I just went on my second Disney cruise and an Alaska cruise to boot! It’s definitely a bucket list item for people and now having been on it, I totally understand. Alaska is truly the last frontier and filled with the beauty of blue skies, snow-capped mountains, and fresh air! And a Disney cruise is always full of delight and magic. It was a WONDER to witness both the ship and Alaska!
While I loved all the tips and tricks and vlogging videos I saw on social media, I had a hard time finding a place where things were consolidated over multiple days so hopefully, this is helpful for someone like me! I wrote the different experiences in the order of “must do” to “nice to do” in the main categories of dining, activities, and shows. This will all be based on what I’ve personally experienced so you have a good preview of what to expect as you won’t have access to the schedule until you get on board.
Dining
- Tiana’s Place – This was my favorite rotational dining restaurant on this ship. Not only were the menus the most exciting (think New Orleans inspired food like jambalaya, crab dip, beignets, etc), but the vibes were the best! Tiana and Louis both make appearances and greet Guests, and there is also a live band that plays music while you’re enjoying your meal.
- Animator’s Palate – This is tied with Palo since it’s one of the rotational dining restaurants (aka free) AND the entertainment you get is tied with the level of Tiana’s Place. The first night had the restaurant transforming from black to white to full on color, and the second night, you get to BE an animator!
- Palo – This is an adults-only and extra charge restaurant. People rave about this restaurant calling it their favorite restaurant on land AND sea, but honestly, I thought it was only good, not great. The lauded chicken parm was as good as the chicken schnitzel in the free rotational dining restaurant and the breakfast dishes were only slightly better than the quality I get in Cabanas. I will say that the lasagna is solid, the pastries/desserts were truly delicious, and the views were immaculate, but honestly, the next time I plan to go back is when I reach Platinum status and can go for free. It’s just not worth the $55 brunch price tag.
- Triton’s – Nothing wrong with this third rotational dining restaurant, but the decor is less exciting and there’s no entertainment. However, the menu is slightly more “fancy” – think steak and lobster.
- Cove Bar – This is an adults-only and extra charge coffee bar. For some reason, the coffee on the Wonder was not as okay as the Fantasy, so my family and I started visiting this place regularly halfway through the cruise. I tried all the “famous” combos, but then I learned that a standard mocha or latte is just as good and slightly cheaper!
- Cabanas – This is the buffet of the ship and most importantly… where you get the churro waffles on glacier viewing day and the last sea day. Other than that, it’s a great place to grab a variety of things for breakfast or lunch as it’s not open for dinner.
- Pool Deck Eateries – These locations were a staple in my family’s week. Every time we finished a port day, you would find us out here enjoying chicken tenders, pizza slices, fruit, and various soups and salads since it’s the only other food option besides room service when it’s not peak meal times.
- Eye Scream – I got to try new flavors this time – the mint is as wonderful as I thought it would be, mango is solid, and the blueberry was surprisingly good!
Overall, the food was good per usual, and there were some highlights! For more details, please enjoy the shorts I created on all the different social media platforms!
Activities
- Deck Viewing – Even though a Disney cruise is filled with lots of whimsy, fun, and magic, it’s also important to remember that it’s an Alaska cruise so spending time on your balcony or the deck is ESSENTIAL! Take in the views, enjoy the fresh air, and try to find wildlife. I promise you, you won’t regret it. In fact, I wish I did more of it.
- Characters – One of the most exciting things about a Disney Alaska cruise are the Alaska outfits the Sensational Six wear! On Glacier Day, there are queues to meet the characters outside, but since I wasn’t too fussed about outside vs inside, I only had to wait about 15ish minutes in the afternoon for a picture with them inside. Note: They’re normally outside in the afternoon too, but it was raining on my glacier day. To compensate, they had the characters outside the following day. Note 2: To mitigate lines, the character attendants had the whole party take photos together rather than have people switching out. For the days after, they didn’t enforce that “rule.”
- ‘Til We Meet Again – I think this was one of the few times a smaller ship was better. The characters were easier to spot and wave to from the top levels, and during the unofficial character meet and greet time, some of them even came to the other levels so that was cool to see!
- Decades Music Trivia – We joined in this fun halfway through the ship and wished we started Night 1. Basically, trivia started in the 1950s and went all the way to the 2010s. Each night, a different decade was featured, and the trivia took place in the time between the first and second dinner seating so everyone could join in the fun. It became a fun routine activity for my family where we got to relive old song favorites and learn new ones since you had to list both the song and the artist!
- Sail-A-Wave Deck Party – I love a sail away party, but this one was definitely a bit outdated. Still fun, but the songs were less catchy than the other sail away parties.
- Bingo – This was my first time playing Bingo on a cruise ship and it was alright. The vibes were fun, but it wasn’t very interactive since the tech does everything for you. I wouldn’t recommend doing it every time, but if you wanted to try it out, I recommend the last round since it’s theoretically “easier” to win although you probably won’t win as much as other rounds.
- Twist ‘n’ Spout – This was super fun but not the longest water slide (I would say about 20 seconds?) so I would feel silly for marking it higher but do go on this at least once.
- Alaska Naturalist Talks – I love the idea of this since it’s Alaska cruise specific, but I do think this depends heavily on your lecturer and unfortunately, mine was only ok. She rambled a bit in her talks, and it didn’t feel very focused.
- Match Your Mate – This was great as usual, but last on the list since it’s on every ship and itinerary.
There were other activities that I didn’t get to participate in due to how many activities there were on sea days, and I wanted to mix in some relaxation time. Then, with my twisted ankle, I wasn’t able to participate in as many activities on the last sea day.
Shows
- The Golden Mickey’s – I really liked the musical numbers, but I wasn’t a fan of the stop and go flow of the show (since it’s like an award show). You can tell it’s a fan favorite from the crowd’s reactions though and it fitted very well with Formal Night!
- Disney Dreams – This was very similar to Disney’s Believe, but I don’t care for Peter Pan as much as the Genie so Disney’s Believe is better in my book. I also think the musical numbers chosen for The Golden Mickey’s were better than Disney Dreams.
- Magician – I’ve seen a lot of great magicians so his family show was a bit boring for me until he did his signature move at the end. I didn’t get a chance to see his adults-only show, but I wish I did.
- Broadway Star Series – The family show was centered around Disney music only, but I enjoyed the adults-only show since it was a bit more intimate and featured other Broadway songs. Like the magician, I think this one will also vary depending on who your stars are.
- Movie Night – We were lucky to be on the ship when The Mandalorian and Grogu came out and we got to watch it the same day it hit theaters. Always a fantastic Disney Cruise Line perk!
Overall, I was a bit disappointed by the shows for the Wonder. I think there needs to be a refresh since the shows were showing their age a bit, and the ship would also benefit from a show unique to the ship.
Final Thoughts
I hope this post was helpful for understanding what you can expect on the Disney Wonder! Let me know if you have any questions I can help answer!
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