Merrytime Cruise - Disney Wonder Day 1

Well, I finally have most of the pictures sorted, so I'm going to start with day 1 of our most recent Disney Cruise! We sailed out of Galveston (a completely new experience for us) and LOVED it! It was amazing having Disney so close to home!

Disney Wonder Day 1 (Boarding)

Disney Wonder Day 2 (At Sea Day) 

Disney Wonder Day 3 (Cozumel, Mexico) 

Disney Wonder Day 4 (Grand Cayman)

Disney Wonder Day 5 (Falmouth, Jamaica)

Disney Wonder Day 6 (At Sea Day) 

Disney Wonder Day 7 (At Sea Day)

After a not quite 3 hour drive, we were there...yay! There's the Disney Wonder!

I might have squealed when the ship came into view...and I think I scared my husband in the process! Whoops!

As per the suggestion of someone in our fb group, we booked cruise terminal parking ahead of time at a lot down the road. It was covered (they do offer non-covered parking) and they took us along with our bags right to the ship. If you're looking for a recommendation, the parking lot we used was called Lighthouse and they were great!

When we arrived at the terminal, all we saw was mass chaos. We had no clue where to go and although Disney workers were standing outside, they weren't directing traffic well. I had to stop and ask what to do with my bags because I was clueless. I also saw several families bringing their luggage into the check in line with them because there was no direction being given outside.  We've also sailed out of the port of New York with Disney and definitely did not have this problem at all. I realize it was Disney's first cruise out of Galveston this year, so maybe they will have it all in working and flowing order from here on out.

The first line we encountered was this one. Which I naturally assumed was check in. Nope. Security.

After making it through security, we had another line to wait in - the check in line!! We were given our Gold Castaway Club lanyards for the first time and a boarding group number of 6!

We decided to sit and rest until numbers were called. This is another spot where mass chaos ensued. There weren't enough chairs for everyone and people were all over the place. The loudspeakers also weren't loud enough which made it impossible to hear the boarding groups as they were called. We didn't begin boarding the ship until 12:15 or so and thankfully, Disney had a worker who walked around holding up signs with the correct boarding group numbers on them...that helped tremendously!

This was our first Merrytime cruise and we couldn't wait to get the party started!

As we entered the lobby, the scent of gingerbread filled the air! They had a giant gingerbread house set up in front of Guest Services (more on that later). They were also installing the lobby Christmas tree as we entered the ship!

Our first stop was Parrot Cay for lunch. It's usually WAY less crowded than the buffet upstairs and they have the same exact menu items (also on a buffet). Since we had time to kill after eating lunch, we stopped by the buffet upstairs to check and yep...same exact menu items!

Around 1:30 ish, we dropped our bags off at the room and Jason took a nap on the couch. I think I watched a Disney movie on TV although I can't remember which one now!

During the muster drill, we were located in Animator's Palate and randomly given a seat. After a few minutes, another couple sat across from us. We started talking about dinner and how we usually get paired up with another couple without kids...then they asked which dinner rotation we were on. Both of us were on the second dinner rotation. So, I asked which restaurant they were assigned first for the night...both of us were to begin our dinner rotation at Parrot Cay. Then they asked which table number we were assigned and guess what? We were all given table 15!! We couldn't stop laughing! How random is that?! So, we got to meet our dinner partners before dinner even began!

Before long, it was time for the Adventures Away/Sail Away party! 

So much fun!

After waving goodbye to those on the dock, we walked down to deck 9 for ice cream! Our dinner seating wasn't until the second rotation and my pregnant tummy couldn't wait three more hours for something to eat!

First sunset at sea!

In between the evening show and dinner was the lobby tree lighting ceremony! They picked a family of the day to help light the tree and it was so cute!

 Even Parrot Cay was decked out for Christmas! 

Obligatory Christmas tree photo!

Remember the gingerbread house I mentioned? Well, here it is! I just love the detail Disney puts into everything!!

 Cute, right?

Last but not least, we ended the evening with a cute little towel animal!

Stay tuned for more! We had a blast on our magical baby moon on the high seas!

Have you ever cruised (any cruise line) during the holidays?