I never thought I would get on a cruise, but I did. Motion sickness, land sickness, and all the other types of "sickness" deterred me. Even though people raved about cruises, and I know several people who go on multiple cruises a year, and I even met someone that lives on a cruise (he bought a 3-year residence), I never gave it a serious thought, until the past couple of years.
In the back of my mind of "pros" about a cruise (specifically, a Disney cruise), was Nadia's blog post about a Disney Cruise back in 2017, another person mentioning how Disney does a great job in encouraging and emphasizing hand washing and hygiene, and how @tricia_mm posted about unlimited soft serve (everyone knows how much I love ice cream).
What really changed my mind, however, was when our entire family got sick in Australia (the irony, I know). We got so sick, yet we have travelled elsewhere around the world - to some of the busiest amusement parks and the most crowded attractions, and did not get sick, yet we got ill in Australia (not sure what the cause was).
That shifted my mindset and I thought why are we missing out on an experience based on a "what if?" (Thankfully we all got home from the cruise happy and healthy).
Because I didn't know how we would fare on a cruise in terms of motion sickness, I chose an easy port to get to from Hawaii and a short cruise - the Disney Wonder 4-Night Baja Cruise out of San Diego, which stopped at Catalina Island and Ensenada.
The Basics:
I booked just over a year out and got connecting rooms for our family of 5. We were immediately assigned the late dinner reservation so I switched to 545pm and requested private party dining.
I paid off 75% of the cruise with gift cards, savings us a few hundred dollars, as I bought them from Sam's Club at a discount and always took advantage when they had 10% off sales (note - be cautious about paying with gift cards, as your travel insurance may have specific terms involving gift cards should you need to make a claim). I also prepaid gratuities with gift cards.
We did not opt for any Disney port excursions.
I checked in online 30 days out at midnight EST, had our flight info, images of our passpports, and security photos on my phone and ready to upload, and got a 1230 port arrival time (I checked in for one res, my husband checked in for the other res, and we made sure to select the same port arrival time). We designated credit cards for our profile for onboard purchases (I read you can go to Guest Services to add gift cards to your profile as well).
Document review was not finalized until the week of the cruise. One of my kids' photos got rejected twice and I simply had to keep uploading a photo until it accepted (I read that if documents or photos keep getting rejected you can get things done at the port).
I made sure to review what could and couldn't be brought on board (kept snacks sealed in original packaging; store-bought water bottles were unsealed).
SAN
We flew into SAN the day before and stayed at a hotel across the street from the port. Our hotel did not have a shuttle, so we tried Uber - and apparently it was too busy and no was assigned for 20 minutes, so I went to the taxi stand and the employee helped get us a private shuttle for $45 - which, based on my research, was comparable in price to two taxis. There are hotels that provide complimentary shuttle in the area, but our hotel was not one of them.
Embarkation
The morning of embarkation we filled out the health questionnaires that were emailed. We walked across the street to the port and arrived at about 1220. We did carry-ons only, so had no luggage to leave in the designated area (luggage tags are mailed to you to attach; if you forget them or need more, I read Disney will give you more). We went through security, got our documents (passports) checked, activated our Magic Bands+, and we were onboard at 1pm. Some of our Magic Bands+ could not sync to our profiles, so we immediately stood in line at Guest Services to resolve that (the Magic Bands+ can open the cabin doors, be used to pay, and can be used when going off / on at the ports; they do light up in certain areas, like near the theater for shows).
We waited near the elevators of our floor until the cabins were ready at 130pm. We had all of our carry-ons and a case of water, so we did not want to explore until we went into our rooms to offload.
At 130pm we were allowed to go into the cabins!
Facebook Groups
What helped tremendously in all my planning was the Facebook Groups. I joined a general Disney cruise group, a Disney Wonder group, as well as the group for my specific cruise itinerary. I gained so many tips and learned so much of what to expect - the Facebook Groups are invaluable!
Stay tuned for more!
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