The Disney Wonder is the last ship I sailed pre-pandemic in January 2020. Although the ship looked in decent shape then, DCL had the Wonder spend some time at a drydock during the pandemic and the room and common areas felt "refreshed" although nothing significant had changed. This near 25-year old ship, on the outside, looks better than some of the 5 years old ship from a major competitor...

This cruise was special in many sense... It is one of the last Panama Canal cruise for DCL in a while... DCL had started to relax some on board safety measures, allowing for some (limited) deck parties, varied entertainment was offered every night... and so on. It did fall short on a few minor aspects vs previous Panama Canal cruise, especially as it relates to the lack of variety in character interactions (no special character days, main characters rotating through maybe 4-5 outfits).

There was a lot to like about this cruise: The food in the main dining room was excellent, and service exquisite. The food at the main buffet was also fairly decent. The cabin size is good, with plenty of storage. Everything in the room was in working order, with no maintenance issues. Housekeeping throughout the stay was great. The area we were in was fairly quiet... the only noise issue is having the room located right above the main theatre... (more on that later) The quality of the entertainment was "near normal", and had enough variety to not get bored. The photography team spent quite a bit of time outdoor to catch unique shots, with port of calls, sunsets, the ship... or the Panama Canal, in the background. Indoor, they had some new backgrounds I had not seen before which was good for a change. Staff at guest services were friendly, when needed. Kids venue were easily available and offered suitable entertainment options. Some special touches such as cold towels, outdoor pastry and juice table, frozen fruit bar during the Panama Canal crossing made things a bit more special. Puerto Vallerta and Cabos were excellent port of calls, and Cozumel wasn't too bad either.. but we were there on a Sunday... and had been there 6 weeks before... so I think we had our dose of Cozumel. Cartagena itself was so-so... but the port area is actually nice... with some sort of aviary and large Columbian gift ship. There was some, limited, Panama Canal merchandising on board and overall, the merchandising offer was good. Spa services were running almost normally and the Rainforest room, men facial/shaving were great experiences. Read more