Travels of the Rennhack family
⚓ Cruise 1/26/2018 – 2/4/2018
shipASL interpreters: ASL interpreter 1 (name unknown), ASL interpreter 2 (name unknown), Unknown
Ship friends: Eddisson (shops, 2nd sailing together, first in 2017), Marco (2nd sailing together, first in 2016)
Crew: Captain Robert Olmer · Natalie Bailey (cruise director)
Our dining team: Harry (server)
Stateroom: 2079 · 10B - Deluxe Inside
Firsts: first time in Saint Lucia, Bonaire and Aruba
We left home Friday evening at five, the four of us and the car packed for a trip that would carry us through three cruises back to back to back. We drove north to Glenview, outside Chicago, and checked into the Baymont Inn and Suites for the night, a park-sleep-fly stop so we could leave the car there and catch a shuttle to the airport in the morning.
There was no pool or restaurant stop, just getting settled by nine and the kids into bed early. We had an early start ahead of us the next day.
Flight #1. New York here we come. Then on to San Juan.
One more flight.
On the shuttle to our next gate.
When your sister gets upgraded to first class and you are in Comfort Plus, the flight attendant hooks you up with all of the snacks.
We're here!!!!
Enjoying the hotel pool. We can see the cruise port from our room and should have a good view of the Disney Wonder when it arrives tomorrow morning.
The water is cold. Hence, I am not in there. They don't seem to mind.
Bar food at the hotel for dinner because it is windy and pouring rain. The kids gave their pizzas two thumbs up and this club sandwich was fabulous. Not sure what happened to Michael's cheeseburger. I believe it was inhaled.
We left home Friday evening at 5:00 for the Baymont Inn & Suites in Glenview, a park-sleep-fly stop before the trip. A taxi got us to O'Hare by 4:55 the next morning. The gate agent upgraded Kathy, Lisa and Thomas to Comfort Plus, and I flew first class; the flight attendant moved Lisa up to sit with me for the flight to JFK. We connected there, and the landing in San Juan was bumpy in high winds.
A taxi took us to the Hyatt House beside the Pan American Pier, all four of us in matching shirts that said we were going on a Disney cruise. We stopped for a family photo in front of a Puerto Rico welcome sign. At the hotel we cooled off in the pool, though it was cold and it started to rain after twenty minutes. Dinner was at the hotel bar: a cheeseburger for me, pizzas for the kids, a turkey club for Kathy, then foosball and pool with Thomas before the kids were in their pajamas and ready for bed by nine.
Ready to get this Mickey party started. Lisa is sporting our embarkation shirts. It's so nice, we're doing it thrice!
The view from our hotel window. There she is. Front and center. Looks like a good day for a walk to the ship. Have luggage. Will schlep.
Woot!!!
Our home for the next 14 days.
We woke up in our San Juan hotel and got into our matching Back to Back to Back cruise shirts. After breakfast, Thomas played foosball in the lobby while we finished packing. From our window we caught our first look at the Wonder sitting at the pier.
We checked our boarding passes and made our way to the cruise terminal, joining the crowd waiting to check in. Around noon we walked up to the Welcome Aboard tent and stepped onto the ship for the first time.
Inside, we found the atrium and the world map table, then let the kids show us around a little. We walked through the Oceaneer Club, past the Toy Story playroom and the Marvel Super Hero Academy, and into the Animator's Studio, where Lisa sat down at the drawing table. We had our first lunch aboard, mac and cheese with ham and green beans, then checked into our stateroom.
In the afternoon we went up to the pool deck for the sail-away party, with the crowd gathered around the big screen as the Wonder pulled away from San Juan. An ASL interpreter signed the whole party from the edge of the stage. We stood at the rail and watched the skyline go by.
Back in the cabin that evening, our stateroom host had left a towel animal folded on the bed next to the room keys.
Shirley Heights and the Block House. Holy windy day Batman. Gorgeous views of Eric Clapton's house. Oprah has a house on the island too.
Antigua
The Wonder called at St. John's from 9:00 in the morning until 4:45 in the afternoon. We started out on deck taking in the harbor as we came in, docked among the fishing boats and cargo ships crowded along the waterfront.
Ashore, the four of us went up to Shirley Heights Lookout. It had started to rain by the time we reached the hillside, so we rode a shuttle the rest of the way up to the old fort. From the lookout the whole of English and Falmouth Harbours spread out below us, boats scattered across the water below the hills. Thomas leaned against the stone wall for a look down, and we finally got a shot of all four of us together.
From there the tour brought us down to Nelson's Dockyard, past a stand selling Admiral Nelson's rum punch and under tall palms next to the old naval buildings, before we made our way back to the ship by mid-afternoon.
That night was formal night. We had dinner at Tiana's Place, where Louis the alligator worked the room in his tuxedo while the kids ate in their own black and white. Later we caught The Golden Mickeys and posed for a photo at the step-and-repeat before heading back to the stateroom, where housekeeping had left a towel animal waiting on the bed.
We were in the gift shop last night and all I heard was a scream of, "Mom!!! Eddisson is here." My kids' most favorite cast member ever was transferred from the Magic where we sailed with him in Europe back in June to the Wonder. He remembered all of our names and gave us the biggest hug. He made the kids promise to come see him every day. You sling pins and stuffed animals. I don't think dragging them in there will be an issue. And this is why we cruise with Disney. The people make it great. I hope he is here next year when we sail the Panama Canal itinerary. My kids would be over the moon.
Last night was formal night and the Golden Mickeys. My crew cleans up pretty well. We had a great time bouncing between all of the photo sets, eating at the new Tiana's Place (hello yumminess) and attending the Golden Mickeys. The show was beautifully interpreted by the ASL interpreters as was the show in Tiana's. Today it's off to SNUBA in beautiful St. Lucia and add a magnet to our collection, a tradition for our first visit to any country. It's getting pretty extensive.
Good Morning from beautiful St. Lucia.
Thomas loved SNUBA. Lisa loved collecting shells and some sand for her science teacher.
Life is better in the ocean.
The Wonder was alongside at Castries by eight in the morning, and I had coffee on the verandah while Kathy took in the view of the harbor before we got moving.
Ashore, we went to Pigeon Island for the morning's Snuba trip, breathing off a surface air line instead of full scuba tanks. Both Lisa and Thomas completed the dive and earned their own SNUBA certificates. By early afternoon we were back on the beach, the gear lined up on the sand, and Lisa came up out of the water holding a conch shell she had found. She and Kathy dried off on the beach a while before we made our way past the welcome sign and back down to the pier.
Back aboard, I spent some time up on the pool deck with the 360 camera while the ship sat at Castries into the afternoon. That evening we had a towel animal waiting in the room, this one wearing a pair of sunglasses. After dinner we caught the evening show, the ventriloquist Taylor Mason. He called Thomas up on stage with his penguin puppet, to the whole theater's delight. Later I went out on deck and caught the ship's lit funnel against the dark.
A full day at sea. I had coffee by the porthole before the ship woke up, then found crew working high near the funnel by the water slide.
At breakfast Pluto, Minnie, Goofy and Mickey each stopped at our table, and Lisa and Thomas got a hug and a photo with every one of them. The pool closed for part of the afternoon, not reopening until six, so we found other ways to fill the time.
At dinner in Animator's Palate we each drew a character on the activity board and watched it come to life on the screen. Lisa put on a paper crown before bed.
Dinner
We are official Disney animators. I love this show at Animator's Pallette.
Pixie Dusted by our stateroom attendant last night while we were at dinner. Lisa had Frozen sheets on her bed. Thomas was surprised to find The Good Dinosaur on his. Yes folks. It's the special touches that keep me coming back. Nobody does it better than Disney.
Good Morning from Bonaire! Today's excursion is snorkeling off the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, known as one of the best dive/snorkeling destinations in the world.
We're on a Siamese sailing ship! We tendered from the pier to the ship in an inflatable Zodiac. How cool! Making memories with my people.
Simply gorgeous day. The Samur is an awesome vessel and we had fun snorkeling in Klein Bonaire. Now back to the ship for lunch and pool time before Pirate Night and fireworks at sea. It's 82 degrees here
The Wonder called at Kralendijk, Bonaire, from 8:00 in the morning to 4:45 in the afternoon. Ashore we boarded a wooden sailboat for the day's port adventure, the Samur Sail, Beach and Snorkel tour, 8:45 to 11:45. The kids sat up front on the towel-piled benches while the crew raised the orange sails, and we watched Klein Bonaire's turquoise water slide by. Kathy and I had drinks once we anchored.
Back aboard the Wonder we had lunch out on deck, looking down over Kralendijk's harbor and its rows of yellow and orange buildings along the water.
Thursday was Pirate Night. Up on deck Thomas got to meet Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, both in full pirate rig with Bonaire in the background. Lisa dressed up in a ruffled blouse for dinner, going along with the evening's "Pirate or Cruise Casual" attire. After dinner we caught Marcus Monroe's juggling show before the Pirates IN The Caribbean deck party started up on Deck 9, an ASL interpreter signing it from the side of the stage. Back in the stateroom a fresh towel animal was waiting on the door, and the moon came up bright over the water as the Wonder sailed on toward Aruba.
Good Morning from Oranjestad, Aruba. It took me 6 days, but I finally grabbed a sunrise shot. Today we are off to an all-inclusive resort for swimming, beach time, water slides, zip lining, banana boat rides in the ocean and a Sea Trek helmet dive. The weather forecast is sunny, windy and 82 degrees. We are in port until 1:45 tomorrow morning! Time to grab breakfast and wake up my "I Hate Mornings" crew. Tomorrow is a sea day. They can sleep in.
Beautiful day at De Palm Island.
My view today. Aruba gets two thumbs up from this traveler and her crew. All of us LOVED the Sea Trek helmet dive. Pictures coming as soon as we can upload them from my laptop back on the ship. De Palm Island is a winner in our book. What a fun island paradise.
Tonight's dinner rotation finds us back in Tiana's Place. Love the Crawfish Crooners live band and the atmosphere here. My new favorite restaurant.
Beignets with chocolate espresso dipping sauce. Delish!
The Wonder called at Oranjestad, from 8:00 in the morning to 4:45 in the afternoon. Ashore, we spent the day at De Palm Island on the Beach and Snorkeling tour, 8:15 to 3:15. The kids started at the water park and then took turns on the bungee trampoline and the zip line strung out over the beach.
In the late morning the whole family went down together on a Sea Trek helmet dive, walking along the sea floor in the diving helmets while fish swam past the glass. Lisa got to hold a hermit crab that one of the guides handed her. Afterward we cooled off in the shallow water along the beach before heading back to the ship.
That night at dinner a couple of costumed dancers came through the dining room, in keeping with the evening's Coco theme, and posed for a photo with Lisa. Dinner was prime rib. Back in the stateroom a towel animal was waiting for us, and Thomas found his bunk decorated with a Happy Birthday banner.
Dinner
Another day at sea. In the evening the ship's photographer took portrait after portrait of us: formal wear in front of a blue backdrop, casual shots in our navy Disney Cruise Line shirts, and a pirate-costume set left over from the same sitting.
Somewhere in the middle of it all we caught a shot on deck with the sun going down behind us. Kathy picked up a framed print that read 'It All Started With A Cruise, 2018' as a keepsake.
Later that night we passed a poster for that evening's show, a magician named Marcus Monroe.
383 pictures taken of our family by the shipboard photographers over 7 days. Worth the $300 we paid for unlimited hi-res digital images? Absolutely! Be still my heart. I love my people. These are a few of my favorites. There are so many more. The final cut will be tough.
The Wonder returned to San Juan and we headed ashore in the morning, wearing our matching "Back 2 Back 2 Back" shirts for this middle leg of the trip. In Old San Juan we stopped at a plaza fountain, posed with one of the street performers dressed as a living statue, and walked past the row of bronze president statues near the Capitol building.
At Castillo San Cristobal we climbed up onto the fort's walls and lookout towers for the view over the bay and the old city. Lisa filled out a Junior Ranger booklet and a park ranger swore her in and pinned on her badge. We finished the morning by a statue group down along the bay wall.
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