Disney Wonder was conceived with a variety of public areas—some designated for kids, some for adults, while most catered to both crowds.
After dark, Route 66 is Disney Wonder’s adult-oriented area. Although kids scampered through during the day and early evening, the bars here—Diversion, Cadillac Lounge and WaveBands—were designated age 18 and up after 9 p.m. (drinking was still limited to 21 and up).
This was the Disney Wonder’s all-purpose lounge, the first and last bar to open and shut each day. Located in between Triton’s and Parrot Cay on Deck 3, it got busy just prior to the two evening dinner seatings, especially when a nice sunset was illuminating the oversized porthole windows. There were several sets of light live music each night and the lounge is also a venue for some of the many activities taking place each day—trivia contests, talent competitions, charades, etc. Immediately adjacent is the Internet Station.
Promenade Lounge was open from 8 a.m. till midnight daily.
Although martinis can be made at most bars on the Disney Wonder, the Cadillac Lounge is the place to order one. It not only has an expanded martini and champagne selection, but the swank décor is a seductive immersion into late 1950s Detroit car culture. White fins, red tail lights and leather seats gave Cadillac Lounge its sex appeal, while the piano went live each evening to provide soft background sounds.
Cadillac Lounge was open from 5:30 or 6 p.m. till midnight nightly. The minimum age was 18.
Sitting at the end of Route 66, the adult-oriented section of Deck 3 forward, this dark, subdued lounge was overlooked by many cruisers. Aptly named, Diversions serves as a sports bar and game center—among the scheduled activities were trivia games and Wii challenges, and there were tables with built-in backgammon and chessboards (other board games were available). In the mornings and some early afternoons it was a quiet, untended spot to enjoy a book. Rudimentary nibbles were set out at happy hour—buffalo wings, hot dogs and chips.
Bartenders staffed Diversions from noon till midnight, though it opened later in the afternoon on port days.
This inviting café was one of our favorite hangouts on Disney Wonder, with seating inside the cozy coffee hours as well as out on the open area of Deck 9, but protected from most of the wind. Though not designated as an adult area of the ship, most kids bypassed Cove Café on their way to the soft drink machine. The varied magazines on a rack for reading included Vogue, the New Yorker, Bon Appetite, Fortune, Parenting, National Geographic, etc.
In addition to coffee drinks and a full bar, small bites were available from a glass fridge at one end of the bar. In the morning there was croissants and muffins, in the late afternoon we found cold cuts, olives, cheese and veggie sticks and dip, and later on a few trays of desserts appeared. There was also a small selection of cigars (though Cove Café itself was designated non-smoking).
A stairwell connects Cove Café with the Outlook Bar, immediately upstairs.
Cove Café was open daily from 6:30 or 7 a.m. till midnight.
Added in 2009, prior to Disney Wonder’s first foray into Alaskan waters, this adults-only lounge is one key venue not found on sister ship Disney Magic. Also known as the Outlook Café, the bar sprawls from port to starboard on Deck 10, providing good vistas of the passing scenery. Whether coming for a drink or the view or just to read, this was a quiet area of the ship.
Outlook Bar was open daily from 10 a.m. till midnight, although one port day it opened at 3 p.m.
The Disney Wonder’s main entryway was here at Deck 3 mid-ship, a three-story space topped by a Dale Chihuly chandelier made of faux glass (real glass is too heavy to be safe at sea, we were told on the ship tour, so lightweight acrylics were used—look closely and you’ll see it doesn’t quite have the gleam of real glass).
The Guest Services counter (or front desk) was here, along with a desk for booking shore excursions, which Disney calls Port Adventures. A number of character greetings took place in the lobby, announced in the ship’s daily newsletter, and this was also the main entrance to Triton’s restaurant.
On disembarkation day, this area was jammed to the gills.
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