Back in April's Once Upon a Disney Wish presentation, it was announced that Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular will be one of the Wish's at launch. In addition to this, the presentation mentioned "two original shows that are currently being developed for the Disney Wish." We hadn't heard anything about those "two original shows," but that changed yesterday.
Released yesterday, a Disney Parks Blog post revealed those two other original shows. They are Seas the Adventure and The Little Mermaid.Seas the Adventure, the show on the first night of every Wish cruise, looks like fun. Goofy is the main character, and the show takes him "on a journey to discover his own inner captain." Well, he won't have his own sports deck on the Wish, but at least he's the protagonist of a live show. At the end of the show, the characters will lead the guests out into the Grand Hall, which is a cool way of allowing guests to interact with the characters while simultaneously getting them out of the Walt Disney Theatre.
The Wish's version of The Little Mermaid is likely going to be very popular. At first glance, it sounds like a great idea. It's a retelling of the movie of the same name, told by a group of storytellers who find a special treasure chest. Since this is a musical on a cruise ship, this opens up so many possible jokes about the story taking place "under the sea." This is great, but my biggest question is, "Why?" Why is this on the Wish? If only there was another DCL ship with many more references to The Little Mermaid than the Wish that would be a much better fit for this show.
Hey look, it's the Wonder! The second DCL ship has a lot of The Little Mermaid theming, like the Ariel atrium statue and Triton's, one of the rotational restaurants. Aside from these, the artwork behind Guest Services, the mural visible from the Midship elevators, and even some of the lights are themed after The Little Mermaid. Wouldn't The Little Mermaid musical fit perfectly on the Wonder?
If it did come to the Wonder, The Little Mermaid would likely take the place of another live show. I know the perfect one to get rid of: Frozen: A Musical Spectacular! Time to let it go, Disney.
Let it go to the Wish! Frozen would work much better on the Wish. One of the Wish's rotational restaurants is Arendelle:A Frozen Dining Adventure. This restaurant is actually a "theatrical dining experience" that takes place after the events of Frozen II. The restaurant's story will be completely different from Frozen: A Musical Spectacular, so it's not like the Wish's guests will be overloaded with retellings of the first Frozen movie.
Disney's not going to abandon all plans of releasing The Little Mermaid on the Wish and instead release it on the Wonder, but could they bring it to the Wonder eventually? Yes, but if that does happen, it wouldn't happen for a while. Disney can't have a 22 year-old ship stealing a brand new ship's thunder!
I'm interested in watching both of these live shows and seeing how well the Wish's new Walt Disney Theatre works for shows. This may sound cold, but the theatre would be so much better with Frozen!
I'm not a huge fan of sports, but I am a pretty big fan of DCL's sports decks. The Wide World of Sports Deck on the Magic and Wonder and Goofy's Sports Deck on the Dream and Fantasy are among my favorite DCL features. I love to play foosball and Goofy Golf in the warm breeze at the sports decks, and looking out and taking pictures of the ocean or whatever port the ship is stopped at is a lot of fun. Recently, DCL announced more information about the Wish's sports deck, the Hero Zone.
The Hero Zone is a new area on the Wish that's in place of the traditional sports decks we've seen on Disney's other ships. It'll have many of the same features as the existing sports decks, like a basketball court and foosball tables. The biggest change is that the Hero Zone is an indoor area, not outdoor like the other sports decks.
I was surprised to learn this. The Hero Zone will be a 2-deck tall area on Deck 12 and Deck 13, and since those are some of the highest decks on the Wish, I assumed that it would be an outdoor area like the existing sports decks. I was wrong, though, and I'm a little disappointed about this. This sports deck is getting rid of one of my favorite parts of the other sports deck. No warm breeze, no amazing views, and the Disney Parks Blog post doesn't say anything about mini golf! Also, it doesn't look like the Hero Zone will have any sports simulators (these are at Goofy's Sports Deck on the Dream and Fantasy, but they cost extra to use, and I've never tried them out). Since the Hero Zone won't have one of my favorite sports deck features, I don't see myself spending as much time there as I have at the other sports decks.
While I'd prefer it to be outside, being indoors enables the Hero Zone to have features that wouldn't work outside. For example, it'll have air hockey tables and ping-pong tables (the outdoor sports decks used to have ping-pong tables, but they've been removed. I think they were removed because it's really hard to play ping-pong in the wind and because the wind likely blew many of the small plastic balls into the water, which DCL doesn't want). The Hero Zone will also have shuffleboard, but it looks like it'll be tabletop shuffleboard. On the current DCL ships, the promenades have shuffleboard courts on the floor, so the Wish may have both versions. However, as we've already learned, the Wish's promenade will be significantly different from what we've seen on the other DCL ships, so tabletop shuffleboard might be the only option. Interestingly, the Hero Zone will have a giant screen, similar to Funnel Vision by the pools. Instead of viewing the ocean, we'll be able to view movies. Maybe the screen will also play live sports games.
Another very important benefit of moving the sports deck inside is that bad weather won't impact games at the Hero Zone. Wind and rain are no longer a problem, and "The sun was in my eyes" is no longer a valid excuse for losing a game.
While these additions and benefits are nice, the Hero Zone's biggest addition is the Incredi-Games, a competitive, excercise-based game show. This event will feature six challenges, each based on a different super hero from The Incredibles. All six challenges take place inside an inflatable obstacle course. Live camera footage of the players will be broadcasted onto the Hero Zone's screen during the competition, which will increase the pressure and fun. The obstacle course looks pretty condensed, so many families or groups should get to participate within the event window. The Incredi-Games are geared toward families, so the obstacle course will probably be easy enough for young kids but still fun for teenagers and adults. Maybe Edge, Vibe, and the Hideaway will hold their own Incredi-Games in the Hero Zone at night.
The Incredi-Games obstacle course won't be running all the time that the Hero Zone is open, but I'm sure it'll draw a sizeable crowd. It'll probably happen multiple times during each cruise so everyone who wants to participate can play.
Since it's inflatable, the Incredi-Games obstacle course can be changed. Maybe it'll be expanded with the Wish's first dry dock renovation. Or, maybe Disney will create a completely different obstacle course to replace it with in the distant future.
In addition to being an indoor sports deck and the location of the new Incredi-Games, the Hero Zone is where Jack-Jack’s Incredible Diaper Dash will take place on the Wish. On the other ships, this cute baby race has taken place in the atrium, but it'll fit in incredibly well with the Hero Zone.
I have mixed feelings about the Hero Zone. I'm disappointed that it's indoors, but I suppose what it adds makes up for it. At least the other ships' sports decks aren't going anywhere. I'm interested to check out the Hero Zone and to learn more about it. We may get a bit more information about it before the Wish launches, and I'm hoping that DCL answers the question that Frozone fans have been asking since 2004. "Where's my super suit?"
I'll take lots of pictures of the Magic on my next cruise so I won't have to use this one as much.
On October 28th, the Disney Magic started its first cruise from the United States since Disney suspended its cruise operations in March 2020! Currently, the Magic is doing cruises out of Miami. It was previously scheduled to be on a 5-night Bermuda cruise from New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico right now (and my family was planning to go on that cruise), but DCL canceled that cruise and changed it to a less interesting Bahamian cruise from Miami. Well, at least uninteresting itineraries are better than no cruises at all.
While it's the last DCL ship to resume cruises from the US, the Magic was actually the first of the DCL ships to resume cruises. Over the summer, the Magic went on many Magic at Sea cruises from the United Kingdom. These cruises were unusual, as they didn't stop anywhere and only residents of the UK could sail on them. They were ideal for people who don't like getting off at ports of call. The Magic at Sea cruises stopped in early October, when the Magic sailed across the Atlantic Ocean (without guests) to Miami to prepare for its first non-Magic at Sea cruises since the shutdown.
With the Magic back, it looks like DCL's phased plan for resuming cruises worked! Thankfully, none of Disney's ships had to shut down again after they resumed cruises. The cruises happening now are different from how they were before the pandemic, but I'm hoping that as time goes on, the safety precautions and restrictions will gradually get removed. Maybe they'll do it in phases like how they resumed cruises. It would be great if cruises were back to pre-pandemic normal by the time the Wish launches in June 2022, but I don't know if that's going to happen. It would be a step towards aft if the DCL ships have to suspend their operations again, so let's hope they keep moving forward!
In a pair of recent Disney Parks Blog posts, new information about the Disney Wish's youth clubs was announced. One post focused on the Oceaneer Club, and the other focused on the clubs for older kids and teenagers. In addition to these, a recent Disney Parks video highlights what's new with the youth clubs. Take a look!
Similar to the previous announcements about the Wish's youth clubs, most of this video is focused on the Oceaneer Club. That's okay, because there is a lot to talk about here.
Before this group of announcements, we already knew a bit about the Wish's Oceaneer Club. Like the current Oceaneer Clubs fleetwide, the version on the Wish will be for ages 3-12. However, the Wish doesn't have an Oceaneer Lab like the other ships. Instead, the youth club for this age group is combined into a single club that takes up a pretty big portion of Deck 2. This was likely done to make the club more straightforward. Besides, the hallways between the Club and Lab are kind of awkward. It's much simpler to have one club instead of two. But since they combined the two together, shouldn't it be called the Oceaneer Clab?
Anyway, the Wish's Oceaneer Club appears to be similar to the current Oceaneer Clabs, just with more. Fairytale Hall looks like some of the Disney Princess themed areas in the current Oceaneer Clubs like Pixie Hollow and Wandering Oaken's Trading Post. Fairytale Hall on the Wish looks like these, but with more variety and more activities. Similarly, the Wish's Marvel Super Hero Academy looks a lot like the other ships' Marvel Super Hero Academies, just with more activities and cooler technology. Keeping with this trend, the Star Wars Cargo Bay looks like an expanded version of the previous Star Wars areas, the Millennium Falcon and the Command Post. I'm really excited to interact with those creatures during the open houses. Sure, these spaces are not entirely new, but they look like refined, definitive versions of the existing Oceaneer Club areas. I had hours of fun in the existing Oceaneer Clabs when I was younger, and I'm happy that younger kids will get to have even more fun on the Wish with the more refined Oceaneer Club.
In addition to those areas, the Wish's Oceaneer Club will have some completely new ones. The Walt Disney Imagineering Lab looks like a lot of fun. Is this what the Oceaneer Lab has become? It might be where some of the activities held at the Oceaneer Lab will be held on the Wish. I want to try out one of those ride simulation chairs, so I'm glad open houses exist. The other entirely new area of the Wish's Oceaneer Club is Mickey and Minnie Captain’s Deck. This area is geared toward kids at the younger end of the Oceaneer Club's age range. It'll have special times reserved for the even younger kids at the it's a small world nursery. This is probably possible because the nursery is adjacent to the Oceaneer Club. I think the Captain's Deck will connect with the nursery to provide convenient access for the children and crew at the nursery during these special times.
The Oceaneer Club has taken up a lot of Disney's focus, but we can't forget about the other clubs!
The next club up the age ladder is Edge, the club for ages 11-14. Before this announcement, we knew almost nothing about Edge. This iteration of Edge will be located on Deck 5 of the Wish, and it'll have a very colorful New York City loft theme. It'll have some pretty cool-looking furniture and a soda bar. This is really nice, as not having to leave the club to get a drink will be very convenient. Will the soda bar serve specialty drinks? That would be extra nice. The rest of the Wish's Edge is similar to the existing Edges, with large screens for watching movies and playing video games, along with plenty of areas to socialize.
A problem I've had with the current Edges is that they're too small, and I hope the Wish's Edge decreases this problem by increasing its size. Edge appears to be pretty big on the Wish's deck plans, but I doubt we'll get a real judgment of its size until the Wish launches in June of next year.
Next, let's take a look at Vibe, the club for ages 14-17. Disney says that the Wish's version of Vibe will be inspired by a "Parisian artists’ loft." Similar to Edge, this version of Vibe is very colorful. Also like Edge, it'll have some interesting-shaped furniture. According to the artist rendering, it looks like Vibe will have at least one foosball table and a lot of TVs for movies and video games. It will also have an interesting Mickey Mouse statue that's colorful like the rest of the space.
The Wish's Vibe is on Deck 12, right near the pools. This means that it'll have huge floor to ceiling windows that provide views directly off the starboard side of the ship.
While all of this is great, this Vibe seems to be a massive downgrade from the huge Vibe on the Dream and Fantasy. Instead of a sundeck with private pools, it'll have big windows and pools nearby that can be used by all of the Wish's guests. I think this downgrade was made because the sundeck at Vibe on the Dream and Fantasy is actually pretty restricted. The sundeck is only open when a counselor goes out to it, and the area closes in the later afternoon because it's a source of light. This is because the light can make it difficult for the crew on the bridge to see out into the ocean. I've enjoyed the time I've spent at the Vibe sundeck, but I'm not devastated that it's not on the Wish. At least adults at Senses and people walking on the promenade can still enjoy that area of the ship.
Something else that I doubt will be included in the Wish's Vibe is a soda bar. Edge will have one, so why won't Vibe? The answer is next door.
In addition to Vibe and Edge, the Wish will have The Hideaway, a flexible tween-teen-young adult club. The Hideaway will be adjacent to Vibe, and the two clubs connect. This new club can be opened to the kids from Vibe, reserved to the younger kids from Edge, and even closed off to young adults between the ages of 18 and 20! Keeping the colorful theming going, The Hideaway will feature a dance floor, a DJ booth, a smoothie bar (that's where the Vibe kids can get their drinks), and plenty of interesting furniture. What is it with DCL youth clubs and cool furniture? I'm not complaining, because could you imagine going to a DCL youth club and sitting on a normal plastic chair you'd find at a school? Disney Cruise Line's Youth Clubs: Where even sitting down is an special experience.
I'm really happy for the minority of guests between age 18 and 20. Previously, these guests could participate in activities in the 18-20 Society. These activities were held in areas around the DCL ships, not in a private club, so it's awesome that the Wish's 18-20 Society will sometimes have a home in The Hideaway. I'm guessing that the 18-20 Society will continue to have its normal events around the ship, but hopefully it takes advantage of The Hideaway.
The Hideaway appears to be a bit smaller than Vibe, but when the two connect, the area will be huge!
My least favorite feature of The Hideaway is its name. 'The Hideaway' is very similar to 'Teen Hideout,' an area that's essentially Vibe on Castaway Cay minus the TVs, video games, and air conditioning. On days when the Wish visits Castaway Cay, guests could mix up the two locations. I hope nobody shows up to Teen Hideout expecting an activity at The Hideaway. This might not be a huge problem, but maybe The Hideaway's name will be altered in the future to prevent this confusion. Can they rename it The Lair? What about The Bolthole? They could make that Lightning McQueen-themed! Red is the color of the season.
Overall, the Wish's youth clubs are solid. There's not too much new here, but there didn't need to be. Hopefully the clubs are all refined versions of what kids have come to know and love on the current DCL ships. Plus, The Hideaway is really exciting, and I'm looking forward to learning more about how its dynamic operation will work.
Finally, one of my favorite features of the Wish's youth clubs is the fact that their names are the same as on the other four DCL ships. Many of the Wish's areas and features are similar to what we've seen on past ships but with different names. For example, Marceline Market is replacing Cabanas, the Wonderland Cinema and Never Land Cinema are replacing the Buena Vista Theatre, Luna is replacing the D Lounge, and Sweet Minnie's Ice Cream is replacing Eye Scream. I'm glad the Oceaneer Club, Edge, and Vibe are retaining their names. This will make people who have been on the four current DCL ships familiar with the youth clubs without even having to visit them. It probably means that the names Oceaneer Club, Edge, and Vibe aren't going anywhere as well. Maybe the names, like the clubs, will become more refined in the future. When are we getting the Oceaneer Club Steakhouse, Mickey?
One of the most useful things you can bring around with you on a Disney cruise is the Key to the World card that you receive at the beginning of your cruise. You can use it to unlock your stateroom's door, see the start and end dates of your cruise, see the assembly station you are assigned to, make purchases, get on and off the ship, and see the dining rotations. That last one is one of my favorite features of the card. It's so convenient to quickly glance down at your card and check what restaurant you're scheduled to dine at.
Well, that was one of my favorite features of the card, because Disney is no longer printing the dining rotations on Key to the World cards. Key to the World cards will still be distributed and used for everything they were used for in the past, they just won't have a dining rotation on them. Don't worry, this doesn't mean that Disney's rotational dining system is gone. It just means that the schedule of each night's restaurant won't be on the Key to the World cards anymore.
According to the Disney Cruise Line Blog post, a recent minor change to Disney cruises is that the Key to the World cards are printed onboard the ships, instead of at the terminal. Because of this, the cards are distributed to the staterooms instead of directly to the guests. That post says that the removal of the dining rotation cuts down time for the Guest Services cast members who are printing them.
So, if it's not on the Key to the World cards anymore, how can guests see where they are scheduled to go to dinner? The DCL Navigator app, of course. The app has all of the dining information that used to be on the card, like the restaurant order, the table number, and the seating time. It also includes the menus. So, if you want to check where you're going to dinner, you have to pull it up on the app. Sure, many people carry their phones around with them on a cruise, but taking out a phone and opening up the app then navigating to where the dining information is located takes longer than just quickly looking down at a card on a lanyard.
This change has many of the same issues as many of the other changes we've seen that place more emphasis on the app. How do people without smart devices view their dining information? Maybe they could go to Guest Services and get a copy of it printed out. For these people, it's an inconvenience that wouldn't even have been an issue if Disney had kept the dining information on the Key to the World cards.
In addition to being problematic, the removal of the dining information doesn't make much sense. The Key to the World cards are still distributed and they're still necessary for every guest, so why is the dining information gone? How much time does not printing it on the Key to the World cards save? Probably around a second or two per card. Maybe there's another reason. Was it changed to use less ink? That's not really a good reason, because the dining information wasn't even that large on the card.
Since I can't come up with any benefits of removing the dining information, I think the most likely reason for making the change is that Disney wants guests to use the DCL Navigator app more. When it works, the app is good. However, it often doesn't work as well as Disney wants it to, thanks to poor connection on the ships. Connection problems could make the dining information inaccessible at times, a problem that could be completely avoided if it was still printed on the cards.
If it works well, I'm okay if Disney wants us to use the app more. However, that doesn't mean that they have to remove a useful feature that's been around since before I went on my first Disney cruise. It's a shame, I never fully realized how nice it was until DCL got rid of it.
Disney seems to like getting guests to use the DCL Navigator app more often. If this trend continues, could phones be an alternative method to open stateroom doors or disembark the ship in the future? It's possible, but if it happened, the Key to the World cards would still be used, as people without compatible devices would need a way to go into their staterooms or get off at a port of call. Plus
If something like that happens, it won't be for quite some time. For now, we can hope that Disney brings back the dining rotation on the Key to the World cards. If that doesn't happen by the time you go on a cruise, I suggest writing your dinner schedule and your table number on a piece of paper and putting that into your lanyard's card holder, next to your Key to the World card. Maybe fill out a comment card as well, as Disney actually reads them and listens to guests' feedback.
What do you think about this change? Should DCL put the dining information back onto Key to the World cards?
Welcome to what I hope is the penultimate installment of the "The _____ is Back!" On October 1st, the Disney Wonder started its first cruise since Disney suspended operations due to the pandemic in March 2020. The Wonder's first few cruises will start and end in San Diego, California. Since this is a very long way from Castaway Cay, these are the first Disney cruises since cruises have resumed to visit a port of call other than Castaway Cay. Instead of visiting Castaway Cay, the Wonder will be visiting some Mexican ports like Cabo San Lucas (on 4-night cruises) and Ensenada (on 3-night cruises) for a while.
The Wonder's last cruise from San Diego will begin on November 5th. This is an Eastbound Panama Canal cruise, and everyone on this cruise must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to sail, likely because it's so long. This will be the Wonder's most interesting cruise of 2021, and I hope it goes well. After this, the Wonder will go on some Caribbean cruises from Galveston, Texas to finish up the year.
With the Wonder finally cruising with passengers once again, all four of the DCL ships have now resumed cruises. If nothing causes any of the ships to suspend operations, then I'll make the last post like this when the Magic returns to the United States and resumes normal, non-Magic at Sea cruises.
The Wonder's cruise restart is wonderful news, but you may have heard some less wonderful DCL news recently about the Key to the World cards. A post about that is coming in a few rotations, so I hope you're not too hungry for more information.
Earlier this month, Disney announced that the Disney Magic will resume cruises from Miami on October 28th! While this is good news, Disney has canceled two cruises on the Magic before the 28th, one starting on October 21st and one starting on October 24th. The Magic will be going on mostly 4-night and 5-night cruises from Miami, but it's starting with a 3-night Halloween on the High Seas Bahamian cruise. This cruise goes to Nassau and Castaway Cay, so the Magic isn't resuming just with Castaway Cay like the Dream and Fantasy did.
I'm glad they're doing cruises that are a bit longer on the Magic, and while most future cruises weren't canceled, changes were made to some of the Magic's cruises. Some ports of call that the Magic would have visited, like Grand Cayman, currently aren't open to cruise ships. So, for a while after the Magic resumes cruises, it'll stop in the Bahamas on 4-night cruises and in Mexico on some 5-night cruises.
To avoid trouble in Key West, all of the cruises that were planned to visit Key West have been altered. My family is planning on going on the January 31st to February 5th 5-night Bahamian cruise on the Magic, and it originally included a stop at Key West. However, DCL sent us an email alerting us that the itinerary was changed:
The email didn't say how our specific itinerary was changed, but after we checked the DCL website, we learned that the day at Key West was replaced with a second day at Castaway Cay! Key West is cool, but I'd choose a second day at Castaway Cay over a day at Key West any day. Thanks, Mickey!
As you may know, the Magic has actually resumed cruises already. It's currently going on Magic at Sea cruises from the United Kingdom. These cruises only go out to sea and don't stop at any ports, which is pretty boring. The Magic will do a few more Magic at Sea cruises, then it'll make its way back to the United States. It'll be the last of the four DCL ships to resume cruises from the United States (as long as DCL's plans don't change). Cruises have been canceled for so long, and I'm happy that all of the DCL ships are finally coming back, even if they're not totally the same as before the start of the pandemic. Restricted cruises are better than no cruises at all!
Yesterday, September 11th, the Disney Fantasy started its first cruise with normal, paying passengers! The Fantasy is the second DCL ship to resume cruises from the United States, following the Dream, which resumed cruises last month.
The Fantasy is starting with a few 4-night Bahamian cruises, not 7-night Caribbean cruises like it would've done normally. In addition to trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19, these cruises were likely shortened because many of the ports that the Fantasy would've visited on its 7-night cruises aren't currently open to cruise ships. Well, at least all of the Fantasy's cruises in September (and some in October) will have two stops at Castaway Cay, which is awesome. After the Fantasy returns from its current cruise, it will wait until Saturday, September 18th to start its next cruise. It's doing this because the 4-night cruises that it's going on were originally 7-night cruises, and it was likely simplest to keep the Fantasy on the one-cruise-per-week schedule.
The Fantasy will begin cruises 7-nights or longer on October 9th. However, as previously mentioned, not all of the ports it was scheduled to visit are open. As a result, the itineraries have been altered and now include stops in Mexico and the Bahamas.
Yesterday's success means that half of the current DCL fleet has resumed cruises! The Wonder is next. It's planned to resume cruises from San Diego, California on October 1st. The Magic is still doing Magic at Sea cruises from the UK, but it'll resume cruises that stop at places later in October. Some interesting changes have been made, but that's a story for another post. Keep your eye out for that!
For the entire time I've had this blog, the most reliable way to access it was to type in its URL, "dclkid.blogspot.com". I was never a huge fan of the '.blogspot' part of the URL, but since I was using a free Blogger (the website I use to make posts) domain, I didn't have a choice.
But the .blogspot days are over now! I now have a completely custom link, www.dclkid.com! To access this blog, all you need to do now is visit www.dclkid.com. This new link will make accessing my blog easier than before. The old link, www.dclkid.blogspot.com, still works, but it automatically redirects you to the new link. Nothing else on my blog has changed, and everything should still be working. I hope you enjoy using the new and improved link!
A couple of days ago, Disney announced that the Disney Wonder will finally resume cruises on October 1st, 2021! This means that two Wonder cruises, starting on September 24th and September 26th, are now canceled. To start, the Wonder will be going on 3-night and 4-night cruises from San Diego, California. These 3-night cruises will stop at Ensenada, Mexico and spend one day at sea. The 4-night itinerary will stop at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and spend three days at sea.
The Wonder in San Diego on September 2nd, 2021. My mom happened to be in San Diego when the Wonder arrived, so she and my aunt went to see it! Thanks for the photo!
Originally, the Wonder was planned to begin a 7-night cruise on October 1st. It was also planned to start some 5-night cruises on October 26th and October 31st. However, these have been changed to 4-night cruises. Everyone booked on these longer cruises that got changed was automatically booked on the 4-night cruise that starts on the same date as their original cruise. Because they're now booked on a shorter cruise, these guests will be refunded for the amount of the cruise they're not going on. People who remain booked on these altered cruises will receive an onboard credit and a 25% discount on a future cruise. The DCL website doesn't mention how much the onboard credit will be worth. Disney is doing something like this for the Fantasy's planned restart, and guests on those altered cruises will receive a $400 credit per stateroom, so maybe guests on the Wonder will get the same amount. Also like the Fantasy, after these longer cruises end, the Wonder won't start a cruise later on the same day. It'll wait until the originally-scheduled date of the next cruise, and then it'll begin another cruise. It's kind of strange, but it was probably easier than changing the start date of other cruises.
Like the other ships' cruises, there will be restrictions on the Wonder. Guests age 12 and older will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to sail on the Wonder. Also, all guests (regardless of vaccination status) will need to take a COVID-19 test at the cruise terminal before boarding the ship. This is a new measure that will apply to the three DCL ships (Wonder, Dream, and Fantasy) sailing from the United States starting September 13th. The Magic at Sea cruises are different, but once the Magic returns to the US, it'll likely have to follow this rule.
Another restriction is that people who are not fully vaccinated will only be able to get off the ship in Ensenada or Cabo San Lucas if they are on a DCL Port Adventure. The only people who aren't required to be vaccinated are kids under age 12. Fully vaccinated guests are free to get off without a Port Adventure. As a result of this, if a family wants to explore the port without a Port Adventure or go on a non-DCL excursion, but they have a child who isn't fully vaccinated, they'd have to leave their kid on the Wonder. This restriction could really mess with some families' plans, but I guess Disney thinks it's necessary. Unlike Castaway Cay, Disney can't control everything that happens in Cabo San Lucas or Ensenada.
The Wonder will be cruising out of San Diego until November 5th, when it begins a 14-night Eastbound Panama Canal cruise. It seemed crazy that a cruise this long will be happening, but there's a major restriction. On this cruise, everyone on the ship must be fully vaccinated to sail. This means that, if the vaccination eligibility age doesn't get lower, nobody under age 12 will be on that cruise. That's likely not a huge deal, since I've heard there typically aren't very many kids on those cruises because they're so long. It would be a very interesting cruise to go on, as it would be weird seeing no young kids. Since the minimum age for that cruise is currently 12, will the Oceaneer Club and Lab even be open? They're normally for ages 3 to 12, but when I was 12, I chose to only go to Edge. Maybe the Club and Lab will be repurposed as activity spaces for Edge and Vibe. Anyway, to get on that cruise, all guests will be required to take a COVID-19 test at the cruise terminal.
With this announcement, all four DCL ships will be cruising at the same time when October arrives (as long as nothing crazy happens or DCL's plans change). This hasn't happened since March of 2020, so I'm looking forward to that! Also, thanks again to my mom and aunt for taking some awesome pictures of the Wonder in San Diego!
