-year-old cruiser said, “It may look small mum, but when you’re in it it’s very big!”
With a ratio of 1:3 of crew members to guests, if you need something there’s always someone nearby and happy to help, but despite how hard they work to create magic for your children (and you) the magic’s not always obvious. Our five year-old marveled at the apparently invisible man who turned down our beds, set up her bunk bed and left chocolates and towels folded into different animals (everything from monkeys to manta rays) each night. That made as big an impression as anything else that happened to her over the entire week. Well that and the whales we saw spouting off of starboard one afternoon.
Plus with the Disney Wonder coming to Canada, you can take advantage of Disney coming to you, instead of you having to go them.
Disney Cruise Line: www.disneycruise.com
The reason we wanted to run this now instead of closer to the May launch date of Disney’s Alaska Cruises is because they’ve got a kids sail free deal on right now. Want more cruisin’ info? In our diary you’ll find our editor’s cruising tips and tricks, more details and lots of pictures from our trip, including our bout with a nasty virus and how they contained it on board. And you can also ask our new cruising expert (hah!) your burning cruise questions.
*Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit, yoyomama’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief, was invited as a media guest to experience the Disney Wonder Cruise, courtesy of Disney Parks Canada. All content and opinions are editorial and were not paid for.