Trip log, day one. Port Canaveral, Florida – FINALLY!!!
3-Night Very MerryTime Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida
November 11, 2022
Guests Onboard: 3:45 pm <– original time… boarding didn’t start until after 5 pm
Personal Navigator – Day 1 (I did not grab a printout or even ask for this day – see video below)
Our captain for this cruise was Captain Marco Nogara. As for our onboard entertainment, Ashley Long was our Cruise Director. During this 3-night Bahamian cruise, we went to Castaway Cay as Nassau was dropped due to our delayed departure from Port Canaveral.
The day started unlike any other embarkation day with a 4-hour delay that was eventually extended to 6.5-hours as a result of the Disney Wish being delayed back into Port Canaveral, which was closed due to the storm. At noon, the USCG gave the all clear and vessel traffic was allowed to proceed with the Wish being the first cruise ship to return. At this time, I cleaned up my work area and went inside and we finally packed our clothes for the trip.
We eventually drove over to the port and arrived for our modified port arrival time. While the traffic in the picture below looks backed up at this time, it was only temporary as the draw bridge was operating on a regular cycle.
Since the ship was delayed and all previous guests were required to be out of their staterooms by 11AM, we were able to walk into the terminal terminal, check-in, pass through security, and board the ship in 25 minutes.
This is one of those cruise were you are just happy they didn’t cancel and expect things to be a little less than a stellar show. While things of this nature are technically covered in the cruise contract, I will say, I was a bit taken back that the cruise line did not offer guests an option to move to a new sail date as a result of the delay which resulted in guests missing the rotational dinner on the first night and led to a very rushed few and truncated first day of 3-days onboard. This is especially the case for the Wish, which needs a solid day to learn your way around the new ship layout.
The typical welcome experience was replaced with a look behind the scenes of the Very MerryTime tree installation in the Grand Hall. The seasonal decoration team was working faster than Santa’s elves in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. As someone who enjoys seasonal decorations, it was fun to see the tree take shape and even more-so see the individual parts of the tree.
Thankfully, the self muster drill was still occurring on this voyage as it was a big time saver allowing up to get settled in our room and make it to our main dinner seating on time! We were quite fortunate to have boarding group 1 and the ability to arrive at the port via our own car which in conjunction allowed us to maximize our time onboard. For guests who were unable to board on time, Marceline Market and Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods remained opened into the evening.
For the first night, we were assigned a table on the Roy Disney side of 1923.
After dinner, we did a bit of walking around. Nice to see a ‘maximum time limit’ sign replace a check-in podium for Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge. We did not spend any time in this space on the cruise, but every so often I would walk by and look inside – each and every time I checked throughout the sailing, there were available seats including at the booths and chairs, not just at the bar.
Up in Hero Zone, a side room was open with a number of additional ping pong tables available. Not only does this room expand the area, it offers floor to ceiling views.
This is the first time back on the Wish since Disney Uncharted Adventure started as a special preview experience in the DCL Navigator app. The splash screen graphics looked great and would make for a lovely background…
Below is a modified version without the text and error message to save and use on your smartphone.
Let the Very MerryTime begin with the tree lighting ceremony in the Grand Hall! Normally, Mickey’s Tree Lighting Magic would occur about 7:45 PM on embarkation day, but this evening it was schedule for 10:45 PM and eventually moved up to 10:15 PM.
I would suggests finding a spot to enjoy the show where you have a view of the stage, chandelier and the tree.
Mistakes were made… We tried to shop Mickey’s Mainsail in the evening to check out the Christmas merchandise offerings. This venue is way too small for a modest crowd; forget a mad post show rush. Here’s hoping the Disney merchandise shop on the Disney Treasure is relocated a much larger and spread out area; maybe the area where the jewelry stores are spread out on deck 3, and move the quieter shops up into the Mickey’s Mainsail space.
It’s been a long day, and while we do not have a port day tomorrow, it was time to head back to the stateroom to rest for our day at sea and kick off the fun events we planned for those joining us on our third DCL Blog Group Cruise.
Speaking of group cruises… October 2023, will be embarking on our 4th DCL Blog Group Cruise departing Port Canaveral on Friday the 13th for a Halloween on the High Seas voyage aboard the Disney Wish.We would love for you to join us!
One more thing, here is a time lapse recording from our verandah showing guests arriving at the port as the sun sets over Florida, and the eventual sail away of the Disney Wish.
