[Day 1] Disney Wonder - Welcome Aboard!

Hello, and welcome to my 2019 Disney Wonder Mexican Riviera Trip Report!

If you've been following along for awhile now, you know I love Disney and Cruising - and I really love a Disney Cruise!  So when I saw a great rate for the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta) on the Disney Wonder departing from San Diego, just 2 hours south of my home in Los Angeles, I knew it just had to be.

This trip marked several firsts for me - my first cruise on the Disney Wonder (so I have now sailed on all four ships in the Disney fleet!), first cruise out of San Diego, and my first Mexican Riviera cruise (though I had been to Cabo San Lucas before on our east-bound Panama Canal cruise). It was also my boyfriend, Aaron's first cruise ever - and we were on the cruise for 7 days, so I was crossing my fingers that he'd like it.

Getting to San Diego

The cruise departed on Sunday, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo!  But no, that's not really a Mexican holiday, but just a reason to drink in the U.S.).  Since we live in Los Angeles, we decided to "take our chances" and drive down the morning of the cruise.  We left allowing ourselves plenty of time to get there in case of traffic for our 12:30 boarding time.

I had booked parking in advance at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside through Airport Parking Reservations.  There are several different parking garages for long-term parking in San Diego that offer shuttle service to the ship, but the Wyndham is actually directly across the street from the cruise port.  I paid $90 for a full week of covered parking which I thought was a steal - but there rates must vary depending on when you book because someone in our cruise Facebook group said they paid $120 for the week.... still not a bad rate.

Getting to the parking garage was just a tad tricky - the self-park entrance was directly behind the hotel.  We got lost and just pulled into the Wyndham porte cochere and asked one of the valet guys where to go, and he provided step-by-step directions.

I've never done this before - we literally wheeled our bags across the street.  You could pull into the port and drop off your luggage in advance if you have too much to carry, but we were manageable - 2 rollers, a duffel, a backpack, and our wine tote!

We were actually a little bit early... we arrived at the port at 12:15, but our port arrival time was 12:30.  We didn't have to wait 15 minutes to go in, though, we just checked our bags with the porters and then were directed to security.

Security at the port was a little weird.  You can kind of tell in the photo above that the Royal Princess was in port with us.  However, Royal Princess wasn't embarking today - San Diego was just a port of call.  So we were going through security at the Port of San Diego with passengers from the Royal Princess.

After security, we were directed to Disney Cruise Line check-in.  Castaway Club (Disney's loyalty program) check-in had no line, and the process was super easy since I had already entered all of the payment information online.  We were in boarding group 15, and when we went to sit down, they were calling boarding group 12, so we didn't have too long to wait in the terminal.

At check-in we received the first and only Navigator we would get the entire cruise.  I had heard the news from disgruntled Disney Cruisers on the DISboards and on Facebook, so I knew that DCL had stopped giving guests the Navigator, or activity schedule for the day, at nightly turn-down.  They were encouraging guests to use the Navigator app.... I'll say more about the app later, but it's not the most user-friendly.  I heard that you could go get printed Navigators from Guest Services each day, but I never bothered with that.  So during the day, we didn't always know what was going on, but we could figure it out if it was important to us.

All Aboard!

This isn't the official boarding photo as you can probably tell - that one was cute, but I didn't purchase any photos.

I was trying to get Aaron to look at me for a photo before he boarded his first cruise ever, but I think he was too excited.

After they welcomed us aboard, we went straight to lunch at Triton's, the sea-themed and more formal restaurant immediately off of the Atrium.  I remembered Rachel's hot tip from our Disney Dream cruise to eat in the dining room for lunch when you board to avoid dining room chaos.  I guess they were anticipating crowds in Triton's, though, because they weren't seating tables for two, and put us at a table for six with two other couples.  I guess no one was really in vacation spirit yet, or maybe just hungry, but we didn't mingle too much.... though we would later see those other couples all of the time throughout the cruise.

I ordered the Grilled Salmon Salad, which is really a nice fillet of salmon on top of some salad which I am anything but mad about.

Aaron was hesitating at first, going to just get an appetizer.... but, hey, first meal of vacation - he went with the Sliced Roasted Beef Sirloin and had no regrets.

And I was the only one to order a dessert, the Welcome Aboard Sundae.  It does not disappoint.

At the end of lunch in the dining room, our server told us our room was ready.  But then when we headed to the room, the rope had not been dropped for the hallway yet.  So we just waited around near the elevator lobby for a few minutes until they let us go to our rooms.

Ocean View Stateroom 5016

We were in room 5016.  I had booked an Oceanview Guarantee (09C), and was very happy with our assignment (09A) and its location.  Our room was very convenient to the Atrium, adult areas (both After Hours and Quiet Cove), and theaters.

The Ocean View rooms on the Disney Wonder are very specious.  I find all DCL staterooms to be larger than the standard size staterooms on other ships, but it's more noticeable in interior and ocean view rooms (which are typically the smallest staterooms on other cruise lines).  This room sleeps four guests.  The sofa turns into a bed, and a Pullman bunk comes out of the ceiling - though I really wouldn't want to shove four adults into one room.

The Disney Wonder was in drydock in 2016, which I believe is when the hard goods room rehab must have happened.  The furniture and finishes in the rooms are very new and in good condition.  The style feels classic, not dated.  The queen bed does not convert into two twins, like on other cruise lines, so it's not the best set-up for two or more adult friends to share a room, but it's one that probably works for most families.

I did notice the bed was missing the signature "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" throw pillow...

There is a curtain divider that can be pulled to separate the "living" area from the bed, but if you're a family trying to put your kids to sleep in the pull-down bunk.... the television gets closed off with the sofa behind the curtain, so you can't stay up watching television after the kiddos go to sleep.

Aaron thought the television should be mounted in the alcove in front of the bed.... then it wouldn't be as visible from the sofa.  I'm not sure of the correct solution, and this is just ramblings coming from two designers.

I will say there was plenty of storage - between the two of us, we left drawers empty.  For two people sharing a stateroom, there should be no storage problems.  And the casework is all very nice with soft-close drawers so you don't slam or pinch fingers.

Most staterooms on the Disney Cruise ships have two split baths - one with a toilet and a sink, and one with a shower and a sink.  This is to make it easier for families to get ready at the same time.  However, it's been a long time since I've shared a stateroom with my entire family, so I'm not sure how effective it is.  And personally, I do my hair and makeup in front of the vanity, so I don't really need the extra sink.

Here is the bathroom with the shower and sink.  It's a full (but small) bathtub so you can bathe your kiddos - this is a very large shower per industry standard.

I do like the new little black washcloths for makeup... feels fancy, even though I'm sure it's just an effort to stain fewer white towels.

In the bathroom with the toilet and sink..... I saw the wall-mounted hair dryer and literally gasped.  "Oh, no!  I didn't bring a hair dryer!"

I had settled with the fact that it was just going to take forever to dry my hair in the evenings when I opened a vanity drawer and found this baby..... Hot tip - the plug will work in any of the European outlets, but plug it into the recessed circular one if you really want power!

They also included a mat for hot tools in the drawer, which I also appreciate because I usually use a wash cloth to set my curling iron and straight iron on when they're heating up.

Another big DISboards and Facebook debate - soap dispensers instead of individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.  Man, was the Internet MAD!  Some were claiming anger for sanitary reasons, saying that other people touch the dispensers, someone might open them and put bodily fluids in there (Eww!  That wasn't a thought of mine until I read it from multiple people online - but I will say that they had a little black tape-like strip sticking out of the back of the lid that read "tamper-proof"... I did not tamper with it to see how tamper-proof it really was, but I guess the strip lets housekeeping know if someone has taken the lid off.)  Yeah, yeah... I know their true qualm - no more little free souvenirs!  "Hide the soap so housekeeping will give us more!"  I've said it before - the little bottles at Disney used to be so cute that I'd collect them for souvenirs.  And now we have absolutely too many.

Anyway, if people actually cared about the product, the soap itself, they would realize that the dispenser is actually a much better option for them.  They could bring their own empty bottle and pump it full of product!  Yay, free shampoo!  Booooo… no cute souvenir bottles.

My only issue with the dispensers is that I felt like I couldn't get enough product out in one pump.  I really wanted to one-pump-and-done, but I had to keep pumping the thing up and down to get a suitable size dollop (which is admittedly more than directed to use per the directions on most shampoo bottles).  The soap itself isn't my favorite product, but I have become a bit of a shampoo snob which is why my current "eh-okay" hair is much better than it used to be.  I would normally never trust a cruise line to provide adequate shampoo for me, but I am familiar with the H2O line that they use throughout the resorts and knew that I could use it for a week without looking like a total scruffy frizz-monster.

Now, if you've been on a cruise before, you're automatically enrolled in the Castaway Club loyalty program.  I had been on three cruises, so I am a Silver member.  After your 5th cruise, you become Gold, and after your 10th cruise, you become Platinum.  You only get one gift per stateroom, not per member (which is fine because Aaron wasn't a member yet).  I've really liked the tote bags that we received on our past cruises (2014 and 2017 - I actually brought a DCL tote with me on the cruise) but this time we got a super tacky and cheap-looking cross-body backpack.  It really looks like a free gift in my opinion, and I will never carry it.  If you really like this backpack and are offended by my description, I apologize - and will send you mine if you want it!

I made magnets for our stateroom door and packed them in my carry-on so I could decorate the door immediately - so festive!

We left our bags in the room and headed to check out some more of the ship before the 4 PM mandatory muster drill.

We walked by the Oceaneer's Club, and Aaron said, "I want to go in there!"

The Slinky Dog slide is super adorable.

Aaron made a friend!

Lots of fish over at Wandering Oaken's, or the Frozen-themed area.

I was waiting for someone to show up in the Sauna window, but we were kicked out of the club since they were closing 30 minutes before Muster.

We went upstairs to check out the pool deck.  Here's Palo, the adult-only restaurant -

Why, hello, again, Royal Princess!  We sailed on her back in 2013... wow, it doesn't feel that long ago!

This is the Aqua Lab kid pool area at the aft.  The waterslide is not just for kids - adults can go on it, too!

The "family pool" is mid-ship.  The deck slides shut to cover the pool, and it turns into one large deck for parties.

Timer photo for the win -

And forward, the adult-only Quiet Cove pool.  The larger ships, Dream and Fantasy, have a full-service bar by the family pool, too (Waves), but Signals by the Quiet Cove pool was the only full-service bar on the pool deck on the Wonder (and I assume the Magic).

Time for Muster! I don't think I've ever had photos of Muster before, but Aaron took some cool shots from above before the drill started -

Every cruise sailing, no matter the cruise line, has a muster safety drill before embarking on the first day (just like the required safety video before every commercial airplane takes off).  Where you muster depends on the ship.  On the Wonder, it seems like most (if not all) people had muster stations on the exterior promenade deck, right underneath the lifeboats.  We were not required to bring our lifejackets, but our muster crew did show us how to put them on and operate the light and whistle.

Alright, now that's over - let's party!  We went immediately to the top deck because I wanted to try and grab a decent spot for the Sail-A-Wave party.

San Diego is a beautiful port to depart from!

Sail-A-Wave Deck Party

Who can resist a sail away beverage?  (Probably should have - this thing was $14 in a souvenir mug and straight sugar.)

So the Sail-A-Wave Party is new in 2019.  It fits with the 2019 Get Your Ears On campaign, celebrating Mickey and Minnie's 90th birthday (they actually turned 90 in November 2018).  And, of course, featured the Mickey Mouse Club remix, song of the year, "Everybody, everybody, everybody...." if you've been to any Disney park this year, you must've heard this song.  They play it every morning at Disneyland when the park opens and at multiple times throughout the day.

Your entertainment team starts off the show in their white pants and wild shirts, and then they bring in some dancers in "Disney Bounding" clothing.  They have a little "fashion show" with guests.

Then, finally, the gang we've all been waiting for!  In the former Sail Away Party, the gang all wore their nautical attire, but here they're wearing their classic outfits.

Everyone dances, and there is some stunting...

Then 5....4.....3....2......1!!!!!!!!! White streamers shoot up, and we hear the sound we've all been waiting for - "When You Wish Upon a Star."  Aaron pointed out that everyone on the Royal Princess was looking over at us right now!

Good-bye, Royal Princess!  Adios, San Diego!

Aaron and I went to Signals for beer, and I told the bartender we wanted to purchase the mugs.  He seemed surprised.  On previous cruises, I remember the bartenders recommending the mugs, and even promotional signage for the mugs.  They really didn't push it on us.

So the deal with the mug is that it's $15.25 for the mug (plus the cost of beer), but the mug is 20 ounces, and they only charge you for 16 ounce pours, so you're getting more beer each time.  If you're getting $7 beers, the mug is paid for after 6 beers.  So if you're going to drink a beer per day, the mug is a good value.  But I got the mug because I wanted the souvenir and regretted not getting it in the past.  The mugs for the pool deck are blue plastic, but they have real glass mugs in the bars - I made sure to take home the glass mugs as souvenirs.

San Diego Airport is the busiest single-runway airport in the nation.  We saw a lot of planes fly in and out while we were in port!

The bow of the ship was ridiculously windy, but Aaron wanted to stay up front until we headed out in open water because it was super cool.

And a kind stranger took a super-windy photo of us -

We hung out for awhile longer on the top deck.  It wasn't very crowded, since most people were already in the early seating for dinner.

I re-curled my hair, and we headed downstairs to After Hours for pre-dinner drinks.

The Cadillac Lounge looked cool, and they had a really talented pianist playing.  We ordered "The Kettle One Experience for Two" which was really good - they brewed Jasmine Tea, mixed with Vodka, and gave us sticks of honey to stir with.

Tiana's Place

Our first dinner was at Tiana's Place, which is a dining room exclusive to the Wonder and added in the 2016 drydock.

The dining room has a stage, and a band plays throughout the evening while Tiana sings.  Tiana also takes breaks to walk around and greet guests, but it's not like a character dining experience where she goes to every table and signs autograph books - she's just walking and mingling, and she may or may not hit your table.  She didn't come to us, and that's totally okay with me.

Before the cruise, I called to request a private dining table (instead of being seated with strangers), and we got it.  Our server was Bonieface, our assistant server Emanuel, and our head server John.  We really liked our dining team.

Aaron's appetizer, Duck and Pistachio Terrine -

My appetizer, Louisiana Hot Crab Dip -

I got a Caesar Salad -

And Aaron got the Cream of Wild Forest Mushroom Soup which he really enjoyed -

This guy, Louis, also walked around.  Again, no stopping for autographs.  They also had a little parade for the kids to get up and join.

My entrée, the New York Strip Sirloin -

Aaron's entrée, Lime-Marinated Jumbo Shrimp -

I got Prince Naveen's Flourless Chocolate Cake for dessert -

And I am trying to figure out what Aaron's dessert is....

Tiana's Place is pretty hectic, and the meal actually felt a little rushed.  I was warning Aaron about the really long dinners (I have bad memories of spending 2+ hours in the dining room on a few Princess Cruises), but we were all wrapped up in just over an hour.

The ship was cold that evening, so we went back to our room for jackets.  We went to see the evening showing of Captain Marvel.... and about half an hour into the movie, Aaron leans over to me, "You want to go?"  "What?"  "I'm sick of this.  Do you want to go?"  Honestly, I was shocked because Aaron loves superhero movies.  Yeah, my eyes were glazing over, but they usually are.  Sure, I'll go!

We went back to After Hours, but the party had really died.  Not many people hanging out on their first night.

We refilled our beer mugs at O'Gills Pub and hung out for a bit before calling it a night.

And Day 1 - that's a wrap!

Thanks for reading along! Tune into Day 2 - At Sea coming up next!