Cast:
Me: Lisa 39 when the cruise started, 40 when it ended! HA HA
DH: Mark, 39
DS: Ryan, 7
DS: Drew, 3
July 29th: We live in Southern California but we still chose to stay at the Marina Hotel in San Pedro as we were able to leave our car there for the week. The hotel is nice, nothing outstanding or fancy and the rooms do need to be remodeled. The common areas look clean and maintained. We took a short drive to Long Beach after we were settled and we had dinner at Bubba Gumps (from Forest Gumps fame). We were traveling with three other families so Bubba Gumps was a perfect place for our noisey group.
July 30th: The hotel provides a shuttle but it's first come, first served and it was BUSY that morning. So, we opted to get a taxi van, which cost $7.40 for the fare plus we tipped $5. We were at the port in minutes and in the terminal just before 10am. We were assigned boarding group 4. The check in process was smooth and quick. After we checked in there, we checked the kids in where they got their bands and we got the pager. NOTE: I had already signed the kids up online for the kids clubs. There was a band playing in the terminal and there were photo ops, which we missed as they were setting up when we arrived and with the confusion, etc we missed the photo op. No biggie, but just wanted to point out that you do have a photo op there in the terminal. We boarded around noon and went off to Parrot Cay for the buffet lunch, which was great. We were let into our cabin at 2pm. Our stateroom host was Georgia from Jamaica I believe, and she was very accomodating. I can't remember what time exactly the luggage came at, but it wasn't super late. We had dinner that night in Parrot Cay where we met our server, Rodger from Jamaica and our asst. server was Ever-Lee from the Phillipines and they were both outstanding through our entire cruise. We didn't make it to the show this evening. We had our DIS meet at 10pm at Scoops. We did a little gift exchange, which was fun. It was fun to finally meet the people we had been corresponding with over the last year. Everyone was friendly and FUN!
July 31: Day at sea. I started my day with an Ocean Wrap and half body massage, which was just what I needed. At 3pm myself and Liz (kndyglr) had Palo Tea. It was outstanding. The scones were yummy, yummy, yummy. We had dinner at Lumiere's and this night was formal night (already). The food here was wonderful. Golden Mickeys was also this night....great show.
August 1: Another day at sea. We had Palo's brunch at 11am and our EXCELLENT server was Andrew from the Phillipines. There was so much food...it was almost overwhelming. My favorites were the crab legs and the stollen. Later we had dinner at Animator's Palate, which was another great meal. The kids loved the show they put on....lots of ooohs and aaaahs!
August 2: Puerta Vallarta! We booked the Pirate Sail excursion this day. We actually booked it thorough vallartaonline instead of DCL as saved $52 for our family of four. We got off the Magic at 8:15am, met the pirate sail folks shortly after and were the first ones on the pirate ship so we got a front seat for the sail and show. The Magic excursion group (which filled the rest of the ship) arrived about 20 minutes after us. This is an excellent excursion! The show is outstanding and they work very hard to please you. The breakfast was OK, but the lunch was excellent. We basically had about a 1 1/2 hour ride (with a great pirate show going on the entire time) to a secluded beach. We were allowed about 2 hours at the beach, where there were banana boat rides and boogie boards available at no charge. Snorkeling equipment was $5 rental as I recall but we didn't do it because they said the snorkeling area had some jellies...the beach area did not. The water was warm and wonderful. We then got back on the pirate ship for our ride back home at which time we had lunch and another pirate show. I highly recommend this excursion but save yourself some money and book through vallartaonline instead of DCL. Oh, and if there's a possiblity you might get seasick, then be sure to take something about one hour before the boat ride. The DCL pirate show was this night which was a great show and the fireworks were incredible!
August 3: Mazatlan. DS7 and I took a ride with Randi's Happy Horses. This is a non DCL excursion but it was excellent. My son got an excellent education by seeing the non-touristic side of Mazatlan as we were on our way to the horse area. The horses were matched to our ability and the ride along the beach was wonderful. After our ride we were taken to Victor's where we had shrimp and some drinks. The food here was great. We then were returned the ship around 1:30 or so. We dined at Palo's this night and requested Andrew again. The entire meal/experience rates at above a 5 star restaurant. I'm very impressed with Palos...and the chocolate souffle is all that every one raves about. I should have had TWO!!!! The show this night was Twice Charmed which was top notch Disney. We actually viewed it at the matinee showing and as it turned out they had technical difficulties for the evening show and weren't able to show the last hour!!
August 4: Cabo San Lucas. I had a full body massage in the morning...felt so good. After that we took a water taxi to "The Office". The water taxi was $15 for 8 of us. The Office was great, and all you had to do was order drinks to have chair and umbrella space, otherwise it was $10/chair. The water here was cold but refreshing and the kids had a ton of fun playing in the water and sand. No jellies. I liked Cabo the best, I guess because it was most Americanized?! Dinner was semi-formal and the show was Disney Dreams...which again was top notch Disney.
August 5: Sea day. We had our Character breakfast this morning. This was rather rushed feeling and overall I would have to say I didn't enjoy it. I just felt really rushed. The rest of our day was filled with looking at shutters pictures and checking the ship out. Also the Kids club graduation was this day, which was a small, cute show put on by all the kids. They got tshirts and mickey mouse ears graduation hats. After dinner in Parrot Cay we just went back to our room and packed our bags which had to be out by 10pm. By the way, when they say 10, they mean 10. I went back out to put something in one of the bags at 10:04 and the bags were GONE already! They were swift.
August 6th: Disembarkation. We were assigned breakfast at 7:15am in Parrot Cay. This entire process was organized and swift. We were off the ship and in our car by 8:45am and home by 10am.
Overall we loved our cruise, it was magical and the kids were in awe. Most nights the food was excellent...I would say skip the steak dishes, try the fish or pork dishes, those were excellent. I got many great ideas from the DIS boards...the ones I loved were: magnetic sign for the doors (made finding the room easy), over the door shoe organizer (I'll never travel without one again), pop up hamper, extension cord, and nightlight. We also had pillowcases and a frame mat signed by the characters. I can't believe how many sigs were on those!
Please feel free to ask me any questions...I think I remember everything but I'm still tired so I might have forgotten something!
Me: Lisa 39 when the cruise started, 40 when it ended! HA HA
DH: Mark, 39
DS: Ryan, 7
DS: Drew, 3
July 29th: We live in Southern California but we still chose to stay at the Marina Hotel in San Pedro as we were able to leave our car there for the week. The hotel is nice, nothing outstanding or fancy and the rooms do need to be remodeled. The common areas look clean and maintained. We took a short drive to Long Beach after we were settled and we had dinner at Bubba Gumps (from Forest Gumps fame). We were traveling with three other families so Bubba Gumps was a perfect place for our noisey group.
July 30th: The hotel provides a shuttle but it's first come, first served and it was BUSY that morning. So, we opted to get a taxi van, which cost $7.40 for the fare plus we tipped $5. We were at the port in minutes and in the terminal just before 10am. We were assigned boarding group 4. The check in process was smooth and quick. After we checked in there, we checked the kids in where they got their bands and we got the pager. NOTE: I had already signed the kids up online for the kids clubs. There was a band playing in the terminal and there were photo ops, which we missed as they were setting up when we arrived and with the confusion, etc we missed the photo op. No biggie, but just wanted to point out that you do have a photo op there in the terminal. We boarded around noon and went off to Parrot Cay for the buffet lunch, which was great. We were let into our cabin at 2pm. Our stateroom host was Georgia from Jamaica I believe, and she was very accomodating. I can't remember what time exactly the luggage came at, but it wasn't super late. We had dinner that night in Parrot Cay where we met our server, Rodger from Jamaica and our asst. server was Ever-Lee from the Phillipines and they were both outstanding through our entire cruise. We didn't make it to the show this evening. We had our DIS meet at 10pm at Scoops. We did a little gift exchange, which was fun. It was fun to finally meet the people we had been corresponding with over the last year. Everyone was friendly and FUN!
July 31: Day at sea. I started my day with an Ocean Wrap and half body massage, which was just what I needed. At 3pm myself and Liz (kndyglr) had Palo Tea. It was outstanding. The scones were yummy, yummy, yummy. We had dinner at Lumiere's and this night was formal night (already). The food here was wonderful. Golden Mickeys was also this night....great show.
August 1: Another day at sea. We had Palo's brunch at 11am and our EXCELLENT server was Andrew from the Phillipines. There was so much food...it was almost overwhelming. My favorites were the crab legs and the stollen. Later we had dinner at Animator's Palate, which was another great meal. The kids loved the show they put on....lots of ooohs and aaaahs!
August 2: Puerta Vallarta! We booked the Pirate Sail excursion this day. We actually booked it thorough vallartaonline instead of DCL as saved $52 for our family of four. We got off the Magic at 8:15am, met the pirate sail folks shortly after and were the first ones on the pirate ship so we got a front seat for the sail and show. The Magic excursion group (which filled the rest of the ship) arrived about 20 minutes after us. This is an excellent excursion! The show is outstanding and they work very hard to please you. The breakfast was OK, but the lunch was excellent. We basically had about a 1 1/2 hour ride (with a great pirate show going on the entire time) to a secluded beach. We were allowed about 2 hours at the beach, where there were banana boat rides and boogie boards available at no charge. Snorkeling equipment was $5 rental as I recall but we didn't do it because they said the snorkeling area had some jellies...the beach area did not. The water was warm and wonderful. We then got back on the pirate ship for our ride back home at which time we had lunch and another pirate show. I highly recommend this excursion but save yourself some money and book through vallartaonline instead of DCL. Oh, and if there's a possiblity you might get seasick, then be sure to take something about one hour before the boat ride. The DCL pirate show was this night which was a great show and the fireworks were incredible!
August 3: Mazatlan. DS7 and I took a ride with Randi's Happy Horses. This is a non DCL excursion but it was excellent. My son got an excellent education by seeing the non-touristic side of Mazatlan as we were on our way to the horse area. The horses were matched to our ability and the ride along the beach was wonderful. After our ride we were taken to Victor's where we had shrimp and some drinks. The food here was great. We then were returned the ship around 1:30 or so. We dined at Palo's this night and requested Andrew again. The entire meal/experience rates at above a 5 star restaurant. I'm very impressed with Palos...and the chocolate souffle is all that every one raves about. I should have had TWO!!!! The show this night was Twice Charmed which was top notch Disney. We actually viewed it at the matinee showing and as it turned out they had technical difficulties for the evening show and weren't able to show the last hour!!
August 4: Cabo San Lucas. I had a full body massage in the morning...felt so good. After that we took a water taxi to "The Office". The water taxi was $15 for 8 of us. The Office was great, and all you had to do was order drinks to have chair and umbrella space, otherwise it was $10/chair. The water here was cold but refreshing and the kids had a ton of fun playing in the water and sand. No jellies. I liked Cabo the best, I guess because it was most Americanized?! Dinner was semi-formal and the show was Disney Dreams...which again was top notch Disney.
August 5: Sea day. We had our Character breakfast this morning. This was rather rushed feeling and overall I would have to say I didn't enjoy it. I just felt really rushed. The rest of our day was filled with looking at shutters pictures and checking the ship out. Also the Kids club graduation was this day, which was a small, cute show put on by all the kids. They got tshirts and mickey mouse ears graduation hats. After dinner in Parrot Cay we just went back to our room and packed our bags which had to be out by 10pm. By the way, when they say 10, they mean 10. I went back out to put something in one of the bags at 10:04 and the bags were GONE already! They were swift.
August 6th: Disembarkation. We were assigned breakfast at 7:15am in Parrot Cay. This entire process was organized and swift. We were off the ship and in our car by 8:45am and home by 10am.
Overall we loved our cruise, it was magical and the kids were in awe. Most nights the food was excellent...I would say skip the steak dishes, try the fish or pork dishes, those were excellent. I got many great ideas from the DIS boards...the ones I loved were: magnetic sign for the doors (made finding the room easy), over the door shoe organizer (I'll never travel without one again), pop up hamper, extension cord, and nightlight. We also had pillowcases and a frame mat signed by the characters. I can't believe how many sigs were on those!
Please feel free to ask me any questions...I think I remember everything but I'm still tired so I might have forgotten something!
I think he really liked the shrimp the best.
