It's a WONDER we have any money left after the Cruise! - All done!

[PrincessInOz]

Nice drive-through of PV. I wonder if it would be safe for tourists to go walkabout there? Probably not. Thankfully, we were all safely ensconced in that taxi of yours.

And punch for you!

[dgbg100106]

I have been to pv once and it was lots of fun seeing your pictures.

The food porn is truly making me hungry and I just had dinner.

Your necklace and ring are gorgeous, very nice, and I am so glad that you both are having a lovely time.

[QuiltTeddy]

Thought I'd give you a chuckle.

When we were in PV, we took a scenic tour through the ship. It took us down to the center of town. The large bus parked and we all got off and walked up to the top of the street which was actually the street the church was on. The tour guide explained that we were welcome to go into the church and take photographs as the locals didn't mind because it was part of their history. She also explained how the church had to be completely rebuilt. Well, we all walked down the street, took some pictures outside and stepped in to see the inside. Hubby went to light a candle for his mother while I took off my sunglasses (prescription -- and I should mention I can't see 4' without them) to take some photographs. I turned off my flash since there was a service taking place. Took a few shots and met up with husband when he was done lighting the candle in his mother's memoy. As we walked down towards the Malecon, I mentioned I was surprised that the couple we were with hadn't gone into the church since they are religious. Hubby said casually "maybe because there was a funeral going on".

When I got home and downloaded our photographs I was shocked. Indeed there had been a funeral going on....the casket was right up by the alter. Needless to say I had to do some major cropping.

[dolphingirl47]

I love the jewellery. Tanzanite is my favourite stone, but I still have not managed to get a piece of Tanzanite jewellery. We celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary next year and I may need to drop some hints.

I like your new Dooney and Bourke purse. This design was launched on our Hawaii cruise, but they only had the biggest size then.

I loved all the photos from Puerto Vallerta. We have been twice, but have never seen the town. The first time we went whale watching and snorkelling at Marietas Islands. I finally learned to snorkel there so Puerto Vallerta will always have a special place in my heart. We wanted to go back to Marietas Islands the second time we went, but due to a medical emergency the day before that required a detour, we missed this excursion and they booked us on an Las Caletas excursion instead.

Corinna

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

I love it! The Wonder is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Very cool little tour of the city. I liked the tree in the middle of the road. Beautiful new purchases

It was neat to see the city, even if all we did was ride in a taxi, it was quite eye opening.

Originally Posted by ACDSNY

Nice pics of PV. We've taken the Las Caletas tour each time so it's nice to see what the city looks like.

All the tours indicated that they were not handicapped accessible so we didn't try for any of them.

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Nice drive-through of PV. I wonder if it would be safe for tourists to go walkabout there? Probably not. Thankfully, we were all safely ensconced in that taxi of yours.

And punch for you!

For able bodied people, if you stay on the main streets, I'm sure it's safe in the daytime. With the scooter and Fran's mobility issues, I was happy to drive around town. Even in the US with ADA regulations she is sometimes unsteady. I would have hated to try it in Mexico.

I called it first! You have to find your own!

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

I have been to pv once and it was lots of fun seeing your pictures.

The food porn is truly making me hungry and I just had dinner.

Your necklace and ring are gorgeous, very nice, and I am so glad that you both are having a lovely time.

Thanks, I wore them the night I got them. I can't wait to wear them again.

Originally Posted by QuiltTeddy

Thought I'd give you a chuckle.

When we were in PV, we took a scenic tour through the ship. It took us down to the center of town. The large bus parked and we all got off and walked up to the top of the street which was actually the street the church was on. The tour guide explained that we were welcome to go into the church and take photographs as the locals didn't mind because it was part of their history. She also explained how the church had to be completely rebuilt. Well, we all walked down the street, took some pictures outside and stepped in to see the inside. Hubby went to light a candle for his mother while I took off my sunglasses (prescription -- and I should mention I can't see 4' without them) to take some photographs. I turned off my flash since there was a service taking place. Took a few shots and met up with husband when he was done lighting the candle in his mother's memoy. As we walked down towards the Malecon, I mentioned I was surprised that the couple we were with hadn't gone into the church since they are religious. Hubby said casually "maybe because there was a funeral going on".

When I got home and downloaded our photographs I was shocked. Indeed there had been a funeral going on....the casket was right up by the alter. Needless to say I had to do some major cropping.

That's funny! I would have been reluctant to take photos if anyone was in the church.

Originally Posted by dolphingirl47

I love the jewellery. Tanzanite is my favourite stone, but I still have not managed to get a piece of Tanzanite jewellery. We celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary next year and I may need to drop some hints.

I like your new Dooney and Bourke purse. This design was launched on our Hawaii cruise, but they only had the biggest size then.

I loved all the photos from Puerto Vallerta. We have been twice, but have never seen the town. The first time we went whale watching and snorkelling at Marietas Islands. I finally learned to snorkel there so Puerto Vallerta will always have a special place in my heart. We wanted to go back to Marietas Islands the second time we went, but due to a medical emergency the day before that required a detour, we missed this excursion and they booked us on an Las Caletas excursion instead.

Corinna

The jewelry was a little more than I expected, but the supply is running out and prices keep going up. I liked that bag because it was elegant yet understated.

[dolphingirl47]

Originally Posted by franandaj

The jewelry was a little more than I expected, but the supply is running out and prices keep going up. I liked that bag because it was elegant yet understated.

The good thing is that the Tanzanite I prefer is the very pale lilac kind, which is not as much thought after and therefore better value.

Corinna

[Shannon84]

How was the weather during your trip? We are thinking of doing a cruise around the same time next year or the following and have heard mixed reviews about the weather during that time. We LOVE the Christmas decor though, how fun!!!

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by dolphingirl47

The good thing is that the Tanzanite I prefer is the very pale lilac kind, which is not as much thought after and therefore better value.

Corinna

I have some earrings that Fran gave me in that color and I didn't realize that Tanzanite came in shades from deep blue to the lilac color. Unfortunately I prefer the deep blue similar to sapphires, but not as dark, and I think that is the more prized and expensive stuff. Hopefully I have all I need in Tanzanite and don't have to worry about any more pieces!

Originally Posted by Shannon84

How was the weather during your trip? We are thinking of doing a cruise around the same time next year or the following and have heard mixed reviews about the weather during that time. We LOVE the Christmas decor though, how fun!!!

From where you come from, I would imagine that you would find the weather glorious! Unfortunately Disney isn't doing any more Mexican Riviera cruises so you would have to do it on another line. For us, we have been having a hot spell for the past several months and it is only in the last four weeks that things have finally cooled off, so we didn't really enjoy the 90 degree heat in PV. I was happy that it was warm for most of the cruise because I could wear my normal tank top dresses everywhere. Only the last day was it different and I will get there soon enough.

However, back at home, I am actually wearing T-shirts (with sleeves!) and sometimes when I go out at night (and even in the day) I have to think about putting on an overshirt. The weather is getting bad. We have even had some rain. Mostly at night, but a few times during the day there were drizzles. We got wet!

























































OK, there are a few new people here, and for those who don't know me, I tend to jest about the lack of weather preparedness of Southern Californians. I was born where there is snow, but moved away at a young age, however, I grew up in the SF Bay area, it does get cold, rainy, and sometimes miserable (you know where you just want to light a fire and stay inside). I think in the almost 20 years I've been here, it's been like that as many times as I can count on my one hand. So I've become soft, and can't deal with real weather anymore! So I love to complain about "how bad it gets". Those of you real with actual "real weather", please don't take offense.

[ACDSNY]

The terrible weather last week had us get on a plane in the low 80's and get off in the low 30's when we came home last Thursday. How's that for 6 hours in one day.

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by ACDSNY

The terrible weather last week had us get on a plane in the low 80's and get off in the low 30's when we came home last Thursday. How's that for 6 hours in one day.

Melbourne can do that in 10 minutes!!!!

[ACDSNY]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Melbourne can do that in 10 minutes!!!!

Yikes!

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by ACDSNY

The terrible weather last week had us get on a plane in the low 80's and get off in the low 30's when we came home last Thursday. How's that for 6 hours in one day.

Do you guys get the Tule Fog up there like the south valley? That is awful!

[ACDSNY]

Originally Posted by franandaj

Do you guys get the Tule Fog up there like the south valley? That is awful!

Yes I start going crazy if we have too many gray days in a row.

[franandaj]

We left off bidding our taxi driver Adieu and heading back to the ship. After we returned to the ship we were hungry. We don’t like to eat in Mexico because the few times that we have, we have gotten sick, so better to stick with the shipboard food. It was close to 2:00 and Beach Blanket Buffet was still open until about 2:30, so we headed directly there. They were serving their “Steakhouse” menu and it was pretty good!

First up were various types of salads, I was in a more meat and potatoes mood, so I think I skipped most of those.



Cold cuts and premade sandwiches



This is what I was looking for! Crab legs!



Lamb Chops and Rib Eye Steaks!



And mushrooms to top them with!



Fran and I were going to split one of these crab cakes, but I don’t think I was actually able to eat any. The kid at the table next to us proclaimed that the breaded fish was excellent.



The closest sauce is Chimichurri, not sure what the others were, maybe tartar? :



These were shish kabobs, by now my plate was pretty full. I considered coming back for them but ended up running out of room.



They had bread, rolls, focaccia and butter to go with the sliced meats



This time I knew to wait for the back area before making all of my food selections, this was a wise move!

They had salad and bread back here.





And they had two different kinds of Paella, Chicken and Seafood!





Fran had already started by the time that I got to the table.



No, I wasn’t hungy





I guess I didn’t take any pictures of the dessert bar. The only thing that really appealed to me on it was these crème puffs. I also picked out a couple desserts for Fran.





We were still docked in PV for another couple hours. And I decided to capture some of the ambience before leaving the restaurant.







Pam, this gives you a good idea of the buffet line, there are two sides to the restaurant and there are two sides to each of the buffet sides, so at peak times, there can be four sides going at any one time. By the time that we were leaving they had reduced it to only the one side being open since they were getting ready to close.



After lunch, I was exhausted. I had spent a good deal of that cab ride “white knuckling it” in the vehicle. I had worked myself up adrenaline wise and really needed to relax. Fran on the other hand really wanted to go back to the jewelry store. You see, because we did not bring our Passports with us, we could not legally prove that we were US citizens and therefore did not need to pay the Mexican Sales Tax on our purchases. All we had to do was show a passport and then they could submit paperwork to the government so that the taxes will be refunded to our credit card. It was worth $600 so while she motored on back over there, I decided to go to the pool.

I didn’t’ bring my camera (since I was going to get wet). I sat at the bar with a nice couple from Huntington Beach and had a glass of wine while we chatted. Then I climbed into the pool and just floated in the water to cool off. It was over 90 degrees that day and the sun was bright and hot. Mind you, I was at the adult pool. I wanted to sit on a lounger, but unfortunately they were all either full or being reserved with shoes, books or some other personal items on them so after a little while in the pool and then the hot tub, I decided to head back down to the room.

On my way to the pool, I looked over to the Flea Market next to the ship and saw Fran on her scooter going from the jewelry store into the shops. As I was leaving the pool, I saw her going through the security check to get back on the boat. She had a bag of some sort that she was carrying. Turns out she found a nice brown leather backpack for a good price in the flea market.

[QuiltTeddy]

Having taken many Disney cruises, most recently on the Dream in March, and seeing your food posts, it confirms how much nicer the Wonder and Magic are. Being a picky eater, the few times that DH wanted to go to the buffet, there was literally nothing I could eat and usually ended up with a Smuckers PBJ (which you can get if you ask). The food on the Wonder and Magic is much nicer and there was always something I would be happy to eat. We both prefer the smaller ships. Disney hasn't realized bigger isn't always better.

Can't wait to see more of your TR.