{"id":11867,"date":"2020-09-17T07:54:13","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T11:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/?p=11867"},"modified":"2020-10-25T15:22:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T19:22:22","slug":"january-26-2020-7-night-southern-caribbean-cruise-part-4-exploring-the-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/january-26-2020-7-night-southern-caribbean-cruise-part-4-exploring-the-ship\/","title":{"rendered":"January 26, 2020 – 7 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise – Part 4: Exploring the Ship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Boarding<\/a>
Boarding Day<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

We entered the lobby on Deck 4 as our name was called and we immediately had to go down to Deck 3 to get our picture with Ariel. <\/p>\n

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\"Ariel\"<\/a>
Ariel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After getting our required picture, we headed up to the pool deck.  We wanted to grab some chairs to wait for our friends while warming up in the sun.  We also grabbed some drinks and walked around the pool deck to get some pictures.  It hadn’t been that long since we had been on board the Wonder, about 9 months.<\/p>\n

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\"Family<\/a>
Family Pool Area<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

I checked the navigator we received in the terminal and noticed that you could meet with the dining room staff in Azure at noon in order to change your dining plans.  I wanted to verify that we were with our favorite server and to see if we could merge our Palo<\/a> reservations.  I headed to Azure and was shocked.  The room was packed.  There was a member of the dining staff taking names, so I was added to two lists (one for regular dining and one for Palo).  The dining question was really quick, it was handled in about ten minutes.  The Palo question took a lot longer.  Based on the conversations going on, a lot of people were attempting to get Palo brunch for the one day it was offered (Day 7, the sea day).  Once I was able to speak to the Palo Maitre D’, I was done in a few seconds.  I gave him my room number and he immediately responded that he had combined our tables together for brunch at noon.  I was then on my way back to the pool deck.<\/p>\n

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\"Dining<\/a>
Dining Plan Modifications<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n
As I headed back to meet up with the family, I had to stop for the first ice cream of the cruise!  Over the course of the cruise, they went through a few different flavors, including Blueberry!<\/figure>\n
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\"Ice<\/a>
Ice Cream<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Once I got back to the family, they were already having lunch.  I decided to head over to get some pizza from the Pinocchio’s.    I asked the server if they were going to have pretzels on this trip.  He gave me a strange look, but the other server explained that they hadn’t made pretzels at Pinocchio’s for a number of years.  I was saddened, it used to be one of our favorite things to eat on the Wonder.<\/p>\n

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\"Pinocchio\"<\/a>
Pinocchio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After a quick snack (or two), the girls and I decided to go check out Vibe for the changes that were made during the recent dry dock.  We published an article detailing the changes<\/a>.  We came back from the club and found Nancy watching funnel vision.  It was close to 1:30 pm, so we decided to head for the room, which should be ready.<\/p>\n

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\"Funnel<\/a>
Funnel Vision<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Our room was ready, so we dropped our bags off.  Our room was located<\/a> on Deck 2 forward, which has become our new favorite stateroom location.  Nancy wanted to start unpacking our suitcases, so the girls and I decided to help by leaving the room.  Our first stopped was the new French Quarter Lounge<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\"French<\/a>
French Quarter Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After we looked at the lounge, we headed up to look at the remade Cove Cafe<\/a>.  This was our older daughter’s first look at it, since it was her birthday (she turned 18)! <\/p>\n

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\"Cove<\/a>
Cove Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

We walked around the ship and grabbed lots of pictures.  We revisited the kids clubs<\/a> as well.  The pictures we had taken on our Spring break trip<\/a> turned out a bit fuzzy.<\/p>\n

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\"Twist<\/a>
Twist and Spout<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After exploring the ship for quite a bit, we returned to the room.  The door magnets had been unpacked, so I set up the door and lights.  Once we finished, it was time for the muster drill.<\/p>\n

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\"Door<\/a>
Door Decorations<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Thankfully, our muster station was located in the Walt Disney Theater.  Having an inside muster station is great, no standing outside in the sun.  The best part about the muster drill was running into our favorite server, Shane!  He came over and gave Nancy a big hug, without us even saying anything to him.  He said he saw us on his guest list and knew we were around somewhere.<\/p>\n

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\"Muster<\/a>
Muster Drill in the Walt Disney Theater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once we finished the muster drill, we headed up for the sail away party.  We weren’t as interested in the party as the view from the top deck of San Juan as we left.  It turned out because of the clouds, they decided to move the sail away party to the atrium, but we stayed on the top deck.<\/figure>\n

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\"El<\/a>
El Capitolio and Old Town San Juan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It took a long time for the ship to leave, partially because it had to turn around (and spent part of the time backing out).  Once we got turned around, we got to take in the awesome sight of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, which is the old Spanish Fort that guards the harbor entrance.<\/figure>\n

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\"Castillo<\/a>
Castillo San Felipe del Morro<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n
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\"Castillo<\/a>
Castillo San Felipe del Morro<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n
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\"Castillo<\/a>
Castillo San Felipe del Morro<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After we left the shore, we headed down to the shops to see if there was anything new for sale. <\/p>\n

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\"Shops<\/a>
Shops on the Disney Wonder<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

The only thing I really collect from the ships is a new Tervis on each sailing, if I can find something I don’t already have.  There was a new one that I ended up getting (the red one in the picture below).<\/p>\n

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\"Tervis<\/a>
Tervis and Cups<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Lots of new ears were on display this time as well.  Nancy also took note of the Dooney and Bourke Handbags, but didn’t get any.<\/p>\n

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\"Ear<\/a>
Ear Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n
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\"Dooney<\/a>
Dooney and Bourke<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After visiting the shops, we joined our friends in the Crown and Fin pub for some trivia.  I don’t remember what kind of trivia it was, but we lost pretty badly.  We did have fun though!  After trivia, I headed to Guest Services while Nancy went back to the room to get ready for dinner.  I needed to add a gift card to our room to pay for some of our excursions.  Guest Services had a small line but it moved fairly quickly.<\/p>\n

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\"Guest<\/a>
Guest Services<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Dinner tonight was in Triton’s<\/a> with the standard menu.  We were so excited to see Shane again, who was working with assistant server Miguel.  Shane gave everyone a big hug and welcomed us back.  We spent most of dinner talking with him to see how he had been since we saw him last.<\/p>\n

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\"Triton<\/a>
Triton Standard Menu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once we finished dinner, we started to leave the dining room.  We ended up running into another crew member, Andrew.  Andrew had been our assistant server in a past cruise as well.  He caught us up on what he had been doing.  By the time we left the dining room, it was pretty late, so we decided to head to bed.  When we got back to the room, this crab was waiting for us.<\/figure>\n

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\"Crab<\/a>
Crab Towel Animal<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Next up, we are headed back to St. Maarten!<\/p>\n

Planning<\/a> | Travel<\/a> | Boarding<\/a> | Ship Exploration<\/a> | St Maarten<\/a> | Antigua<\/a> | Martinique<\/a> | Barbados<\/a> | St. Lucia<\/a> | Sea Day<\/a> | Travel Back<\/a><\/p>\n

If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page<\/a>, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!<\/p>\n

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