Disney Wonder - first time cruisers trip report šŸ›³ļø

Kids Clubs might be on deck 5 ā€¦

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Tell me why!

I prefer my embarkation lunch to be wait staff vs buffet. Probably d/t the travel busyness. Was the menu too limited?

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DD20 liked the food at Cabanas a lot more than any of the restaurants. I think just more variety. Plus you can see what youā€™re getting before you choose. I tend to want to be waited on as well, though.

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IME buffets are a lot of fun on all the lines Ive done.

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I heard the same as well, but mid-ship/deck 7 was fine for us too on the Dream. I think maybe if deck 7 is one of the highest on a ship, then it may have some motion sickness concerns, but there are still plenty of decks above it on at least the Dream, Wonder, and Wish to make it almost middle of the ship all around.

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I like to be in the lowest decks bc it is so much easier to get on and off at ports of call.

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This. 6 is good too but midship youā€™re above the atrium and/or kids club, so 7 is as low as Iā€™d go midship.

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I gotta be honestā€¦ Iā€™m here. Half the time the quick service or buffet stuff we ate was just as good if not better than the MDR food and no long wait required. Iā€™m also not into theā€¦ intrusive? personal? service thing. Makes me feel awkward.

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Oh man. I love being waited on. I DO love buffet with kids so they can see what they are getting. Especially when i am paying in the moment.
But on a cruise I like being waited on. :heart:
:heart:

But I am not a buffet hater whatsoever.

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Oh donā€™t get me wrong, I like being waited on. But every time we missed a meal on both the Magic and the Fantasy, the servers questioned us and looked offended and wondered what theyā€™d done wrong. Nothing, we just didnā€™t want to be there, in part because yall ask so many dang questions lol. To me, good service is quiet and efficient, not intrusive and highly personal, if that makes sense.

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A good server should know how to read their table. :heart:

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And I donā€™t even fault them for not knowingā€¦ cultural differences and all. It is just the default style on DCL I think.

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I felt this way at first, but by the last day I looked forward to seeing our server at dinner! Those folks work hard! We saw our server at breakfast and lunch in Cabanas on Sunday, and then at dinner, then at breakfast Monday, and he told us he would be in Cabanas for lunch for the new guests. I told him I hoped heā€™d have fun with the new group and he laughed so hard. Iā€™m not sure how to take that, but I loved to see him laugh! He was Samet from Turkey and our assistant server was Vicky (male) from Indonesia. We also received some complementary drinks on our last dinner. Is that normal? I got a glass of champagne and Carly got a Shirley Temple.

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Yes!!
On the carnival valor in 2019, our junior server was also working at the Dr. Seuss cat in the hat breakfast. He recognized us immediately, welcomed us by name, and ask my husband if he wanted black coffee. That is how my husband finishes every dinner.

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After some rough weather on the Crown Princess ā€œthe captain had provided champagneā€ for all the tables for dinner.

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I think the guilt about how hard they work is part of why I donā€™t like the personalized service. It makes the guilt worse somehow. Like oh not only do you work 15 hour days six months in a row to send your family some money back home, but now you know my daughterā€™s favorite princess and date of birth on top of everything else you have to keep straight, please donā€™t do that on my behalf, etc.

Is that weird?

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I totally get your perspective there! I get a little guilt myself. They earn their tips!

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I totally concur. Itā€™s absolutely weird.
Good feedback to head servers helps a lot. Itā€™s worth taking the time to talk them up.

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I get it. I think we tried really hard to not be demanding at all. I had a horrible cut of meat at Animatorā€™s Palate. It was the filet and had some kind of sinew running through that made it darn near impossible to cut. Samet was horrified and really wanted to bring me a new plate. But I had eaten at least half and the flavor was good, so I told him it was okay. I was so curious about their families back home, but didnā€™t want to pry.

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Very often we hear a lot about families at home. We straight out ask. Weā€™ve had stewards pull our phones and show photos. NCL was particularly friendly that way. We learned a lot about our steward. And one of the maĆ®tre dā€™s.

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