I have always enjoyed going on a cruise since they are generally wheelchair accessible, convenient and offer a great value.  My last cruise was in January 2020 on the Carnival Victory and haven’t been on one since because of the pandemic and all of the rules and restrictions for cruising.

With everything easing, I was ready to try going on another cruise for early 2023 and wanted to try another cruise line besides Carnival.  I have been on a streak visiting Disney theme parks recently, so I wanted to try sailing with Disney Cruise Lines.  A friend and I booked a 4 night cruise from San Diego on the Disney Wonder back in March.

The Ship

Disney Wonder launched in 1999 and is the second Disney Cruise Line ship in operations after the Disney Magic sailed in 1998.  There are 11 public decks on the Disney Wonder with 875 staterooms accommodating about 2400 passengers.  The ship is very family oriented and has Disney characters throughout the ship.

Getting There

From our hotel Motel 6 Hotel Circle, it was only about a 15 min Uber to the cruise terminal.  We arrived almost an hour before our boarding time because we had to check out from our hotel and wanted to make sure we went to the right area.  After talking to a Disney cast member, she let us join the next boarding group.

Going through the cruise port didn’t take too long as we got our Disney Key to the World card which is our room key, ID and card to purchase items/drinks throughout the cruise.  While waiting for our room to be ready, we had a delicious sit down lunch at Tiana’s Restaurant.

Cabin Rooms

Our room on the Disney Wonder was an interior 7131 on deck 7.  There was a nice comfortable Queen bed which had enough room on the one side for my wheelchair and for my friend to transfer me.  He got the single sofa bed which was just on the other wall.  There were also various emergency call buttons and cords located throughout the room and bathroom that could be used if activated.

The bathroom was great too.  It was quite spacious with a large roll in shower with a flip up shower bench and a handheld shower head.  The sink had space under it for a wheelchair to roll under.  There was also a push button door opener for the bathroom just like the main entry door.

Accessibility

As with most cruise ships, the accessibility on the Disney Wonder is great.  Elevators could be found everywhere but during peak times like dinners, shows, and others it can be crowded and slow.  The hallways, deck and pool areas were all easy to get around.  I see a spot where a pool lift would go for the main pool but I never asked for it since I did not use the pool.

The restaurants had tables that I could wheel under without any issues.  There are several accessible washrooms around the ship that I have used but most of the time I just used the one in our room just to make it easier.

Port Stops

Our 4 night itinerary on the Disney Wonder had only 2 stops: Catalina Island, California and Ensenada, Mexico.  The first stop at Catalina Island required using a tender boat to bring us to the port.  I wrote about it separately here. The second stop at Ensenada was just a walk/roll off the ship using a gangway which I previously wrote about here.  We did not do any excursions at either ports as we just did our own thing.

Food and Drink

The Disney Wonder has three main dining rooms: Tiana’s Place, Animator’s Palate, and Triton’s.  Disney uses rotational dining which means we get to eat at different restaurant each night with the same wait staff following you each night to better serve us.

There are no drink or alcohol packages to buy as all sodas, juices, and basic coffees and teas are included in our cruise fare.  Alcoholic drinks are purchased each on its own.  There are 2 dining times: 5:45pm and 8:15pm.  We got the earlier and more popular time by picking online in advance.  Our first night’s dinner was at Animator’s Palate.

The theme of this restaurant is animation and there are two shows here: one with Mickey Mouse and the other is our own animated drawing coming to life.  I had a plate of sliced serrano ham, cup of baked potato & cheddar cheese soup, grilled tuna and Mickey’s premium ice cream bar.  Everything tasted amazing.

Our second night was at Tiana’s Place which is our second time there since we had lunch here on embarkation day.  The restaurant is themed after The Princess and the Frog and replaced Parrot Cay.  During dinner Tiana does walk around to interact with guests and does sing a few songs at the front stage.  I had the charcuterie board, pepper pot soup, prime rib, beignets and Mickey’s premium bar.

We were once again at Tiana’s Place for our third night for pirate night and menu.  We were given red bandanas as everyone were to dress up in pirate attire or costumes.  There isn’t Tiana walking around or singing this time.  I had the crab cake, carrot cilantro soup, jerk chicken and shared the caramel macadamia nut tart.

Triton’s is the third restaurant and it is themed after The Little Mermaid and has a statue of Ariel at the front entrance.  We had our sit down breakfast earlier and were excited to have dinner at this elegant restaurant.  This was my favorite dinner on the cruise as I had escargot, duck confit, french onion soup, rack of lamb, apple tart and Mickey’s premium ice cream bar.

We also had some quick bites throughout the like Cove Cafe where coffee drinks are a surcharge, Pinocchio’s Pizzeria, hot dog and chicken tenders from Pete’s Boiler Bites, and the amazing Cabanas buffet. We never had any sandwiches or wraps from Daisy’s De-Lites or the fancy extra charge Palo restaurant.  We did love the free soft serve ice cream and had a cone a few times.

Entertainment

Using the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, we get to see the whole entertainment schedule for the duration of the entire cruise.  The first main event was the Sail Away Party on deck 11 to celebrate the start of our vacation.  There is a live DJ along with cast members and Disney characters dancing and interacting with the crowd.  This was similar to the Til We Meet Again goodbye party signalling the end of the cruise.

There is nightly entertainment at the Walt Disney Theater on deck 4.  There is an empty wheelchair spot at the very back of the huge theater or at the very front row for disabled guests.  The first night was a showing of the new still in theater Antman & The Wasp: Quantumania.  I just watched this movie just weeks before the cruise but my friend didn’t so we stayed for the movie.

The next 3 nights were some amazing Broadway type musicals and shows with high production.  We stayed front row for all 3 shows to get a great view of everything.  First was The Golden Mickeys where Mickey and friends give tribute to Disney movies by having an awards show that teaches everyone that we are all winners.  There is no pictures or videos allowed in any of these shows.

Frozen: A Musical Spectacular was our second night.  This show like every show was an hour long and is a condensed but full story of the movie Frozen.  There was lots of singing and some really cool effects.  The last night show was Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic.  This award winning show has several Disney characters help a little girl realize the power of dreams and her journey to believe in herself.

There were also a bunch of characters meet and greet that we took pictures with and the Pirate Night Deck Party and fireworks that we did.  Otherwise we didn’t really do any other entertainment activities like trivia, bingo, board games, liquor tasting or nightclubs.

Disembarkation

We initially had the 7am breakfast seating before disembarkation but we talked to someone in charge to switch to the 8:15am slot since our flight isn’t until the afternoon and we would already lose an hour of sleep due to daylight savings.  We made sure to have our luggage tagged and ready in front of our door before bedtime.

Breakfast at Triton’s was fast and filling then it was time to line up to disembark.  It was quite busy and everyone was trying to cut the line to leave the ship.  When we finally got out of the cruise port, our pre-purchased accessible shuttle bus was already there to take us to the airport.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed my first cruise that wasn’t Carnival and thought that Disney was amazing.  The price is probably double that of Carnival for something comparable but Disney does provide excellent service, sodas and juices included and character meet and greets.  I would definitely go on another Disney cruise if there is a good deal.