Sea Days on the Disney Wonder
Surrounded by Screaming Children
(Part 3 of our Disney Cruise Series)
The Great Escape — to The Cove
After surviving the chaos that is the Disney Wonder’s lobby, we made a beeline for The Cove — the adults-only (18+) section on the upper deck.
What Disney fails to mention, however, is that before the mandatory safety briefing on Day 1, the adult bar isn’t open. Another thing they fail to mention (and no review I read did either): The Cove sits between the forward and midship elevators, which means that although children aren’t supposed to linger there, they constantly run, jump, skip, yell, and scream while cutting through the 18+ area.
Let’s be honest — calling 18-year-olds “adults” is generous anyway.
The only bar open before the safety briefing was next to the children’s pool, which was showing a Disney cartoon on the big screen — complete with shrieking kids and enthusiastic parents. We grabbed a couple of double rums on ice from there and retreated to the relative safety of The Cove, waiting for our luggage and the 4 p.m. safety drill.
Dining – or Trying To
Unlike most cruise lines, Disney doesn’t keep its buffet open for dinner. Instead, guests rotate between three main dining rooms with their servers:
Tiana’s Place – supposedly Cajun, but as folks from Houston who frequent New Orleans, it didn’t land with us.
Animator’s Palate – fun show, average food.
Triton’s – we skipped it, so no review there.
We did, however, splurge on Palo, the adults-only, extra-cost Italian restaurant, and it was easily the best meal of the trip — properly cooked food and solid service.
Outside of Palo, the only bites we truly enjoyed were the gyros and burgers from Boiler Bites on the pool deck.
Life at Sea
Our first sea day took an unexpected turn when the glacier viewing was canceled due to a medical emergency onboard. The ship had to divert closer to Juneau for a Coast Guard helicopter evacuation.
This, of course, caused the rest of the ship — including every kid onboard — to swarm the Cove and invade the adult pool and hot tubs just as my wife and I were trying to enjoy some peace.
Nothing says relaxation like splashing, screaming, and the sound of Mickey Mouse echoing in the background.
When things calmed down, we spent time walking the decks, scanning the horizon for whales or anything else that moved. We spotted a few — a small victory for the day.
Where to Drink (and Hide)
Adult-only bars officially open after 6:30 p.m., but thankfully the Cove bar reopened after the safety drill on the first day and stayed open most of the time.
Most other bars were occupied with family trivia or Disney-themed activities, so finding a quiet place to enjoy a drink took some strategy.
Our favorite hideouts:
The French Quarter Lounge – great cocktails and excellent coffee in the morning, far less crowded than the Cove coffee bar.
The Cadillac Lounge – classy, comfortable, and worth the effort if you can find a seat.
We also joined the Cocktail and Martini classes in the Cadillac Lounge on the way back to Vancouver — both were excellent, with fun, knowledgeable staff.
Final Thoughts on Sea Days
If you’re not into standing in line for character photos or playing endless rounds of trivia, sea days on the Disney Wonder can be pretty dull.
Bring your Kindle, download a few shows, and prepare your liver for a bit of day drinking — just know that Disney doesn’t offer drink packages. It’s all à la carte, and the “family cult” ensures you pay for your devotion one cocktail at a time.
