Riviera Revisited - Disney Wonder, Jan 23 - 30, 2011 About This Page:

[sueh818]

Since we leave in just one week I decided it was high time to start my pre-trip report. This is our second Mexican Riviera cruise with Disney, so I'm calling this trip "Riviera Revisited"

What:
7-night Disney Wonder Mexican Riviera cruise January 23 - 30, 2011 (The Wonder's first 7-night MR cruise!)

Cast of Characters:
Me: Sue (40)
DH: Theo (41)
DD1: Chloe (13)
DD2: Lucy (10)
DD3: Cecilia (10)
DD4: Daphne (8)

We booked this cruise well over a year ago, on the day Disney opened these dates for booking, so I've been struggling with my love/hate relationship with early booking.

Love: lots and lots of time to plan and dream.
Hate: waiting like FOREVER for the trip!

But it always does seem to crop up quicker than I expect -- one minute its a year away the next its six months, then one month , and then all of the sudden we're at one week away! ...and I sure have a heck of a lot of laundry and packing to do for six people!

Getting There:
Since we live only about an hour from the Port of Los Angeles, we plan to drive and park at the terminal ($12/day, I think).

Our Plans:
The itinerary starts with two days at-sea, followed by three days in port, and finishing with one final at-sea day. Here's what I booked at 90 days out and otherwise pre-planned:

January 23: Day 1 - Port of Los Angeles
We plan to arrive at the port sometime between 10 and 11 am. Once on board we'll have lunch in Parrot Cay and then swim with the kids (We're under-dressing swim suits).

At 2:30 we'll attend the meet-up with the group from the forums on this board and the dis board. They seem like quite a wonderfully rowdy crowd.I only hope we don't get ourselves kicked out of the lounge!

After that is the emergency drill, sail away party, unpacking, dinner, and shows.

January 24: Day 2 - At Sea
Enjoy the ship and all it has to offer! Did someone say Rain Forest Room?

January 25: Day 3 - At Sea
11:00 am - Palo Brunch and ???

January 26: Day 4 - Puerto Vallarta
Last time in Puerto Vallarta Theo and I did the Outdoor Adventure (mule ride, hike, zip lines, rappelling, rope bridges) and it was awesome!



This time Theo is taking the three big kids on the Canopy Adventure. This is the description from the DCL site:

CANOPY ADVENTURE (Ages 10+)
On this tour you will:

• Take a short boat ride from the ship to a local marina where you board a Mercedes all-terrain vehicle (Unimog) for the approximate 60-minute journey into the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
• Arrive at a private eco-reserve where you meet your guides and take in a safety demonstration as you prepare for your high-flying jungle adventure.Then, suit up and hold on tight as you are whisked away from treetop to treetop via a network of pulleys mounted at a height of 90 feet above the forest ground. Zip along 11 horizontal lines — including a thrilling 480-foot long cable — as you journey from platform to platform, on a variety of zip lines, hanging bridges, a Tarzan swing, a "crazy ladder" and two 90-foot vertical descents.
• After your approximate 2-hour adventure, sit back, enjoy a light snack, relax and lose yourself to the captivating sights of Puerto Vallarta as you embark on your return trip back to the ship.

Daphne isn't old enough for this excursion, and wasn't interested in any of the others, so I volunteered to stay behind with her for some very rare Mommy/daughter alone time. She gets to choose what we do. Hopefully she'll want to nap all afternoon. That's what I'd choose.

January 27: Day 5 - Mazatlan
Other than taking the kids into port for a little shopping, we plan to stay on board and enjoy the ship. I'm hoping they'll offer some discounted port-day spa services.

January 28: Day 6 - Cabo San Lucas
Theo and I are taking a day for ourselves. We start with the Discover Scuba excursion. Disclaimer: Now please understand, my whole life I've always been creeped out by the thought of Scuba diving. Something about being out in the middle of the ocean and staring out into deep dark nothingness on all sides. But then when I was researching port adventures I read:

DISCOVER SCUBA
On this tour you will:

• Meet your Dive Masters and receive an approximate 50-minute introductory theory session on the safety and enjoyment of scuba diving.
• Experience an approximate 50-minute session in shallow waters where you can practice basic scuba skills.
• Board a boat for a quick 10-minute transfer to a dive site where you'll enjoy an open water scuba dive accompanied by your PADI Dive Instructor.
• Observe the amazing and abundant marine life in the waters of Cabo San Lucas, one of the best diving spots in Mexico, during an approximate 45-minute, one-tank dive.
• Conclude your dive and return to the pier.

...and the pictures looked so tame and beautiful (see for yourself: Experience Scuba | Cabo San Lucas Port Adventures & Shore Excursions | Disney Cruise Line)

...that I thought, "Tiggers LOVE Scuba diving." We'll see.

Directly after Scuba we're meeting our fellow, friendly DCL fanatics at Cabo Wabo.

...and to cap it off we have 6:30 ressies for dinner at Palo! This has the potential to be a "best day ever" kind of day.

January 29: Day 7 - At-Sea
Make up what we missed...and pack

January 30: Day 8 - Port of Los Angeles
Linger as long as we're allowed and then mope back home.

Coming up next: FE gifts and door magnets

[chezp]

Great start and wonderful plans!

[lauriep]

Great plans! Sounds like a perfect mix of relaxation and adventure.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start and plans! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[B.M.]

Great plans!

[pamcarey]

Great start! Your plans sound great, especially the scuba diving! I loved your last cruise TR. Your girls are so cute!

[sueh818]

Here's what I've been working on for door magnets.

The girls requested one with Disney characters representing each of us so I came up with this:



Theo requested a whimsical "family crest" incorporating my love for Mickey with his love for Weezer (he's in a Weezer cover band). That one was a little more challenging but must say that I'm quite pleased with the result :




The door ears and hats that I made for from our first cruise are still in good shape so I'm reusing them:




!!!! SPOILER ALERT - If you're participating in the FE exchange on this cruise then please skip the rest of this post!!!!



Are they gone yet? Good.

For FE gifts I made two door magnets. The first, which I'll deliver on the first or second day, is taken from a postcard I bought on my June '08 Mexican Riviera cruise. I scanned it and photoshopped it a bit to add our dates and say Wonder instead of Magic. Shhh! Don't tell any of the FE people that the ship is sporting a a Sorcerer Mickey instead of Steamboat Willie. Maybe they won't notice!




And this one's for pirate night:




I also have spinning tops and kaleidoscopes for the staterooms with kids, emery boards in case anyone has a nail emergency, and dog toys for the two stateroom with service dogs.

Which reminds me...I don't have an official fish extender contraption. I'd better come up with something quick! Maybe a small tote bag?

Coming up next: Packing

[sueh818]

Thanks chezp, lauriep, Colexis Mom, and pamcarey for your kind words.

Pam, I'm glad you enjoyed the last report. Wait till you see the girls, they've grown so much!

[lauriep]

Your door decorations, FE gifts and family crest are wonderful! Only 5 days left... are the girls going crazy with excitement?

[Colexis Mom]

Great magnets!!

[B.M.]

Love the magnets!

[pamcarey]

Love the FE gifts!

[ilovedisney0_0]

Yay, Sue, I am so glad you started! I sail on the Feb 27th cruise, so I am excited to read your report. We have also started on door decorations and I have my idea for the FE... Your magnets are so cute!

There are only 3 other people from Passporter sailing on my cruise, and they don't seem interested in a meet. Bummer. The Dis peeps are definitely ready and willing to do the FE - I think we have around 80! - but so far, no meets planned with them, either. Oh well, I am still looking forward to doing the FE!

[sueh818]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Your door decorations, FE gifts and family crest are wonderful! Only 5 days left... are the girls going crazy with excitement?

Yes, but I think I'm going crazier!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great magnets!!

Originally Posted by B.M.

Love the magnets!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Love the FE gifts!

Thanks

Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0

Yay, Sue, I am so glad you started! I sail on the Feb 27th cruise, so I am excited to read your report. We have also started on door decorations and I have my idea for the FE... Your magnets are so cute!

There are only 3 other people from Passporter sailing on my cruise, and they don't seem interested in a meet. Bummer. The Dis peeps are definitely ready and willing to do the FE - I think we have around 80! - but so far, no meets planned with them, either. Oh well, I am still looking forward to doing the FE!

80!! There are only 22 or so on mine. Are you guys dividing into smaller groups or doing the full 80?

[sueh818]

2 Days to go !

We leave Sunday morning, but I'm finalizing packing today because we have an InSaNe Saturday lined up:

• I'm taking the three younger ones on a Girl Scout "Sports Sampler" (Bowling, Skating, Swimming) event that runs from 8:30 - 3:30
• Chloe has a separate scouting event that runs from 10:00 - 3:00. She'll only be able to attend until noon though because,
• She is signed up for a vocal competition that runs from 12:30 - 4:00.
• Church at 5:00pm
• On the flip side, all those events are sure to make the day fly by!

Odds and Ends:

• Enlisted Chloe's friend to come over every day to collect the paper and mail, and feed the cat and guinea pig.

• Yesterday I made a bunch of luggage tags using our new family crest:
  
  

• And I forgot to show you my newest Mickey accessory :
  
  
  
  Where I go, Mickey goes.

So as long as everything goes according to plan, (please no broken bones at skateland) that's about it for the pre-trip report.