Onto our new floating home

The six of us approach the portal, shaped like Mickey’s head, and present our i.d.’s and KTTW cards. We are waved into the passageway, where our cards are scanned and we are officially cleared to board. Yay!

Something new happens at this point – Bob and Linda are handed an envelope with their names on it. Not sure what that’s about, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

We toss down our bags and pose for the welcome aboard picture – I’ve had to learn to suppress my impatience and just get this over with – and then we regather our belongings and head for the gangway, where tarps have been lowered on both sides to protect us from the cold wind and rain as we walk across to the ship.

We step onto the Disney Wonder. Ahhhhh, it’s good to be back. A cheerful young crew member welcomes us aboard and asks our family name and where we’re from. I know what’s coming next, and I’m determined this time not to be trying to take pictures so I can fully enjoy her announcement over the loudspeakers: “Please welcome the Murdock and Randall families from Texas!” Crew members applaud us as we walk across the beautiful three-story atrium.

It never fails to make us feel like royalty.

As it is just 1:00, it’s a bit early for us to try to get into our cabin – I mean, our suite – so we head for lunch. As a change, and because the weather is chilly on deck, we’d decided some time ago to head for the (indoor, enclosed) Parrot Cay restaurant for lunch rather than the Beach Blanket Buffet on Deck 9. We stay on Deck 3 and turn down the long port walkway towards Parrot Cay.

There are not a whole lot of holiday decorations still up on the ship, but we do pass a big gingerbread house at the base of a large staircase. It’s not as grand or as detailed as the ones in the WDW resorts, but it’s still pretty cool.

Uh oh. With the chilly weather, it looks like we’re not the only ones who have had the idea to go to Parrot Cay. There’s a cast member at the entrance with a waiting list. Not much to do but join in. We give him our name and party size, and then he directs us to have a seat in the nearby Promenade Lounge to wait.

We find a set of chairs to relax in, and Bob and Linda open up their mystery envelope. It turns out to be for all of us, since all six of us are in the same suite together. It contains a “welcome aboard” card signed by our concierge staff, a separate invitation to the concierge meet-and-greet in the Cadillac Lounge this afternoon. There are also two full-sized printed pages, which turn out to be personalized itineraries for our family, giving dining rotations (confirming what I gleaned from our cards – Parrot Cay, Triton’s, and then Animator’s Palate), show times, concierge-level-only events, and other items.

How cool! I really could get used to being pampered.