Walt Disney World ® Resort
Pacific Coast Cruise on the Disney Wonder by Small World Vacations’ Agent Michelle
Pacific Coast Cruise on the Disney Wonder by Small World Vacations Agent Michelle
My family recently sailed the high seas on the Disney Wonder after the dry dock improvements this year for the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego! We arrived in Vancouver a couple nights early to ensure we arrived to our ship on time! Plus, that provided an opportunity to tour the city. The Fairmont Waterfront was our home away from home while visiting Vancouver. There is a SkyTrain that can provide transportation from the airport to the Waterfront Station. From there it’s a short block or two to The Fairmont Waterfront.
While visiting Vancouver we decided to spend the day at Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain provided shuttle service during select times of the year from a stop that happened to be right outside the Fairmont Waterfront. Highly recommend this activity if your family arrives early for your Disney cruise (dress in layers, it’s colder on the mountain). There are two rescued bears to visit and we spotted other wildlife while visiting including deer and a beautiful owl. Our family enjoyed the lumberjack show and the ride up and down the mountain has spectacular views of the city!
Time to Sail a Wave! The Fairmont Waterfront is right across the street from the cruise terminal and the Bell Services team handled transferring our luggage to the cruise ship beautifully! It was so nice to simply walk across the street and check-in. Our boarding group was called and we were on the Disney Wonder! We grabbed some lunch and toured around the ship, stopping in the open houses for the kids’ activity areas until our room was ready (this is a great time to meet the youth counselors). Mickey and friends officially start your Disney cruise vacation at the Sail a Wave deck party!
Victoria was our only port of call on this Pacific Coast cruise. We opted for the Double Decker bus tour around the city. This was a wonderful narrated tour that highlighted all the great sights around Victoria. The tour ended at the Empress Hotel for guests to exit if they wished to shop or eat in the city, then continued back to the Disney Wonder for those that were ready to return. Great educational adventure around Victoria!
Back on the Disney Wonder, we explored the new French Quarter Lounge finished just in time for this cruise! There’s great entertainment and atmosphere at the lounge. Most importantly in our case, it’s often the spot to find Jon Armstrong, the magician onboard and entertainment from the first night’s show. Our kids absolutely adored watching his close-up magic and the interaction Jon had with guests in this casual lounge! Disney always has fantastic entertainment offerings, and this made our cruise! Jon is performing on other upcoming cruises; hope you have an opportunity to meet him on yours!
Relaxing vibe and complimentary pastries with our lattes in the newly refurbished Cove Café! Perfect spot for some downtime during those days at sea. We had two days at sea to partake in the activities onboard from adult cooking classes (the apple strudel was truly incredible) to Disney trivia to movies. Not to mention the Broadway style productions every evening! Palo brunch was a certinately a highlight with fresh Halibut from Alaska, perfectly prepared scallops and whimsical desserts! And, we can’t forget Pirate Night! Our family was prepared with our pirate attire for dinner, deck party with the swashbuckling pirate crew, and magical fireworks at sea to end the evening!
As we cruised to San Diego, whales, dolphins and seals were even spotted off the ship and from our stateroom. What an amazing cruise experience with many thanks to the truly dedicated cast members aboard the Disney Wonder for the family memories to last a lifetime!
Contact Small World Vacations Agent Michelle for assistance with your Disney vacation at michelle@smallworldvacations.com