I have a WONDERful feeling about this... Heading for the Panama Canal, May 2015 (PTR)

[GooniesAndy]

It is finally the time when things start happening! Tomorrow is the 90-day mark and I can check in online and book shore excursions. I can't wait!

Today started with a little bump. I woke up early and decided to check my email on my phone. I saw the opening of the subject line, "Changes to your American Airlines flight..." NOOOOOO! Our flight was already changed once, but it wasn't a big deal. We gained a few minutes in our forty-five minute layover in Dallas, and we went from arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 3:50 to 4:10.

This time, oh Lordy. Suddenly our 6:20 flight leaves San Diego at 8:45. That means that we'd miss our flight in Dallas and therefore they booked us on a flight that left us with a three-hour layover and didn't get in until after 7. I'd been hoping to get to our hotel in Miami by dinnertime, so arriving closer to 9 didn't thrill me!

In a panic I called American Airlines, expecting to have to fight, but they were so nice! When I explained the situation the customer service agent instantly suggested the exact flights I'd identified myself on their website as the best substitute. So, now we leave San Diego at 6:45 (I'll take 25 minutes of extra time in the morning!), have a 1 hour 45 minute layover in Dallas (enough time to get some lunch!), and we get in at 5:10. Not quite as great as our original 3:50, but much better than the alternative. And now that we won't be making a mad dash through the airport I can actually pack a couple of real carry-ons instead of backpacks that would leave me two free hands for dragging small children.

I am also trying to make a decision about our hotel. We are booked at the Doubletree by the port with a group rate. However, a bunch of people started to drop their rooms and go to an airport hotel after the Doubletree proved difficult to work with. I really want to stay near the port, so I am torn! I am thinking of taking a chance and doing one of those blind deals where they tell you the price, some basic information about the hotel, and how many stars it is. I'd save a lot of money, and I don't REALLY care much which hotel it is as long as it's in the general area and is at least in the 3 star range. I'm just nervous about actually clicking the "purchase" button and making it final!

 

[wilma-bride]

Yay Erin, how exciting that we get to book our excursions tomorrow. Have you decided on your final list?

How worrying about your flights, glad you got it sorted. You actually land around the same time as us.

I know what you mean about trying to choose a hotel. I think you just have to go with what you would feel most comfortable with - presumably you would be getting a cab to the port? Or will you have a rental?

I am beyond excited for this cruise

 

[GooniesAndy]

I can't wait to book everything!

We will just take a cab to the port - part of the appeal of staying at a downtown hotel! I like to be on our own schedule rather than a shuttle's, so I will take care of all of our transportation on my own. I'm probably going to surprise the kids with a limo from the airport to the hotel, because they've never been in one (and it will be very nice to have someone helping me with all of our luggage!)

 

[GooniesAndy]

Well, I did it.. I went ahead and booked a blind hotel deal online. We got the Holiday Inn Port of Miami, downtown. It sounds like it should be just fine for our needs and some people have reported being able to watch the Wonder in port from the window, something the boys would love. Phew, glad to have that official!

 

[GooniesAndy]

Well, this turned out to be a productive week. Who knew?

So, we had our airline ticket almost-fiasco, but that turned out ok.

Got our hotel taken care of, so yay!

And last night we were finally able to do our online check-in! I was able to get an 11:30AM port arrival time (PAT), which is pretty good. The earliest time (11AM) was unavailable, but I will check occasionally and see if it opens up as we'd like to be able to get there on the early-ish side. We have to check out of our hotel at 11, so we will be heading over then regardless of anything else.

I was also able to book our shore excursions and adult dining, which is fun. I booked a solo trip to Palo for the night of the Captain's Gala, because it's my least favorite menu. I'm not sure if I will keep it, but at least I have it for now! My brunch is going to be with other members of my cruise group and they made the reservations, so I haven't booked one myself. We are going to have brunch together on Mother's Day which should be a lot of fun.

In Cozumel I booked us on the "Cozumel Ruins and Beach Tour," which is a nice combination of education and fun. This tour visits the ruins of San Gervasio, where you spend an hour exploring. A guide will take us through the ruins and tell us about Mayan culture and what we are seeing. Then we will have a scenic tour of the island on a bus as we head to a beach club. We'll have about an hour-and-a-half at the beach, where we can use all sorts of fun water amenities (sailboats, paddle boats, kayaks, etc.) and the pool.

In Cartagena we are doing a privately organized tour with another family from our cruise group. We get to try all sorts of street foods, for which Cartagena is famous, so I am very excited about it! I'm hoping we will have a little time beforehand to explore Old Town on our own, and a few minutes afterward to pick up some souvenirs.

Puerto Vallarta has what the boys are looking forward to the most - Las Caletas Hideaway. We did this excursion on our Mexican Riviera cruise and it was definitely a highlight. You take a boat (which was pretty much docked in the shadow of the Wonder) to this amazing private beach that is surrounded by the jungle. There is no access other than by boat. They feed you, drink you, and provide lovely beaches, walking tours, and classes. For an extra fee there is a spa, SCUBA, and even sea lion swimming. That is all secondary, however, for the children, as children 4-11 get a chance to visit the Kids Adventure Park. They get to do zip lining, ride a donkey, interact with monkeys and parrots, and go on cool bridges/ropes.

We are just going to entertain ourselves in Cabo San Lucas, as we did the last time we were there. We will probably hire a water taxi to take us out around Los Arcos and then wander the shops on the waterfront a bit. Maybe hit up the coffee shop for some tasty drinks and free wifi for email checking purposes.

One thing I don't think I've mentioned yet is the fact that our Cub Scout pack has decided to schedule the Spring camp-out for May 15-17. We get off the boat on May 15. I am the leader of our den. Now, I absolutely refuse to go immediately from the boat to sleeping on the ground without access to a shower, so we are not going to go the first night, but we will be heading up there the next morning. I can hardly believe it! Our period of reacclimation to not having someone making our beds and feeding us every meal is going to be like being thrown into the deep end of the pool in hopes that you learn to float! Not only will we not be eating our dinner in the dining room, but I'll be having to cook it over a fire!

 

[wilma-bride]

So glad that you got your hotel sorted Erin. Must be a relief now to have one more thing ticked off. Your port adventures all sound like fun, we managed to book ours too and got what we wanted. How funny that you will be going from one extreme to the other when you get off the cruise - talk about your rude awakening

 

[GooniesAndy]

At long last it is time for our constant anticipation of the cruise to be matched by checking items off of the "to do" list! Forty days from today we get on a plane. Yesterday our cruise documents came, which was very exciting. I am mostly done with FE gifts, though I'm still collecting pixie dust items as I see them. I'm slowly but surely acquiring everything I need to purchase in advance of the cruise and have all of my packing lists put together. I have a feeling the next six weeks are going to fly by!

 

[wilma-bride]

Erin, it is getting so close. And, yes, I think you're right - time is going to fly by now.

 

[GooniesAndy]

As long as it slows down a bit once we are there!

 

[GooniesAndy]

We are now 22 days away from leaving, and 23 from the actual cruise. I can hardly believe we are so close! I am working through my lists and checking things off, and it feels great! At this point, my "to do" list is:

Finish my pirate costume (it is mostly done, just needs some finishing touches)
Modify our FE to cover up my husband's pocket
Dig out my Cove Cafe punch card
Put some movies on the iPads to entertain the kids in a pinch
Call the bank to let them know I will be traveling
Test out our selfie stick (because I need to be in some vacation photos, and I don't want to constantly be asking someone to take our picture!)

I also have a tiny bit of shopping left to do, but it is all really simple things I can get at the drug store. The major stuff is all done.

Today I got down the suitcases so that I can start figuring out what the heck we are going to do! I have a huge stack of things acquired and that doesn't even count our clothes and shoes! I am feeling like, vacation-wise, I have everything under control and if I had to leave today all I'd have to do was some laundry and I could throw everything together. That is a nice feeling!

Real life is heading back down the path of stress and difficulty, but this vacation is like my lifeline! We have a couple of things to look forward to when we get home, which is good, because looking forward to going on vacation gets me through a lot of hard days. It will be so nice to escape the real world for two weeks, because this type of vacation makes it easy to separate yourself from your troubles. Today I finished up our magnets, including one of our favorite Disneyland sign, to be placed front and center on our door as a reminder that this is a special time, a special place, and we can leave the rest of it behind!

 

[GooniesAndy]

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

Tomorrow morning we wake up at 4:30AM to head to the airport, and then off to Miami, via Dallas and Fort Lauderdale. Then, Friday we board the Wonder!I have been in a mad frenzy of lists and packing the last couple of weeks and have barely had time for anything else. I am pretty sure I have everything we need in our massive pile of luggage. At least I hope so! I feel like my lists have been pretty darn thorough!

Back in 16 days to start writing the trip report and extend the fun of our trip a little bit more!

 

[SailingScout]

Have a blast! Can't wait for your report. I just told my DH that after your trip the next PC cruise will be ours, woohoo!