The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

Earlier this year, Disney completely changed their Disney Cruise Line Navigator app in an update.  It completely redid the look,

I like the old version better, it actually looks like a Disney app.

While the new version is great, it doesn't look much like a Disney app.  It feels more like a generic countdown app.  The new version updated the onboard deck plans, improved chat, and enhanced overall performance.  I haven't been able to try it on a cruise, but I hope the chat is better.  It wasn't very reliable, because you were supposed to keep the app running to receive messages.  Even with the app open, sometimes messages took a long time to send.  Occasionally, they didn't even send!  Let's hope they fixed that issue.

Some more screenshots from the app:

Even with this issue, the app is still really helpful to have.  I used it to check character appearances, look at the dinner menu (at breakfast), to check daily activities, and other things.  It's basically a Personal Navigator on your phone.  It's nice not to have to carry a big flier around with you wherever you go.  They definitely didn't have this in 1998.

Oh wait, they might have.

A Cap-Tivating Souvineir

When my family and I went on the Disney Wonder earlier this year, I wanted something to remember the trip.  On one of the later days in the trip, I saw a kid wearing a hat with autographs from various Disney characters.  That gave me an idea.  Later that day, I went to White Caps, and bought a...

White cap!!

The hat didn't come with Mickey's autograph, I had to work for that.  I checked the schedule, found when Mickey would be out, and went to where he'd be.  There was already a line.  I waited, until it was finally my turn.  I asked the photographer if I could get my hat signed, and she gave it to Mickey Mouse to sign.  She took a picture, and I left, excited to show off my latest piece of Disney Cruise Line merchandise.

If you ever want a hat like this, they are on any of the 4 Disney cruise ships.  Probably.  The selection changes every so often.  This hat cost $25, and I think it was worth it.  Who doesn't want a hat signed by Mickey Mouse?

Also, at the time of publishing, this blog has been around for over a year now!  It has been a great experience, and I really like getting reader feedback.  Your input helps me make this blog better!

Finally, I just want to give a shout out to the kid who gave me the idea for the hat, whoever he is...

Disney Wonder Now on the US's West Coast

What?  Already?

Yes.  Already.

The Wonder on the East Coast

On Friday, April 13th, the Disney Wonder made its way through the Panama Canal on a 14-night cruise.  I feel like it's going out west earlier than previous years, but I may be wrong.  The highlight of cruises on the west coast are the Alaskan cruises, but the Wonder doesn't go that far north yet.  It will stay closer to Mexico and do a few cruises from San Diego.  The California cruises aren't too long, with a few that are too short.  That includes the 2-Night Baja cruises.  2 nights.  The first night, you board the ship and unpack, the second night, you pack your suitcases!  The first dinner is the 'Welcome Aboard" one, and the second one is the "Sea You Real Soon!" one.  I think that cruise would be a waste of time.  I'd much rather pay more for a 3rd night, so that I'd have a day to not worry about unpacking or packing.  After the Wonder finishes these cruises, it will go north to Alaska, cruise from there, and go back to California.  Then, it will go back through the canal in October, and then go all over the Caribbean.  Finally, in February 2019, it will go through the canal again!  I thought April was early, but February...  Wow.

Art's a Good Start!

You know it's getting (somewhat) close when this happens.

Recently, Disney released their first artist's rendering of their NEW SHIPS!  Man, I am so excited! The art looks very similar to the Dream and Fantasy, but with some obvious differences.  Probably the most obvious is the sections of the ship that look to bump out. They are probably there to add larger verandahs or larger rooms.  Or, they may be there so the ships can be different from all of the other ships. There's also what seems to be an AquaDuck, which would be amazing, but Disney might add more to it.  Maybe there's two lanes, double the riders, half the wait. Or maybe there will be more sections where it dips down and goes back up. Who knows? Not me.

If you look up above the bridge, you can see at least two more decks of rooms!  This might be where the Concierge rooms are, or just some extra normal rooms.

Also, it seems that they are keeping up with the dual funnel design, adding more space higher up.  What will they use this space for? My guess is a teen or tween club, because this is how they were used on the four previous ships.

I don't see a sports deck, but I'm hoping it's up forward, similar to what they did on the Magic and Wonder.  The Dream and Fantasy's one in aft is still great, but I found it was always windy. You'd think that if it was forward, there'd be even more wind, but this is not the case.  There is a large wind wall, made of glass, that prevents your table tennis game from getting out of hand. The ball is very light, which makes it very difficult to play in the wind.  I also like it better up front because kids can look out in front of the ship. The Dream and Fantasy have an adult only area there, but seriously, adults have the Quiet Cove area and the Cove Café and the bars and the spa and the gym and, oh man, that was a lot.  My point is that KIDS like looking in front of the ship, and it is a great place to take photos for a blog. Of course, I doubt many kids would want to 'waste time' making a blog about Disney Cruise Line, but there are some. Like me. But, the adults are the ones paying, so I'll give them a reason why they should have all these cool areas.

I think the one big thing we NEED is a bigger pool.  Maybe about double the size of Goofy's Pool on the Magic and Wonder.  Also, I've heard some people hoping for a lazy river. This seems more important to adults, so it should loop around the Quiet Cove pool.  I'd also like more waterslides, not just the AquaDuck and a kid sized one. If you've seen what Royal Caribbean does, they have multiple slides that are pretty big.  If you've been on the Magic or Wonder recently, you had to have noticed the Twist 'N Spout slide, but I'd like multiple Twist 'N Spouts. Less wait time, more slide variety, and less crowds would make being at the pool much better, and more enjoyable.

It's really a shame we'll have to wait until 2021 until the first new ship enters service, but Disney will probably give us more details before then.
Well, it looks like that's about it! I think that's about all of the obvious stuff, if you notice I forgot something, please leave a comment letting me know!

Disney Magic NO LONGER in Dry Dock

Edit:  The Magic is now out of dry dock.  It  has resumed sailing.  Hopefully guests will enjoy the new improvements.

I'm a few weeks late, but the Magic is now in Freeport, Bahamas for a dry dock renovation. This one won't be as large as the one it had back in 2013, but some areas around the ship will be changed.

Probably the most obvious one is Carioca's, the Brazillian themed rotational restaurant.  This was added in the 2013 dry dock, and now...  they're replacing it with Rapunzel's Royal Table, a Tangled themed restaurant.  It will go along well with the Magic-Exclusive show, Tangled:  The Musical.  When I was on the Magic in 2015, we saw this show, and I really liked it.  Especially the puppet horse, Maximus.  This is kind of random, but Royal Table will make the Wonder the only ship without a restaurant with the word 'royal' in it.  Speaking of the Wonder, I think it will be the Magic's equivalent of Tiana's Place, with possible live music, but that made me think.  How would Disney put live music into a restaurant themed to a movie that didn't really focus on music.  Although, there was the Snuggly Duckling scene, where they played fast paced, loud music.  I wouldn't want to eat dinner to that.  Whatever Disney is doing, it must be a lot, because they closed off Carioca's for a few weeks before the dry dock started.  I don't know they can make this restaurant work, but, work your Magic, Disney (pun intended)!

The Quiet Cove adult area will also be changed a bit.  I don't know what it looked like before, or what it will look like after, so on to the next thing!

Finally, Vibe will be changed.  I'm not too sure how it looked before as well, but judging by the Wonder's, it has a homey feel to it, completely different from the Dream and Fantasy's high tech theme.  I hope to go on the Magic in the future to see how it's being changed.

This is completely unrelated, but my blog has almost been going for a year!  It's been a fun experience, but there are still some things I'm working out.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this article!

Edge on the Disney Wonder

As you may know, the Wonder had a major dry dock renovation in late 2016.  Many spaces throughout the ship were updated, including Edge, the place for kids too old for the Oceaneer Club and Lab but too young for Vibe.  I fall into that category, and for this post, I did some research about the Pre-2016 Dry Dock Wonder.  It turns out that Edge used to be on Deck 2!  Now, it's on Deck 9, right by the pool deck, which is nice.  It probably attracts more attention, and is much more accessible.  When Edge was down on Deck 2, you'd probably only go down there if your room was there or you were a kid going to Edge.  What's weird is that my family's two rooms were on Deck 2, and it would've been really nice to not have to walk up a ton of stairs to get to Edge, but I have some ideas of why it moved.  Maybe there is more space on Deck 9.  Maybe Deck 2 made kids claustrophobic (it's just an idea...).  Maybe it got loud at night, when some people were trying to sleep.  No, wait.  It DID get loud at night when people were trying to sleep.

But why?  You may think that at night kids are calm and tired, but no, that is not the case on a Disney Cruise.  I actually think the kids got more hyper and crazy at night.  I kept thinking that whoever was sleeping below Edge on Deck 8 wasn't sleeping at all.  They were just lying awake, slowly getting crazier every time a kid jumped or fell or screamed when playing a game.  Yeah, I had a good time there.

On the past 3 cruises that I've been on, I've been in the Edge age range, but also the Oceaneer Club and Lab age range.  Even though I could go to the Club and Lab, I chose not to.  I prefer Edge, where I could be around kids closer to my age, and not be surrounded by a ton of younger kids.

Also, I felt like I had a lot more freedom at Edge.  There's an open door policy, where kids can come and go whenever they feel like it.  Kids can stay at Edge for a while, go get food, eat it and come back easily.  This was also nice when I felt like going to the Sports Deck with a friend or going to get the 20th ice cream cone of the day.  Whenever parents drop their kids off at the Club or Lab, they need to scan their Oceaneer Band to check in.  Kids also scan it when they leave.  Edge has nothing like this.  The first time you go, you have to check in by telling a counselor your name and date of birth, and then you'll get a small sticker for your Key to the World card, which is proof that you are allowed in Edge.  Every so often, the counselors check for everyone's sticker, and if someone doesn't have one, they will be politely asked to leave.  The only exception is during an open house, when anyone can come in.  I always thought of them as the most boring part of the day, because there were parents everywhere, and no special activities going on.

Edge also felt like a time without any of my siblings, because my older brother was at Vibe, and my younger brother and sister were at the Oceaneer Club and Lab.  There was nobody to annoy me or pester me to do something.  I'm really kind of sad that my younger brother will be at Edge on our next cruise...

Well, I've talked a lot about Edge, but I should probably talk about Edge.  The Wonder's Edge is more or less the same as the Magic's, but completely different from the Dream and Fantasy's.  The Wonder's has a unique submarine feel, with fake pipes and wheels everywhere.  There's also fake porthole screens, where you can see Finding Nemo characters swim by every so often.  It's very similar to the Dream and Fantasy's Animator's Palate, just without Crush, the talking turtle dude.  There's also black and white photos of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.  Small details that make you remember where you are.  In the center of it all is a giant TV, that plays movies and occasional video games.  Surrounding it are 3 more TVs, creatively labeled Forward, Midship, and Aft.  There are Xbox and Wii U consoles near them, which are a highlight of the space.  The Magic's version has a few extra walls dividing the 3 TVs, but they aren't there on the Wonder.  It feels more open and less crowded.  I can't decide if I like the Wonder's or the Dream's better.

The thing that surprised me the most is that I didn't take any photos of Edge!  I don't know how I forgot, I just must have been having too much fun...

[UPDATED] Disney Wonder Photo Collection

A Disney Cruise is the perfect time to do new things, visit new places, meet new friends, and take photos, all of which I did.  Last week, I was on a WONDERful cruise, which just so happened to be on the Disney Wonder.  Before this, it was the only Disney ship my family hadn't been, and now we've been on all 4!  (Yaaay)  While on, I was able to get some great pictures.  I hope you enjoy!

The Disney Wonder in Antigua

If you ever go on the Wonder, look really closely at the two funnels.  After a while, you'll probably notice the blue on the forward funnel is a different, lighter shade than the blue on the other one.  Also, the real, functioning funnel is slightly taller than the forward one.  Why are there these small differences?  I have no idea.

Well, this is new!  In San Juan, we boarded the ship on Deck 1!  I think it was because the structure above on the right looks a little... unsafe.  The only real thing missing was that there wasn't anyone down there announcing to the ship that families had arrived.  It was a little sad, but the boarding process was faster this way.

The view of San Juan from the Wide World of Sports Deck

I prefer the placement of the sports deck on the Magic and Wonder to the Dream and Fantasy.  I'm not saying that Goofy's Sports Deck is bad, but the Magic and Wonder's equivalent, the Wide World of Sports Deck, offers better views for the kids (the Dream and Fantasy have an adults only area here), fairer games of Ping Pong because there is less wind, and an overall nicer experience.  Although, on our last night, I was at the sports deck attempting to play basketball with a friend (we weren't very good), and I noticed that the area in front of the big glass wall was blocked off due to extremely high winds.  Anything light left up there would certainly get blown away, so it was good it was closed off.

Also from the sports deck, a plaque from the builder in Italy.  I don't speak Italian, but I know that 'ANNO' means year.  1999 was when the Wonder was launched.

It's not a great picture, because my phone's camera isn't great either, but this is right in front of... the Bueno Vista Theatre!  No, just kidding, its near the Walt Disney Theatre, where live shows are done.  I didn't see any of the Disney Cruise Line shows, but I did see the Magic Dave Show, a great, funny magic show.  I also saw The Great DuBois, a show where they do crazy things like juggling crazy amounts of balls, hula hooping (surprisingly exciting), and riding a 6-foot tall unicycle.  All while the ship is rocking!

During the Wonder's reimagination in late 2016, many places around the ship were renovated and updated, including the D Lounge, which was formerly known as Studio Sea.  They also updated other places, including...

...Cabanas!  Cabanas used to be the Beach Blanket Buffet until 2016, when they changed the decoration, food, and flow of the restaurant.  The Wonder's version, though is slightly different from the rest of the ships'.  Right before you walk in, there are hand washing stations, a line of sinks on either entrance.  I think DCL was experimenting with these, possibly for the three new ships.  While not as efficient as hand wipes, the sinks probably did a better job.  If only they had the hand wash machines that they have in the Oceaneer Club and Lab.  Those would be awesome!

Hmm, I wonder what they serve here?

Well, this is different!  Instead of Frozone Treats on all the other ships, there's Sulley's Sips.  I think this goes along much better with Eye Scream, and it keeps the Monsters Inc. theme going.

On the Promenade, there is a cool area in the front of the ship.  Instead of the Dream and Fantasy having Vibe's entrance here, you can see the giant chains for the anchors and everything used when the ship is docking.  The only downside to it is that it is closed off when the ship is going into port.

If you go up to Deck 10 and walk to the back of the ship, you'll find Palo, the Adults-Only restaurant on every DCL ship.  I didn't go inside, but I did get a good picture of the entryway.  My parents went one night, and they said it was as good as every other time they'd been.  Especially the Chocolate Soufflé, one of my their favorite desserts.

A few years ago, when we sailed on the Magic, they had all the normal flavors of ice cream, (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and banana) and blueberry.  What's weird is that it was only on the Magic before this cruise.  Who knows, maybe it's a classic ship thing.

Updated Section

They changed the atrium a lot when they renovated the Wonder. 

The port in San Juan was right by an airport.

There were lots of tiny boats, aaaaaand the Wonder.

More tiny boats

The ship name is in a different place on the two older ships than on the newer ones.

This was a paper craft I made.

Vibe is inside this funnel.

We saw this iguana at the beach in Curacao.

Aruba's bright blue water

These photos are really out of order, but this is the AquaLab, almost identical to the Magic's.  The only difference is that the Wonder has Dory's Reef instead of Donald's Nephews' Splash Zone.

The entrance to the Wonder's only waterslide, the Twist N' Spout.  It used to be Mickey's Slide, which was similar, but a lot less twisty.

I was surprised that we couldn't get many good photos of Donald Duck on the back of the Wonder.  Maybe next time.

This is a little better.

So is this

We got all these photos when we were on a snorkeling tour boat.

Wow.

Great news!  I'm going on the Wonder again in 2019!  Our servers were amazing, the service was great, and they had BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM!  My long lost favorite!