Monday morning came and so did all the nerves. We were all so anxious and had so many mixed feelings and emotions taking up residence in our minds. As a Mama, I wanted this so bad for Mason. I couldn't bear the thought of his disappointment if we weren't able to go. But as a sister, daughter, friend, etc. I was so bummed for the ones not able to come with us. And so bummed at the thought of it not working out like we hoped and planned.
We checked out of our room, grabbed some breakfast, and headed to the parking garage/shuttle. We didn't know what lied ahead...
We got to the cruise terminal with plenty of time to spare. Everything was moving pretty smoothly so far. We checked in our luggage and then waited until it was our turn to get in our first line. We didn't have to wait too long before that time came. It started getting more real by the second. However, we had to keep reminding ourselves to not get too excited just yet. We still had a Covid test we needed to pass...
Not too much longer we moved to our 2nd line where we waited around 10 minutes. Then they let us in for our Covid testing. We got our kits and then headed to a tent for the testing. It was quick and easy. After we finished our tests, they moved us to another location for holding until our results came back. They had TVs set up around the waiting area and put your pass/fail notification by your reservation number on the screen. This was the most nerve-wracking thing!! Even though we expected it to take an hour or two, we were watching those screens like a hawk. However, less than 30 minutes later our reservation # popped up with a "Proceed to Terminal" message!!! This is when I lost it and began to cry!!! After everything we had been through, we finally made it. The only thing was, I forgot to look for Nate's parent's reservation #. So we had to wait for the numbers to recycle through again. They passed as well!
We were Disney Cruise bound...
They scanned our boarding passes and then let us through! We headed to another area where we checked in. We had to show identification, our birth certificates, etc. Then we got our boarding group number. We were group 11. When they called group 1 it felt like it would be an eternity that we would be waiting. We were pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case! It went by so fast.
We took a quick group photo and then we were headed to get on the ship!!
It was so surreal to see the ship as we were boarding! We waited until it was our time to embark the Wonder and then they announced our family and welcomed us in! We watched a quick little show by Mickey & Minnie and then went to our safety station.
They quickly briefed us on what to do in the state of an emergency and sent us on our way! We went straight up to Cabana's to get some lunch. Cabana's is a buffet-style casual restaurant on the ship. There were so many amazing things to choose from. They even had shrimp, lobster, and crab legs for lunch. We were all so impressed. After lunch, we went to tour the ship a bit.
First up...the Oceaneer's Kid Club and Lab...
Both areas were neat! After the kids club areas, we just walked around to see more of the ship. This was our first time on a cruise, so we were so curious about all the areas.
Then we went to see if our staterooms were ready. They were! And our luggage had been delivered as well. Our rooms were so nice and functional! There was more space than I anticipated in terms of where to store/put things. I will do a full tour of our stateroom soon!
After we checked out our room and unpacked our suitcases, we went to see more of the ship. We just so happened to be on the top deck at the front of the ship when we started to leave the port! It was so cool to see the ship take off and embark on our journey!!
Then it was time for our first sit-down dinner of the cruise! Our first scheduled dinner was at Triton's and it did not disappoint. We were pretty much just in awe the whole time. The restaurant was Little Mermaid themed and we had a three-course meal with the most delicious food and desserts!
We came back from dinner to see that our room host had turned down our bed, made Mason's bed, and left us a blanket art and some chocolates!
To cap off the evening, Nathan, Mason, and I went down to arts and crafts to make a door hanger for our room. It was fun and we got to chat with an employee about life on the ship!
The first day was amazing!! The ship is beautiful, the crew is so kind and helpful, and the food is top-notch!
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