Disney Wonder

Disney Wonder docked at Castaway Cay.
Career
Name:	Disney Wonder
Owner:	Disney Cruise Line
Port of registry:	Nassau,  Bahamas[1]
Route:	Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska, West Coast of the United States
Builder:	Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy[2]
Launched:	1999
Maiden voyage:	August 1999
In service:	1999-present
Identification:	IMO number: 9126819
Status:	In service
General characteristics
Type:	Cruise ship
Tonnage:	83,000 GT[2]
Length:	964 ft (294 m)[2]
Beam:	106 ft (32 m)[2]
Draft:	25.3 ft (7.7 m)[2]
Decks:	11
Speed:	21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) (cruising) 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (max)[2]
Capacity:	2,400 passengers
Crew:	945

Disney Wonder is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line. The second ship to join the Disney fleet, she entered service in 1999. She is nearly identical in construction to its fleet mate, Disney Magic. The interior of Disney Wonder is decorated in the Art Nouveau style, in contrast to her sister ship, Disney Magic which is decorated in the Art Deco style. Both ships have 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,400 passengers in 875 staterooms, and have a crew of approximately 950. Disney Wonder was built in the year following completion of Disney Magic. As of 2012, Disney Wonder currently sails seasonally to Alaska (from Vancouver) and the Caribbean (from Miami).

Disney Wonder‍ '​s Captain is Guus Verhulst and her "godmother" is Tinker Bell.^[3]

History

Disney Wonder in Puerto Vallarta.

Disney Wonder had her first voyage from the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, stopping in Southampton, U.K., Ponta Delgada (Azores), arriving in Port Canaveral, Florida two weeks later. Her maiden voyage was a four-night Bahamian cruise that commenced on August 15, 1999.

Disney Wonder in Port Canaveral

Disney Wonder originally sailed three- and four-night cruises to The Bahamas. In 2011, Disney Dream took over these itineraries and Disney Wonder was repositioned to the Pacific Coast. Disney Wonder sailed week-long Mexican Riviera cruises and Pacific Coast cruises out of Los Angeles from October to April, calling on such ports as Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada in Mexico, as well as San Fransciso and San Diego. On sailings in April and October 2012, Disney Wonder made its first-ever calls on Hawai'i, with stops at Hilo, Kahului and Honolulu.

From May to September 2012, the ship sailed Alaska cruises, out of Seattle, Washington, although her voyages in 2011 departed from Vancouver. These sailings called on Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau. The Seattle voyages scheduled in 2012 made an additional stop at Victoria, British Columbia on the last night of each voyage to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.^[4]

Following a repositioning cruise in December 2012, Disney Wonder is currently based in Miami, FL for about 5 months, with four- and five-night sailings to the Bahamas and the Western Caribbean. In late May 2013, she will return to Vancouver, British Columbia as her home port for three months of Alaska sailings.^[5] In September 2013, Disney Wonder will be moved to Galveston, Texas to replace Disney Magic.^[6] In January 2014, Disney Wonder returned to Miami for 4 months, taking over for Disney Magic, with three-, four- and five-night sailings to the Bahamas and the Western Caribbean.^[7]

Disappearance of crew member

On March 22, 2011, crewmember Rebecca Coriam was reported missing when she failed to report for her morning shift. Her last known location had been in the crew lounge in the early morning hours, where security camera footage showed her talking on the phone, apparently upset, and then walking off. It was the first incidence of a disappearance from ship in Disney's history.^[8] Activity on Coriam's credit card two months after her disappearance has fueled speculation that she might be alive.^[9]

Recreation

Disney Wonder's aquatic layout consists of three pool areas. The Mickey Pool is designed for children from 3 months to 3 years and has a depth of 1.5 ft, with two hot-tub like 'ears' and a winding enclosed slide. The Goofy Pool is designed for families. In addition to the pool, it has two whirlpool spas and a 24-by-14 foot LED Screen referred to by Disney as "Funnelvision" due to its location on the rear of one of the ship's funnels. The Quiet Cove Pool is designed for adults 18 or older.

For athletics, there is the Wide World of sports, with areas for basketball, soccer, volleyball, ping pong and more. This area contains a net enclosed basketball court (sheltered from the wind by a large glass screen) and other sports accouterments.

For children (3-10) there are the Oceaneers Club, and the Oceaneers Lab. The Club provides a slide, multiple TVs, dress up clothing, and counselor-led activities. The Lab provides video games, computers, cooking classes, and TV time geared towards the older end of that age bracket. Children receive an RFID badge when registered that allows the cruise staff to always know the child's location in the activity areas. The Disney Wonder also has a video game arcade called Quarter Masters, open from approximately 8:00 a.m. to midnight daily. Quarter Masters features a cashless system, where you can purchase a play card filled with game credits using your Key to the World card at a kiosk located inside the arcade or Guest Services on Deck 3. Once purchased, simply enter the card into a videogame to access your credits and play the game.

Dining

For dinner, Disney Wonder uses a dining rotation. There are three main restaurants aboard Wonder: Triton's, Parrot Cay and Animator's Palate. Each night, the guests "rotate" to another restaurant, sitting at the same table number, eating with the same people, and having the same wait staff. Each of the restaurants' decor and menus are themed, with Triton's featuring an elegant Art Deco dining room serving French cuisine,^[10] Parrot Cay being themed to a Caribbean grill house,^[11] and Animator's Palate featuring a dining room that changes from black-and-white to color over the course of the meal and serves contemporary cuisine.^[12]

Disney Wonder also features a premium restaurant, Palo, which serves Northern Italian fare. Palo is limited to guests 18 years of age or older, and charges an additional per-person dining charge.^[13]

Disney Wonder has several complementary "open" dining/food options. The largest is the Beach Blanket Buffet, which operates as a buffet during breakfast and lunch and as a casual sit-down restaurant during dinner. There are also three outdoor quick-service restaurants located near the pools: Goofy's Galley, which serves breakfast and lunch, Pinocchio's Pizzeria, which serves pizza during lunch and late-night hours, and Pluto's Dog House, which serves hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and dinner.^[14] Triton's and Parrot Cay serve American food during lunch, with the latter alternating between a lunch buffet and a sit-down lunch.^[10][11] 24-Hour room service is also available.^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Disney Wonder.

• Disney Wonder from the company's website
• "Yonder On The WONDER (Cruising to Mexico, Disney Style), Part One", "Part Two" and "Part Three" – review by Peter Knego in Maritime Matters of a cruise to Mexico on the Disney Wonder.