An oh-so-suite Mexican Riviera TR! 3/20/11 Wonder-UPDATED 4/23- Day 6- more Cabo fun!

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

Hey Silly Little Pixie,

Jumping on board your TR. We sailed together Nov 21,2010. So I thought I sail along again even if only in spirit. We don't have a DCL cruise planned for the near future although I'm hoping to cruise another line just hubby and I for our anniversary in Dec.

 

[scrappinmom]

Cool! Did she take a whale watching excursion? We saw plenty of whales on this trip, without even paying for one! That was pretty awesome, especially since this was the very very very end of whale season in Mexico.

Yep, they did a 3 hour catamaran tour...they saw a ton of them! - Of course my not so expert photographer says..."my pics are kinda blurry the boat was rocking too much" - UGH - THAT's why I needed to go to Hawaii with her!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Thoroughly enjoying your trip report. Do you mind if I ask how much it was to upgrade to the suite?

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Thoroughly enjoying your trip report. Do you mind if I ask how much it was to upgrade to the suite?

From the cat 5B we had, it was about $1600. A great deal especially since we had KSF to begin with!

 

[Mindyjoy]

From the cat 5B we had, it was about $1600. A great deal especially since we had KSF to begin with!

That's a great deal for seven nights!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

That's a great deal for seven nights!

I know right? We had read this figure before, so it was an amount we knew before going to the port. Worth every penny!

Since we're on the topic of concierge:

We did not know that one of the "perks" was daily treats delivered. When we got to the room a fruit basket was waiting. The next day, while the rest of us were at Wonder Quest, room service delivered a tray of chocolate covered strawberries to the suite. Mr. Friendly and Comedian knew they didn't order it- I am allergic to strawberries- but they werent going to pass it up, either. They asked the CM who ordered it, he said he didn't know.

They didn't ask twice, just went ahead and ate them!

It wasn't until the next day, when a cheese plate arrived, that they realized this was a daily thing, and that they hadn't just swiped some other family's strawberries!

Mike made sure that we had 4 fresh wine glasses each day, refilled our canned soda and provided us with all the bottled water we wanted. When the mood struck for something to eat that wasn't on the menu, we just called.

Can I get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
-Sure, Mr. Friendly.
We are really wanting some guacamole and chips but they never have it in the buffet. Can we get that?
-No problem.(and yes, they MADE us fresh guacamole!)
Potato chips? Pitchers of cranberry juice so we can make cosmopolitans?
-It'll be delivered, no problem.

Sometimes Mike delivered things himself, sometimes room service did it. We felt totally spoiled!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

They brought you guacamole?!!!! Wow now I'm even more excited about going Concierge next April!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

They brought you guacamole?!!!! Wow now I'm even more excited about going Concierge next April!

Yes they did! Now, was it as good as my homemade guacamole? No, but it wasn't jarred junk either.

You can also get any of the regular dining room meals delivered to your suite, should you not want to go to dinner (or want to eat out on the verandah!). You're not limited to room service.

One of our only complaints about the food on this trip was that it was the same old menus as before. We felt like with a new itinerary, and a new home port, DCL ought to make more Mexican dishes available in the regular dining rooms. (We did all put this on our survey at the end, as Captain Guus suggested to us.)There are some really nice, high end cuisine Mexican restaurants in LA that I think the chefs ought to visit. I had some fantastic lobster (and guacamole to rival mine) at a place called Xtla. WOW! They could easily do these kind of dishes, without making it seem like El Torito. Plus, being in LA there's an availability of the kinds of fish etc that really make up Baja cuisine. Just my two cents. Outside of Pirate Night, do we really still need Caribbean style dishes? Fresher and newer menu choices are something they need to look at.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

While I'm on the food subject:

Food allergies. Hmmm. In the past, DCL has ALWAYS been hypervigilant about my strawberry allergy. The head server or main server would always ask, very first thing on the first night, "Does anyone have any food allergies we should know about?" Then I would tell them that I am allergic to strawberries. On some cruises, the head waiter would ask if I had the medical form turned in (I never do- not wasting a copay to get a form signed), and would even fuss a bit at me about not doing so! At any rate, they would always ask, and usually even have me order my dessert the night before so that it could be prepared without strawberries/strawberry sauces/away from strawberries as garnish.

This time- NOPE! Nobody asked me. Not in Parrot Cay the first day, not in the dining rooms, not in Palo (either time)! ***?
Either, they know me by now and remember magically that I can't have strawberries (unlikely, although on the previous cruises I kind of wished they would...), OR they are totally slacking on adults with food allergies. I had to remind them more than once, and ask if desserts contained strawberries or not. Previously, I would be informed the day before, and it would be prepared without them or I would order items that didn't use it.

Weird, huh?

 

[QuattroDuckFans]

Hola Silly Pixie Dust,
Hey we were your suite neighbors in room 8602. We loved all the magnets on your door and always wondered where you got them?? We could tell you were a pro at Disney cruisin from all of them.
It was our first cruise and I made sure we got to the port early. When I asked if there were upgrades they had the 2 suites and we got the end one. My husband who had complained about getting there SO early said later after we saw the room.. " I'll never give you a hard time again about being early." We had a one bedroom suite also with 2 full baths, 2 showers and tub. We also loved the verandah, it was the best part as it wrapped around the whole aft of the ship. Only drawback was the rocking and rolling during the first and last night in the room. I felt sick the first night. Also did your room creak and groan like crazy while at sea? We finally put ear plugs in at night. Other than that loved everything.

Didn't know about the guacamole but we requested lounge chairs for the verandah and Mike had 2 sent up. We liked laying out there and reading. We loved the concierge service and were spoiled by it. Also loved the secret staircase up to the buffet in the morning. Like I said before it was our first cruise and we totally were spoiled by everything. I really miss Arturo making the beds and keeping the bath nice. LOL.. Now it's back to reality.

We're hoping to sail on the Fantasy in 2013 once we figure out our sons college spring break schedule. But no room can ever compare to that suite.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Hola Silly Pixie Dust,
Hey we were your suite neighbors in room 8602. We loved all the magnets on your door and always wondered where you got them?? We could tell you were a pro at Disney cruisin from all of them.
It was our first cruise and I made sure we got to the port early. When I asked if there were upgrades they had the 2 suites and we got the end one. My husband who had complained about getting there SO early said later after we saw the room.. " I'll never give you a hard time again about being early." We had a one bedroom suite also with 2 full baths, 2 showers and tub. We also loved the verandah, it was the best part as it wrapped around the whole aft of the ship. Only drawback was the rocking and rolling during the first and last night in the room. I felt sick the first night. Also did your room creak and groan like crazy while at sea? We finally put ear plugs in at night. Other than that loved everything.

Didn't know about the guacamole but we requested lounge chairs for the verandah and Mike had 2 sent up. We liked laying out there and reading. We loved the concierge service and were spoiled by it. Also loved the secret staircase up to the buffet in the morning. Like I said before it was our first cruise and we totally were spoiled by everything. I really miss Arturo making the beds and keeping the bath nice. LOL.. Now it's back to reality.

We're hoping to sail on the Fantasy in 2013 once we figure out our sons college spring break schedule. But no room can ever compare to that suite.

Hola neighbor! Yes, that room creaked like crazy. It was pretty rough so I was not surprised by the rocking and rolling. I think it feels rough less in the aft, than all the way forward (had that on our last cruise, but down on Deck 2). Was your room a HA room as well, or just ours and 8000? Those huge verandahs would have me choose these aft rooms again over the midship ones. I really did love reading out there, or enjoying a glass of wine in the evening. I LOVED the fact that we had a private lounge chair out there- not just the regular verandah chairs. The Teenager and I both laid out on it at times. I'd bust my behind to be the first ones at the port again just to score these one bedroom suites, if I could. We're definitely planning on enjoying our cruises at least up until college tuition hits us in about 4 years. I can tell though that at least the 2012 Fantasy prices are out of our league.

I'm so glad we weren't the only ones using that secret staircase! That was great.


I started with a few magnets on the first cruise, and have gradually expanded my collection. I have learned how to take some of the Disboards Creative Disigners blanks and personalize them myself. I have even designed a couple on my own but mostly, I'm just too lazy for that.

 

[LKFan]

Hola neighbor! Yes, that room creaked like crazy. It was pretty rough so I was not surprised by the rocking and rolling. I think it feels rough less in the aft, than all the way forward (had that on our last cruise, but down on Deck 2).

We cruised a month before you in calmer weather and our room creaked like crazy. It was bad on the way down and again on the way back up. We were on the 2nd floor in the middle of the ship.

 

[scrappinmom]

I started with a few magnets on the first cruise, and have gradually expanded my collection. I have learned how to take some of the Disboards Creative Disigners blanks and personalize them myself. I have even designed a couple on my own but mostly, I'm just too lazy for that.

I think I better get started on my magnets now!!!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Okay, let’s finish up Day 2, shall we?
After the formal night dinner, the kids went to the clubs and we adults went to the hypnotist show. Mr. Friendly and I had never seen a hypnotist so we weren’t really sure what to expect. Ricky Kalmon was great! We laughed so hard we nearly peed our pants. And of course, when we saw his “guests” around the ship later in the week, we’d always snicker…

We liked it so much that we insisted the Teenager take the Tween boys to the Family Show on Day 3 while we were at Palo. Hope they all 3 behaved themselves! Actually, I’m sure they did- my two are the sort of kids who shushed the other loud, rude tweens we encountered in the theater! Guess they have a mom who's a teacher.

Speaking of Tweens and clubs:
Those tweens hanging around the Edge (or NOT around the Edge) were a mess. I’d encounter large groups of loud, obnoxious tweens blocking stairwells. And they were NOT going to move for you! They were horribly loud (and unattended) in the theater as well. I was delivering my FE gifts and let me tell you, I felt really bad for any families with rooms near the Edge. It was loud, the kids were loud, and they were running around (this was at midnight, BTW!). Now I have stayed on Deck 2 near Ocean Quest on the Magic, and never even heard a peep from those kids. Why is it different now? Is it just that it’s a different bunch of kids, or was it because it was KSF there were just too many? Both my Tween and my Teen reported to me that they knew some tweens had been kicked out of attending the Edge, because they were rude/refused to follow the directions of the counselors. How sad is that?

I never saw any Teens (14-17s) misbehaving or acting rudely around the ship. I could have missed it, but I never saw it. I know the ones that were rude/loud were in Edge because my son would tell me he had seen them in there. DCL needs to do something to get a handle on Tween behavior, I think. Perhaps talk with the parents at initial check in about expectations of their behavior around the ship? I imagine for many it’s their first time having so much freedom.

Which brings me to, the Lab vs. Edge:

My Tween had just turned 11 the week before, so my initial plan was for him to attend the Lab with Tween2. But upon check in, the counselor discouraged us and said he should try the Edge, that he could attend any activities he wanted in the Lab as a visitor. Okay. Well… this was the first cruise he didn’t fall in love with the clubs. He found that the boys in the Edge weren’t all that nice to him, hogging the video games and not letting him play anymore if he lost. He’s shy to begin with, but has always made a friend or two in the club that he hung around with all week. He did attend a couple things in the Lab with Tween2, but they both said it was really crowded and they couldn’t get on the computers (which is always a favorite). So later in the week, Trainer talked to the Edge and got Tween2 to be able to go there. Again, it wasn’t a big hit… the boys did a few things but mainly hung out together, eating, going to movies, playing on the Wide World of Sports deck, eating, enjoying the ports, swimming, eating…

They still had a great time, and I sure am glad they had each other, or Tween probably wouldn’t have had such a great trip.

 

[Lissame]

Did you go to the early or late hypnotist show? My 10 yo daughter wanted SO badly to try to be hypnotized, so when he said he wouldn't take anyone under the age of 18 she was really upset. So, what does my husband do? He volunteers! I swear, I wish so badly I would have had a video camera because my husband was HILARIOUS! He was in the second show--he was the one who "danced" with the cat. I still laugh thinking about it.

It sure made him a celebrity of sorts through the rest of the cruise. People stopped him every day asking if it was real or staged, etc. The day we disembarked and went to Downtown Disney, he remarked how odd it was to be able to walk around without people stopping him every few steps.

Really funny, it was a great experience for all of us! LOL (literally!)

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Did you go to the early or late hypnotist show? My 10 yo daughter wanted SO badly to try to be hypnotized, so when he said he wouldn't take anyone under the age of 18 she was really upset. So, what does my husband do? He volunteers! I swear, I wish so badly I would have had a video camera because my husband was HILARIOUS! He was in the second show--he was the one who "danced" with the cat. I still laugh thinking about it.

It sure made him a celebrity of sorts through the rest of the cruise. People stopped him every day asking if it was real or staged, etc. The day we disembarked and went to Downtown Disney, he remarked how odd it was to be able to walk around without people stopping him every few steps.

Really funny, it was a great experience for all of us! LOL (literally!)

Melissa, the kids went to the early show since we had late dining. The Teenager wanted so badly to be hypnotized too! They really enjoyed the show. Wish I could have seen your DH and laughed at him (er, stopped him) all around the ship too. We'll definitely do that show again if Ricky Kalmon is performing.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Hey Silly Little Pixie,

Jumping on board your TR. We sailed together Nov 21,2010. So I thought I sail along again even if only in spirit. We don't have a DCL cruise planned for the near future although I'm hoping to cruise another line just hubby and I for our anniversary in Dec.

Hola! Good to see you again. What line/itinerary are you thinking of doing? DH and I are doing a b2b on the Dream - kidfree - next March! I think we'll stick with DCL as long as there is either a new ship, or a new itinerary to try. I'm really hoping they move the Magic to Galveston and do a Western that has all new ports.

 

[JanDave]

Enjoyed reading your report. Our next cruise in on the Magic, 10/1/11. We will probably book the Wonder for a cruise next year. We certainly enjoyed cruising B2B with you last fall!

Jan

 

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

Hola! Good to see you again. What line/itinerary are you thinking of doing? DH and I are doing a b2b on the Dream - kidfree - next March! I think we'll stick with DCL as long as there is either a new ship, or a new itinerary to try. I'm really hoping they move the Magic to Galveston and do a Western that has all new ports.

Thinking of going out of Tampa so it would be a 5 night Western- hubby doesn't want anything less than 5 days and we have to go during school break so DS can stay with the gparents- plus I'd hate to get to Port Canaveral and Not be on the Dream-we have only sailed DCL -so this is only in the early planning stages- probably leaning toward RC.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Thinking of going out of Tampa so it would be a 5 night Western- hubby doesn't want anything less than 5 days and we have to go during school break so DS can stay with the gparents- plus I'd hate to get to Port Canaveral and Not be on the Dream-we have only sailed DCL -so this is only in the early planning stages- probably leaning toward RC.

Just don't go during college spring break! Last March DH and I took the Magic on a Western. We saw a Carnival ship that was sailing out of Tampa on 2 of our stops, and let me say, it was like being back in college. Drunk kids everywhere! We met another family in Grand Cayman who were so surprised, they had done this sailing on Carnival before but not that week... they said the kids were throwing up all over the ship. And their tender lines were crazy long!

The RC ship wasn't in port with us but I don't think they attract that same kinda crowd.

Now, before anyone gets mad, NO I haven't sailed Carnival. Just watched their guests! I have friends who have sailed them and enjoyed it. Just warning about sailing out of Tampa on a college break.