11/04/2012 - Disney Wonder Mexican Riviera

[CruzTerri]

Welcome to my2boys2disney! Not sure about a FE for us, but I haven't completely ruled it out.:

 

[alaskanabbott]

I looked up the stateroom report for our room, it's a sideways cabin! I had been hoping for an upgrade, but now either way, I'm pretty excited about the room. I'm starting to think a little about excursions. We we happy last time to stay on the ship the second day of Cabo, and I think it will be the same this time. I'm not sure yet about the other port days. We did the dolphin swim and zipline last time....this time what I REALLY want is to find a good restaurant and eat some MEXICAN FOOD!

 

[CruzTerri]

Oh, where are the stateroom reports? I'd like to check out our room. We have an inside on Deck 2.

We, too, may spend more time aboard then off the ship. We've done this itinerary a couple of times, not including the Panama Canal Transits we've done.

Thanks!

 

[alaskanabbott]

Oh, where are the stateroom reports? I'd like to check out our room. We have an inside on Deck 2.

We, too, may spend more time aboard then off the ship. We've done this itinerary a couple of times, not including the Panama Canal Transits we've done.

Thanks!

Hey Terry!
So look toward the top of the page, in the red bar there is "staterooms". Click that then click the "room reports". If you know what room you're in you can look up the number and see what others have to say about the room. I was a little disappointed when we switched b/c we were GTY on the Oct cruise, and this time I got assigned a room number immediatly. Then when I saw it was a sideways cabin I got pretty excited!
I think we may venture off just for a nice lunch, otherwise we will stay aboard and enjoy having the boat to ourselves!

 

[mizrani]

Hi, my name is Andrea and we just booked our rooms for this cruise and I'm excited! I'll be traveling with my husband, two children (b-9, g-7) and my parents.

I'm starting to brainstorm a fun way to tell the kids but will wait to do so until after the summer break and they are back in school. Otherwise I'll hear, "How many days until...." everyday from my daughter.

I'm interested in participating in an FE but being a new cruiser I don't know where/how to get involved. If someone with experience can guide me I'd really appreciate it!

Andrea

 

[alaskanabbott]

Hi, my name is Andrea and we just booked our rooms for this cruise and I'm excited! I'll be traveling with my husband, two children (b-9, g-7) and my parents.

I'm starting to brainstorm a fun way to tell the kids but will wait to do so until after the summer break and they are back in school. Otherwise I'll hear, "How many days until...." everyday from my daughter.

I'm interested in participating in an FE but being a new cruiser I don't know where/how to get involved. If someone with experience can guide me I'd really appreciate it!

Andrea

Hi! Welcome!
If you use the search function you can read ALL about FE's! We had a blast doing it with the kids, but since we are going just DH and I, and we have a family cruise the February after this one, we won't be participating in FE's on this one. I found some general guidlines on how to make our FE and for about $20 I made two (we have a big family-two rooms). I'm not a very crafty person, but it was pretty easy, I think maybe 3 or 4 hours total. You can find people on EBay and ETSY who will custom make you one, between $30-50 each. We saw several that were not the standard FE- a tote bag, a pair of baby overalls hung on a baby hanger (adorable) a craft organizer...you can get creative and think out of the box. We went with DH's parents and my dad, and I made FE's on thier behalf, so glad I did, my dad LOVED the FE and he is already planning his out for the next cruise. As for how to tell the kid's, I know there are several video's on youtube if you search there. Otherwise IDK, we booked onboard and the kids have known since day 1. My DD7 asks sometimes how long until we are back on "our boat" I understand her pain, I check my countdown everyday!!

 

[Wyndi Mother]

Howdy everyone!

Beginning the countdown to November!

My daughter and I were on the January 2011 Panama Canal Crossing that brought the Wonder to Los Angeles from Port Canaveral, and we thought we would get onboard once more before she heads back to the east coast. Other than being sad that this is a farewell to the Wonder journey, we are very excited about this trip. This time, my mom and dad will be joining us.

My daughter (20) is hoping to find other young adults on this cruise. I guess people think of families with younger kids when they think of Disney cruises, but we love Disney and none of us will ever outgrow it :0) On the Panama Canal crossing, there were almost no college aged kids onboard. We traveled with another family, and while their 16 year old had plenty to do in the teen club, their weren't a lot of options geared to my 18 year old and their 19 year old. They were too old for the teen club but not old enough for the adult oriented activities. The kids talked to one of the staff members, and she put out a few calls to gather any other college-aged kids together to try to help them find one another, but as it turned out, there were only two other college aged kids onboard! We are hoping this time there will be more.

In any event, we enjoyed the shows and presentations on the main stage, the movies, and the music in the venues along Route 66, and just relaxing on deck, so we will have a pleasant time no matter what!

Gotta go get my countdown ticker!

 

[Wyndi Mother]

Hey all, just wanted to spread the word.

Ugh! I hate to start a happy trip thread off with a yucky story like this, but...

I was horrified JUST NOW, as I was browsing through some friends' online photos of their honeymoon aboard the Wonder from a few months back. Among their happy celebratory pictures was a batch where the couple is holding baby lions at a stand in Cabo San Lucas.

My immediate thought was, this is not right!

Looking at the lions' eyes in the photos, you could clearly see that they had been drugged. Further, this is not an 'entertainment' that you see being offered by people who are truly interested in animal welfare. Yes, they are incredibly cute and I understand people's desire to be close to a creature that we usually only ever get to see in movies or across a moat in a zoo...but that realization also provides the heads up moment. There is a REASON we never get to be close to them, and if someone is allowing you this kind of access to them, there is something grievously wrong with the situation. (You can't even get that close to many of the animals kept in petting zoos.)

A quick search of the internet shows that these people have been working in the marina area in Cabo San Lucas for quite a few years. You pay $25 or more for a photo of yourself holding a baby lion. The people running the operation have signs posted that the money raised goes to a big cat sanctuary in Mexico. It is a lie. No reputable animal preservationists would dream of raising money in this manner. Further, periodically, as these cubs get larger, they disappear and are replaced by younger ones--tigers, lions, panthers. Where are they going? The fate of animals such as these is rarely good. They may be sold to ranches that provide "Big Game hunting" to people willing to pay large sums of money for the pleasure of shooting such an animal. They may end up on the exotic meat market, where people--again--pay large sums of money to eat the flesh of a rarely served animal. They may end up in unregulated circumstances--private homes or zoos--where they live woeful lives in inappropriate settings. Sometimes, they are just killed by the handlers to make room for newer, smaller cubs. There are many reports--some with photographic evidence--of the poor treatment these animals are enduring even before they disappear from the marina for good.

Do not get sucked in by the cuteness. These people only get to continue doing what they do because well-meaning tourists continue to make it a viable living for them. There are many ways that cruise-ship-port-opportunists take advantage of the flood of tourists who disembark on their shores. These people are among the most vile. Unfortunately, Mexico doesn't have the animal protection laws that are in place in the U.S. Please, if you care at all about critters, avoid these guys and let other travelers know about it too.

 

[CruzTerri]

Hello to our newest posters. My apologies for not welcoming you sooner! Wyndi, you're so right about getting pictures with the cubs. You can bet that I'll be avoiding them like the plague. That's the same reason I avoid the dolphin excursions in Puerta Vallarta, Cozumel, and others in Mexico because they mistreat the animals and they are only out to make money from the tourists.

We have only been to Curacao once, but there is a place there that rehabilitates the dolphins that are rescued from places that I mentioned above. They provide the same type of excursion but they limit the number of people in the water with the dolphins so as not to stress them out. We were very impressed with their commitment to taking care of the dolphins first and foremost, while providing a great experience for those who wished to.

We haven't made any decision yet as to whether we'll actually participate in any excursion. This will strictly be a very relaxing, lay around, do nothing trip for us.

You'll all have to forgive me, but I've not participate in a FE exchange, because I've never sailed Disney before. Anyone interested? I wonder if we'll get any other posters the closer we get to final payment time?

Everyone have a great week. I'll be out of touch as I will be traveling to visit family this coming week. Take care and stay safe.

 

[luv2sleep]

Just off the Wonder today and booked this cruise on board. Another fellow DIS'er did too so she might be joining us. Looking forward to meeting you all!

 

[CruzTerri]

Welcome to the group! Glad to have you. I'm trying to think if I want my TA to see if she can move our room. I did some research and it may be noisy, so need to work on that. May have to wait until I get back home next week.

Hope you had a "wonder"ful trip.

 

[mizrani]

CruzTerri, my family is interested in participating in an FE. I think it sounds fun!

 

[alaskanabbott]

Hello to our newest posters. My apologies for not welcoming you sooner! Wyndi, you're so right about getting pictures with the cubs. You can bet that I'll be avoiding them like the plague. That's the same reason I avoid the dolphin excursions in Puerta Vallarta, Cozumel, and others in Mexico because they mistreat the animals and they are only out to make money from the tourists.

We have only been to Curacao once, but there is a place there that rehabilitates the dolphins that are rescued from places that I mentioned above. They provide the same type of excursion but they limit the number of people in the water with the dolphins so as not to stress them out. We were very impressed with their commitment to taking care of the dolphins first and foremost, while providing a great experience for those who wished to.

We haven't made any decision yet as to whether we'll actually participate in any excursion. This will strictly be a very relaxing, lay around, do nothing trip for us

You'll all have to forgive me, but I've not participate in a FE exchange, because I've never sailed Disney before. Anyone interested? I wonder if we'll get any other posters the closer we get to final payment time?

Everyone have a great week. I'll be out of touch as I will be traveling to visit family this coming week. Take care and stay safe.

Oh our group will grow, I have no doubt. It may even end up a KSF cruise, which does us no good since we're kid free this trip!

 

[dcperry]

Just booked this cruise looking forward to it. Do we have a FE list yet?

 

[alaskanabbott]

Our cruise is more popular than it appears from the traffic on our M&G. The insides are already sold out!

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

HELLO!!! We're on this cruise!! Me, hubby and two of our two daughters (ages 16 and 17)! This is our fourth Disney Cruise. We are on deck six/verandah We are from New Jersey and have never been to California so while we're taking the flight we're doing a couple of days in DisneyLAND ... sooo excited!!

 

[alaskanabbott]

HELLO!!! We're on this cruise!! Me, hubby and two of our two daughters (ages 16 and 17)! This is our fourth Disney Cruise. We are on deck six/verandah We are from New Jersey and have never been to California so while we're taking the flight we're doing a couple of days in DisneyLAND ... sooo excited!!

HI! Welcome Aboard! I figured there had to be a lot more out there besides us The ship seems to be booking up- but pretty quiet on here
Just DH and I on this one, but we did the same itinerary last Feb with the whole family, and we're taking them all on the 8 night WCarib next Feb, so we figured it was time for us to have a little couples get-a-way.

 

[luv2sleep]

Just wanted to let you know that I'm no longer booked for this cruise. I'm going on the Hawaii one instead. Have a fantastic trip! Do Las Caletas if you haven't before. I didn't and everyone raved about it! Crown Paradise in PV (can walk to it right off the ship) was awful IMO.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

LUCKY!! HAWAII!!! ... AND I'm so glad to hear that we aren't the only ones that switch our cruises after booking!!! lol!! Have a GREAT time!!! We are DVC members and are hoping to go to Aulani for our 30th anniversary ... without the girls!! We mark our 25th on 7/11!

 

[alaskanabbott]

Just wanted to let you know that I'm no longer booked for this cruise. I'm going on the Hawaii one instead. Have a fantastic trip! Do Las Caletas if you haven't before. I didn't and everyone raved about it! Crown Paradise in PV (can walk to it right off the ship) was awful IMO.

Have a great time on your Hawaii trip, IF we could do it we would have loved to.